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Our coop is just about finished! A family friend did the build for us, with a few suggestions and requests from me. The nest box he built is not covered. I am totally fine with that, but do you all think it will be ok? It is about 40 inches across, one big community box. I have the side access...

I just cut the vinyl to attach to my coop floor, and there is an AWFUL smell. We had the vinyl stored in the garage so it had ample time to air out. Will this smell go away? Will it be harmful to the chicks? I did a search and didn’t see anything on here.

Our coop is almost complete, and I am painting it now. Of course since it is outside, I see an occasional ant or other bug on it. We had some of the lumber stored in a pile outside before building. Do I need to treat for bugs before putting the chickens inside? I didn’t know if mites would...

We have two dogs currently, and are putting our chicks outside this weekend. They have a large secure run with 1/2 in hardware cloth, and eventually will be able to range inside a 6ft welded wire fence when they get bigger. Our dogs have access to the property on an invisible fence, but cannot...

We are thinking about getting another shed to convert to a coop at the farm. One wall would be14 ft long, and we were thinking if we got it we could install 2 roost bars along that wall of the shed. What is the best way to do this? It is so much easier to think about with 8 ft walls since 2x3’s...

Hi! I have been eyeing my hatch to see the earliest I can discover who is a roo. I have 2 OE, 2 BO, & 3 EE. The OE and EE I see no noticeable difference in any of the chicks of the same breed. Do you guys see the comb difference here and guesses on gender of these two? I know it’s too early to...

I have 2 new groups of chicks, one hatched 6/10 at a local breeder, and a group I hatched 6/18. I want to mix both groups, because I have 2 more orders arriving by mail hopefully Thurs. Do you think the new babies I hatched can move into the big brooder with the week+ olds so I can keep an eye...

Today is day 22. I have had 12 out of 15 eggs hatch successfully and fluffy butts are now snuggling in the brooder. My last 3 eggs have not pipped, and when I candled them there was no movement. Here are pics: Legbar egg: Thought I saw a tiny bit of movement but it could’ve been me playing...

How many chickens did you start out with? (Answer in poll) How many was the highest you had (if you know), and how many do you have currently (if you know)? Leave a comment to show how your flock has grown!

I have noticed recently that a few eggs I’ve cracked have a whitish yolk. I think the same hen must be laying them, as I cracked two more the same size and color. I cracked another colored egg next to them that was obviously not laid by the same hen, and the yolk is normal. We’ve eaten a few...

I candled my shipped eggs today. There were no visible air cells which I hope is a good thing. The only concern was the egg below. There appeared to be some bubbles possibly around the yolk that moved when I turned the egg. Any ideas on what it is? How should I proceed? Eggs are currently...

My eggs are set to ship & be picked up next week! I am setting 18 eggs, for an educational experience for DS! (& for fun 😊) From Meyer I am getting: 6 CCL 3 EE 3 OE From a local farm I am getting: 6 EE/OE BYM eggs (rooster has blue egg gene) I added 6 local eggs in case shipping goes bad…want...

This is the first two hours of day 22 in a classroom hatch. Was looking through photos from today and realized that this white egg in front is pipped way below the air cell. It appears that the spot is still covered in membrane as there is no spot to show it has broke through. Can this little...

I had 6 chicks hatch last night/this morning. 5 are bouncing around & active! Number 6 is laying on its side and barely moving. Should I do anything? Here is a pic, I’ve moved the egg in the pic away from it to give it space.

Hello, I may not be able to access my eggs or incubator to put them in lockdown for reasons out of my control. Here is the info. Day 18 begins on Sat at 2:00pm I can put them into lockdown on Fri (beginning of Day 17) at 4:00pm. I won’t have access to anything until Monday (end of day 19) at...

I searched this topic & didn’t see anything. Has anyone had an easy-to-see into egg that was clear on day 7, end up being fertile? All the advice I see says to leave clear eggs in until day 10-14 if there’s no smell, so I’m wondering how many times they actually end up being fertile after...

I am so disappointed. Today was the day I was setting my eggs in class with my students. Of course, we got hit with a huge snowstorm, and schools are closed today. 🙄. How terrible would it be if I set the eggs at home and unplugged the incubator tomorrow morning and drove it the 10 minutes to...

Hey all, I calibrated 3 therm/hygrometer combos yesterday. Unfortunately the hygrometers were showing 71, 70 & 68. I used non-iodized salt as that was all we had. Should I try it again, or assume they are all around 5% lower? Would iodized salt make a difference? Thanks!

Which do you think is best to give newly arrived or hatch chicks? I will be incubating a few, and have a few coming through the mail. It is my first time with shipped and hatched chicks, as I’ve only picked up day old chicks locally before. Thanks!

So, we have a family friend who stopped over today to help us design our run & garden fencing. He is a contractor so we welcome his experience with building! He is helping design our patio (paid for that job) and we appreciated having someone to give us good advice on the run! After outlining...