Chick’n Swappin’ Season– Risky Business

We are sooooo close to Spring now! And in Missouri, Spring means something very specific for many, many chicken keepers– swap season.

Chicken swaps are fun places to go to see lots of birds and chat with other poultry lovers.  If you are part of a network, swaps are major events where you get to meet up with friends that you might not see otherwise.  For many, swaps are a huge part of the chicken keeping experience.

Because a person can find many birds of many breeds on the cheap and because of the comaraderie, being surrounded by other poultry lovers, swaps are not going to go away.  I could yell and scream all day, “Stop swapping birds!!!” but that just isn’t going to happen.

We used to be swappers before we started our flock of Orpingtons.  Now the swap birds are just a memory, and all of our birds except a handful of chicks, came onto this farm as hatching eggs to help ensure that our flock is healthy when we start offering eggs and chicks to others.  We feel that offering others clean, healthy birds is the greatest responsibility.

Swaps are fun while they last, but it doesn’t take long for people to start reporting on sick birds, and the truth of the matter is that while some illnesses– such as mycoplasma– can be easily treated or cleaned up from one’s property, some illnesses are not so easy to handle.  Once some illnesses– such as Marek’s– is on your property, they can stay on your property for years.  There is no easy treatment besides an axe, there is no easy clean up.

But enough of my finger wagging and lecturing.  Instead, I’ll offer some tips to those who choose to swap.

• It is easy to get distracted or to miss little details when there are so many things going on around you.  Remember to inspect birds that you might be interested in very closely for any signs of illness.  Also inspect the other birds in the same cage as well as birds in cages in close proximity.
• Signs of illness include runny or snotty noses, sneezing, watering or bubbly eyes, swollen eyes, puffy sinuses, lethargy, or even just a bird who is puffing out its feathers
• Birds grabbed from a coop, stuck in a cage, hauled to an unknown location, surrounded by hundreds or even thousands of people, and other unknown birds will be stressed.  Stress brings out illness, but it may not bring it out right away.  Quarantine your new purchases for at least 30 days and 40 feet away from your existing flock.
• Whether you purchase at a swap or just go to sight see and visit, stop at a car wash on your way home and wash your vehicle, particularly the tires to avoid bringing anything onto your property.
• Shower, change your clothes and shoes before visiting your flock.  Disinfect the shoes you wore off the property.
• Care for your existing flock first each day, then any birds you have in quarantine.  Remember to change clothes and shoes before visiting your healthy flock again.

I absolutely do not recommend acquiring stock from poultry swaps, but I do understand why people do.  So, for those who choose to do so be careful, good luck, and be safe!

Mr. Pickles

The newest member of the Happy Chickens family is here and a most unexpected addition he is.

He scratches at the baby gate and wags his tail when I talk to him and pet him and lies sleeping as we speak on a towel for his bed in front of the heating vent.  John took him out this morning on leash and collar and like a good boy, he did his duty outside.  No messes the whole night!

Did we get a new puppy??  You would think, but no, no, no.  Mr. Pickles is a mini pig!

That’s right.  There is a PIG.  Asleep in my kitchen!

Why, yes, life does take some strange turns now and then, doesn’t it?

Mr. Pickles!

 

 

Is it Spring Yet??

My little green house, 2013

We’re not even into the new year yet, but already, my three go-to seed catalogs are here!

Seed Savers Exchange, Bountiful Gardens, and Baker Creek are the three companies from which I’ve started to purchase my  seeds.  All three companies are part of an effort to protect and preserve heirloom, organic vegetables, fruits, grains, and flowers.  Maybe a little more expensive than just buying a packet of seeds from a seed rack at Wal-Mart, but definitely worth it.

basket of herbs– calendula, horehound, mint, and dill

These catalogs are just what I need to perk me up and to remind me that the cold and extended darkness of winter won’t last forever.  Spring! It is just around the corner!

I made some mistakes last year and am mentally preparing on how I will correct them. (2013 was only my second year gardening)  And I have decided to take advantage of any warm days that we’re gifted with until Spring’s arrival and use them to “play” in the garden.

Just yesterday I went out to clean things up out there and dragged wood beams to start making a nice, clean cut border for marked beds.  Next, if given the chance, I’ll be out to make, and set up, trellises and to do more clean up.

Calendula, 2013. One of the seeds I saved for next year. 🙂

A few of the mistakes I made in 2013….

