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I've had a hard time finding example photos of the comb fault called a thumbprint. For all the show peeps out there, what exactly is a thumbprint comb? Are these examples of it?

Some roosters have no tolerance for hens who do not submit to breeding. If the hens are broody, don't like him, are elderly, or just don't feel like it, that can become a life or death situation for them especially if they have no safe place to escape to. He will drive them from the flock, mate...

Thanks, @Kiki I think the most awesome thing is the 25 year warranty. Wow, will the coop outlive me? :old

Wow, not only do I love that it's made of recycled material it's really cute too! I'd love a little coop like this :love

Hi again, @nicalandia How you must love these genetic soup questions. /s I've been trying to understand the dark face trait that is sometimes referred to as "Gypsy face." My understanding is that it only appears on crow wing bases in the presence of id+. Please correct me if I'm wrong or...

Hi @nicalandia thank you for helping with genetics questions. This question is about recessive white. Base pattern is e+. In some birds, silver and/or mottling may be present. Db may be present. The recessive white chicks come out in two down types. One type is pale yellow, sometimes with a...

The nice thing about grapes is that chickens can't actually destroy the vines and they're perennial. Otherwise, beans, squash, peas, gourds, cucumber all could be options. Kiwis are a perennial vining fruit and there are thornless berries like blackberries and boysenberries too.

I strongly agree with picking one breed and sticking with it, which few seem to do. It takes a lot of pen space to really work with a line over many generations and as some have mentioned, genetic diversity is valuable, so one or two small breeding groups just isn't enough. Continuously...

Good luck with your hatch. How much lower did you set the temp? It's day 21 for me and my hatch was about half complete this morning when I left the house. I feel less anxious when I just let the hens handle it.

Regarding your fear of spoiled eggs, it takes a while for this to happen and my understanding is that you can smell them way before they become a risk of exploding. So if you're concerned, give the eggs a good sniff. In many years of incubating, I've never had a spoiled or exploding egg. Sorry...

I would say friendly, calm and healthy are good traits to help a beginner have a great initial experience

I call this personality type "instinctual." Their wild drives are still strong. They're very productive and hardy but not always the easiest to manage.

Your broody setup adjacent to the coop sounds perfect. I always seperate my hens and have had issues with the eggs when I haven't. First, having to constantly disturb the hen to take unwanted eggs out of her clutch. Then other hens crowding onto the nest daily and some eggs ending up pushed out...

I really want muscovies but don't feel up to the mess and another animal responsibility. The closest I've gotten to my dream is a neighbor who accepted some processed chickens in trade for some live ducks, which I processed the next day. I'd do that trade over and over if I could.

Bresse on it's own is a wonderful table bird and a good layer. Cornish x would make it bigger but less sustainable. I too question what people are referring to as sustainable here. In my flock it means the birds breed naturally and raise their own young year over year. On the bird's part that...

These can be useful tools, but please don't leave them on too long. I'm not sure exactly what is considered the right amount, but a few days to a week? I say this because the plastic parts that go in the nares are abrasive and can cause wounds that become infected. If you check regularly you...

This chicken has no innate fear of people and is a potential danger to anyone who walks in to the coop. She's shown you her agility, her unpredictability, her perceived dominance of you, and her potential to inflict serious injury. Just because her hormones have cooled now doesn't mean they...

Mama hens turn their eggs 96+ times per day. Commercial hatcheries turn 24 times a day. If stacking was a better method, they'd be doing it :rolleyes: I recently read a bunch of studies about optimal egg turning rates and the benefits of turning for the embryo and for hatchability. It made me...

This Morakniv is an excellent butchering knife For actual processing, I prefer what is sometimes referred to as a venting knife like this. It's referred to as a venting knife because it takes a small precise knife to cut around the vent Both of these maintain a very sharp edge, but we always...

I'm kind of glad we aren't in a wetland area where wild birds migrate en masse, but they're still everywhere and hard to avoid. The one thing I'm diligent about is not leaving my feeders out where they'll be attractive to wild birds and I only throw scratch out in amounts I know will be cleaned...