The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

The chick is cleaned leg, not Thor (the hammerhead). . I make a hobble and he gets around just fine. Eats and drinks fine. moves with the herd. Exactly what do you mean by a splint? The splint as in side ways between the legs, not up and down like a break, correct?

Sorry - I meant hobble!

 

[aoxa]

Okay...did you guys see this? It was a link in the BYC newsletter. Very affordable....Thinking I may get one after checking in w/the experts (that's y'all!)

http://www.powerplucker.com/?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

To me that looks really doable, but I am a slow plucker!

 

[Pozees]

Getting a late start but I want to give you the scoop on how I got this successful Catdance hatch.

Step 1. I bought the Genesis 1588 specifically to up my odds for the Catdance and Fogle HRIR eggs. These are the most expensive eggs I've ever bought. The Genesis isn't the best bator out there but it is the best I could afford this year.

Step 2. I hand turn my eggs X to O and upright every six hours. Starting when I get up in the morning and lastly just before retiring for the night. The hatching journal and pen stays next to the bator. I fill out each days turning and the time.

Step 3. I live in the Pacific North West. Humidity here remains moderate to high most days. Even when it's sunny out. I dry hatched in the still air LG until lock down. That didn't work with the Genesis. The fan sucks the humidity quicker. I punched a hole to fit an aquarium clear tube that I pushed into the hardware grate into the first channel. Using a large syringe I got at the feed store in the cattle section, I pumped a teaspoon of water into the bator whenever the humidity started to dip below 33%. No need to ever do this lifting the lid with this method. I dripped the water in (distilled with blue food coloring added) a few drops at a time. Then slightly tipped the bator to move the water back into the channel. The food coloring allows me to see this movement of water through the window. It generally takes a half hour for the humidity to move up. It's important not to add too much or too little.

Step 4. I candle three times and in stages. I remove half the eggs for candling at a time and leave the lid closed on the rest. The first candle at day seven is the most critical for not damaging the embryo. They are very fragile at this stage. Most Silkie quitters for me have been in the seven day margin. I then candle at fourteen days and then eighteen just before lock down. I had two fourteen day quitters this hatch. I looked back through my journal and noticed I had used these two eggs to candle more often than the others. I believe I handled them too often. Silkie embryos are fragile.

Step 5. Silkies sometimes start to hatch a day or two earlier than most other chickens. I waited until the first egg pipped before lock down. Keeping humidity around 40%. After the first egg pipped, I slowly raised it to 50% a teaspoon of water at a time. At lock-down I inserted another tube through a hole I punched into the lid on the right side of the lid and then could syringe water directly onto a sponge. I didn't use the second channel at all. The sponge dries out very fast so I had to keep on this. Keeping humidity under 65% through lock down and hatch was tricky. Silkie chicks drown very easily in the shell with too high humidity. I keep the eggs flat for hatching on a shelf mat. The mat is soft and yet gives good traction for those five toes. It washes in soapy water and can be reused too.
My hatch started the evening of day 19 and ended day 22.

They are such scrumptious chicks. Such tiny little bumble bees of fluff. I am so in love with them all.

I cannot thank you enough, I've saved a copy to my desktop where I can re-read and commit to memory

And I quite agree, they are scrumptious!

 

[Melabella]

Hello all,

I have a question for all you experienced Rooster peeps,

How long does a rooster generally remain fertile? How long can they keep up as good guardian and protector? And for another newbie question, do they molt just like the girls do? I imagine they do, but they have different stresses on their bodies, and was wondering if they do.

Thanks for any input all.. got another 8 inches of snow here last night.... I am SO DONE with the white stuff, and the cold.

MB

 

[delisha]

As far as a *plucker*. I vote no. If you get your water to the correct degree, you simply *wipe* the feathers off. No actual plucking involved except a few on the wings. I say..use a candy thermometer. Boil the water. Add the thermometer and dunk at 180. I dunk them three times and try to wipe the feathers off the legs. I keep dunking until you can simply wipe off. A dunk is the whole bird in and the whole bird out.

