I have/had 2 broody hens sitting on eggs. One of the hens is having a staggered hatch (actually both probably will). Her first 4 chicks hatched out and she lost interest in sitting on the others. I moved a couple underneath my other broody hen, then moved the rest to my incubator. I had 4 that...
A few weeks ago, one of our hens was persistently brooder, so I thought, "Why not? I'll just let her sit on a couple of eggs." About a week later, hubby checked under her and saw that the "couple of eggs' were now 6 eggs, only 1 of which belonging to her (she is a Marans). A few days later...
Out in the run earlier, I noticed that one of the hens has a swollen, purple and red mass just below her ear. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be? Some sort of gland that is abscessed?
My pullets head are getting bald and raw and a couple of them have had torn combs lately. I'm pretty sure it is from the roos beaks when mating with them. Is there anything I can do to stop this (other than getting rid of all my roos?) Is this common?
A couple of weeks ago, we got 2 new hens (maybe 3 weeks now?). The person I got them from said that 1 was laying an egg a day and the other an egg every other day. No eggs for the first several days - ok, I expected that - but since then, we've gotten at most 1 egg every 2 or 3 days.
So, what...
I have seen several different recs for incubation temp. My LG still air instruction book says to keep it at 99.5, I've seen it often recommended on here to stay right around 100, my SIL swears by 102, and this site recs 102 as well (and also says that variations as little as 1 degree can have a...
I have an LG still air and had a thought about turning the eggs. So that I avoid the temp fluctuations from removing the lid several times a day, could I just use the bottom of a cardboard egg carton to put the eggs in, then tilt the whole incubator in different directions a few times a day...
We just got an LG still air - yes, I know, I know, it is a "murderbator" - we're planning on altering it to make it more reliable. But it was a really good deal and I couldn't pass it up. I have it plugged in, trying to check the temp levels. It has the little glass thermometer that it came...
We just got 6 chicks that around 4 weeks old. Man, are they ever afraid of us! When I pick one up it completely freaks out and struggles to get away from me. They just do not settle down. Is it too late to get them used to being picked up by humans? Any advice on convincing them that I'm their...
Looking through old threads, it seems several people have experienced smaller eggs in the winter. I saw several people suggesting molting - there is no way that my girls would molt in this cold weather, would they?
Our eggs have gone from med-large to TINY. At first, it was just a few a week...
Our current set up:
We have 4 Roosters - 1 BR, 1 BO, and 2 Mutts. The mutt boys got tired of being picked on by the dominant roo, the BO, and pretty much entirely free range. They hang around the yard and don't go in the coop at all anymore. The BR gets chased off by the BO once I let them out...
Anybody read this or heard of this before?
http://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-farming/buying-fertilized-chicken-eggs-zmaz74zhol.aspx
I wonder how accurate it is? Very interesting idea! Couldn't hurt to try it out (unless the article had it all reversed and you ended up with nothing...
Man, my BOs just have issues! I have one pitiful little pullet - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=8189125#p8189125 - and one that seems healthy. But, I was just out there and the "healthy" one has runny black poop all over her bottom feathers!
I don't have a clue...
I have 4 "mutts" that I adore! But, I don't have a clue what mixes they could be. we got them at about a month old from a guy that DH used to work with and he didn't remember what they were. I *think* he had only one rooster that DH said is HUGE and white maybe (?) but I don't know how many...
One of our BO pullet/hens (when do they really go from being a pullet to being a hen?) doesn't seem to be doing well. She is much smaller than her "sister" (not sure about relation) who was the same size as her a couple of months ago. I think she is losing weight but DH thinks she is just not...
I'm contemplating getting some 2-week old chicks. I can make a brooder for them with a pack-n-play lined with a shower curtain and a heat lamp, but how long would 6 chicks fit in there? I've never raised chicks inside before. I don't have anywhere to put them outside and wouldn't feel...
I've searched through a few threads on here and I'm still not sure what to do. One of my pullets has a tear at the bottom of the back of her comb that is dangling and bleeding a bit. I've seen suggestions ranging from leaving her alone and letting it heal on it's on, cutting it off, putting...
We got our first eggs 5 days ago. There has been an egg every day since then. The first 3 days, the eggs were a very pale creamy, very slightly pink color. The past 2 days, they have been a light brown with a slight pink tint, kind of like many of the store bought eggs we've gotten. Is it...
We've been waiting for weeks for our first egg, based on how my pullets were looking. Every afternoon, I would hear what I thought was the egg song. I'ld go look around and find . . nothing. I was sure that they were just hiding their eggs from me until one day I snuck up on them while I heard...