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  1. Ridgerunner

    Chicks Dying

    They seem really young for it to be disease related. I'd be concerned with some type of poisoning. I assume the other chicks are fine. A broody hen's comb should be paler than normal. When they quit laying the comb is supposed to go pale so a rooster is no longer interested in mating with...
  2. Ridgerunner

    Help me Chill Out about my new chicks.

    The ideal brooder has a warm enough spot and other areas that are cooler. How much cooler isn't important as long as it is cool enough for them to not stress in the heat. Sometimes parts of my brooder are below freezing but it has a warm enough spot. 91 F works for a warm enough spot...
  3. Ridgerunner

    First Time Candling, I'm Not Sure If I did It Correctly

    Yeah, you want to say "1" when you put them in but what you are counting are days of incubation You do not have a day's incubation until the day after you put them in. An easy way to check your counting is the day of the week you start them is the day of the week the 21 days are up. Since you...
  4. Ridgerunner

    Integrating RTL with Pullets

    Size has nothing to do with it. People integrate bantams with full sized fowl all of the time. Maturity, personality, and how much room you have are the important things. And you are dealing with pullets, whether they are laying or not is also huge in relationships. You get no guarantees...
  5. Ridgerunner

    Open Air Run/Coop Space

    Coop space and run spaced are human concepts, not chicken concepts. Chickens really don't care about that, but some humans do. The chickens care about having enough room somewhere when they need room, they don't care where it comes from. You can see some of my thoughts on space by following...
  6. Ridgerunner

    Integrating chicks, some with broody some without

    I don't know enough about your set-up to be able to give specific advice. Not just the size of the coop and the run but how things are set up, like feeders, waterers, roosts ,and nests. So I'll try to be more "general" as opposed to specific. And I'll put my usual disclaimer, when you are...
  7. Ridgerunner

    Scratch & Peck vs. Kalmbach

    We all have our own opinions on what we eat and what we feed our animals. Organic and Non-GMO can be a couple of lightning rods. Some people really hate corn or soy, some don't. I'm not going to try to tell you what you should do. This kind of stuff is up to you. For some people...
  8. Ridgerunner

    Help me Chill Out about my new chicks.

    Calm you down? Where is the fun in that? So for a no-fun Saturday. If your heat lamp is securely fastened so it can't fall it is highly unlikely to cause a fire. As long as the chicks can get to a cooler spot if they need it they will not overheat. People have been using heat lamps to raise...
  9. Ridgerunner

    I need some good broody hen breeds

    Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined! I agree that breed isn't that important, line is. What that means is that if a hen has gone broody before, she is likely to go broody again. If the hen that laid the egg a pullet hatched from has gone broody at some time the pullet has a decent...
  10. Ridgerunner

    Hog feed for eggs?

    If hog feed is better for egg production why don't commercial egg farmers use hog feed instead of special feeds blended for their chickens and egg laying? Think about that. Hogs need different nutritional requirements based on growth stage: starter pigs, grower, and finisher so which phase are...
  11. Ridgerunner

    toe nails

    Dirt. That's what they naturally use. A lot of people keep them in coops and runs with bedding so they really don't have anything abrasive to scratch. You can try putting a concrete pad or such in the run but I really would not expect them to stand around giving themselves a manicure. In...
  12. Ridgerunner

    Where is my egg?

    It looks like all that is left are a few tiny bits of shell. Almost all of the shell is gone. The yolk is totally gone but some of the whites are left. I find it interesting that there is no sign of the yolk but a fair amount of whites are left. I can't think of any wild critter that would...
  13. Ridgerunner

    Egg shell color change.

    When I have an issue I try to determine if it is a flockwide issue or if it is only a single chicken issue. I don't want to mess up the flock by changing something that is a single hen issue. If the other eggs are fine I would not change anything you are doing for them. With brown egg layers...
  14. Ridgerunner

    First Time Candling, I'm Not Sure If I did It Correctly

    Neither one were calibrated so you don't know which is more correct. I use a medical thermometer that is calibrated in the temperature range we are using to calibrate. But either temperature will work, they are close enough. If the lower one is correct then they may hatch a bit late but not...
  15. Ridgerunner

    Chick hatching, large eggs taking longer

    Thanks for that precise information, it really helps. So they hatched at exactly 21 days. That's not as common as many people think. The other two eggs are only a day late. I'd wait until late Saturday or Sunday before I gave up but I would give up then. If the incubator starts to stink...
  16. Ridgerunner

    Choosing chicks

    I'll copy a link to a thread discussing sex links. The first post is a description on how it works and how the parents have to be set up genetically for it to work. The post discussed Red Sex Links, Black Sex Links, and sex-linked feather sexing. It was written by a professional that worked...
  17. Ridgerunner

    Twins?

    If it is a twin it is a double yolker. Those are generally going to be huge compared to the other eggs so highly unlikely it is a twin. If it is a twin you may need to assist with the hatch but I'd wait at least 36 hours after pip to even consider that. Maybe even longer. It is extremely...
  18. Ridgerunner

    First Time Candling, I'm Not Sure If I did It Correctly

    I also think you did fine. Keeping the eggs clean is important, you did a better job of that than I normally do. I wash my hands, don't worry about gloves. I do use something clean to lay them on. Your time out of the incubator was not close to excessive. The eggs will not cool off enough...
  19. Ridgerunner

    Chick hatching, large eggs taking longer

    To me, the float test on incubated eggs is an extreme measure only taken if you are ready to toss out the eggs and need that last check before you can stand to toss them. As long as they are not cracked or pipped they are not going to drown but it is not something I'd do unless I just could not...
  20. Ridgerunner

    Young hen staying in coop

    So still kind of immature. Think of a teenaged girl, not quite a woman but not still a kid. Some don't always know where they fit into society so they can act awkwardly. My goal in integration is that no one gets hurt. Is she getting injured or hurt in any way? Is she eating and drinking...
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