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  1. Ridgerunner

    Injured hens

    Take a good look at his foot. Compare how many spurs he has, how big, and how sharp that spur is. Then look at those daggers on the end of his toes. How many toes and how sharp those claws are. When he is standing on the girl's back during mating, is he standing on his spurs or his claws? I...
  2. Ridgerunner

    Janoel 18s

    Those are not going to hatch so I'd remove them. They started to develop and then died. Why? I'd try to answer that before I started another batch of eggs.
  3. Ridgerunner

    In a pickle over pullets puzzled over next step

    I'll copy something I wrote a while back about mating. If you are not familiar with the process it might help. Mating Between Consenting Adults 1. The rooster dances to show his intentions. He lowers a wing and sort of sidesteps around the hen. 2. The hen squats. This gets her body on the...
  4. Ridgerunner

    Janoel 18s

    Welcome to the forum, glad you joined! I'll link a couple of incubation troubleshooting guides that might help you determine what is going on. These are more for commercial operations and not so much for our backyard flocks but you can get some ideas...
  5. Ridgerunner

    First Winter With Chickens, What To Do?

    That is a huge question. I think a lot depends on your specific circumstances. We have rules of thumb but those are intended for everywhere, whether Miami, Denver, or Calgary. Conditions can be quite different so different locations. You need enough ventilation to get excess moisture out of...
  6. Ridgerunner

    Rooster Hurting Hens?

    How old is he? How old are the girls? Part of the mating sequence is that the male grabs the back of the female's head, usually feathers but sometimes the comb if he is clumsy. The head grab is instinctive, it is a signal for her to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target...
  7. Ridgerunner

    Rooster Targeting Top Hen & Drew Blood on Comb, Hen Scared and Hiding

    Why do you want a rooster? What are your goals with him? The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is just personal choice, not a need. Nothing wrong with personal choices, I have a few of those myself. When making your decision consider your goals...
  8. Ridgerunner

    Is there such thing as TOO MUCH protein for chickens??

    :thumbsup
  9. Ridgerunner

    Free Range Hens reaching egg laying age

    I apologize for that. I certainly should not have said nonsense. We are obviously talking at cross purposes. All those things you mentioned can have an effect. But you are coming across as this is definite, there is no chance of a pullet doing anything other that follow your rules. I've...
  10. Ridgerunner

    First Winter With Chickens, What To Do?

    In Northwest Arkansas (somewhat similar to your climate) I never locked the chickens in the coop during the day. The coldest I saw while I was here with chickens was -4 Fahrenheit. I left the pop door open and let them decide if they wanted to go out. If the wind was calm they went out. If a...
  11. Ridgerunner

    Low egg production

    Wondering where you are located that it gets dark that early. What is your weather? Chickens can cut back a lot in extreme cold weather. I don't know if that is a factor. How long have they been laying without a break? After a certain amount of time their bodies get worn down and they need...
  12. Ridgerunner

    Something eats chicken feed and leaves wet lumps of it behind...

    Are you seeing any droppings? Mice, rats, possum, skunk, and other critters often leave droppings which could be used to identify them. If it were mice or rats hanging around long enough to do that I'de expect to see droppings. Can you spread a light coat of flour on the floor before dark to...
  13. Ridgerunner

    Chicken laying

    He is right. I'll link Henderson's breed chart. It shows, on average, how many eggs a breed would be expected to lay. This is an average, some will ay more, some less. These averages are for the heritage chickens, not necessarily what you get from hatcheries. Hatchery chickens from the...
  14. Ridgerunner

    Is there such thing as TOO MUCH protein for chickens??

    Some people have cleared up diarrhea by going to the basics. No treats, just feed them the feed. Either feed you mentioned (or 50% of both) should be OK. No additives in the water. No mint leaves. No cat food. I don't know that this is the problem but I'd try it for a couple of weeks. For...
  15. Ridgerunner

    Knives

    My favorite knife is also one with a replaceable blade. You want it to be sharp and don't want to stop and sharpen a knife once you start butchering. I use poultry shears for certain cuts like the neck and legs. You can really dull a knife on bones or cartilage. I part mine as I butcher so...
  16. Ridgerunner

    Treats for 25 day old chicks

    Yes, the grit is important. My broody hens take their chicks our foraging very shortly after she brings them off of the nest, usually within three days. The chicks peck at the ground and get grit, vegetative matter, bugs, or whatever they can find. So your 4-week-olds can certainly have...
  17. Ridgerunner

    What did you name your chicks ?

    Personally I name all of the boys Stew. I don't really name the girls. Consider Greek, Roman, Egyptian, or Norse gods and goddesses. How well do you remember your classmates names. Relatives, of course. Plants can work. Flowers for the girls, weeds for the boys. Wines or sweet drinks...
  18. Ridgerunner

    Free Range Hens reaching egg laying age

    Nonsense. Nine months old. Hatched in March. Started laying in December just before the winter solstice. Location Northwest Arkansas. My only blue egg layers so there was no question when they started or which ones it was.
  19. Ridgerunner

    Free Range Hens reaching egg laying age

    Could you please explain how two of my pullets started laying in early December at nine months of age? I'm in the northern hemisphere so those were among the shortest fays of the year, less than 10 hours of daylight.
  20. Ridgerunner

    Chick’n Aid Chicken Supplement in 90-100F - throw it out?

    Call the manufacturer and see what they say. You are only putting a little of that in their drinking water. It is not like they are getting any real nutrition from it. I don't know how well those vitamins will hold up in those temperatures. I would not be very hopeful for any of those...
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