When is the optimal time to introduce chicks? My BA has just turned up broody and I have 6 Cuckoo Marans coming next Wednesday. I would like to have Kiwi raise the chicks instead of dragging out the heat lamp. The chicks will 1-2 days old. She raised chicks lat year from eggs that she hatched...
10/23. 12are In one stage or another of molting. The other 11 are 6month old pullets with no lighting as of yet. I do not plan to light the other coop this and give the big girls a break They are all 18 months and have been laying like maniacs for a year.
OK, here is the question.
I Have a Black Australorp hen that went broody last May. I gave her 5 eggs and she hatched and raised 3 chicks. The other 2eggs never hatched. she did not go broody again all summer. Is there any likely chance that she will go broody again next spring or should I ask...
7/12 from my mixed layer flock that is getting ready to start molting, and 2/16 from my 4 month old Blue and Black Copper Marans and Olive Eggers that are just starting to lay.
OK, here's my question. I have four Olive Eggers pullets that a breeder snuck in on me when I thought I was buying purebred Marans. They have just started laying, and today. I saw one of the Olive Eggers in the process of laying an egg. It is brown and approximately a 2.5 on my Marans egg...
I have a Black Australorp hen that went broody and I had just acquired a Golden Cuckoo Marans Roo and since the hen was being broody anyway, I decided to let her hatch a few eggs. The Chicks are now about a month old and mostly feathered. It appears that my hen (Kiwi) now wants to get away...
My question is about feeding and watering a broody hen. I have a Black Australorp hen that I have allowed to have some eggs. The first one hatched yesterday (05/29/14). I have not seen any evidence of the hen leaving the nest to eat, drink or relieve herself. is this something to worry about or...
I got a Golden Cuckoo Marans Roo 4days ago. One of my Light Brahma hens seems to want to be broody and I would like to try raising a few chicks. My question is should I wait longer to let Big Bird (hen) to allow her to start brooding eggs or would they be fertilized now? I know the chicks will...
I also get speckled eggs. Some have dark brown speckles and another is laying brown eggs with white speckles. Don't know who is laying what due to my work schedule I cn't be home when they are laying in the mornings. I have BA, SLW, RIR, LB, GSL, and BSL. Any ideas as to who might be laying what?
I occasionally give my girls a little alfalfa as a treat. They love it! I have horses so alfalfa is a staple at our place. I just try not to over do it as with any other treats. I also change up the treats regularly so they don't get bored with them.
Does anyone have any thoughts to share on keeping the birds water from freezing. Right now I have a heat lamp about 6 feet over the water fount, but just dropped it down to about 3 feet tonight. It's supposed to get down to 18 degrees tonight so I'm worried it still might freeze. It was 24 last...
Mine have to be confined to a run due to numerous predators in the area. I give them their treats when I get home from work around noon. I have to be at work before THEY get up. They get downright crabby if I don't bring some kind of treat when I get home. I made a deal with them...give me eggs...
My BSLs are very sweet, love to talk and lay very nice brown eggs. My largest one (Eggony) is my favorite in this flock. She loves to talk and follows me around yakking all the time. Not a mean feather on them. Very sweet, and I won't hesitate to get more in the future. They also get along fine...
I have 2 GSL that are very sweet, communicative with me and also low in the peck order. I have never seen them be aggressive with the other birds that include 4 LB, 3 RIR, 2 BSL, 2 SLW, 2 BSL and 2 BA. I got them from Dunlap Hatchery in Caldwell, ID.
My other reason for having chickens is entertainment and also to fix my numerous panic attacks. I can go out to the hen house and sit down on the floor and talk to my birds and pretty soon I'm smiling and laughing. They are hilarious to watch and fun to talk to in their language. I have a BSL...
Some of my young pullets started laying about 2 weeks ago. I had my nest boxes bedded with pine shavings which I also have on the floor for litter. They have been laying outside in the run.
I have fake eggs in the nest boxes and also added straw on top of the shavings, but they so far have...