“I just hatched out my first batch of eggs from an incubator. I have only had chickens for about a year, so I’ve been reading your newsletter to find out how to take care of them. The incubator instructions said to discard eggs after 25 days, so on day 26 I started to throw out ...…
"I have 3 hens in various stages of motherhood. 2 have chicks already and one is setting. I am having a hard time with the hens fighting over the chicks and in fact they have even killed one chick. The hen that is still setting is elevated off the floor, how do I keep the ...…
"Can you ID the male and female chicks at birth, even as they get older I am still not sure, can you give us any guidelines?" I'd like to thank our reader for this question and yes, the sex of day old chickens can be determined in a few different ways. The first way is ...…
In the last few weeks we've been discussing the transition from incubator to brooding area for your newly hatched chicks. This week in our "Basics Series", we'll talk about the first few days of a chick's life if its mother hatched the eggs. Although it's true that when mama hen hatches her eggs, there isn't ...…
Last week we covered your newly hatched chick's need for water. This week we'll move on to their feed and litter material. A chick will instinctively peck at and eat anything that is on the same level as their feet so before we address feed, let's discuss their litter material. Remember last week we talked ...…
Second to heat, water is the most important thing your newly hatched chicks need and that is the topic for this week's "Basics Series". A few weeks ago when we talked your chicks hatching, I mentioned that it's important to allow the chicks to thoroughly dry before you remove them from the incubator and place ...…
To quickly review from last week, a newly hatched chick is unable to maintain its body temperature. The chick is usually kept warm by its mother when she hatches the eggs. When you hatch chicks in an incubator, you must move the chicks to a brooder box after they have completely dried. In the brooder ...…
This week we'll be addressing the brooder box or brooding area. Newly hatched chicks need an external source of heat because they are unable to maintain their own body temperature. This occurs naturally when a hen hatches her clutch; the chicks snuggle up with mother hen and stay warm. When you are hatching chicks in ...…