I was so excited and could not stop buying seeds!  I bought so many different seeds, I couldn’t even plant them all.

I also learned that just because you can have someone plow and till for a massive garden, a massive garden doesn’t mean more food if you can’t take care of it all.  I probably could have grown twice as much food on half the space if I had been less scatter brained in my planning and had had the ability to actually stay on top of it all.

I also learned that a household of 5, with only two people really liking tomatoes, does NOT need  30+  tomato plants.   Opening a seed pack doesn’t have to make it an all or nothing deal.  😛

It wasn’t all bad though.  I learned from 2012 not to underestimate the destructive power of garden pests! And had an excellent crop of cucumbers for the lesson in 2013, perfected my spicy pickle recipe by the end of the summer, and also got a nice little box of butternut squash to hold me over for the winter. I even managed to save some of my own seeds so I don’t have to purchase to replace them.  🙂

Fresh dill for making pickles.

So, Boston Pickling cucumbers, Black Cherry and Cherokee Purple tomatoes, Clemson Spineless okra, Waltham Butternut squash,  Blue Jade corn, and more are all on the list of things to go into a garden cut down in size by a little more than half, using some space saving trellises in 2014.  And yes, I am already excited!

My shopping list (greatly reduced from last year to more realistic proportions)  is ready and soon to be ordered.  February will be time to start seeds and will mean time spent basking in the sun and heat of my little but much loved green house.  March 15th is the last frost date, but even if we have another extended cold spell, better decision making should leave room to house seedlings long enough to wait it out and still have everything I want to grow.

Spring isn’t here yet, but it is almost time for seeds and green houses already and that’s good enough for me!

A Belated, but Sincere, Happy Thanksgiving

Last winter was a bad one for me.

As if the shortened days, bitter outdoor temperatures, and apparent lifeless landscape wasn’t enough to bring a person down, we had a number of other setbacks last year too.

We’ve been trying to become more independent and self sufficient, but we are still learning and tweaking and adjusting things. We’re also pretty laid back about it.  We realize a need for independence for our own reasons, but we aren’t particularly hurried so we don’t go all out at the get go…. ie we don’t always do it right the first time around.   We’re ok with trial and error.

The first lesson we learned was that our wood stove in the basement didn’t have the capacity to heat the house.  It was a cold, cold winter outside and inside too.  We were reduced to cutting off parts of the house by putting blankets over doorways, eating in the living room where it was warm, wearing coats in the kitchen, and running space heaters.  I was not a happy camper.  I rarely am in the winter, but there is no bigger sissy than me when it comes to cold!

Our stores of canned goods diminished quickly for our efforts with our first garden and my first lessons in canning.

To add to my personal misery, I was losing chicks left and right, and couldn’t understand why.  Nothing I did was enough to save them it seemed.  No heat lamp, bringing them back into the house, no antibiotic, nothing.  I lost around half of all my chicks.  Long story short, we finally ended up putting down my entire flock, which was a miserable experience, then started over.

The time between last winter and this one wasn’t all good either so I went into this winter at the start incredibly down, expecting all the worst, expecting a replay of last winter, anxiety pre-mounted. Zero holiday spirit.

Today, it is cold outside, the sky is gray, earth is once again apparently lifeless, there is  about a foot of snow on the ground, and it is still falling.

John went out this morning and shoveled the gate to the run and shoveled the snow in front of the coop so I could get inside.  The hot water runs have started with me cursing for my extremely cold-sensitive fingers. But as much as I hate winter in general, and as much as I hated last year in particular, I am actually incredibly happy today.  Feeling super.

The new, very large wood stove is keeping the house comfortable– go free heat!  I still at least have a crate full of squash in my kitchen and cabinets overrun with pickles, and outside are 32 juvenile chickens that are happy, healthy, lively, and just seem unstoppable.  Not a single problem, not a single loss. They haven’t a problem or a care in the world despite the snow and cold.  They couldn’t be more perfect. ❤

This really is gearing up to be the happiest and best winter I could ask for as I’m realizing the little things I have to be thankful for, and if it hadn’t been for everything that went wrong last year, I don’t think I would be able to recognize the things I have to appreciate this year.

For the first time in a very long time, in cold and snow, I actually didn’t rush directly back into the house but simply stood there and just….. looked… and then wandered a little.  Instead of my feeling like everything is dead, it seemed as if everything is merely resting… sleeping, under a pure white, fluffy blanket.

