I have learned that it's nearly impossible for 100%. However, I have found if you put the water container, inside a larger containers, to catch the splash, it helps. My ducklings are 3 weeks old now.
Ducks need constant access to water, as it is how they keep their airholes on the bills from...
@Ridgerunner
Thank you again for your thorough answers. They really give insight. Helps people make better decisions when "all the cards are laid out" so-to-speak. Thank you. I appreciate it.
:thumbsup
Exactly! Since I believe in the sanctity of life, it is hard to let unhatched babies just die a slow death. We were planning on starting to hatch our own chicks from now on in the spring instead of paying big bucks at the stores.
Would it not be a worthwhile investment? Asking a serious...
@Ridgerunner
Thank you for such thorough answers.
We've decided not to move the hen for now. Waiting for eggs to begin hatching.
She is a vicious broody right now. The kind that draws blood. Can't reach under her to check the eggs or remove any. She actually is out of a nesting box and...
Thanks so much for your answers. They all make sense!! I will wait to move her. Maybe her getting off her nest to eat and drink is how she ended up with far more eggs than we remembered. Lol.
This is our second time allowing a broody hen to lay on a clutch of eggs to hatch. It's been almost a year since our last experience.
I'm concerned that she may not be getting off the nest at all to eat or drink. Thoughts?
She's in our main coop, but I'd like to move her and her nest to the...
I just carefully open the door and give them food and water. Mine were in a mesh garden wagon that hubby built a hoop over. My chickens don't like to be handled, so generally they would get as far away from me as possible. Made it a bit easier to put in food and water. I used a regular hanging...
Thank you. Here in my area, many have lost businesses and homes in the last 24 hours due to flooding. Good to know my birds will be ok in all this rain.
I am sorry if I am concerned. :barnie
I have a lot of money, blood, sweat, and tears tied up in this flock. I am also a responsible animal lover who want's to make sure that my animals will be ok. ;)
A good friend of mine had told the story of how him and a friend had soaked a bunch of...
The coop was recently rebuilt to house the chicks, and it only had one main "human access door". The "chicken door" was kept screwed shut, until they got bigger and the weather was warmer. So he hung the light near there, as well as put the food and water there so we could reach it. Since the...
The younger ones stay around it more, but it's also near their feed and water, so hard to say if that's why they are there or not. I turned it off for now, and will see how they do. Over night temps are supposed to hold at high 20s and above this next week.
During the day we get into the high 40s on some days, but at night is when it still gets quite cold. As stated, we have chicks of varing ages. The youngest ones are almost completely feathered out.
We do use caution when using the lamp. It is hanging from the roof, not touching anything, so...
Greetings!
I have 20 chicks that I moved outside into their own small coop and run 2 weeks ago. The chicks vary in age from 4 weeks to 8 weeks.
In the coop they have a heat lamp and a regular light. The regular light, is used to light up the dark coop during the day, and is turned off at...
The enclosure where Mother hen is, is actually a part of the main run that is sectioned off for things like this. It's got a see through fence, so the other chickens have seen them around ever since the chicks were hatched, and some of them have even gotten into her enclosure because they flew...
I have a mother hen who hatched out some chicks about 8 weeks ago. They are in their own enclosure with a small coop that's made from an old shipping crate. My husband thinks they need to be reintroduced back into the main flock ( around 25 hens and a rooster ) because the main flock has a...