California - Northern

gorgeous gooses, amy!! and love seeing all the various chicks being posted here! you all are inspiration to a beginner-hatcher like me.

X2

home from work and not sure about the state of my moved-broody's remaining eggs -- she'd moved them all out of the new nestbox, onto the "floor" (her enclosure is in the coop's run, which has a "floor" of about 12" of deep litter) closer to where i set up food and water -- she was up pecking at things with her two chicks when i arrived, and two of the eggs still felt fairly warm (although not under-the-broody warm), but the other two were quite cool. she's sitting on all of them again, plus the chicks, with her head next to the food so she can eat without getting up -- but not sure if the eggs will make it at this point? I *thought* i might have heard a peep from one of them, but not certain...

hope it all works out for you and them!

-- and this is all most definitely a learning experience! i feel horribly inept at it all...

Me too
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Good Luck!!!
x2!
Newbie question for y'all.

Chicks are about 5.5 weeks old and have been in the garage under a heat lamp. We also have a pellet stove in the garage with the thermastat set at 60 degrees. I've been putting them in the outdoor run during the day when temperatures have been 60+ degrees and they aren't acting cold, even when it is pretty breezy. Do you think it might be time to retire the heat lamp, and just keep the pellet stove running? Start bumping it down by 5 degrees a week?

Coop is done other than painting, but we are stilling getting into the thirties at night. Last week our highs didn't get much higher than our lows, and it snowed. Since we don't have electricity in the coop, I'm pretty sure they aren't ready for it yet.

Thanks!
Are the chicks fully feathered yet? If so, you don't need the heat lamp anymore and you can start turning down the stove. It snowed where you live last week?? That's awesome! Last week I wore shorts.. it got pretty hot!

3 more Pita Pintas and 2 Basques are out of the eggs. One of the Basques hatched before it absorbed it's yoke all of the way (probably my fault for helping too soon) and it had a long bloody thing coming out of it's vent (umbilical cord like). The thing fell off but now it looks like the insides are coming out of him. The weirdest thing is that he's walking around normally like the other chicks that just hatched. I am leaving him in the incubator and we'll see what happens..
hmm.png
 
gorgeous gooses, amy!! and love seeing all the various chicks being posted here! you all are inspiration to a beginner-hatcher like me.

X2

home from work and not sure about the state of my moved-broody's remaining eggs -- she'd moved them all out of the new nestbox, onto the "floor" (her enclosure is in the coop's run, which has a "floor" of about 12" of deep litter) closer to where i set up food and water -- she was up pecking at things with her two chicks when i arrived, and two of the eggs still felt fairly warm (although not under-the-broody warm), but the other two were quite cool. she's sitting on all of them again, plus the chicks, with her head next to the food so she can eat without getting up -- but not sure if the eggs will make it at this point? I *thought* i might have heard a peep from one of them, but not certain...

hope it all works out for you and them!

-- and this is all most definitely a learning experience! i feel horribly inept at it all...

Me too
hmm.png

thanks to both you and Megan -- i've been watching her all evening, and she first moved herself around to a spot closer to food AND water, and took the chicks plus two of the four eggs with her (i'm pretty sure the two that had been warmer earlier) -- then she relocated entirely back into the nest box, without any eggs, but when i loved them for her eagerly tucked them under her feathers.

so, i fear that my moving of the whole nest might have confused her a bit, she's torn between teaching the chicks new things vs. staying on the remaining eggs. if there's no sign of a pip tomorrow, i think i'll assume the remaining eggs are done -- and will hold off on any moves with the remaining broodies until all eggs are hatched!

learning, learning...
laura
 
3 more Pita Pintas and 2 Basques are out of the eggs. One of the Basques hatched before it absorbed it's yoke all of the way (probably my fault for helping too soon) and it had a long bloody thing coming out of it's vent (umbilical cord like). The thing fell off but now it looks like the insides are coming out of him. The weirdest thing is that he's walking around normally like the other chicks that just hatched. I am leaving him in the incubator and we'll see what happens..
hmm.png

sounds like you're doing an amazing job helping them along -- bravo!!! hope the troubled one pulls through...
 


EGGS!!! Ready for another try. Ccl- gc - Bbb - col Cochin - and od.... I probably just listed those all incorrectly. Haha I'm so excited!

Yes, Crested Legbars, bantam Buff Brahma, Columbian Cochin and Olandsk Dwarfs.

It was nice meeting you and thanks for the recommendation on the Getaway Café. We have tons of leftovers, we should have split one hamburger!
 
