I have read through a bunch of old threads and have plenty of ideas now on how to treat for lice.
DE, VCO, Poultry Protector, permethrin, etc.
what I haven't been able to find is a consensus on a) if I need to not eat eggs for a while, and b) if so, how long?
I just found out tonight that...
I put the baby back under mom. The baby has two eyes, head, beak. the "blob" is a bare area on its neck. I can't determine if it is injured or what. It was peeping and wiggling strongly, so I am not willing to put it down yet. If it appears to be dying or suffering, I will.
this picture was...
Ok, Two girls, Snow and Goldie went broody about the same time. Based on our last experience, we just let them set on their nests in the regular coop and waited to move them until the first babies hatched. (That worked last time, Trying to move mommy and nest gave her great upset, but once the...
our first broody just hatched 3 eggs (not her own).
One came out of a brown egg so the mom is one of our red sexlinks.
Another came from a blue banty egg, so obviously the mom is one of our little banty mutts (they are small, they have very scant leg feathers, they have cheek fluff like...
Brood hen hatch, first chick on Saturday, then one on Sunday and another when we woke up Monday. No action since then (now Wednesday morning).
Took the remaining eggs up today to candle them. I see solid black with very large air cells on one end, much like day 18 pics on this thread ...
First time hatching here, have a first time broody hen doing it (no incubator), so I know nothing, at least she has instincts.
First chick on Saturday, another on Sunday afternoon, and woke up early this morning to a third :-) all very healthy and doing well.
There are still 3 eggs in the nest...
came on to the duck forum to do some more reading before placing my duck order tomorrow and I keep reading horror stories about sick and dead ducklings.
I've done several batches of chicks and never had any problems at all (although all were bought locally) so I was just assuming that...
1. Peep #1 hatched today (or last night), the other eggs don't show any signs of pipping. How long do I wait--or how long will she wait? what about food and water for baby while she waits?
2. Also, the other hens do push her out once a day to use that box for laying (I marked the eggs she was...
I thought we had until Tuesday but I fully realize that I'm guessing at the day when we finally decided to let our broody girl keep some eggs.
So.. DD went to get eggs today and viola!
broody Mommy Dove
and first baby out!
DH is now out there working overtime on a mini-coop and...
I've looked around to find an article or sticky with this info and so far haven't found one.
I would like a resource to tell me the average age to expect laying from various breeds?
My daughter bought peeps and has raised them and the deal was that she keep half and sell half as ready-to-lay...
We got some peeps the first of Febraury, they were 1-2 weeks old at that point, so they are now 9ish weeks old. They are fully feathered teenagers. However, because of the horrible weather, I've only been able to take them outside in the covered chick run a few times, they've spent the whole...
Is there a rule of thumb about how many ducklings I should order in a straight run batch if I want to end up with a certain number of females? I know that this is not an exact science, but is there a generally accepted method?
I want to order a very small (10 or 12) straight run order, but I...
background: one of my banty hens has gone broody, for the first few days I just kept taking the eggs, but then my dd asked if we could just let her set some and I agreed. So, we stopped removing the eggs (her own and other hens). Then two days later, my dh went out and got eggs and got ALL of...
one of my banty crosses (little, got a few feathers on her legs, puffy cheeks, lays blue eggs, so not sure of her parentage) has gone broody- at least from what I can determine reading on here.
I've looked through old threads and see pictures of simple broody pens and nests and plan to throw...
I thought I was safe now from this happening, but apparently not. My big, gorgeous, Welsummer attacked my daughter's tiny little banty cochin. Much blood, from what I can tell all from comb and wattle. he's eating and drinking and spending the night in the dog crate in the garage. The other...
sigh, alas, my girls enjoy roaming so much, but I have noticed that they are getting too brave and going to our neighbors yards and leaving gifts on their walks and driveways. Silly girls don't know they have 3 acres here at home, so stay put!
Anyway, I'm thinking seriously about some...
now that my older DD has her flock of hens (and of course her pet roos) my younger daughter wants some ducks.
We've told her we will get her some ducks this spring.
I've read that some breeds don't need a whole pond of water to be happy, they only need a small pool/puddle/splash area. This...
she is approx. 9-10 months old, red sex link, has been healthy and laying regularly.
noticed last night that she was on her perch and already sleeping even though I was in the coop counting birds (one didn't come home, had to count and recount).
this is where I feel badly, it is already...
My daughter found a guinea egg this morning :-)
Can guineas learn to use the same nesting boxes as the hens do or should I fix her a little hidden safe spot (perhaps in the same spot the first egg was found)? I just want her to keep laying in the coop and not make a nest out in the woods...
my first batch were sex-links, so all pullets, they have just started laying and are about 18 weeks old.
My next batch (approx. 6-8 weeks old) were out of the back of a pickup truck at a chicken swap so yeah, got some roos in the mix. Two were a little banty brother and sister, those two...