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  1. mhschafer

    Newbie Humidity Question

    Hi to all who commented on my thread asking about humidity. I followed your advice and raised the humidity. I did this with wet sponges, and it almost immediately doubled the humidity. We had our very first hatch last week. Out of 28 eggs, 17 hatched. So I guess for absolute newbies that wasn't...
  2. mhschafer

    SURPRISE CHICKS

    We had a surprise batch of chicks 10 days ago. It is getting into the 20s at night here. They have been fine. Mama keeps them warm and protects them from the other chickens. We did lose one--I think to our barn cat.
  3. mhschafer

    Newbie Humidity Question

    Thanks everyone. It's about 44%, and I"ve read it should be about 70% for hatching. I'll add some water and maybe a sponge.
  4. mhschafer

    Newbie Humidity Question

    Hi, we are first-timer incubators!! Day 21 is tomorrow and the incubator is on "lock down". However--according to the hygrometer, the humidity is too low. Which is more important: keeping the incubator closed at this point? Or adding some more water? Everything I read says humidity is key to a...
  5. mhschafer

    recieved mail order chicks today

    I usually give our shipped chicks some hard boiled egg yolk, crumbled up on a paper towel, as their "first meal." It seems to give them energy.
  6. mhschafer

    Surprise Chicks

    I am not sure she can get them up the ramp? Also I am a little concerned if the other hens will harm the chicks? What about putting mama and babies in a large dog crate and putting the crate in the coop? At least until they get to know each other?
  7. mhschafer

    Surprise Chicks

    Hi. For about 4 years we have bought day old chicks and broods them. This year we did straight run and raised the cockerels to 6 months. Two weeks ago they were processed for meat. Today we discovered one of our pullets leading around 10 chicks! We have never had a hen hatch chicks. We are in...
  8. mhschafer

    Murry McMurray, Delawares, and meat bird quality

    We ordered Delawares straight run from Cackle Hatchery last spring. We just had the cockerels processed (at 6 months). I'm pretty sure they'll need long, slow cooking since they're so old--but they reached a nice size. We had intended to process earlier, but life got in the way. The hens are...
  9. mhschafer

    Dominique Thread!

    Hi, I've been researching about Dominiques and am impressed what I hear of their economical eating, foraging, ability to raise young, etc. I was wondering if you could clarify a couple of quesitons for me that I haven't been able to find a clear answer to. (1) Regarding using Dominiques for...
  10. mhschafer

    Chick with Injured Leg

    Thank you for your response. No, we didn't notice any problem with the chick before yesterday, and they are two weeks old.
  11. mhschafer

    Chick with Injured Leg

    Thank you for your response to my question about the chick. No, she is unable to stand up on her own, though he can navigate by scooting around as her other leg seems fine.
  12. mhschafer

    Chick with Injured Leg

    Hi, I asked this on another thread but only got one response. Was hoping for some more insight. We have a two week old chick with an injured leg. Some of our chicks this year are HUGE--as in twice as large as the others--and I think this little one was injured by one of the bigger ones. It...
  13. mhschafer

    Chick with Injured Leg

    We have some chicks that are two weeks old. This afternoon we noticed that one chick's leg appears to be injured. I'm attaching a photo (attempting to!). The affected life is to the left on the picture. Could anyone give me an opinion as to what is the problem here--splayed leg? broken...
  14. mhschafer

    Welsummers: Light or Heavy Breed?

    Hello, We just purchased some day-old Welsummer pullets for my daughter's 4-H project. I was wondering how Welsummers are classified--as a light or heavy breed? I've seen contradictory things on the Internet. I need to know so we know what class to enter the pullets in for 4-H. Thanks!
  15. mhschafer

    Heritage Hens as Meat Birds?

    Thanks for your thoughts, Chucknbob. Delaware cockerels it is!!! We had already decided to buy some Delaware pullets, and we added some cockerels to our order! From your comment and my reading, it seems they are earlier maturing than some dual purpose breeds. I appreciate your taking time to...
  16. mhschafer

    Heritage Hens as Meat Birds?

    Hi--We've been raising laying hens for two years now. We have hens only (order day old chicks) because my husband doesn't want to deal with a rooster. We have Barred Rocks, RI Reds, Black Australorps, and Speckled Sussex. We are ordering chicks now and want to order some specifically for meat...
  17. mhschafer

    Drastic Dropoff in Egg Production

    Hello, We are relatively new to chickens. We've had our hens for a little over a year (they were born in April of 2011), and they have been good layers since late August/early September 2011 (so for almost 9 months). They are Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. This past week, our egg...
  18. mhschafer

    Temperature of Room Brooder is In

    Hi, I've read that the brooder itself should be kept 90-100 the first day for the baby chicks. But how about the room the brooder is in? Last year we kept our chicks in our basement, which is heated. This year, because we now have an indoor cat, we're keeping them in a little outbuilding...
  19. mhschafer

    When is grit absolutely necessary?

    Thanks!
  20. mhschafer

    When is grit absolutely necessary?

    My farm store doesn't keep "chick grit." Could I use the grit for parakeets or canaries or finches at the pet store? I'm not sure how big chick grit is, as I've not seen it. The grit we use for our big chickens would be way too big
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