Newbie question for y'all.


Chicks are about 5.5 weeks old and have been in the garage under a heat lamp. We also have a pellet stove in the garage with the thermastat set at 60 degrees. I've been putting them in the outdoor run during the day when temperatures have been 60+ degrees and they aren't acting cold, even when it is pretty breezy. Do you think it might be time to retire the heat lamp, and just keep the pellet stove running? Start bumping it down by 5 degrees a week?


Coop is done other than painting, but we are stilling getting into the thirties at night. Last week our highs didn't get much higher than our lows, and it snowed. Since we don't have electricity in the coop, I'm pretty sure they aren't ready for it yet.


Thanks!

Are the chicks fully feathered yet? If so, you don't need the heat lamp anymore and you can start turning down the stove. It snowed where you live last week?? That's awesome! Last week I wore shorts.. it got pretty hot!

I wouldn't say that they are fully feathered, but they are close.

If you take I-5 North until you are about 20 miles from the Oregon border, you will be where I live.

I kept seeing you guys post about the heat and I was like, "Heat? What heat?" We ALMOST got up to 70 degrees today. :P People here are so used to the cooler weather that they have been wearing shorts and skirts on and off for a while now. I work in the local school district and there are some kids who wear short sleeves year round. We are always yelling at them to put their coats on and they always tell us, "But I'm not cold!"

At 6 weeks they do not need heat anymore(well silkies?):hu . You can put them outside this weekend and turn off the heat lamp in the garage now.

It is scary the first time but they do fine.


They will do okay even down to the 30's at night?
 
Are these the siblings to my Ellie and Emma Emmet?
yes most a few are my crele penedesenca and white empordanesa
Newbie question for y'all.

Chicks are about 5.5 weeks old and have been in the garage under a heat lamp. We also have a pellet stove in the garage with the thermastat set at 60 degrees. I've been putting them in the outdoor run during the day when temperatures have been 60+ degrees and they aren't acting cold, even when it is pretty breezy. Do you think it might be time to retire the heat lamp, and just keep the pellet stove running? Start bumping it down by 5 degrees a week?

Coop is done other than painting, but we are stilling getting into the thirties at night. Last week our highs didn't get much higher than our lows, and it snowed. Since we don't have electricity in the coop, I'm pretty sure they aren't ready for it yet.

Thanks!
I have some that I got from Candy here. Candy I can not remember when lol but are probably close to the same age.
I took the heat off last weekend and they are outside in a uninsulated coop
Yes, Crested Legbars, bantam Buff Brahma, Columbian Cochin and Olandsk Dwarfs.

It was nice meeting you and thanks for the recommendation on the Getaway Café. We have tons of leftovers, we should have split one hamburger!
nice !
 
I wouldn't say that they are fully feathered, but they are close.

If you take I-5 North until you are about 20 miles from the Oregon border, you will be where I live.

I kept seeing you guys post about the heat and I was like, "Heat? What heat?" We ALMOST got up to 70 degrees today.
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People here are so used to the cooler weather that they have been wearing shorts and skirts on and off for a while now. I work in the local school district and there are some kids who wear short sleeves year round. We are always yelling at them to put their coats on and they always tell us, "But I'm not cold!"
They will do okay even down to the 30's at night?

Yes, when they are fully feathered the chicks can make it to 0 degrees. They do need to be out of the wind and rain but they take cold very well. Wait another week if they do not have all of their feathers.

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Post a picture!
 
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OK I am trying to remember all the questions..laura I'm betting if she is off the eggs you had one chick hatch early. You should have 3 days after the first hatch. Chicks don't have to eat so if she can reach the food she won't move. After 3 days the remaining eggs are in jeporody.

In your position I would stick the eggs under the next broodies and watch for chicks. If any hatch pull them and stick them with the already hatched hens brood. The one still sitting seems to stay if they don't have chicks. I may or may not have done that a lot. Lol.

I should have told you to watch and move the extra eggs if she is a mover. Some hens can't count to 3.


As for chicks. As has been said once they are feathered in they are good to go. I don't know that they all feather in at 6 weeks. But once there back and breastbone are good you usually are OK as long as lTS not freezing. They puff up to stay warm. Look for them trying to sleep on the roost not cuddled together.

Silkies feather in slower so it can take longer. You need to check on the density of their coat. Showgirls especially often have areas they don't get feathes and those need to be completely covered before you let them go. Especially check breast and butt.

Its one of the reasons breeding showgirl to showgirl can be problematic. Makes them easy to pluck however!!
 

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