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  1. billmac

    3 mothers, 11 chicks, not enough space

    I have 3 mother hens, one with 7 chicks, and 2 with 2 each. Their ages are spaced about a week and a half apart. I've penned them to keep them safe from our cats, but I've also penned them separately to keep them safe from each other. But the second two are in very small kennels. I have a...
  2. billmac

    Can I throw another clutch of eggs under broody hen?

    I have a hen sitting on a clutch of eggs, that look like they are all duds. She's been on well past hatching time and a quick candling didn't show anything alive. Will she continue to sit if I throw another clutch of eggs under her? She usually gets off the eggs a couple times a day.
  3. billmac

    Two chicks, 7 non-hatched. Now what?

    I have a hen sitting on two chicks and 7 eggs in a nest box. The box is 6 inches or so off the ground. The chicks can get down but not back up. What about food and water for the chicks? I'm afraid if I put the hen, chicks, and eggs in a cage, she'll stop sitting on the eggs altogether. I...
  4. billmac

    Frozen but not cracked: How can I tell?

    Our little fridge for eggs is on the fritz and we think it is freezing some of the eggs that are on top. Is there any way for me to tell, short of cracking it open, if an egg has been frozen? I don't want to sell eggs that have been frozen. I wonder if they would fail the "fresh test" by...
  5. billmac

    How can I leverage a broody hen into baby chicks?

    Here's the situation: I have about 25 hens and 2 roosters. I have a hen that's gone broody and is hanging out in one of the laying boxes. She does move to a different box occasionally. Don't know if she's being kicked out or what. So far I've just gathered all the eggs. Do I just leave her...
  6. billmac

    Using a goose to hatch ducks

    I have a lone female goose who seems to have gone broody. I have one KC drake in with about 12 hens (Welsh Harlequin and Khaki Campbell). First question: Can I assume the eggs are fertile? Second, can I put them under the goose?
  7. billmac

    How early can a rooster do his thing?

    I have a broody hen. I've been collecting the eggs, but I just figured out 3 of my new australorp chickens are roosters. They just started to crow in last couple of days. They were born in mid-May. I haven't seen any action between the roosters and the hens. Is it worth letting the broody...
  8. billmac

    Egg size: Welsh Harlequin vs Khaki Campbell

    I have both, but the KC are just beginning their first lay cycle, and the eggs are tiny. I know the eggs will get bigger over time but I don't remember the eggs from my WH being so small at the beginning. The WH are supposed to be just a color variation of the KC, but all the descriptions say...
  9. billmac

    Introducing new ducklings to older flock.

    I have 9 older Welsh Harlequins. I got 7 kahki campbell ducklings. I raised them in the house for awhile, but when they got bigger I penned them in a corner of the duck house with the older ducks, but I haven't let them together yet. The older ducks are let out during the day and I let the...
  10. billmac

    nipple waterers: do they work? Can older hens be trained to use them?

    Fount waterers are a pain. Almost impossible to keep clean. Do nipple waterers work with an exisiting flock? Any caveats?
  11. billmac

    Help me decide! Americauna or Australorp?

    I have Buff Orpingtons and RIRs. The reds will probably be culled soon, and the buffs are getting older. We love the buffs but they aren't great layers. I'd like some good layers that can go broody. I'm looking at Americaunas or Black Australorps. Any thoughts? Wyandottes and Barred Rocks...
  12. billmac

    Looking for gentle, attractive, prolific brown or easter egg layers

    We started out with RIR. Prolific, big beautiful eggs. But absolutely savage to each other, and didn't really lay for more than 2 seasons. We got some buff orpingtons. Beautiful, gentle, but rubbish egg layers. Sporadic layers with small eggs. I'm thinking of Buff Americaunas, or...
  13. billmac

    What does it cost per chicken to raise meat birds from chick to table?

    This has probably been asked a million times, but what, in your experience, is the per bird cost of raising them for the table? assuming they can be free-ranged and also supplemented with grain. We're looking at Freedom Rangers and raising them to the approximately 5 lb range. They don't have...
  14. billmac

    New Thread, old topic. Beak trimming

    I have a dozen new buff pullets that I am introducing to my 15 RIR hens. The RIR hens peck each other pretty much bare (no blood, just down to the skin). They are free range, except at night, plenty of food, etc. The hens are still laying well so I don't want to cull them. Will a quick...
  15. billmac

    Hen still anemic: Anything else?

    White Leghorn, first laying cycle. Pale, floppy comb, missing feathers on stomach area. Didn't see lice or mites, but dusted with pymethrin, twice. It's been over a week, and no improvement. Still lethargic and pale. What else can I do? What else could it be? How often can I dust her...
  16. billmac

    Anemic hen. Mites or lice

    White leghorn. Stopped laying, lethargic, floppy pale comb. When taking her out of the box tonight, I see she is getting bare around the stomach/chest. So I guess that means mites or lice. I can't see anything but I haven't made a real close inspection. So I'm thinking a permethryn dust...
  17. billmac

    droopy, pale comb

    I have a white leghorn pullet (born in march). She basically sits in the nest box all the time unless I pull her out. She has a pale, floppy comb. She seems to eat when I put her out of the box, (and clucks angrily). She does still seem to be laying, although not consistently (roll out nest...
  18. billmac

    Help me reboot my ducks

    I got welsh harlequins last spring, and at the right time, they started laying. 9 ducks, 9 eggs. As fall turned into winter, a few got broody and my production went down, 6-7 eggs a day. The trouble is that I had heat lamps on the waterer. So they had 24 hr a day light. Now they don't have...
  19. billmac

    Help! I've been asked to trim a beak

    A friend of ours has 6 hens, one of which is pecking the heck out of the butts of the other 5. She is reluctant to kill it, so she has asked me to trim it. (which I've never done). I will probably err on the side of caution and just trim a little. Should I do top and bottom? Are bird beaks...
  20. billmac

    The downside of rollout boxes?

    I built roll out nest boxes for my chickens. They work great. I have the box lined with 1/4 inch rubber mat. The problem is that the chickens are pooping in the boxes like it's their job. I don't remember them doing this with the regular boxes. Admittedly, the old boxes were filled with...
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