Michigan

[Elliemae 77]

I was wondering if anyone here has or is using an LG incubator? I have a hatch going on right now (at home while I'm sitting here at work!!!) and now I'm seriously nervous about the heating element burning them when they hatch. I'd been a little concerned but was just reading another thread and now I'm [COLOR=FF0000]SERIOUSLY[/COLOR] nervous!

Yes, the heating element can burn them. They should be fine till you get home if they are just now hatching, but definitely keep an eye on them. Sometimes one.will start running around frantically, and start bumping into them, burning themselves. I know.you are not suppose to take any of them out until the whole batch is done, but if you observe this than I would. I had a BCM chick that did this, so its not like he was overly huge...just frantic, he was flitted out at this point so I pulled him.out.and he was fine. If you are incubating bantams I.wouldn't worry too much,

 

[sarah92480]

Did anyone who's on here see my question about chickens? If not I'll repost it, it might have been missed in my long quoted posting lol

 

[ladyfeather]

Raz, that stinks. Good, tall fences make good neighbors. One more reason to get 10 foot privacy fence if and when we move into a house this Summer. Crossing my fingers for a dismissal for you.

Bob, we do talk chickens and other animals pretty often. I know I've asked for a ton of help when I started and it was given quickly. Since then if I want to know something I hit the search box and I can usually find at least 2 threads with the issue explained. I hope that helps a bit.

The wind is still nasty out my way but we looked at a house near a lake that, while small at half an acre, was blocked by the wind for the most part while staying sunny. To my delight there is an over sized garage (2 1/2 car), lots of mature trees hiding the yard, and a bonus extra large shed. It will be a perfect conversion to a chicken coop without anyone the wiser! I can dream.

As for the scared/not so tame chickens. Maybe try holding them slowly again? I hope that they warm back up to you when things settle down for the Summer. I am nervous my ducklings and chicks are never going to be tame enough for me to hold. I try to handle them as gently and often as possible but they all still freak out.

 

[BobBry]

Hey gals, Don't mind me. I'M JUST A GRUMPY OLD F..ELLOW. Don't think it helps to run into the double seven th today too. I know chickens are not the only topic on this thread as I myself have instigated one or two. Today I was overwhelmed with games speak. I too have visited and made good use of other, less social BYC threads. Maybe you caan tell I am not a game player. Don't feel like I have much time to (waste) anymore. Once upon a time I played games and they were lots of fun, as I recall. Enough! Bob

 

[sarah92480]

Originally Posted by ladyfeather
I've been trying to hold them but they just jump away...what sucks is, my favorite one (the one in the pic) she would still come up and perch on my leg when I went out there for the first week, but now she doesn't do that either. So Im sure it's my fault, w/not being able to spend any time w/them lately, that they are not quite as social with me. I just wondered if I could resocialize them. Mine don't really freak out when I grab them, but they do want to get away. They don't like being grabbed but once I'm holding them they tolerate it for a minute or too. Except the wyandottes...they don't really like to be held ever, but will perch on my hand as long as they're not restrained.

 

[Olive Hill]

Is there a "gamer" website ? You Know, Like there is one, actually more, for Back Yard Chickens? nlol. I really did come here to find and share info about Chickens. Mine happen to be in a back yard but i don't mind finding out about other types of raising/caring for them. I'm seriously beginning to think I don't have time to wade through all the posts offered in order to find those regarding chickens. And yes, I know this is a SOCIAL thread. Sorry if I offended you and I don't want anyone to be hurt by this post.....but there must be others who are of like thought. IMO Bob

Bob, have you tried scanning, rather than reading. Much quicker.

Aww, come on, Olive, I haven't even brought up Magic the Gathering, D&D, Comicon, LARP....

You don't need to. Your true gamer colors are flying high with the rest of the talk.

ETA: I will never forget the first time I heard of LARP'ing. I laughed for days over it. Live Action Role Playing and all I could imagine was the gamer in question running around the park (where this group met to play in person) acting like a... well, whatever it was he was supposed to be "role playing".

Round, rough perches are sometime a problem, especially for larger birds, as they have to hold constantly to balance and the rough surface may make bumblefoot more likely. A 2X4 layed with the 4" side flat, smoothed off to prevent slivers, makes a great perch, the birds can rest easily on it and pull their feet up under them in cold weather.

I want to know where this piece of advice originated. It's very common, it gets regurgitated all over BYC, but I've never been able to find any actual support for it. I've had 25 lb Tom turkeys sleeping not just on rough perches, but rough unstable perches, outdoors, during all types of weather for years. Not one case of Bumble Foot, not one one case of frost bitten toes. Is there a study somewhere that I've missed? Or is just something someone decided one day and other people thought it sounded good so they went along with it?

 

[chicken grandma]

Round, rough perches are sometime a problem, especially for larger birds, as they have to hold constantly to balance and the rough surface may make bumblefoot more likely. A 2X4 layed with the 4" side flat, smoothed off to prevent slivers, makes a great perch, the birds can rest easily on it and pull their feet up under them in cold weather.

VJ, I agree with Muttsfan here. I think if you give them a variety of perch widths and shapes they will choose whatever is most comfortable for the age and weight they are. So you could just add a 2X4 somewhere in there and see what happens. I love the coop! Great job!

 

[sarah92480]

I will never forget the first time I heard of LARP'ing. I laughed for days over it. Live Action Role Playing and all I could imagine was the gamer in question running around the park (where this group met to play in person) acting like a... well, whatever it was he was supposed to be "role playing".

I agree w/you on this one Olive...I think LARP is ridiculous. I'm all about history and renaissance festivals, but that's about as far as that goes, and even those are sometimes a little too silly. It is pretty comical when you see that, for sure! Did you ever see that episode of House where the patient was one of those roleplayers and they went to one of those things?? That was pretty funny. But then again it usually is to some degree, hehe.

 

[chicken grandma]

Quote:
Olive we have had chickens for 11 years on every kind of perch and they slept in the trees in
Hawaii also. But I can honestly say that when given a choice my chickens have all enjoyed the 4 inch side of a 2X4. And that is banties and standard size birds. I am just going from my experience. And I have offered them wider boards and 2 inches also and they really seem to like the 4 inch width. It allows the butt to hang off and the toes to spread out and the chest to rest on the perch. I highly recommend giving chickens this option as a perch and I say it from experience - watching what they choose when they have a choice. I do want to say that young chicks will sometimes choose something that they can wrap their toes around to hold on.

 

[ladyfeather]

The perch thing confuses me too but I see the same advice in my falconry manuals. The belief is that smooth perches cause problems but I've heard that information being debunked on messages boards and webpages. If you think about it they spend all that time in the wild with dirty feet on different surfaces and some people tell me its the wounding of a foot or poor circulation that causes the problem. I'd just make sure that the perches have nothing that can catch on their feet and aren't too high above the ground.

here is something I found on here for taming chickens:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/617486/how-to-tame-your-birds/10

I'd try the pen sitting with food and meal worms. I can't wait to start treats and getting my birds outside once the wind dies down.