When I made my raised beds for the garden down here I used a lot of sand, mixed it with the soil that was already there, and got some pure clay that was used to make pottery. And a lot of compost. The native soil was mostly swamp muck that dried hard as concrete but it had various fill...
That's interesting. The only time I saw Coccidiosis in my flock was with chicks being raised by a broody hen. The weather had been wet for a while. I did not see any blood but I could tell by their actions that something was seriously wrong.
I remember going to the coop/run one morning and...
But did you work the soil when it was wet?
I agree. Organic material (not certified organic as you said :thumbsup) is a great amendment to any soil, whether heavy clay, mostly sand, or anywhere in between. The best soils to grow things are generally a good mix of clay, sand, and organic...
Hi, welcome to the forum, glad you joined!
First, relax. It sounds like you did nothing wrong. They may still hatch.
For many different reasons not all eggs hatch on Day 21. Humidity, heredity, how and how long the eggs were stored before incubation began, and just differences in the eggs...
I think that was a great idea. With Cocci, you need to treat it quickly if it shows up. But once they are treated do not overmedicate them.
With Cocci, most of the time you do not get the bloody stools. The different strains of protozoa attack different parts of their digestive tract. With...
I'll copy something I wrote a few years back on Cocci and medicated feed. Hopefully it has some information in it that can help you make a rational decision.
First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some...
You'll probably see 50% as an average, which is pretty close to my experience. But that is spread out over several hatches. My best hatch with shipped eggs was 100%. My worst was 20%. I've never had an individual hatch with shipped eggs that was even close to 50% but if you average them all...
Welcome to the forum @kyleeaton93 . Glad you joined. I did not notice you were new when I first read your post.
As you will quickly notice we have a lot of different opinions and experiences so there is generally no one way that is right where every other way is wrong. For their own...
Skinning or plucking has nothing to do with why the meat needs to rest. The meat will go through rigor mortis either way. If you do not rest it before cooking you run the risk of the meat being inedible.
The concern is when they mate. Will his weight be enough to hurt her? The simple answer is "I don't know". When they mate the hen squats. This gets her body on the ground so his weight goes through her body into the ground instead of going through her legs. That's kind of like an automobile...
Then you don't know enough people. No matter the breed, whether RIR, Orpington, Silkies, Barred Rock, Polish, or any other you can find stories on here where they are either sweethearts or devils. What has been your direct experiences with RIR's or are you just copying something someone else...
For sure. And you do not have roosters yet, just immature cockerels.
What are your goals, I don't remember seeing those spelled out? It appears you will be breeding and hatching chicks. I saw you mention the SOP, how important is that for you? For some it is very important, for some egg...
I'll assume you have a decent understanding if genetics and how they work. Essentially you need to reinforce the genetics you want and eliminate the genetics you do not want. That means carefully selecting which chickens you want to breed. I don't think you need a deep understanding of...
Several years ago someone on here had photos of Barred Rock chicks to show the head spot. On some of those chicks it was clear that the spot was either large or small. On some, it was really hard to tell. Experience can help a lot with that but with some it is still more of a clue that it...
I agree, Option 3. A bachelor pad is how many people deal with this. You do not get guarantees with living animals but I think this gives you the best chance for success.
The boys will determine a pecking order. That may involve some fighting but often it is not that bad. Give them as...
I've had a broody hen take her chicks to the roosts at 2 weeks of age. That's the youngest I've seen chicks sleep all night on the roosts. They had no trouble sleeping up there.
When I have chicks in a coop without any adults around most broods start sleeping on the roosts around 10 to 12...
I also do not think that is a CX based on size, body conformation, and those black feathers. Probably not a ranger or slow broiler either. What hatchery did you get them from? Maybe we could get a clue from their website.
It has a single comb, yellow legs, and a weak columbia feather...
I don't consider it odd, I consider it the odds. This table may help explain it.
1 egg - 1 in 2 will be all male or all will be female
2 eggs - 1 in 4
3 eggs - 1 in 8
4 eggs - 1 in 16
5 eggs - 1 in 32
6 eggs - 1 in 64
But you did not get all males, you got 5 of 6. The odds of that are...