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  1. ZooAtHome

    Newly hatched chick weak and shaky

    I had to assist a chick hatching yesterday, after incubating under a broody hen. I successfully got him out of the shell, but he was very weak and shaky. I put him under mama with the two chicks that hatched on their own and hoped for the best. This morning when I checked on them, he was...
  2. ZooAtHome

    Question regarding barred genetics and chick color

    Gave my broody pullet four eggs on Halloween. This morning I discovered two chicks had hatched during the night. One mom is an Easter Egger that lays blue eggs, the other an Olive Egger. Fathers are either Black Copper Marans cross or Crested Cream Legbar cross. What I'm wondering is, if the...
  3. ZooAtHome

    Took a few tries, but once she got it right ... WOW!

    Technically, her fourth egg. First three were laid while roosting and cracked when they hit the coop floor. Two of them got stepped on and crushed. All three were tiny and really pale, almost white. One had a soft shell. But this one was totally worth the wait. Perfect in every way! :celebrate...
  4. ZooAtHome

    Injured Beak

    While I was herding the chickens back into their run, Marjoram got caught behind the gate and panicked. After I got them inside, I noticed she had injured her beak. At first, I thought she broke it, but upon closer inspection, it seems just the top layer of keratin is knocked loose. There is a...
  5. ZooAtHome

    Red vs Mahogany vs Copper

    I'm fairly new to the chicken world and haven't done any breeding yet, but I've been reading up on breed descriptions and standards of perfection. A few times now, I've come across phrases like "true red, not mahogany" or "no mahogany leakage" or "lustrous deep copper, no mahogany". Thing is, I...
  6. ZooAtHome

    Do pullets' voices change or is this a sign of a problem?

    First time chicken owner. I have a 10-wk-old Easter Egger pullet (yes, I'm 95% sure she is female, won't be 100% until I see that first egg) who is very vocal and has been "beeping" at me since she was tiny. Yesterday, her "beep" sounded more like a "honk" ... deeper and squeakier. Occasionally...
  7. ZooAtHome

    Electrolytes on hot days?

    This is chicken year number one for me, so I still have so much to learn. My 10 girls and 2 boys have been outside for almost a month and we just had our first really hot (for us) day, in the mid-nineties. (Last week I was still wearing wool socks and a hoodie.) It was warm enough to make the...
  8. ZooAtHome

    OMG ... It's raining!?!

    Chicks first rain since going out to the coop three days ago. They are pretty sure the world is ending. :lau I went out and talked to them, which brought them out of the corner. Closed the window and door. Cuddled the ones that like to be cuddled. Offered some treats. They now feel much...
  9. ZooAtHome

    Today is the day!

    My twelve chicks now range from 6-8 weeks old. They have been off heat for at least a couple weeks now and even the two youngest are fully feathered. They are also getting crowded in the brooder that looked so huge (4'x4'x2') when I got them back in April. Weather is looking good for the next...
  10. ZooAtHome

    Marans Mystery

    I purchased two "Dominant Copper" chicks from a farm store back in April. Store said they got them from Jenks Hatchery. They are supposed to be a cross between a Black Copper Marans rooster and a Barred Rock hen. This cross should have resulted in sex linked chicks with the males having white...
  11. ZooAtHome

    How long do you restrict chicks to their new coop?

    Finishing up the run on the chicken coop, so my 5-7 week old chicks will be moving outside very soon. I have heard that it is a good idea to restrict them to the coop to give them time to get used to it and realize it is their new home. How long do most of you do that for? A couple of days? A...
  12. ZooAtHome

    Black Copper Marans/Barred Rock Sexing Question

    I got two little Dominant Copper chicks about a month ago. They are supposed to be from a Black Copper Marans rooster crossed with a Barred Rock hen, giving offspring which are color sexable at hatch. As I understand it, cockerels should have a white dot on their heads, pullets will not...
  13. ZooAtHome

    Easter Egger ... Pullet or Cockerel?

    I've been trying to resist asking this yet, because Nutmeg is only 4-ish weeks old and I know that is very early to determine sex. I also understand that Easter Eggers can be difficult because of all the variations in coloring. She came from an Easter Egger pullet bin, but I do realize that vent...
  14. ZooAtHome

    Electrolytes and Vitamins

    Got my first chicks a little over a week ago. Offered only water with electrolytes and vitamins for the first day. Since then, I've kept two waterers, one with electrolytes and vitamins, one just plain water. Both are cleaned and refilled daily. Chicks appear to drink from both without...
  15. ZooAtHome

    Clarification on scratch

    I'm very new to raising chickens. I did research for over a year before I got my first chicks a little over a week ago. I've tried hard to educate myself as well as possible to avoid any obvious pitfalls, but I am still fuzzy on some of the lingo. Today's question is: What exactly qualifies as...
  16. ZooAtHome

    How soon can I add a dust bath?

    I have chicks that range, I think, from about 1 1/2 to 3 weeks. I'm using pine pellets in the brooder and they are digging down to the dust so they can bathe. I want to give them some dirt from their future run mixed with a little wood ash from our pellet stove, maybe even include a dandelion...
  17. ZooAtHome

    Finally got my first fluff-butts and I love them!

    I had originally placed an online order with a hatchery, but couldn't get the varieties I wanted until early June and even then I couldn't get them all. Yesterday, I found most of what I wanted at a local store, so I cancelled the existing order and brought these little ladies home with me...
  18. ZooAtHome

    Getting my first chickens

    Hello! I'm in the process of building my first coop and run for my very first egg-layers. I'm so excited and eagerly gobbling up any and all info I can find on the subject. Really looking forward to talking chickens with other folks, especially those with some experience to share. Thanks for...
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