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  1. Drewnkat

    How would you go about dividing this space?

    Hello! Thank you all so much for your thoughtful and helpful replies. A lot to think about. First, I can understand why it might look like the run is separated into three 8-foot sections, but it is actually four 6-foot sections, so there is not a good structural way to make 8-foot sections...
  2. Drewnkat

    How would you go about dividing this space?

    This is my most recently completed "coop/run" space. I have a solidly built wood coop with a hardware cloth enclosed run where my main flock lives. They free range in the yard all day. This space is where I would like to set up some breeding pens and work on breeding projects. The overall size...
  3. Drewnkat

    Weird Chick development

    Today I candled my batch of eggs in preparation for lockdown tomorrow. Found a couple clears I missed, so that was disappointing. I also found one that upon candling had the "blood ring" look, the air cell end was OK, but the opposite end was clear, so I figured I had a quitter. I put it in a...
  4. Drewnkat

    Convince my husband the hens are not past their expiry date!

    Thanks, I appreciate the support and camaraderie of this board. We got two more large eggs this morning from the adult hens, and five from the young ones. I'm kinda hoping in a few weeks we end up with so many eggs, hubby is begging me to do something to clear out space in the fridge!
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  6. Drewnkat

    Convince my husband the hens are not past their expiry date!

    WE HAVE EGGS! This morning I checked the adult hens coop, and there were TWO extra-large brown eggs. These babies are larger than anything from last year, and I'm guessing this year their eggs will all be super-sized. Things I did: Put up a small string of LED lights with a solar panel...
  7. Drewnkat

    Sexing eggs!

    Of course, if your EE hens were bred to a Rhode Island RED rooster, almost all the chicks with grow red feathers. The good thing about EEs is the girls tend to have hardly any comb, so if the bird has a comb of any sort by 6 weeks, it's 90% likely to be a roo. Even now as they're starting to...
  8. Drewnkat

    Convince my husband the hens are not past their expiry date!

    Thanks all. We had fabulous success with incubating this spring, seriously, 95% hatch rate is beyond my wildest dreams good. Apparently our girls like to lay boy-eggs, thus the extra roosters out back eating like piggies, they get free-range time but they still like to eat. We got fewer girls...
  9. Drewnkat

    Convince my husband the hens are not past their expiry date!

    So I have this problem. Last year, I ordered my first chickens, they arrived first week of June, aww, so cute, etc. etc. October arrives, we start to get a few tiny wee eggs, so far so good. Spring and summer are glorious, eggs all over the place. Brown ones, Blue ones, Green ones. Fall...
  10. Drewnkat

    How to know if your humidity's high

    Do you have a calibrated hygrometer in your incubator to tell you the humidity level? That's one important element. At day 7, you can candle the eggs with a bright flashlight, and see if the air cells are at a good size for that stage of incubation. If they're too large, you need more...
  11. Drewnkat

    What actually is the BEST humidity?

    x2 No ONE humidity level is going to be the perfect method for every situation. You have to monitor how your eggs are doing, and adjust to their needs. I have some eggs that have extremely thick shells, and are impossible to candle due to the pigment (green shells, not marans). They do...
  12. Drewnkat

    How to hatch eggs without an electric incubator

    It seems like for the initial startup, it might be more effective to ship hatched chicks, which could then be raised and used to brood more chickens for the flock. The cost of shipping day-old chicks has GOT to be less trouble than rigging up an incubator that doesn't use electricity, and...
  13. Drewnkat

    Two week old chick has bluish grey feet

    My Easter Egger girls have had legs that color since they were babies. Unless there is some other cause for concern, chalk it up to "chickens come with many different leg colors." I did notice you said it's acting tired, but then it CAN be normal for one chick to be less hyper than the other...
  14. Drewnkat

    Hovabator and humidity question.

    Since you are incubating Marans eggs, and those tend to have thick, non-porous shells, I would shoot for 30-35% humidity for day 1-7. If the air cells look good at that point, stick with 30-35% until day 14. If the air cells are not developed enough, go down a bit, 25-30% humidity. If they are...
  15. Drewnkat

    when to shut off the heat lamp?

    Depending on what your chicks are doing, they may not need it. Mine are going on 5 weeks, and they've been off the heat lamp since 3 weeks old. But, I live in GA, they are in a non-drafty room, and they were hanging out in the opposite end from the heat lamp, staying as far away from it as...
  16. Drewnkat

    Chicken Jousting??

    Yep, pecking order stuff, normal juvenile horseplay. I've watched my chicks jump up on top of something (usually the feeder) and take stock, waiting for just the right moment so when they hop down they knock as many siblings over as possible. They will often run headlong down the length of...
  17. Drewnkat

    Is my RIR a roo

    The view of the one in the back doesn't give a clear comparison of the comb, but what little I can see doesn't look much redder than the one in front. Now, 5 weeks is pretty young to say with certainty, but as of right now, the legs do not look thicker, and the comb doesn't look all that red.
  18. Drewnkat

    Problem candling blue eggs

    You really cannot see much inside blue or green eggs, especially if the momma hens are healthy and make nice thick-shelled eggs. I know, my 2 EE girls' eggs are nearly impossible to candle. I consider myself lucky I can kinda figure out where the air cells are. Even so, they've had 100%...
  19. Drewnkat

    Hovabator and humidity question.

    Yeah candling eggs with dark shells is hard, but usually if you get a good angle on it, you can at least tell where the air cell is. A good hygrometer is well worth it. And it doesn't have to break the bank. I got a cheap one off Amazon for about ten bucks. I checked the calibration by...
  20. Drewnkat

    Do any of you know any yummy and nutritious snacks to feed my chickens that they will go crazy about

    My chickens like: Wild strawberries - you know the kind that are tiny, mostly seeds, and taste like disappointment? Chicks go nuts for em. It's hilarious if you hold one just out of reach and watch to see who jumps highest and nabs it first. On a slightly sweeter note, the rooster adores wild...
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