Recent content by Ridgerunner

  1. Ridgerunner

    BC Marans laying lighter brown eggs?

    I agree. It is not that the hen is getting older but that she is getting later in her laying cycle. A pretty normal pattern is that the longer a brown egg laying hen lays the lighter her egg becomes. The same thing can happen to a green egg laying hen also since the green comes from brown...
  2. Ridgerunner

    Feeding chickens in the coop

    Your chickens were in a 2.5 x 6.5 brooder. Now they are in a much bigger 6 x 8 coop. They will be fine until you get the run completed. They should really enjoy that extra space. One way to train them to go into the coop section to sleep at night is to leave them locked in the coop section...
  3. Ridgerunner

    When could I expect egg laying to start?

    The earliest I've had pullets similar to your breeds start laying was 16 weeks. That has only happened a couple of times, really rare. The latest I've had some pullets start to lay was 9 months and that was in the middle of winter when they are not supposed to lay. Those were the only green...
  4. Ridgerunner

    Roost height

    What breeds of chickens do you have? If you have Silkies, Frizzles, Cornish Cross meat birds, or other breeds that don't fly, yes they are too high or you need a ramp or ladder to help them get up there. Otherwise they can easily fly up there if they want to. With no adults present I've had 5...
  5. Ridgerunner

    Minimum pitch (slope) for tarp roof for heavy rain runoff?

    I assume you are not worried about snow build-up. I don't know how much snow you might get, the roof needs to be strong enough to support the weight of the snow or ice. You can get different opinions on how much slope you need on your permanent roof. Water will flow downhill as long as it...
  6. Ridgerunner

    Mama hen went onto her roost

    I've had hens wean their chicks at three weeks old, some not wean them until they were almost 3 months old. Most of my broody hens wean their chicks around 5 weeks old but that can vary a lot. I've had hens just cut their chicks off when they wean them, abandon them day and night. I've had...
  7. Ridgerunner

    Another "broody hen" post... but hear me out!

    Try Aart's method or rehome her. You don't need to be stressed like this. Instead of 48 hours I keep mine in the broody buster for 72 hours before I let them out. If that doesn't work I put them back in for another few days. It will not hurt them, they can eat, drink, and poop. Since...
  8. Ridgerunner

    Adjusting Chickens to a New Home

    I'll include a link to someone that deals with real cold. It may interest you. Cold Weather Poultry Housing and Care | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens At -10 F (-23 C) I'd want them to have good ventilation in the coop to prevent frostbite and to not have a breeze hitting...
  9. Ridgerunner

    Adjusting Chickens to a New Home

    I'll add a link so you can see how Joel Salatin does this. You will want a different coop. https://farmhacker.com/joel-salatin-style-eggmobile-mobile-chicken-coop/ Your terrain will determine how well this works and what you might want your coop to look like. If your land is steeply sloped...
  10. Ridgerunner

    How to add two indoor chicks to the gang outside?

    The 60 at night is not a problem for your chicks. They could handle much colder temperatures. The 90+ might be more of an issue since they will be penned in a specific area. Mine do fine in 90+ but mine can find shade and have plenty of water. Can you put a pen somewhere in the shade...
  11. Ridgerunner

    Broody hen but eggs aren't hatching

    Since you don't know when she started sitting it is hard to use a calendar on her. I think candling to determine status might be a good thing to try. Before a hen even starts laying she stores up excess fat. This excess fat is what she mostly lives on while broody. Yes, a broody hen will...
  12. Ridgerunner

    My chicks are hatching and humidit is 80 or better. What can i do to lower it? Vent is all the way open. Is 80 as bad as i hear?

    I do not stress on this when it happens.
  13. Ridgerunner

    Questions about lockdown

    Do you get the feeling it would be better to rely on yourself for this stuff instead of relying on what somebody else programmed into electronics? I know it is too late to help you in this case but maybe consider writing down the date you started the eggs on a calendar as a back-up. Of course...
  14. Ridgerunner

    My chicks are hatching and humidit is 80 or better. What can i do to lower it? Vent is all the way open. Is 80 as bad as i hear?

    Hopefully you can add water back when it starts to dry out. Once the chicks start hatching the humidity can skyrocket as they release a lot of moisture. That is not a problem. The problem would be if it dries out too much before they all hatch.
  15. Ridgerunner

    They chew through hardware cloth?!?

    Because it was the law. Of course it is always a grand champion winning hunting dog so very valuable. A dog cannot read a "no trespassing" sign. A hunter had his dog out and was chasing prey, can't remember what he was hunting, probably a raccoon. The dog treed the prey and was barking...
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