Too many egg. What to do?

[aoxa]

Aoxa, I stack pavers inside and out to form steps to help them maneuver. It’s not perfect but it tends to work. Occasionally one will get stuck on the wrong side but even that seems to work out somehow.

I think that is a big part of why it takes Mama a few days to lead them out of my coop to start with, some just can’t make it out immediately. I had one broody abandon a chick that couldn’t or wouldn’t make it after several days. That chick just stayed in the coop peeping while the other hens walked right by it to get to the nests to lay. I expected one of those hens to kill that annoying peeping chick, but they just ignored it. With Sumi’s Attila the Hen, that chick probably would not have made it. After about a week and a half that chick joined Mama and the siblings outside. That chick always was two floats and a marching band shy of playing with a full deck even after it made it outside.

My biggest problem in getting them to use the paver steps is usually the chicks hatched from those tiny pullet eggs. Those chicks are smaller to start with since the tiny pullet eggs just don’t contain enough room or nutrition for them to grow bigger. Chicks hatched from regular-sized eggs are just so much easier. I practically never have a problem with them.

Pavers.. Well I have a huge pile of them at my parents house. Was going to use them to hold feed and water above shavings, but never got around to bringing them home. This is a great use that I never considered. I will be loading up the trunk with them today. That will really help. Thanks for the tip!!

How did the chick live without heat in the barn? Wow!

My chickens wouldn't kill them. I've found a few stranded with the larger birds paying them no mind at all.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How did the chick live without heat in the barn? Wow!

It was summer. Daytime highs in the 80’s or 90’s Fahrenheit. That 90 to 95 dropping 5 degrees a week guideline is extremely conservative in my experience. It’s a starting point for those with little or no experience, thus valuable. It is extremely conservative, thus extremely safe. But the daytime highs were pretty close to the 90 to 95 recommendation.

I’ve had a broody take 2 week old chicks to the roost when the overnight lows were in the70’s. A couple of them spent the night on the top of a 2x4 brace on the side of the coop without any heat from Mama. Those chicks ore often a lot tougher than people want to give them credit.