I have a broody hen in an elevated nesting box. She is sitting on one egg now and I intend to add others I was planning to incubate to her "stash." A couple of questions. I am concerned the chicks will fall out of the nesting box after hatching so am wondering if I can relocate her and the...
Somewhere within the mounds of information I have been researching about hatching I read about hatching baskets. Apparently the are used to keep like eggs together during the hatch. In my case it would be dividing by the hens that laid them. Is there such a thing as hatching baskets, how are...
I have perused some of the comments and helpful information about how to treat splayed legs. We have two chicks that hatched within the last two days and both need to be treated. We have successfully taped their legs into position. However, when they start to walk the fall over and roll on...
Hello everyone, my name is Dianna. We have a small flock (6)of laying hens, 4 RIR (hopefully pullets) 8 weeks old, and 2 barnyard mix roosters. We also have a trio (rooster and two hens) of RIR bantams and a breeding pair of Double Silver Laced Barnevelder bantams. I have a background in...
I am a newbie and this is my first hatch. In pictures of newly hatched chicks I have not seen blood. There is no more fresh blood. Not that I can do anything about it, just wondering if this is normal. Also, how soon should I expect the chick to be strong enough to stand instead of flopping.
From raising livestock, I understand the difference between phenotype and genotype. How does one go about researching genotype in chickens for purposes of breeding decisions? For example how do I know a chicken is genetically what the phenotype presents?
We have raised alpacas since 2005. We also have livestock guardian dogs. We are looking forward to learning about how to select, raise and keep healthy chickens for egg production.
We have friends who are members of BYC. We have heard how valuable the information is that BYC provides. We...