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    Heat lamps for newly hatched chicks - advice please!

    I think if I put the light at one end they should have room to move away from it. It's in a much bigger secure run so hopefully after the first couple of days they will be able to go outside as well - I'm pretty sure the mums used to have them out and about very quickly after hatching. I'm...
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    Heat lamps for newly hatched chicks - advice please!

    Eggs are in the incubator, now on Day 4. In the meantime I need to get the brooder set up in the hope that I manage to hatch some of them! I've only hatched under a hen before so this is new to me. I have the coop that has been the creche area for the last two hatches and I'd like to put the...
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    Raising chicks outdoors in Scotland

    Thanks but I don't know what fortify the coop means? Do you mean as in stopping predators? The hens free range - they are pretty secure at night already, they are in a shed and up on perches. The ones that have been taken have gone during the day. The chicks will be in a secure coop at night...
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    Raising chicks outdoors in Scotland

    Hi, I've had a disasterous year - lost a few of my girls to predators, had 12 eggs under my lovely fluffy hen (hatched without barbicels so she had silkie-like feathers but wasn't a silkie), only one of them hatched and then mum and chick were eaten by a badger. So I am down to four hens, none...
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    Youngster with no barbicels but not a Silkie

    My broody hatched 6 chicks this year from posted eggs. One of the youngsters is fluffy - feathers like a Silkie, but it's not a Silkie. Is this common? In theory it is a Langshan but the lady who bred the eggs said there was a small chance of another cockerel sneaking in with her ladies so...
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    I have at least one chick! How long to leave hen sitting now?

    I have 11 eggs under a broody and I had a gentle investigate today (day 22) and found one chick. I backed off then - hoping there are more - but how long should I leave her before checking the other eggs/removing any that aren't doing anything? I could see at least two that haven't hatched...
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    Moving a broody hen, WWYD?

    I've left her where she is but she has the fertilised eggs and she does get herself up. If I'd had the lower coop before the eggs I would have shut her in there with some 'dummy' eggs. I'm planning to wait until the eggs have hatched and then move everyone to the low coop - will put up some...
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    Moving a broody hen, WWYD?

    I have a broody sitting on fertile eggs in a nest box in a coop that's up on legs. My plan was to leave her there and just section off part of the coop when it gets near to hatching day, then move her to a lower coop once the hatch has happened. I've ended up getting the lower coop earlier...
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    Two broodies on one nest?

    Two of my hens have gone broody and are sharing a nest box. I'm planning to get some fertile eggs but should I put them under both or take one off and break her broodiness? I feel a bit mean - one of them has been broody already this year but she is quite little so if I choose one to brood the...
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    Predators and high up pop holes

    These are the kind of badgers we have https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_badger. I'm pretty sure they can't climb unless the object is very sturdy. They are nocturnal visitors. I was thinking of having a relatively flimsy (strong enough for hens but not for a heavy mammal) ladder to a...
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    Predators and high up pop holes

    I'm having some problems with a determined badger - it seems to be quite strong but also small enough to fit through a cat flap size hole. I'm having to lock the hens in and let them out manually because their pop holes are low down, so I'm wondering about putting some free-access pop holes in...
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    Pullets are 20 weeks old - will they lay this year?

    I have 9 pullets that I hatched in August (well, my lovely broody hatched them really...). We're down to about 9 hours of daylight now (north of Scotland) - is there any chance any of them will start laying this year or will I be waiting for spring? They are a variety of breeds - Buff...
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    8-week old chicks: what sex are they?

    They're all the same age. I'm pretty sure the barred bird (black leghorn) is a boy - has a huge comb and wattles. The others I have no idea!
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    8-week old chicks: what sex are they?

    I don't know if I've got pictures of both of the pairs in this series or if they are of the same bird - I need to get them in the same shot but they zip around all the time so it's not easy!!
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    8-week old chicks: what sex are they?

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    8-week old chicks: what sex are they?

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    8-week old chicks: what sex are they?

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    8-week old chicks: what sex are they?

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    8-week old chicks: what sex are they?

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    8-week old chicks: what sex are they?

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