Incredible how one’s perception can change…..

So, I’m late in being thankful, but I suppose that late is better than never.  I’m actually thankful for a miserable winter last year as it gave me the ability to see what I can be thankful for now and a changed perception of the season I have despised so much for so long whether permanent or temporary, many a lesson learned over the course of a year’s time, for the signs both big and small that we are getting better at all this here farmin’ stuff, for my beautiful, healthy young flock, for some very special friends I have made, and for the health and comfort of my family.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  But this time I *really* mean it.

Breakfast for Babies

Happy Thanksgiving from Happy Chickens!

Simonetta and a photo bomber!

It’s cold here with temperatures falling into the teens at night now, but my  juvenile birds are doing well.  I just can’t say enough how much fun I’ve had raising these birds up.

Some mornings they seem a little cranky for the cold, but are otherwise as lively as ever.  A warm breakfast and some “coffee” doesn’t hurt either.

For breakfast, I’ve been preparing two servings of warm oatmeal and mixing in a little  special feed mix to warm their little bellies.

• 2/3 cup of scratch
• 1/3 cup of Boss
• 1/3 cup of calf manna

Oatmeal, Boss, Calf Manna, and Scratch

Coffee?  Just some warm water with a shot of apple cider vinegar and occasionally I throw in a smashed clove of garlic.  Voila! Chicken coffee.  😉

Whether it’s helping them cope with the frigid temperatures or not, they definitely enjoy it!

Finishing what stuck to the pot and spoon. Waste not … 🙂

 

 

 

Winter Chickens

All the babies here are outside now in their portion of the prepared coop.  Everyone is good so far, but I did add a smaller box situated under the heat lamp to trap heat better– you don’t want to overcrowd ever, but you can have too big a space in winter. Though they seemed to be o.k. without the extra box and I try to be tough,  when it comes down to it I’m a serious worry wart.

Hard to believe that last week, temperatures were in the 80’s with cool but pleasant night time temps.  That has definitely changed!  Fall is in full swing, night time temps are dropping…. winter is fast approaching.

Previously, I posted about preparing our winter coop.  I decided I would post this time about chickens themselves and their care during winter.

Winter Egg Laying

In the fall and throughout the winter, people tend to notice a drop in egg production.  In many cases, hens will stop laying altogether.  Chickens tend to molt in the fall.  Odd timing, I know.  It seems strange that a bird would molt right when they start to need those feathers more!  But that’s how it goes, and during molt hens will lay less or stop laying altogether.

Also, a chicken’s cycles respond to the natural light cycle.  When the days grow shorter, the hens stop laying.  Some people feel it is best to let nature take its course and to give hens  a break in the winter.  I’m one of them.  But if you’d rather have eggs through the winter, a light on a timer that kicks on a couple hours before daylight and shuts off later at night (for a total of about 14 hours daylight) could help to keep hens laying through the winter.

Winter Feeding

Most people are concerned about needing to change a chicken’s diet in preparation or through the winter.

In my own case, I will have two flocks.  One is a layer’s flock for edible eggs.  The other flock is my breeder flock of English Orpingtons.  Since they have different functions, I’ll be feeding different ways.

In the Spring, Summer, and Fall the layer’s flock will have layer’s pellets.  In late fall and through the winter, I will switch to Flock Raiser.  I’ll provide a ration of cracked corn to give them a few extra calories to burn.  They’ll also get treats– warm oatmeal, warm rice, scrambled eggs, and various greens.

None of this is to keep them laying.  Again, I don’t provide supplemental lighting.  I think nature knows best.  Rather it’s meant just to give them what they need to stay healthy and plenty of energy to burn to hold their own through the winter months.  Flock raiser has a higher percentage of protein than layer’s pellets normally do.  Warm oatmeal, rice, and scrambled eggs will warm their core.  Greens will provide extra nutrients, and chickens just like green stuff! 🙂

If you do provide supplemental lighting to keep hens laying, keeping them on a layer’s ration is probably best.  You can also provide a ration of cracked corn or scratch grains to give them something extra to burn, and offer them warm treats and greens.

The Orpington flock, as adults, will be on a flock raiser year round, as well as a ration of fancy scratch mix made up of scratch, BOSS, oats, and calf manna since this flock’s function is not about high egg output at any time of year.  Warm oatmeal, rice, and greens will be provided, an extra ration of fancy scratch, but their diet will otherwise remain unchanged.

