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It's my first time hatching. I had some good day 7-8 movement on my eggs. Now it's day 16 and for the past few days I've candled, I've noticed only slight wavy, floating movement. Nothing strong and chick-like. It seems the mass inside the egg is maybe just a large bloodring now? Sorry, I...

I have 2 RIR who have been laying since October. Every SINGLE day!! I'm so happy with them but we had quite a surprise and I wondered if it was just a fluke or if this happens sometimes.... Gathered 2 eggs at about 9am. Heard LOTS of sqwaking around 10pm so hubby went out to check. TWO more...

I made a DIY bator and this is my first time using it. I tested it and it was holding steady right at 100 degrees for several days. Now that I'm actually incubating, it's reading higher pretty consistently. I'm on day 4 right now and the temp in my still air has been 101-105 for the last few...

My very first order of babies. The entire family is so excited!! I'm even taking appointments for friends and neighbors to come over and visit and hold babies. HA HA! Very impressed with Ideal. I ordered online, changed my mind about a few breeds and updated my credit card info over the...

My very first order of babies. The entire family is so excited!! I'm even taking appointments for friends and neighbors to come over and visit and hold babies. HA HA! Very impressed with Ideal. I ordered online, changed my mind about a few breeds and updated my credit card info over the...

I just bought some chicken scratch at IFA cuz I've read in some posts that it helps fatten up birds during cold months. It has less protein in it than their feed. 9% vs 16%.....What gives? Maybe I just read into the posts too much?? I'm glad they've got the corn and we always give them food...

I ordered 11 female day olds from Ideal. They will be shipping from the Texas hatchery to Southern Utah. I don't really care that I get packing peanuts or not. Just curious how many they might send. It is going to be December, after all.... Will they fill the box to 20, 25? What do you think?

We left the hens unattended (plenty of food and water obviously) for 4 days over the Thanksgiving holiday. We came back late Saturday night to the right number of eggs for our expectations (only 2 hens, expected 8 eggs upon return). The birds themselves were not sleeping in the laying area as...

I don't get why people would want a smaller chicken. I guess I'm so "dual purpose minded" that I can't see the use for a banty after laying isn't productive. Is there something I'm missing? Are bantams more for people who want a larger flock without the "mass" of a full size chicken?

I raised 2 RIR's from 2 wks old. One started laying in early October. About 3 eggs the first week. Then 5 eggs the next week. Then she's been doing an egg a day ever since - a whole month. The 2nd hen started to lay about 2 weeks ago and has been doing an egg a day the entire time. I know...

I ordered 11 pullet chicks from Ideal. 2 BR, 2 BO, 3 Ameraucana, 2 California White legbar, 2 Australorp -- woot woot!! Don't really need that many, but I got each breed I wanted. I'm so excited for them to get here! I asked for them to be banded for which breed is which - does it really...

It's better now, so it's not an emergency, but I'm still wondering. My kids decided to feed the chickens about a gallon freezer bag worth of cooked wheat kernels (what I eat for breakfast sometimes) from the freezer. The chickens LOVED IT, but then within a day or two, very runny and watery...

I've read a few places (while looking to buy my first hatching eggs) that sellers say things like "no pullet eggs included" and "all eggs are from hens who have been laying for months". So knowing that it's not ideal to hatch eggs from newly laying girls, my question is : how long does a...

I'm so sad and have chickens and hatching on the brain! Hubby and I talked it over and he won't let me attempt to hatch any eggs in my new DIY incubator (I just got the temps stable) until we're back from 2 vacations - in MID DECEMBER!!!! He's right though. I wouldn't be home to turn the...

Are these both hens? Only one is laying. My hubby says its "Two" that's laying, but I'm not so sure. They were from the same breeder and the same hatch, so I'm told (same exact size when we got them). "One" has the darker red comb but "Two" has the pointy looking neck feathers and a lighter...

I built my own incubator out of an old plastic/foam insulated igloo chest. 2 pieces of 8x10 glass for a double-pane viewing window on top. Have 3 bottles (1 qt each) of water for heat sink. And a piece of hardware cloth to float the eggs over the bottles. I'm trying to go "free" with stuff I...

I have new laying hens, only started about 2 weeks ago. Their eggs are quite small. I'm guessing that with "practice" the eggs will slowly increase in size. Is that right?

I have 2 hens (RIR) just starting to lay. We got our first egg, then about 4 days later another one. Then 3 days after that, the 3rd egg. Now, we are consistently getting an egg a day for the last several days to 1 week. I don't know if both are laying yet, or if it's just the one. Eggs are...

My Chicken Story: A Different Kind of Dispatching I grew up a California city girl, just like my mother. My dad was a Northern California country boy and exposed us somewhat to the ways of the poor rural life he had known growing up: cast iron skillets, killing your own dinner, reusing old...

I wasn't quite ready for chicks, but my neighbor was out in the boonies near a chicken farm that was overrun. She had her 8 year old kid chase down these little babies for me and brought them over. HA HA!! I got them and they seemed to be just a day or two old and we've had them less than a...