No, I don't count that. I know it is a cost but in my climate my chickens would survive without it. I just choose to do it so I don't count it. A 250 watt heat lamp on 12 hours costs me about 33 cents a night on a cold night and it's just not that much.
I was hoping for a broody hen eventually. I was going to get an incubator this year but by the time I got around to thinking about doing it my old hens had just about stopped laying, that's why I went to chick days and bought this batch. What you said is a good idea and that way I just have...
Thanks for the good explanation, I was beginning to think it must be a really stupid question. I am going to separate the the BSL's from the BO's when they get close to laying age. I should be able to tell then if I can put them all back together and be able to have a broody hen just set on BO...
Thanks for the replies. I made a stand for my nest boxes today that allows me to have the boxes on the floor or raise up to 20 inches. By the time my last batch of barred rocks reached laying age they could easily get to the boxes at that height. If I am lucky enough to get a broody hen out...
Thanks for taking the time to reply granny hatchet. Just wondering how it all works. I have had new layers go broody in the past at a time I didn't want chicks so I put a stop to it. Now am getting some new chicks and am hoping one of them will be nice enough to hatch and raise some chicks...
I have 3 chicken books but not one of them answers this question. If one of my hens goes broody I have a broody coop area in a shed ready. The boxes in my chicken tractor are 18 inches off the floor but I would assume you would take her and her nest box out of the tractor and put it on the...
Chick days last tuesday and got 8 black sex link pullets, 3 buff orpington pullets and 2 buff orpinton cockerels. Will end up with just one rooster. Both are considered a dual purpose chicken and wonder how they compare as a meat bird. And would a buff orpington/ black sex link cross be a...
Just want to post the outcome of all this for others who view this thread in the future. I read some more posts last nite and read on several different sites to mix 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1 pint of warm water and put a syringe full down her throat. Massage the crop and then tip her forward...
I have read all about crop surgery, and I am not afraid to do it, but I was going to try to replace my chickens this spring or early summer if I can get a few other things accomplished so I can build a separate brooder shed or tractor to raise them in. She would probably be in the freezer by...
I watched the You Tubes and put about 60 cc of gatorade down into her crop with a syringe and tube. Once at noon and again at 4 PM. It immediately made her crop soften up. By the time I did it the second time it had hardened back up. Maybe not quite as hard as before but pretty firm. I...
I have read a bunch of posts on this subject but am considering putting this chicken down. My wife threw a bunch of chopped up cabbage in their pen the other day. On Monday noticed this chicken keeping to herself and throwing her head around. I had been keeping an eye on her and brought her...
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions. Sharing your experience is greatly appreciated. Am going to think about this, flighty is a concern of mine but I could always clip wings. I just got a bag of feed today and totaled up my costs on this batch of Barred Rocks I have and am at...
I have had Barred Rocks for 2 years. I have kept track and have average 3 1/2 eggs a week. I am going to replace them either this year or next and have been looking at different breeds that lay more eggs. There is so much conflicting information out there.. I have searched in the BYC forums...
I don't know how you'd do that without separating them or putting a video camera on the nest box and marking your chickens. I get some small eggs and some misshaped eggs and have wondered which chicken is doing it. I suspect the small egg is coming from my runt barred rock the misshaped I don't...
I have kept track of eggs and feed since I got my barred rocks, they were 2 years old this February. They have only gone thru one molt and I do provide artificial light in the winters to give them a 15 hour day and I run a heat lamp if its going to get below about 15 degrees. I have a very...
Good point. I just have to decide which would be the best for me. I have read some threads about how much attention and tinkering some of the cheaper models require to successfully hatch chicks. I checked on the price of chicks a day or two ago and with the shipping it looked like 25 would...
Thanks for all the greetings. Already posted and got some good advice about a hen that I thought had gone broody. Hope I have the opportunity to share some knowledge from my limited experience to someone else.
I appreciate the information, especially shared from experience. Kind of a moot point now, I went out last nite to shut them up and she was on the roost and the eggs were cold. Probably a good thing. I think I am down to 2 options, incubator or buy chicks. I have been reading a little about...