*No matter what you feed, provide a free choice calcium supplement whether it is oyster shell, crushed egg shells, or whatever you choose to use.

Letting Birds Out of the Coop

Should your birds have access to the outdoors in the winter? Yes, they should.

Some people’s chickens don’t want to leave the confines of the coop in winter.  Some people’s chickens refuse to let their dainty little chicken toes touch a flake of snow.  Other flocks on the other hand can be found outdoors wind, rain, cold, snow, or shine!  Let it be your flock’s choice whether they wish to venture out or not.

A good winter coop will give chickens that prefer their freedom sanctuary as needed.  Don’t forget to keep it ventilated!

Parasites in Winter

You would think winter would provide a break from pests and parasites.  Not necessarily.  Before winter sets in, be sure deworm, demite, and delouse.  Treat your birds and your coop.  They need all their energy to stay healthy and warm through the winter.  They don’t need worms, lice, or mites sapping them of their vitality, nutrients, and energy!

Supplemental Heat

Short and sweet answer? No.  A draft free, appropriately sized coop is all most chickens need.

Providing Water

The most important and challenging thing about winter can be keeping fresh water available.  There are plenty of options though to make that happen.  You may choose to schlep hot water out multiple times a day, alternate thawing waterers throughout the day, buy a heated waterer, heated dog bowl, or make a heated cookie tin waterer.  Whatever option you choose, keeping water available to your birds at all times is essential.  Eating snow will not cut it as it takes energy to melt the snow and lowers core temperature.  All you’ll have is thirsty, colder birds.

Letting Hens Brood in Winter

Fertility tends to drop for many through the winter and setting hens isn’t generally a problem, but it does happen!  If you do have fertile eggs and a hen decides she wants to set, it is probably not the best idea to let her.

Hens eat and drink little when they’re setting and will drop weight.  A thin, undernourished, dehydrated hen isn’t a good thing in the winter.  They also tend to molt after they set.  A half naked chicken in January?

Then the hen, while trying to recuperate, is faced with the duty of keeping chicks safe and warm.

Not that people don’t allow hens to set in winter.  Some do, and it seems they manage the situation just fine, but it isn’t recommended so my suggestion is to toss that ol’ clucker out of the nest box and tell her to cool her britches until Spring returns. 🙂

Choosing a Seller or Breeder

Am I active here this week or what??!  😉

Well, it’s just a very active time I guess!

The seasons are changing, days are getting shorter, and soon the dwindling daylight and eventual cold temperatures will take their toll.  Fertility will decrease, hens will stop laying without supplemental light for many, many flock keepers.  People are getting their Fall chick orders in before settling down for the winter.  It seems as good a time as any to bring up where to purchase chicks.

Personally, after this winter, I don’t plan on hatching and brooding chicks in the winter.  Yes, that’s what I told myself last year, and that is what I’ll tell myself next year too.   Ok…. maybe just a few…..

If you’re looking for hatchery quality birds, then I would do just that– buy from a hatchery.  But if you are seeking out rare breeds, rare colors, heritage lines, etc find a breeder!

Now, it would be nice to be able to just take people at their word– that birds came from this lineage, are this quality, are pure, and that the seller will deliver on a promise– but people are people, and the fact is that not all people are honest and not all birds are created equal.

You really must be pro-active in protecting yourself.  It’s called personal responsibility, and why would you not practice it all the more if you’re plunking down a lot of money?  If anything, you should be all the more cautious not less! So, I just thought I would take a minute to make a checklist of steps you can take to protect yourself from bad dealings when purchasing from private flock keepers and breeders.

