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Sorry I missed this, but I just got a book on hatching chicks and it says if you are doing it naturally and the outside humidity is really low (like I guess 0%), you can mist the eggs every day starting on the 15th day. I don't have a lot of experience, but I had a hatch in early July...
@scruffychicken: Hi, and welcome!
@zenbirder: I agree, but I think it will be hard to convince people that you should have a right to having a bird that crows at 4:30am. Mine rooster does, but my neighbors are very nice, tolerant people. Plus I give them lots of eggs.
I don't think you other hens should molt this severely. It was because of the setting that this one hen lost so many feathers at one time. Because she was sitting on the eggs, she wasn't getting the nutrition she needed for feather development.
Yeah, don't worry. My hens did the same thing. Molting and brooding at the same time seems to be a lot of stress on them. It's not recommended to allow molting hens to set. I know that now. But, it helps to give them extra protein at this time, so I've been giving mine cat food 2-3 times a...
Some people suggest putting them in at night, but I usually have better luck putting them in the coop/run for a couple days inside a dog crate or something. If the older birds can see them, but not peck at them, they will eventually get used to their presence. Then you can let them out after...
Wait, am I missing something? It sounds to me like they were just making dinner. "Bludgeoning"? What does that mean? Isn't that one standard way to kill a small animal for food? I'm pretty sure I saw one of those guys on Dual Survivor do that to a porcupine...
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Good duck! Then I think they should be fine. Buzzards would only eat something dead already, while hawks prefer live prey. That's why buzzards would be less of a threat. And by frightening them, they are teaching them to be aware of the sky, so they'd be better prepared for a hawk...
I would watch my birds while the hawk was out there to make sure they were aware of it. I think once they learn to pay really close attention and hide when they see it, they should mostly be ok. Younger birds seem to pay less attention, so they make for easier targets. Older birds are more...
Oh, and if you are worried about losing your full grown chickens to hawks, it's less likely to happen I think if you have more chickens and maybe even a rooster. Now that my birds are fully grown (with a rooster to protect), I haven't lost anymore chickens.
Full-grown, standard chickens would more likely be killed and eaten right there. Chicks and bantams would be more likely to be carried away. Just my experience. I've lost one of each.
How long was she broody for? Just wondering.
I had two hens recently that went broody and they were just starting to molt when they started out. Then right towards the end of the 21 days they both hit severe molts. They're ok now, but their sister (who didn't go broody) is just now starting...
20% on top of tax. Just easier to calculate. I might just be easy-going, but I can't think of any time I've had service bad enough not to tip. I rarely eat out though.