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  1. Ridgerunner

    Need advice!! Allowing hen to hatch chicks (our first time doing so), and have location questions

    First, the chicks. Before they hatch they absorb the yolk. They can live off of that yolk for 72 hours or more without eating or drinking. You do not have to put food or drink in with them. The hen. Before she even started laying eggs she stored excess fat. I've butchered pullets, hens...
  2. Ridgerunner

    Who to integrate

    When I raise cockerels and pullets in a flock with a dominant rooster and mature hens I get different results. 1. Everything may remain really peaceful. No drama between the cockerels and the hens or the rooster. Usually the boys will try to mate the pullets when the boys hit puberty which...
  3. Ridgerunner

    Best practices for ethical meat birds raising

    What do you want from a meat bird? Some people are all about quantity. Some are really interested in cost per pound of meat. Some like to be able to delay butchering. Some want to breed and hatch their own. If you pluck feather color may be important, if you skin it's not. How important to...
  4. Ridgerunner

    Feed

    When I first got my dogs I asked the vet which feed to get. He said that any age appropriate feed from a major brand is OK. I apply that philosophy to chicken feed. Look at the analysis, not the ingredients. The analysis tells you what nutrients are in it, ingredients do not. As long as the...
  5. Ridgerunner

    Plywood brooding box (help)

    Welcome to the forum! Glad you joined! From looking at that newspaper I'll guess Sweden. A brooder needs food, water, predator protection, ventilation, and a warm spot. There are different ways to do any of these. To reduce trash in them, raise the food and water to the height of their...
  6. Ridgerunner

    Small non-meat breeds - getting what I can, efficiently

    We all have different experiences. That's why you can get so much conflicting advice, chickens are not consistent. Neither are people.
  7. Ridgerunner

    Semi-broody??

    Is she laying eggs while in there? I had a Speckled Sussex like that. Most of my hens are quite happy to share a nest box by laying but that Speckled Sussex would not share a nest. Most of my hens lay an egg around a half hour after being in the nest but that SS took about three hours. No...
  8. Ridgerunner

    To kill a hen or to not kill a hen, that's the question...

    Why would you want to pass her off to someone else. You sound like someone that will own up to their responsibilities. If you look through the "meat bird" section of this forum you can find details on a lot of different ways to kill one for butcher. The main thing is to find a way that you...
  9. Ridgerunner

    At what age do hens Stop laying?

    You can usually tell what a group will do but you can't predict an individual. You are talking about an individual. In general a flock will lay very well their first two laying seasons but after that second adult molt laying drops. It continues to drop after each successive adult molt. But...
  10. Ridgerunner

    Meat Bird+ Project: Delaware/New Hampshire/Barred Rock

    Congratulations, an excellent place to be. And yes, you will need to stay busy. I strongly agree. Ruthlessly select for your goals. Not sure what you hope to gain by doing this? I could see a gain in egg production but no other advantages as they are hatchery stock. Sex links are only in...
  11. Ridgerunner

    Small non-meat breeds - getting what I can, efficiently

    Do you know why they say this? Is it noise, behaviors, or the meat starts changing texture and flavor? Where I live the noise is not an issue as far as neighbors go. My next-door neighbor, about a 1/4 mile away, says he likes to hear them crow. The sound does carry that far in the country...
  12. Ridgerunner

    Broody Hen - Dog Crate floor?

    Bumblefoot is an infection. She gets a cut or splinter in her foot which gets infected. Carefully rub your hand on that wire. Is something going to cut her foot? That way you can determine the risk of that wire floor causing bumblefoot. As you may guess, I do not put any covering on the...
  13. Ridgerunner

    Small non-meat breeds - getting what I can, efficiently

    We all have our own goals, desires, and preferences. Some people on this forum aren't happy unless they can feed an army with one bird, I can get two meals out of a small pullet. Some people do as you mentioned, just cut out the breast and legs and toss the rest away. Easy and quick. When I...
  14. Ridgerunner

    Broody trying to kill babies!!

    I think part of the problem was that you were messing with her instead of leaving her alone. It sounds like her eggs had not yet hatched. I think by moving her and her eggs around you really confused her. I understand you did not know better but next time do not get overly excited and leave...
  15. Ridgerunner

    More than doubling flock size

    Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined! Until my chicks mature enough to start laying they form a sub-flock. They avoid the adults. If they get too close to the adults they are likely to get pecked so it usually doesn't take them long to learn to avoid them. During the day mine have...
  16. Ridgerunner

    Jersey Giant Growth

    Before they start to lay pullets and hens store excess fat, especially in the pelvic region. This excess fat is what they mostly live off of if they go broody. That way they can mostly stay on the nest instead of needing to go look for food and water. So, yes, a huge difference in the amount...
  17. Ridgerunner

    Hatching 😀

    I'm not an expert on this, not sure who to reference. I'd give it some time, probably a day, to see if it straightens out after a long hatch. If not search for how to splint it toes. Hopefully someone better will see this and respond.
  18. Ridgerunner

    Egg hatched 8 hrs ago, not walking yet

    Another option instead of getting more chicks is to put a small mirror in with her. Her reflection might work to keep her company. 72 hours after she hatched is when you need to start worrying about food and water. Until then she can live off of the absorbed yolk.
  19. Ridgerunner

    Integration; phase one complete . . .what's next?

    Your overall plan is solid. My concern with integration is always space. Your "safe haven" plan can certainly help with that. Hopefully it is enough. When a chicken is trying to kill another chicken they usually try to peck the head to drill a hole through to the brain. If one is trapped in...
  20. Ridgerunner

    Hatching 😀

    Before the egg hatches, the chick absorbs the yolk. It can live off of that yolk without eating or drinking for 72 hours or more. Nature did that so the early hatchers can wait on the later ones without Mama abandoning the nest and taking them off to eat and drink. I've had some hatches...
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