• If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably no good at all.  If you’re seeking out a rare color, rare breed, top quality and someone is selling far below the market price, there’s probably something very wrong.  As a breeder explained to me, you tend to get what you pay for, and if you’re buying something rare for pennies on the dollar, chances are good that all you’ve really bought is that breeder’s problems ie. sick birds, junk birds, culls. It’s also possible that you’re purchasing from someone who just doesn’t care.  They have no love for the breed and just see a money maker which means they’re probably not investing any time at all in producing quality.  They’re just pumping out chicks.
• Ask for photos.  Even if a breeder is selling birds at, or above, market price it doesn’t mean they’re selling better, quality birds.  You could still very easily be dealing with someone selling culls or that thinks they found an easy money maker and has no interest in quality or improvement.  If a seller is proud of what they have, they’ll have no problems showing you photographs that are clear and that give you a well rounded visual of just what you’re getting or what kind of quality your chicks, eggs, pairs, or trios are coming from!  If a breeder or seller does not have photos or won’t produce photos for you to view, go elsewhere.  There are too many out there that will happily jump on a chance to show off their stock if they aren’t showing it off already, to deal with someone who gives excuses for why they can’t offer a photo or take the time to take more so that you can feel sure.
• Do your homework!  Ask around for referrals!  But even then, don’t take a recommendation at face value! You still need to look for more information on the seller or breeders you’ve been referred to since what you feel constitutes a good seller, good practices, and good quality may be vastly different than what another person thinks constitutes a good seller, good practices, and good quality.
• Ask the breeder questions.  What questions you ask are specific to you as each person places importance on different things.  For you, just as an example, it may be — do you show, have your birds won awards, or you may prefer someone who operates an entirely closed flock and never shows.  For me personally, of course I want beauty!! but health comes first!!! and it isn’t necessarily any one specific question that makes or breaks the deal, but rather how I feel about the answers and the seller’s reaction to my questioning them as a whole.  When I first purchased from a private seller, a couple of my questions were 1.)  have you ever had an illness in your flock, and if so, how did you handle it, and what steps are you taking now to prevent it from happening again  2.)  Do you offer vaccines?  I didn’t want or need the vaccines, but felt that the offering showed concern for the health of the breed overall and responsibility on the seller’s part.   The seller was patient, answered my questions honestly and in depth, never offended by any question I put forward.  They weren’t in a rush to get me to shut up, and I also didn’t suddenly feel like I was talking to a used car salesman!
• Go NPIP. NPIP certainly has it’s holes, but I do think that purchasing NPIP birds is a step in the right direction, especially when combined with these other steps in reducing your risk of purchasing unhealthy stock.  For the record, not being NPIP certified doesn’t mean a person does have sick birds, just as being NPIP doesn’t mean a person has completely healthy stock.  It’s just an extra step to increase your chances.  Myself, I am not yet NPIP, but I plan to be, and I’ve been extremely cautious with my hatching egg purchases.
• Trust your gut.  If something about a breeder or seller feels “off”, don’t take your chances.  Be patient and look elsewhere.  If one person has what you’re looking for, someone else will too so bide your time, and look for someone who makes you feel comfortable!

In summary, be willing to go the distance to get what you really want.  Be willing to spend the money or even to travel if you have to.  Be responsible.  You won’t do yourself any favors if you cut corners just to save money or a little of your time.  You’re not saving anything if the quality isn’t there, and you’re certainly not saving anything if you aren’t careful, don’t do your homework, and introduce sick stock.

Is there anything I left out in choosing a good breeder?  Post it in the comments section!

New Chicken Room, New Brooder, and Chick Pics

LF Black English Orp Chicks

So many chicks and nowhere to put them!

We have a rather tiny house, and it was pretty obvious I would need a second brooder, and with more hatching eggs coming in, that I will need several more especially as they start to grow.

Having a brooder shoved off in a corner for six to eight weeks, with all its dust and little chicken odor, is manageable.  Having brooders in every room of the house for six to eight weeks, not so much.

John and my son, Michael, did a wonderful thing and cleared out the closed back porch.  It is now the official brooding room, effectively solving our space and dusty house challenge.

I am still going to have to set up more brooders– probably two or three more– but perhaps not four or five or six!  For hatches 1-4, I used a kitchen pantry to make a brooder large enough to accommodate them all.  They were all born close enough together as to not be little bullies just yet when adding new chicks.

New brooder made from a kitchen pantry! Remove shelves, take off the door, and voila!

 

I think having the brooders on the back porch will be a good thing too since the porch is not temperature controlled.  As the weather turns cooler and cooler, they’ll get more of a taste of the cold when they venture away from the lights for a drink or a bite to eat.  It will not be as cold as it is outside, but cold enough that perhaps they’ll get an appropriately thicker coat of under fluff.

