Recent content by mcdze

  1. M

    Introducing 5 week olds to 10 week olds

    theyre not too vicious that young ..id regulate food supply, keep them hungry and feed them together .. theyll probably get along fairly quickly except maybe roosting spots .. but yeah, i do t think theyre mature enough to exert dominance to the point of physical damage past a peck or two ...
  2. M

    Incubating too many eggs...

    just part of it .. i typically will incubate 3 times as many as i actually want .. chicks are generally easy to give away, so i try to set that up as i get started, 'never' had an issue unloading just hatched chicks .. now out of the ones i keep if sex is an unapparent breed, i'll keep a couple...
  3. M

    Baby chicks

    a chick dying occasionally isnt abnormal .. constant peeping in day or two old chicks means they are uncomfortable, usually temp ... also, in the first couple of days i usually use a couple of jar lids that are low for food and water and keep it near the heat source ..
  4. M

    Need reassurance or correction - 6 week chicks outside

    i think theyll be fine at 6 weeks as long as theyre out of the wind at night .. just make sure they have a good hi protein meal before nite nite ..
  5. M

    Duds?

    look like floaters to me if its actually at 2 weeks .. should be pretty full looking and opaque throughout at that point, or, if theyre behind youd at least see movement ..
  6. M

    Hovabator Genesis 1588 - 4 degree difference!

    ive never seen a built-in temp sensor thats accurate and only use it as a reference point to adjust up or down to .. theyre usually adjustable if you dig into the manual far enough but i dont care too much about that, what i 'do' care about on some models though are the 'heuristic' adjustments...
  7. M

    Where should I put my brooder?

    depends on your design .. mine is portable and partly enclosed at the top so its pretty resistant to draft and somewhat to temp .. this is why i prefer an incandescent as a heat source - they can get into the heat as much as they want .. that said, use your judgment .. theyre really sensitive...
  8. M

    Dealing with guilt from hawk attack

    ive always free ranged and lost alot of birds over the years to hawks ..mainly you just have to be 'very' strict about locking them up at night and not letting them out early. 9 out of 10 hawk attacks happen in the cool hours of early morning when you get lax because its been all quiet for...
  9. M

    Getting our first chickens

    main thing is reinforce your coop 'very' well with hardware cloth anywhere theres not a solid wall, and run it down into the ground several inches ... other helpful design features is making lots of hinged access points so its very easy to get to everything .. also making it and locating it so...
  10. M

    I think it’s officially roo or boo time!

    roo hen roo roo roo hen😆
  11. M

    Staggered hatch question

    id say its not much of an issue if you have a larger incubator and a nice environmentally stable room to keep it in ... i routinely just toss eggs into my 48 egger over the course of a couple of weeks sometimes and just keep humidity steady from start to finish and leave the turner on till...
  12. M

    CAN YOU HATCH THE SMALL EGGS WHEN A HEN STARTS LAYING

    generally hatchrate will be lower and hatch problems higher outside the 'ideal' fertility time of chickens which imo is about 4 or so months after they start laying to about 2 years ..
  13. M

    Young roosters in existing flock?

    pick the one youre keeping, id cull the rest ..drop them off at walmart if you cant stomach it😂
  14. M

    When can I add new chicks to the flock?

    you cant just throw them together, i generally raise chicks from hatch in close proximity to my flock and that helps, even the sounds they get used to but i digress ... with a bunch of outsider new recruits id 'securely' wire fence off an area in the run and/or the coop depending on setup .. for...
  15. M

    Ready for coop?

    as long as its enclosed theyll be alright .. id give them no heat a day or two in the brooder first though .. if its drafty and they get chilled they can get sick though, so be sure its pretty cozy ..
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