Chickens for bug control and food recycling.

[Nyboy]

Lost 20+ chicks to black snakes You need to Borrow @baymule dog Paris.

 

[PennyJo]

I thank my lucky stars we just have garder snakes out here not very large and the
chickens kill them if they find them

 

[PennyJo]

more and more thinking the visitor is a hen has not layed an egg but has not crowed or tried
to mount my ladies no behavior of cockerel in my view

 

[baymule]

I got an incubator and set 24 eggs, got 14 chicks. I was satisfied with my efforts, first time to incubate and not knowing what I was doing. I have another 27 eggs in the incubator now. I figure I'll keep the pullets for replacements and send the roos to freezer camp.

 

[Beekissed]

I cleaned out the mothballs this morning and replaced all nesting material with fresh hay. We'll see how things progress from there. Won't know for another whole month, so I'll just have to be patient to find out.

 

[Nyboy]

This batch of parrots is the first time a egg did not hatch. Mom has always had 100% hatch.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Bee, I saw a 5' to 6' black rat snake in a shed not that far from the chicken coop yesterday. He had some beautiful orange/yellow flecks in the black so it was a rat snake, not a racer. It was not in the coop and had a lump in him that looked like a mouse, so I let him go. As long as they leave the eggs and chicks alone I want them around.

Bay, that's not a great hatch rate but it's not that bad, especially for the first time. There can be a learning curve. Did you look at the eggs to see if they were mostly clears or if they died during development? Were they early or late? Sometimes I get good hatches, sometimes bad, whether incubator or broody. But if you don't know what happened you don't know if you need to fix something or not.

Penny, if that chicken crows that's a dead giveaway, but mine don't always crow that much. If that chicken is anywhere close to mature and isn't trying to mount the hens it's probably not a male. Mounting is such a common flock behavior. If you can post a photo I bet Bee could tell you at a glance what gender it is. A close-up of the head often helps but I also like a shot showing profile so I can see the legs, tail, and posture.

 

[lcertuche]

I have 5 seven-week old New Hampshire's that are supposed be pullets but I'm pretty sure they are cockerels but whichever they will be doing tick service this summer. Within another month I expect them to turn into bratty horndogs if they are indeed cockerels. Mounting is what they do whether it be a hen, pullet, another cockerel, a big rock, log, etc...

 

[baymule]

@Ridgerunner I didn't look into the eggs that didn't hatch. I was just happy that I got live chicks at all. I'm incubating this next batch and that will be all for this year. We'll see what I get.

 

[Beekissed]

Those newest chicks are running and popping along behind those two hens for all their little legs are worth! Three days out of the shell and out in the wet, cold world rooting for provender. Makes 'em tough and hardy.