Despite the dust, I’ve been very happy having so many chicks!  Sending them out of the house will be very hard no matter how well I prep the coop for them.  I’ve taken quite a few pictures of my babies, knowing they will grow up and be out of the house in a blink, and with it being my favorite season on top of it all, with my favorite holiday around the corner, I’ve definitely been taking advantage.  From the looks on their little faces, I’d say they are plotting their revenge for the indignity of being plucked out their nice little brooder and plopped down among various props for the sake of my cooing and giggling as I snap their pictures!

Come now! How can I be blamed??  😀

Happy Fall from Happy Chickens!

Our Winter Coop

We have lots of chicks here at Happy Chickens now, and we are hopefully adding more!

Right now, we have LF Black English Orpingtons, bantam Orpingtons in blue, black, chocolate, and mauve, Langshan eggs in the incubator, and are hopefully adding Lavender Orpingtons and possibly others to the incubator in October.

As if the idea of keeping chickens snug through winter wasn’t just a little scary already, right??  But they can’t be kept in the house forever.  A shame though.  I’d love a few feathered friends to sit on the couch and watch T.V. with!  A hen at the dinner table! A rooster on the bedside table at about 6 a.m.  😉

It’s only the beginning of Fall, but now really is the time to start prepping the coop for winter.

I see questions posted a lot in the Fall from newer folks, worried and wondering if chickens are winter hardy and if there is anything they need to do or if they should plan on giving their flock supplemental heat.

Well, let me start by saying that some breeds are more cold hardy than others, but generally chickens are very well capable of handling the cold, and given proper care and a good coop, adults do not need supplemental heat.  People keep chickens in Alaska just fine, some only offering heat in minus degree temperatures.   In fact, you may actually do more harm than good giving your flock supplemental heat.

Adjusting from the warm, comfy confines of a heated coop to the frigid winter temperatures when a chicken ventures out is very stressful and can weaken their immune systems.  Furthermore, a bird accustomed to a warm coop may not survive if the worst happens and the electric goes out…..

So, rather than eating up your utilities budget by running electrical cords across the yard and risking the fire hazard of running heat lamps or space heaters all winter for adults perfectly capable of thriving right on through the long, cold winter your best bet is to just have a properly winterized coop that is sized correctly for the number of birds you are keeping.

In our case, we’re raising chicks, so offering heat when they go outside is a necessity.  They’ll be leaving a warm house and will have to be placed in the coop in November and January.  Outside of the supplemental heat, everything I’m doing right now to prepare the coop for winter is the same as I would do if I were preparing the coop for an adult flock.

First of all, though it may come as a surprise to people newer to chicken keeping, we are actually discussing ways to open up the coop for more ventilation.  We want plenty of air exchange in there to avoid a build up of ammonia that can seriously damage the respiratory system of our flock.  What we don’t want is a draft or air that blows directly on our birds.  Before we put our chickens in the coop we will seek out any possible drafts and seal them up.  However, we will keep our sources of ventilation wide open.

We have a very large coop.  I always want my birds to have more than enough space, but in winter, there can be such a thing as too much space particularly with bantams or chicks.  We never overcrowd, but we are sectioning off our coop to a size that is more winter friendly and will help chicks retain heat.  Next winter, when they are grown and supplemental heat is not needed, we will create a temporary dropped ceiling over the roost so that body heat doesn’t just rise and dissipate, but rather, is put to use where the birds are roosting.

We will also use wide roosts so that our chickens’ feathers will completely settle over their feet when they roost to protect those funny little chicken toes from frostbite.

Winter doesn’t mean the end of parasites and pests.  Lice and mites can seriously weaken a flock’s immune system– not something you want on top of their facing frigid temperatures.  The less they have to deal with, the better off they are. Fall is a good time to change out  bedding and treat the coop for bugs and mites in preparation for winter.

We have removed all the bedding and scraped it to earth and sprinkled Sevin Dust to kill bugs capable of carrying disease, sprayed the coop from the ceiling down to the ground, and so far, we’ve painted the walls where the chicks will spend the winter.

It’s a good idea to paint or use a sealant on any wood surfaces in the coop to help seal off the little nooks and crannies that tiny pests might hide in since not all parasites stay on a chicken all the time.

After speaking to a couple of very capable and experienced flock keepers, I’ve decided to combine the advice given to me before my chicks go into the coop to prevent parasites.  I’ll spray the walls with Permethrin spray and then place a good layer of DE on the coop floor before putting down a nice, thick layer of bedding for the chicks to snuggle down into.

