Recent content by NatJ

Brooder plates are better than heat lamps for SOME purposes. Brooder plates are not better for ALL purposes. In my post that you quoted, I pointed out some situations when one is better, and some where the other is better. Don't waste your time dying on any hills. Just use the right tool for...

Where did you get the chick?

Pretty Spitzhauben pullet! Thanks for updating. It's fun to see how they grow and change :)

A white or yellow dot on the top or back of the head means barring, I think all the time. It is more likely to be present, and more obvious, on solid black chicks. Chocolate or blue or lavender chicks have the dot too, but it doesn't stand out as much. Chicks with a pattern of other colors may...

Since there are wild chickens roaming in your area, and Karen the black one was found as an abandoned chick, Karen is probably a mix rather than belonging to any particular breed. For the three from the store, they are most likely some version of Red Sexlink. Females are typically red with...

I don't have any suggestions about the drinking cups, but I would suggest providing one source of plain water (no supplements). For normal healthy chickens of any age, they do not need supplements in their water. Plain water, plus a complete chicken feed, will provide all the nutrients they...

Those are probably not causing any problems. Providing grit is good. I would consider probiotics optional: not harmful, but not helpful enough to notice any real effect. If the probiotics are in the water, I would make sure they also have a source of plain water (nothing added to it.) The...

22% protein should be safe for all chickens, of all ages. Higher protein feed is usually more expensive than lower protein feed. So anyone that wants to save a little money, switches to a lower protein feed as soon as they think the chickens can stand it. The minimum protein level for young...

Glad to hear it :)

You can feed them chick food for their entire lives, if you want. Just put out a separate container of free-choice oyster shell when they get close to egg laying age. Chick starter is safe for all chickens of all ages, as long as you provide oyster shell as a calcium source for the ones who lay...

As far as I can tell, "dry hatching" means two different things: --rare meaning, carefully maintaining humidity at a certain level, lower than what incubator advice usually says. --more common meaning, just do not add water, and let them incubate at whatever humidity the incubator happens to...

Not a frizzle, based on the 8-week photos a few posts above yours.

If he is already trying to get out of the box, I might try it tonight anyway. A duckling under the mother is not going to get cold as long as he stays there (during the night). Then in the daytime, if he can keep up with the others, he will probably be fine as well. Or if he has a problem during...

Sorry, I don't know anything about feeding that specific plant to chickens or other animals. But in general: Chickens are usually pretty good at deciding what is safe to eat and what is not, if you give them choices. So putting some in their run would probably be safe enough, as long as they...

I think Golden Laced Wyandotte for the second one. I don't recognize the first one. Where did you get them? Sometimes that provides clues.