Here's my coop and run situation. I have my run blocked off from the coop so my broody can stay peacefully in the coop. Lucky I built a secondary coop inside the run so the rest of the flock has a place to stay. I can let them out of the run in the day. The coop will be too high up at first for...
Wow that's great. Mother hens are incredible. The only problem I have is my nesting area is too narrow for the food and water drinker. I will need to improvise or move her to the floor of the coop in a corner. I have a nesting trough not a box. Unless I can move a baby chick feeder and drinker...
That's good news. I have a secondary coop I built inside my run. The rest of my flock can stay inside the run and I can keep the broody and chicks inside the coop for awhile. I can let the flock out in the day to eat grass also and just keep the hen and chicks locked in the coop safely.
I'm trying to figure out if the best place to keep my hen and her chicks is in the run or in the coop. Does the hen take the chicks out much in the first week? Or do they stay mostly in the coop?
My coop is secure. Nothing gets in. My run is not fully secure. Small animals like rats get in. I...
This right here is exactly why I am determined to get Erin's birds. She has them bred back to right about this age to butcher. She has told me all the work she has done on this breed to get them back where they used to be.
Your thinking is about on track with mine. I think the Cornish crosses are a mess and I would rather have birds I can hatch myself. It seems so much more sustainable this way. I had a successful hatch of my flock. My neighbor wanted more laying hens so I decided to incubate and watch the growth...
I don't yet have Erin's Delawares but it is my goal by January. She tracks her chicks weights by 6 weeks old and I compared my hatchery Delawares growth to hers. Mine is pitiful. She spent about 10 years recovering this breed and it's unbelievable. I am convinced she has some of the best...
That's exactly the reason I have Delawares. I'm going to do the same. Hatchery Delawares are poor quality and you need a breeder. Those breeders are hard to find. I found one in California but she's just about to stop selling her Delawares I think.
Her name is Erin Angulo. She's in California...
It's been into the triple digits here for weeks. Few days ago was 109. My broody is a Wyandotte I'm Florida!! Talk about not a bird meant for heat. She is stubborn to eat and drink too but all I could do was take her out of the nest a few times a day and keep offering food and water. I kept the...
Oh gosh they are so cute. So funny that your big birds are afraid of them. My broody has eaten one of her eggs so I have one less possible hatch. Nothing but heat and rain here so my chicks are still inside. Absolutely nasty weather we are having here. I would love to sit in the sun like your...
It has been extremely hot here. Couple days ago 109. We have some tropical rain system going on over us now so it's been much cooler and finally a little rain. Due to the design of my nesting trough I can't put water within reach but I put food and water inside the coop for her as soon as she...
Ok. I did candle them 2 or 3 days ago and all except 1 looked great. I was questioning one of them so perhaps that's why. I wasn't sure if she was just very hungry. She has been difficult to keep interested in food and water. I trust she knows how much to eat and drink.
I know for a fact the broody ate this egg. She has been on the nest in the coop by herself. I locked the rest of the flock in the run to use the other coop. It's been raining and windy here. No one, no chicken and no pests could get in. I found a shell piece earlier when I removed the broody...
I did a dry hatch last month. Added about 2 tablespoons of water to the incubator on day 19. They started pipping day 19 and everyone was hatched by day 20.
I didn't weigh the eggs but I did watch the air cells..I saw steady growth of the air cell. My humidity stayed between 30-35% the whole...