I hatched a total of 12! They're all Ameraucana X Leghorns. I was lucky enough to have a broody that only hatched two chicks so I gave all of these to her and she accepted them without any problems. Hope everybody's hatches went great!
If they're already 5 weeks old, then they don't need a heat lamp anymore. They look fully feathered and will do just fine without a heat lamp. Just make sure the coop isn't cold/wet/drafty. Remember, chickens do well even when temperatures are well below freezing. I think they're ready to go in...
Sneaking them under her would be best. Make sure to do it at night. Do it one at a time and wait like 5 minutes between each one. Some hens are smart and if you give them all the chicks at once, they don't believe they're theirs and will peck at them.
I wouldn't change the nest lining until a...
Very interesting question. For the eggs to hatch, they must be fertile. Typically, stores don't sell fertile hatching eggs in the fridge isle. Also, refrigerating eggs severely diminishes the probability of them hatching. You also don't know how old the store eggs are.
In a perfect world, the...
Usually when the temp has been lower, it takes longer for them to incubate, so it equals more time until they hatch. This has happened to me before, but it usually turns out ok. I would wait until day 24. After that point, I would open up the eggs to see what happened. Hope they hatch
She started doing better yesterday, but today she was doing much worse. She couldn't stand anymore, she kind of squirmed and spasmed out on the ground when I was trying to pick her up. She doesn't have bumble foot or moldy feet, they are perfectly clean and fine. I couldn't feel any swelling on...
Thank you. I have her separated to her own pen with some calcium. She is healthy overall, and when I pick her up she still kicks her legs and flaps her wings like any other chicken. I also gave her some ACV with a needleless syringe in her mouth. She has perked up since then, and is now able to...
I have a young hen, about 5-6 months. I started realizing some odd behaviour this week. She would hardly walk, and carried herself very top-heavy. It was like she was leaning all the way foward all the time. She also had kind of a limp, and tried to stay off her right foot. Yesterday, she...
When you first get them, keep them in the coop for at least a week, then they will return to the coop by themselves. Lots of places sell automatic doors, you can also make one yourself if your handy. I don't have one, I do it manualy and it gives me a chance to make sure they all got in and to...
Just wanted to mention something here......maybe some one already said it or you're already doing it, but, a broody hen leaves the nest from 1 to 3 hours each day to eat/ drink etc. I think it might be a good idea to have cooling periods for the eggs. After all, hens have the best hatch rates. A...
I have chickens, guineas, ducks, and geese that all live and range together. If you have read my article on how to keep different poultry types together, well this is just another page I made with some of my pictures, and advice.
The Coop
Well here is the coop, and their yard is behind it. I...
I do this with laying hens, meat ducks, guineas, rabbits and will do it with peacocks and geese once they start having babies. I hatch and raise my own and sell them on Craigslist. It is a good idea to go on the farm & garden section, type in hens or chickens, look at a few adds and see what...
Can you take a picture of it? The brown thing could be anything. You can try to wipe it off if it looks like it's bothering the breathing of the chick. It might be some crusted on feed or dirt. Whenever I have a chick that looks sick, I put a spoonful of Apple Cider Vinegar in their water, and...
You can crack some open for breakfast. The way people here have discovered how to tell a fertile egg from a non fertile, is by looking at certain spot on the yolk. There should be a white dot on every yolk. If the dot is surrounded by a ring, it is fertile. It is described as looking like a...
Here they are! I couldn't go any closer to them or they'd chase me away lol. They seem to tolerate me more than anybody else, because anybody who even comes into their line of view gets chased by them people are afraid to go through the yard now, unless I am with them because so far everybody...