Friendly pullets—hatched week of March 4 (approximately 11 weeks old). We raised these chicks in our home and porch, so they are used to the sounds of people, street traffic, and dogs. They would be the perfect group to start your first flock, or great additions to an existing one! They should...
Hi everybody!
I'm considering trying pelleted bedding for my brooder this year. I've always used aspen wood shavings but I'm wondering if I might possibly cut down (a bit) on dustiness if I used pellets. (???) I know typically one waters the pellets down before using, but can you use the...
Hello peeps!
After several seasons of successfully brooding chicks under a very secure heat lamp, I'm looking to ease my mind a bit and go with a safer heating option.
I will be brooding about 15 standard-size chicks (only 10 for the first week, as I'm letting a friend and her kids raise a few...
Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything but I love this site. 💕 I just made my spring chick order and despite the fact that I’ve been in the chicken raising business for years now, I kind of didn’t realize/forgot that Brahmas have leg feathers, which I’ve always rather avoided...
Last night when I was changing my chickens' water I set my hand down on the heated base and it was VERY hot--I couldn't keep my fingers on it for any length of time. I unplugged it because I was worried it was overheating (and last night didn't get very cold, so the water was fine without extra...
I have one lavender Ancona drake that I'm looking to find a new home for. He is 3 years old and has lived on my farm his entire life. I hatched him from eggs from another BYC'er. Beautiful bird, healthy, extremely hardy, great forager. This drake has been one of my favorites, but I'm selling my...
I have a pair of barred rocks, one of which I'm selling, and I want to make sure they're both pullets. I'm a little worried that especially #2 looks a little light. They are 9 weeks old.
#1
#2
And both together - I think #1 is at top.
Please let me know your...
I have some 7-week-old chicks that I ordered from Hoover's hatchery in June. They were all supposed to be pullets, but I know that they can only guarantee about 90% accuracy, and I'm worried I might have gotten a couple of roos in the bunch. I want to make sure I know what I have before I sell...
I have a 1.5-year-old Ancona duck who has a prolapsed vent and a distended abdomen. After a bit of research, I'm wondering if she's calcium deficient. I've never had any problems with egg shells, so I haven't been supplementing their layer feed with calcium, but now I'm thinking that wasn't the...
I'd like to post a duck water station design in the Waterers & Feeders section of the Coops pages, but I was wondering whether I should do all my editing in a Microsoft Word document and then paste to the form when I'm done or whether there is a draft feature in the Create Coop Design window (so...
We picked up this (http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/allied-precision-bucket-utility-de-icer/0000000084936) this afternoon, and I'm hoping it'll work. I was wondering if any of you have used this particular de-icer or one similar? It will be de-icing about 3-5 gallons of water in a 15-gal plastic...
I'm having a great amount of trouble finding niacin locally that is NOT flush-free and will dissolve in water. Does anyone know whether this will work? Or know of another product that you really like?
http://naturalfactors.com/products/detail/4539/vitamin-b3
I've got 3 five-week-old Ancona ducklings and I'd like to add some oats to their Starter (they're on Starter and oatmeal right now, but the oatmeal's too pricey and its protein's higher than I'd like). Our local feed store is out of rolled oats, but I could get a bag of whole oats.
I've heard...
So last time I had ducklings, I just mixed their starter with cracked corn to bring the protein down after they were a few weeks old. They did fine (actually one got angel wing, but I'm still not sure what to blame that on), but I remember having oats recommended in place of the corn, as it's a...
Hello! I was just visiting the Ancona duck breed page in the breed database and the title is "Ancona-350" instead of just "Ancona". Ancona is the proper breed name. Could that be changed somehow?
Thanks a bunch!
One of my Ancona duck hens has laid an egg the last couple days that appears to have either funny calcium deposits or some sort of bug eggs on the egg shell. I'm guessing/hoping it is just calcium deposits, but they are tiny little circular bumps in a single layer in small clumps scattered over...
I just hatched three ducklings from my Anconas, and all three are chocolates. The potential parents are: black drake, lavender drake, chocolate hen, black hen. I am pretty sure that two of the babies are the black hen's ducklings, as they both have a very similar pattern (incorrect for the breed...
One of my Anconas hatched three ducklings yesterday and today. They are adorable! I am hoping to move them out of the partitioned corner of the duck pen (where she's been brooding for the past 4 weeks) to a wire dog crate that will be much more convenient and will give them some more space than...
I have an Ancona duck hen sitting on 12 eggs. She's on day 17, so 11 more to go. All of the eggs she is setting started out fertile, I am pretty sure, but around day 4 or 5 she somehow jumped over the temporary partition in their pen and got stuck for up to several hours on the other side (I...