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  1. Ridgerunner

    Kalmbach food leading to poor laying?

    I seriously doubt it is the feed. Yours free range so you have lost the ability to micromanage their feed intake. They are managing that. They usually do a pretty good job of that when free ranging. There can be different reasons you are not getting as many eggs as you expect. One obvious...
  2. Ridgerunner

    New pullets quarantine

    Where are these new pullets coming from: a hatchery, feed store, or somebody's flock? How old are they? If they are newly hatched from a hatchery or feed store I would not quarantine. They are highly unlikely to bring in anything. If they are older or from another source then I'd consider...
  3. Ridgerunner

    Is this a good incubator?

    I had a 1588 many years ago, one of the older models. The way you set temperature has changed dramatically, much more user friendly. To me it is a medium range incubator, more expensive than some but not as expensive as others. My first hatch with it was about a 70% success rate. The...
  4. Ridgerunner

    cockerel aggressive to flock mates

    That 10 to 1 you often see on here comes from hatcheries where they want high fertility. With the way they keep them, in the pen breeding system, that ratio is what is used to assure practically every egg is fertilized. It is not about behaviors, it is about fertility. And, like every other...
  5. Ridgerunner

    Broody hens still doting on 12 week old chicks?

    I've had hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks. I've had hens wean their chicks at 3 months, about where yours are now. I haven't seen it myself but some people on here have said their broody hen stayed with the chick even after the chick was grown and laying eggs. Each chicken has its own...
  6. Ridgerunner

    Ammonia issue in the coop

    You want the microbes that break down the poop and other organic material to be aerobic (oxygen-breathing). If it becomes too wet for air (oxygen) to reach the microbes then anaerobic microbes take over. Anaerobic microbes are what produce the ammonia. If you are smelling ammonia then it is...
  7. Ridgerunner

    Veggies

    How do you keep your chickens? If they forage for much of their diet you've lost the ability to micromanage their diet anyway. What is your main feed, especially if they are confined and restricted in what they can eat to what you feed them? What veggies are you talking about? For many...
  8. Ridgerunner

    Help: How to Cull (if you've never culled before)

    The way you can. Let me explain that. Your goal is to end the chicken's life as quickly and as sure as you can so it does not suffer. You also do not want to injure yourself, don't forget that part. We are all different with different experiences and sensibilities. What works for you might...
  9. Ridgerunner

    Which feed should I continue buying?

    It sounds like it is not ground up into a powder as you can see the individual parts. A lot of people use feeds like that but I'm not a big fan. The different components can separate and the chickens can selectively eat certain things and not eat others. I'm not sure they are all getting a...
  10. Ridgerunner

    Laying in the wrong place

    How long have they been laying? Have they just started laying or has it been a while? Are those eggs randomly scattered or in one spot that is obviously a nest? Two different things could be going on. Some pullets seem to know an egg is coming and purposely lays it where they want to right...
  11. Ridgerunner

    Rain

    My chickens do not like a cold wind but seem to enjoy being in the run when it is raining as long as it is not severe. I think they know when they are comfortable and when they are not. My theory of why they like to be outside in the rain is that they want to get any worms or other critters...
  12. Ridgerunner

    Fall chicks in Montana

    :thumbsup A good idea. Have you integrated before so you know what to expect? You generally need a lot more room to integrate than once they are integrated. It doesn't sound like you have a lot of extra room. Integration concerns me a lot more than your cold weather. Are you using both...
  13. Ridgerunner

    Chickens not laying

    Thanks for that info. It makes it pretty clear what is happening. Chickens evolved to lay eggs and hatch chicks during the good weather months, then stop laying when the weather was getting worse for raising chicks. They use what nutrition they have to replace worn out feathers (ie, the...
  14. Ridgerunner

    Chickens not laying

    Where are you located, north or south of the equator? There are different things that can cause hens to not lay but if you are north of the equator the molt is almost certain to be your main problem. Are you seeing loose feathers flying around? How old are they? What has been their laying...
  15. Ridgerunner

    Day 22 Hatch Help Needed – High Humidity, Bad Smell, 2 Pipped Eggs Still Not Progressing

    It is possible a piece of space junk could fall out of the sky and hit your house today. You might have a fender bender the next time you go for groceries. The sun might shine where you are today. Many things are possible but some are more likely than others. It is possible to shrink wrap...
  16. Ridgerunner

    Pullet eggs

    The size of the eggs is basically genetics. Diet can make a little difference but not enough to be that noticeable unless you weigh the eggs. Calcium is just for eggshells, will do nothing on the size.
  17. Ridgerunner

    Just need a little post-hatch reassurance—Moving to brooder, incubator temp

    I'm guessing you are so stressed out that you typed brooder and meant incubator. I'm not sure anyone is capable of reassuring you as you are so nervous. But I often leave chicks in the incubator for over 48 hours after the first one hatches. As yours are healthy they should do fine. They...
  18. Ridgerunner

    Is this typical for cockerels?

    Fertility and blood spots are not related. Fertility comes from a rooster being with the flock. The blood spots come from a blood vessel opening when the yolk is released to start its journey through her internal egg making factory. That blood spot happens before the egg is fertilized if it...
  19. Ridgerunner

    what to do with bullying chicken?

    You've done what I would have done, try to alter her behavior by isolation. I don't keep individual chickens, I keep a flock that can have changeable members. I do change some every year, by both addition and subtraction. If I had a hen doing this kind of stuff she would have volunteered to...
  20. Ridgerunner

    Is this typical for cockerels?

    You can read my comments in this thread. It might be interesting. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/9-month-rooster-is-showing-signs-of-aggression.1679907/ It is interesting that both of them started on you and others at 18 weeks but left the boys who had been handling them alone...
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