Perhaps remove the oldest chicks to a brooder, see if she'll dedicate her time to the egg then. If she's agitated by removing the chicks, though, and doesn't got back to the egg, you'll have to put them back. Do you have an electric or gas stove? If you have a gas one, try putting the unhatched...
One option is dedicating a section of your garden patch (if you garden) specifically to chickens. For example, you could grow peas in the spring/summer and winter squash and pumpkin in the winter. That way, it's a bit of an alternate food source, not processed, and they will most likely be very...
Thank you for your input, though it was meant for another person. I have been wanting some Chanteclers for a meat chicken, and your experience is very encouraging!
Hey, Dawg. I recently came across you on a gardening thread, thought I should come say Hello, and also tell you that you are loved as well. I hope things are going well for you. Remember to lean on others around you when you need support!
Just what I was looking for! I've been researching more efficient ways to raise chickens, and I stumbled across this thread by accident. Thank you so much for your advice! You are a Godsend.
So, as FunClucks suggested, I found a second breed to try along with the Chanteclers. I chose Naked Necks, a.k.a. Turkens. Now, I was hesitant about choosing them because of the lack of feathering, but I looked at a lot of sources, and they said that Turkens would do fine in the cold. And if...
So I got a silver deathlayer chick at 3 weeks of age about 2 weeks ago. When I bought the chick, its head was brown, but recently it's been growing silver feathers and is almost entirely silver now. Is this just how it works, or is it a possible mix?
I currently have a backyard flock for just eggs. It's quite a hodgepodge of breeds in there, and most of them are breeds that are good in the heat, since I live in a hot state currently.
I chose Chanteclers because I wanted a sustainable meat bird, good in the cold, that I could raise for myself...
Oh, thank you for the article! That puts it into better perspective for me. I've never really monitored how much feed my layers eat, because my dad is in charge of that flock, so I'm not paying for their feed. With these meat birds, however, I was hoping to get an estimation of how much food...
So I'm going to start raising meat birds in a few years, and have decided on Chanteclers. Whenever I search up how much meat birds eat, it gives me the amount for commercial birds that will be slaughtered, and when I search for dual purpose, it gives the ingredients that are needed in the feed...
I also recently stumbled across an opportunity to get a turkey poult (still wondering if I should), and I want to prevent blackhead. I have read about using cayenne pepper, but would it be safe for the poult? Will their stomachs be able to handle and digest it?