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  1. Ridgerunner

    Clutch size for broody hen?

    How many chicks do you want? You don't know if every egg will hatch or if none will. You don't know if all will be boys or all will be girls. A lot of unknowns when you start hatching eggs. Eggs and hens come in varying sizes. A tiny bantam may have trouble covering 4 full sized hen eggs...
  2. Ridgerunner

    What age do Buff Orpington’s usually start laying?

    I don't expect you to have any problems getting hatching eggs for spring. I agree it is best to not try to hatch the tiny pullet eggs. If your Orpington had started laying at 18 to 20 weeks, those eggs would have probably been pretty small. Small enough that it would probably not have been a...
  3. Ridgerunner

    A theory - your experience?

    I assume by egg laying problem you mean internal laying or prolapse. I've never had those either. I've had weird eggs and strange egg laying behavior (laying from the roost, for example) mostly from pullets that are just starting to lay. I have a different theory though, certainly an...
  4. Ridgerunner

    Broody girl dilemma

    Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined! Some hens could easily cover 15 eggs. A hen hid a nest and brought out 18 chicks, which she successfully raised. I never found her nest so I don't know how many eggs she started with. On the other hand, a hen had trouble covering 12 eggs (which is...
  5. Ridgerunner

    Perennial Grass Options for Poultry Forage Lawn in the Southeast?

    Call your county extension office and chart with them. They should know your local conditions and climate.
  6. Ridgerunner

    Possible to free range meat birds with egg layers?

    Possibly, but where is your sense of adventure? If it doesn't work out, eat them and try something else. :oops: Cornish X were designed to be tightly controlled. Every bite they eat is carefully controlled. You cannot beat them for what they were designed for. Some people do free range CX...
  7. Ridgerunner

    Chicken coop lights

    I've heard that white men can't jump. I've heard that lightning never strikes twice in the same place. I've heard a lot of things, some true and some ridiculous. I've had pullets continue laying through their first winter and older hens that finish the molt early and start laying lay quite...
  8. Ridgerunner

    When can I let my mamma hen and 4 week old chicks merge into my current flock?

    I agree, that small coop is plenty big enough for the hen and 3 chicks. At 4 weeks of age the chicks should have no problems going into that closed section whether they walk the ramp or fly up and down. That run should be plenty big enough for 18 chickens. I assume you have that small coop...
  9. Ridgerunner

    Roosters

    You can try. You are dealing with living animals, anything can happen. Sometimes they fight to the death. Sometimes they work out an accommodation where they work together to take care of the flock. Especially if you have enough room they will divide the flock so each has some hens and they...
  10. Ridgerunner

    Very early chick

    I do not know what regulations Canada has, but US postal regulations require a chick to be processed and in the mail 24 hours after hatch. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the chick will be delivered within 48 hours after entering the mailing system. That is a total of 72 hours...
  11. Ridgerunner

    New chicken mom with hatchlings

    You do not get guarantees with living animals about their behaviors. You just don't. Anything can happen. There are stories on this forum where a rooster did attack chicks. It is rare, but it can happen. Like Dobie, I have never had a rooster even threaten chicks, whether with a broody hen...
  12. Ridgerunner

    Tiny Egg.....what causes this?

    That is what we call a Fairy Egg or a Fart Egg. If you open it, that egg may be a perfectly proportioned egg with a tiny yolk, may be all yolk, all-whites, or some other proportions. Any hen of any age and of any breed can lay one. It is a glitch in her internal egg making factory. They...
  13. Ridgerunner

    Duck egg internally pipped but not externally pipped. Day 28 tomorrow. What should I do

    Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined! Duck, chicken, turkey or other fowl eggs do not always hatch exactly on their due date. It is not that unusual for them to hatch as much as a couple of days early or late. Yours is not due to hatch until tomorrow. Sounds like it is closer to "on...
  14. Ridgerunner

    Speckled Sussex

    Do you have photos you can share? It might be simpler.
  15. Ridgerunner

    When can I let my mamma hen and 4 week old chicks merge into my current flock?

    Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined! It sounds like your small coop and run are next to the main flock's coop and run so they can see each other across the wire. That would be good. Before I give specific suggestions I like to know what you are working with. So how big (in feet or...
  16. Ridgerunner

    Broody?

    My test if a hen is truly broody and deserves eggs to hatch is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her normal spot. One night is not enough, for me it has to be two consecutive nights. There are a lot of signs that a hen might or might not be...
  17. Ridgerunner

    Giving Silkie eggs to broody Ameraucauna

    That helps, thanks. But other questions. Are the Silkies bantams or full sized? And what breed is your rooster? A bantam Silkie hen probably weighs around 2 pounds. A full-sized Silkie hen might weigh 6 pounds. Quite a bit of difference. A Jersey Giant or Brahma rooster would be pretty...
  18. Ridgerunner

    Will this work?

    That helps some but not as much as I wished. I don't know if the grey in Sapphire Gems comes from the B/B/S or the Lavender genetics. Different websites give different information. But whether it is B/B/S or Lavender, either means he is based on black. The B/B/S or lavender genes modify...
  19. Ridgerunner

    Will this work?

    I have no idea what the genetics of a Grey Jersey Giant might be so, no, I do not know what the offspring would look like. Where did you get him? Can you find out anything about his genetic background that makes him grey? Lots of people use this type of procedure. If you can maintain proper...
  20. Ridgerunner

    Giving Silkie eggs to broody Ameraucauna

    Do you have any specific concerns or worries? Personally I would not hesitate but I don't know what you are worried about as long as the hen was truly broody and you have a rooster so the eggs are fertile.
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