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  1. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Hatching with a broody

    Update: all four eggs hatched, two hatched three days ago and two hatched two days ago. Mama hen still just wants to sit with them under her, though, and is not eating and as a result the babies are not eating either. We got them to drink a little by taking mama off the babies and bringing...
  2. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Hatching with a broody

    Yep, she’s amazingly dedicated! We’ll start getting her off the nest daily so she doesn’t lose too much weight. Thanks!
  3. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Hatching with a broody

    This makes sense to me. We took her out this morning and she ran around like crazy, dust bathed, ate, and went back to her nest after 15 minutes or so. Thanks!
  4. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Hatching with a broody

    We’ve had chickens for years but have never let a broody hatch eggs before. Broodiness is amazing — it’s like suspended animation! Our girl will NOT leave her eggs. Not to eat, not to drink. I guess she knows what she’s doing but it makes us a little nervous. Should we encourage her to get up...
  5. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Weak legs in rooster

    Thanks! I’ll look it up.
  6. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Weak legs in rooster

    Got a couple more pictures this morning.
  7. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Weak legs in rooster

    He’s a golden laced Wyandotte. Here are a couple photos... I took some video but can’t figure out how to upload it.
  8. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Weak legs in rooster

    Our six month old rooster has what appears to be a congenital leg problem. He always had weak legs and sat a lot, even as a chick. Now that he’s heavier it looks like his legs pop out of joint at the hip when he walks. His legs were never really splayed but they do seem to be set far apart...
  9. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Hip problem in rooster

    One of our chicks this year seems to have had a congenital leg problem. Always had weak legs, always sat down a lot. Turns out this chick was a rooster and now that he’s gotten quite large the leg problems are severely hampering his mobility. Problem is at the hip... his legs were never splayed...
  10. NuthatchKnollChickens

    loose droppings, rapid death

    Woke up this morning to find a dead hen in the coop. Most of the flock had very loose droppings recently, but all seemed to have recovered. One hen lost quite a few feathers and seemed thin (not yet sure if it was this hen -- need to take a closer look at the rest of the flock today). None of...
  11. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Mixing large and small chickens

    Built-in brooders are a great idea! My coop has two sides to it - the main 8x8 section and a smaller 4x8 section that I use to store feed, etc (we call it the "people side"). We put down shavings in our "people side", and used that as a kind of "transitional brooder" for the new Barred Rock...
  12. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Do you need bedding in the summer months?

    I would be concerned about them jumping down off a roost and not having anything soft to land on. Are your chickens heavy breeds? If so, I would definitely put some bedding back in to prevent any injuries to their feet or legs (ie., bumblefoot). I have Buff Orpingtons and they certainly make...
  13. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Mixing large and small chickens

    I can't comment on the bantam vs large fowl aspect of the question, but in my experience the fact that the older girls you're getting are Orpingtons will work in your favor. I purchased a group of day-old Barred Rocks at the end of April and integrated them into my existing flock of year-old...
  14. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Plain 'ol Sunflower seeds vs. Black Oil

    Yes, you can feed them any kind of sunflower seed you have. Black oil seeds seem to be preferred by "bird feeder" type birds -- not sure if it's just because they are smaller or because they are higher in nutrients or oils. It's possible chickens might prefer them as well, but there's...
  15. NuthatchKnollChickens

    sand okay as chick grit?

    Huh -- I had read on this board that once you started giving them anything other than crumbles you should give grit. If I were to give grit... what do you think abut substituting small grain sand for purchased "chick grit"?
  16. NuthatchKnollChickens

    sand okay as chick grit?

    My local TSC is no longer carrying chick grit for some reason, and my Agway never did. I'd like to start giving my chicks some greens for treats and entertainment... do you think I could just give them some play sand or should I see if I can order some chick grit? As long as the sand is fine...
  17. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Looking for best paint job!

    I went with bright yellow with white trim. This summer we are going to paint the door and the window sash a medium green color. That's my coop in my avatar - it's very cheery in the snow!
  18. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Planting grass in the run?

    That is a cool idea. Sounds like it's worth a try. Mine turned their run into dirt pretty quickly, so last fall I started putting down straw in there. They really like it. It breaks down from all the scratching, plus being out in the rain and all, and I think it harbors at least some bugs...
  19. NuthatchKnollChickens

    NEED HELP - Ugly Introduction

    When I integrated younger chicks with older ones last summer I just used a scrap length of chicken wire to divide off their pen into two sections. I put food and water on both sides and let them get used to seeing each other without being able to get at each other. After a couple of weeks I...
  20. NuthatchKnollChickens

    Hen's first eggs are very small

    I got my first chickens last year (Buff Orpingtons and Speckled Sussex) and if I recall it took them a couple of months before they started laying larger eggs. I gave a box of my early eggs to my 86-year old neighbor who said they always called the little ones "pullet eggs". The girls have...
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