As to the chickens themselves, a little cracked corn every day will help them put on weight and help keep them warm along with treats such as warm oatmeal, cream of wheat, or rice.   It’s also very important to make sure they always have access to water– the ultimate winter challenge.

Last winter I schlepped hot water several times a day.  This winter, I believe I’ll make a heated tin to keep the water from freezing.

We’re almost ready for winter!

Almost prepared section of the coop where our chicks will spend the winter

The 411 on Shipped Hatching Eggs

Is there anything more nerve wracking, yet joyful than actually incubating and hatching chicks?  I think not!

It’s bad enough when it is your own eggs.  Even plucked right from the nest box, there is still a nervous energy and a great deal of excitement in the waiting– watching for development, wondering how many will hatch, and in some cases, just what you’ll get from this or that cross, keeping a proper balance of temperature and humidity, and on top of it all, fear of the electric going out!

As if all those uncertainties weren’t enough, factor in getting them from another source, and even further! having them shipped to you! and it’s a whole new ball game.

There is at least one positive to having eggs shipped to you!  That is, you can get eggs for rare or hard to find breeds from anywhere, including breeds that are totally unavailable in your area!  But there are a lot of negatives too.  They are a gamble!  Whether the gamble of shipped eggs is worth it to you or not depends wholly on how badly you really want something!

What if they aren’t fertile?  How do you know how the eggs were stored before they were even shipped?  What if the eggs get lost in transit?? What about temperature extremes along their journey?  What if someone along the route from the seller’s post office to yours was….well….  a butt hole?

All the jostling along the journey, bouncing about in a truck, possible X-rays, changes in temperature, pressure, the possibility of a postal worker in a particularly bad mood….. the odds are against those fragile little eggs!

In other words, don’t expect great hatch rates from shipped eggs, even if they are fertile, even if the seller packages them well, because it doesn’t take a great deal to destroy the viability of those tiny cells you are hoping will produce a chick for you.  And after all the variables those tiny cells must face on their journey to you, they then must face the variables related to your particular environment and incubating practices.

Your rate of success will vary! It may be great one time and poor the next.  You may have generally good luck, but you may have generally bad luck and decide shipped eggs aren’t the route to go.  Whatever the case may be, a seller should be judged on their competence and how well they package their eggs, not your hatch rate.

Gawd, Lanette! Why are you being so negative!!! How discouraging!

It’s just fair warning!  You should be fully aware of the gamble you are taking and not expect that the 90% hatch rate you get from the eggs you pluck from your own nest or that you get when you buy eggs from Bob down the street is going to be the same.  Overly high expectations are unfair to sellers who get blamed when few to none hatch despite fertility and their efforts to get them to you safely.  Consider yourself lucky if you get 50%!

That said, I have done a little reading on recommendations for helping you get a higher hatch rate out of shipped eggs so I thought I would pass them along!

• It’s always best to get your hatching eggs locally, but if you can’t, shop around even for your shipped eggs.  The closer the seller is to your location, the better.
• Get to know the seller.  Look for recommendations and good feedback from others!
• When you receive your eggs, candle to check for detached or destroyed air sacks.  (Candling is using a high power light in a darkened room, placing it against the egg, to get a look at what is going on inside.  Just an FYI, you cannot use it to determine fertility.)  Those eggs that have been absolutely scrambled, get rid of.  The rest, including those with detached air cells, set pointy end down in an egg carton and allow them to settle and warm to room temperature.
• If air cells are intact, they should sit for at least 6 hours before you put them in the incubator.
• If air cells are detached, give them 24 hours to settle.  Even if the cell doesn’t reattach, it may still hatch, but they require special attention.  Instead of waiting 24 hours to begin turning, wait 2-3 days.  Instead of using an auto turner, keep the eggs in the bottom portion of a paper egg carton and place the entire thing in the incubator.  Tilt the carton ever so slightly by propping it up with whatever is handy.  When it’s time to turn the eggs again, remove the prop from one side, and simply prop the other side.  And instead of stopping turning on day 18, stop turning on day 16.
• Do not jostle your shipped eggs or over handle them, particularly those with detached air cells.  If you’re someone who candles a lot, you’ll want to avoid doing so if the eggs are shipped and the air cell is detached!  It is recommended that you keep candling down to two times, and that is it.
• Do not lay eggs with detached air cells on their sides!  They should stay in a more or less upright position!

Good luck on your egg hatching endeavors, local or otherwise!