Minnesota!

[athalia17]

I think the funniest thing is when all these people advertise "vegetarian free" feed. Ha!!! Because that's what chickens are vegetarians. Lol. Craziness. Yeah, I wish the sap season was longer. 4 pints out of 12 gallons, sad. Barely worth tapping. It's only our second year though so the glamour hasn't worn off yet. Lol.

 

[cottonlouie]

Should I be doing anything special for the hen who just hatched her first chick? There has been food and water near her since she went broody. She has been fiesty with me every time I reach under her but today, after her first chick hatched, she doesn't hardly react. So I'm worried she is sick or weak.

 

[athalia17]

She's probably just relieved. I can't imagine it would hurt to give her some sort of vitamin supplement though. Maybe a feather fixer, that had more protein. That might help her replace her feathers she likely plucked. You should be feeding them chick feed, and the hen can eat that. That has a higher protein content. Unless you see her clearly acting sick, I wouldn't be worried.

 

[lalaland]

I just found a chick under broody momma this morning! First ever chick to hatch under my care. I'm so excited I feel like it's the only chick alive on the planet and precious. I need to get a grip but omg I'm so excited. It's more exciting than anything I've had happen in a long long while.

congrats, you will not believe how much time you can spend watching the mama and her chicks!
I think Althaia is right, but if you are really worried, just leave some treat food that you know she wouldn't turn down (scrambled egg for example) and wouldn't hurt the chick(s). If she snatches it up, you know she is ok.

Just finished up making maple syrup. Short season, trees are pretty much done moving sap it appears. 70 degrees may feel nice, but it makes maple tapping tricky.

Yeah, I am bummed about the short season this spring. I don't have maples, so haven't tapped. i knew someone who would tap birch trees and keep the sap refrigerated and would drink it. Always wanted to try that too!

 

[Minniechickmama]

You are absolutely correct about not all free ranges being equal. The eggs from the same chicken will have different nutritional value day to day I would expect even. I would still feel comfortable telling people 'studies show that free range eggs may have lower levels of cholesterol and higher levels of vitamins and omega-3s'
It's vague but true I suppose.

By the way, I'm sure I will have a slew of questions about hatching in the coming weeks. I will be setting up my incubator tonight I hope and working on getting the temps level.

I don't think it is blatantly vague, and I do believe that it is true. When you start assigning number to fluctuating values, then you cross the line.

Shoot with the questions as you have them. I can't remember, what kind of incubator do you have?

 

[KlopKlop]

I don't think it is blatantly vague, and I do believe that it is true.  When you start assigning number to fluctuating values, then you cross the line.


Shoot with the questions as you have them.  I can't remember, what kind of incubator do you have?

It's a foam one. Pretty sure a little giant brand and it had the auto turner

 

[Minniechickmama]

I think the funniest thing is when all these people advertise "vegetarian free" feed. Ha!!! Because that's what chickens are vegetarians. Lol. Craziness. Yeah, I wish the sap season was longer. 4 pints out of 12 gallons, sad. Barely worth tapping. It's only our second year though so the glamour hasn't worn off yet. Lol.

I am confused at what you are saying. Do you mean to say that chickens are vegetarian? They are omnivores, and sometimes cannibalistic.

I do feed a vegetarian feed ration. I don't advertise my chickens that way, and I don't feed it to them because it is vegetarian, it is just what I find to be the best feed I have available, barring custom mixed organic feed, which is way out of my price range.

 

[Minniechickmama]

It's a foam one. Pretty sure a little giant brand and it had the auto turner

That was what I was thinking you got. Well, give it a good 4 or 5 days to regulate and check it often. If you have a calibrated thermometer that is a probe type, that is the best way to go, then you don't have to worry if your thermometer is right or not too. Those little ones that come with the foams can be pretty useless.

 

[scandiafowl]

This video needs no introduction.

Greetings from Cancun!

 

[athalia17]

@minnie, I feed mine vegetarian as well- but it's because it's the cheapest I can find, while still containing the good stuff. I'm talking about when you go to the stores and you see on the cartons "vegetarian," it makes me laugh because chickens are ominvores, and just like you said- sometimes cannibals- lol. I just imagine these hip and trendy city people going to the store and seeing a carton of eggs that say fed vegetarian diet- and thinking to themselves "yes! that's so cool they have a vegetarian diet!" When we all know that they will eat many "unusual" living things. I sometimes see my chickens (hens) chasing squirrels, with a devilish look in their eyes. I'm not saying they'd eat him, but I'm not saying they wouldn't try either. Too funny. The other thing that makes me laugh is when people ask me, "don't you need a rooster to have eggs?" I love explaining to them how a woman doesn't need a man around in order to ovulate. Haha! I think people think I'm crazy at this point... they may be right.