 

[delisha]

Hello all,

I have a question for all you experienced Rooster peeps,

How long does a rooster generally remain fertile? How long can they keep up as good guardian and protector? And for another newbie question, do they molt just like the girls do? I imagine they do, but they have different stresses on their bodies, and was wondering if they do.

Thanks for any input all.. got another 8 inches of snow here last night.... I am SO DONE with the white stuff, and the cold.

MB

All breeds are different. I would say an average of 4 years. They start loosing fertility after two years. If they have a small flock(2) they can fertilize till the last breath.

 

[Mumsy]

I cannot thank you enough, I've saved a copy to my desktop where I can re-read and commit to memory

And I quite agree, they are scrumptious!

You are welcome.

I forgot to mention something about the digital temperature/hygrometer built into the lid of the Genesis 1588. I set the temp at 99.8 degrees so it kept a close temp of 99.5 throughout the hatch. I did not pay attention to the built in hygrometer. It was 10% off on my bator. I use a dual purpose one that I bought in the reptile section at the pet store. I costs around $20 and hasn't let me down yet. I set it level with the top of the eggs. I also like to insert a probe digital meat thermometer through the holes I use for syringing water. I like the added comfort of knowing my 99 degrees is holding. Not needed but I like it.

 

[Eggcessive]

My hens are starting to lay, I'm getting eggs from about half of the girls.
However today for the first time, 7 of the eggs that were laid had peck marks. Is there a reason that one of the chickens is pecking at the eggs. Three of the eggs broke and made a big mess. The other 4 eggs just had crack lines and a small peck hole that did not break the membrane.
Is there anything I can do to prevent the pecking? I have been gathering the eggs several times a day as the novelty has not quite worn off yet. I did clean the nesting boxes last night, but I thought that would make them happy.

I have this every year when the new pullets are hanging out in the coop inspecting the nesting boxes before they lay. I blame it on the nosey smart ones just being curious. I just try to collect eggs more often. When one rolls out into the floor it usually gets pecked unless I get there quick.

 

[Eggcessive]

Question: If you use a broody to hatch chicks, how long do you let her raise them? I have 2 AG hens raising 2 W chicks each, I let them out every morning & put them up at night but one hen is takng her 2 a little farther away then I'm comfortable with

I've had broodies who have raised them for 4 weeks, then walk away when they start roosting on their own, and my little faverolles who stayed with hers for 9 weeks. She finally had had enough, but one little chick kept trying to be her baby, but she finally had to tough it out.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you all cull chicks with splayed legs? The one chick so stuck ended up with splayed legs. I left him in the incubator for a full day. At the beginning of day 2, I noticed splayed legs with the last 2 "problem children. The one corrected itself before I could help. The one I'm talking about is heading for day 4. I had put a band aid, cut length ways on him like hobbles. He walks fine with them on but if I take them off, he splits. I've read where they can correct themselves in a day and some take a month. It's one of the super blue layers. Has anyone had experience? He/she won't be used for breeding. What are the chances it will correct? Tonight I'm replacing the band aid with vet wrap. Help! sue

Mumsy - those pictures almost make me want to have a few Silkie's. There s a breeder quite close to me called CJ Silkies that look very beautiful. Sometimes I see an ad on Craigslist.

My only splayed legger was my little mille fleur d'uccle, Sarge, and he needed 3 full days of the bandaid hobble. I tried to put it back on for a 4th day, but couldn't get it to stay by myself, so I just let him go. He's 2 years old now and doing well, except for the time he jumped into the scratch garbage can and got stuck for 12 hours with the lid on. LOL, his comb was blue and he couldn't stand, but thankfully the little guy recovered. We were trying to round up 9 young roos at the time while bribing them with scratch, and we put the lid on without checking. I felt terrible!