All About Silkies, Nigerian Dwarf Goats & More
Is a DIY chicken feeder something you need? Well, let’s talk through why you might need a DIY Chicken feeder.
You’ve probably made several trips to your local farm store to replace a chicken feeder that has seen better days. Not a big deal at first, but eventually, the cost of all of those feeders starts to add up.
We feel your pain. So we decided to make a full list of THE best DIY chicken feeders your chickens will love!
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Raising baby chicks is a fun and rewarding experience. They are so cute and fluffy and watching them grow is a learning experience. Unfortunately, with raising baby chicks, you may have a few face some health issues such as spraddle leg, curled toes or pasty butt.
One of the common (and usually fixable) issues that a chick might face is spraddle leg which is also called splay leg. Here is how to identify and help fix splay or spraddle leg.
Splayed leg (also known as spraddle leg) is a condition that some chicks will develop. A chick that has splay leg (sometimes in one and sometimes in both legs) will look like it is doing a split or straddle.
The chick often times will have difficulty or be completely able to get their legs under them. Depending on how severe the condition is, they may be unable to walk.
Causes of splay leg can be several things including incubation issues (temperature, humidity or getting stuck in the shell in an awkward position). Another cause is when chicks try to walk on too slick of a surface such as newspaper.
They will need a solid, textured bottom on their brooder.
The fix is relatively simple, all you need is a band-aid, a pair of scissors, and a chick with splayed leg.
(You can also use vet wrap instead of a band-aid.)
1. You can use any type of band-aid you like. I prefer to use a cloth band-aid instead of a plastic band-aid. The cloth is more pliable and comes off more naturally when the chick is ready.
Take the band-aid and cut it in half lengthwise.
2. Wrap one end of the band-aid around the chicks leg at the knee joint. With Silkies, you have to make sure you do not wrap their fifth toe or leg feathering under the band-aid.
3. Repeat the process on the other leg and wrap the other end of the band-aid around the chicks other leg again at the knee joint.
4. The band-aid should keep the chicks legs under its body allowing it to walk and also helping the legs to re-position themselves correctly.
The chick will likely have trouble getting used to the brace. It will probably seem a little dramatic at first but it will learn to adjust.
5. Often times the chick will be unsteady while walking. Make sure it is able to get to food and water. We add marbles to the water in case it falls in to ensure it won’t get stuck and drown.
6. Leave the band-aid on until the chick is walking strongly enough that it pulls it off.
Rarely, a case of splayed leg is severe enough that this treatment will not work. If the initial treatment doesn’t work, just repeat the process again and it should work just fine.
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Differences between the Ameraucana chicken, Aracana chicken and Easter Egger chicken breeds are important to be aware of due to the fact that many people confuse them and think they are all the same breed. A lot of people think that Easter Egger chickens are the same as Ameraucana’s and Aracana’s, but they are not….
Have you ever wondered about hatching chicks with a broody hen? Ok, I will admit, on the surface this seems so simple. I mean, afterall, broody hens hatched chicks for a long time before people learned to hatch chicks with incubators.
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How to sex a chicken is a valuable skill to learn as a chicken farmer. We have all battled the straight run battle. You either buy chicks straight run (unsexed) or hatch your own chicks and aren’t sure if they are males or females.
If you, like most people, cannot vent sex the chicks, you are left wondering how to sex a chicken.
Although some breeds take WAY longer to be able to sex visually (for us, Silkies are still a guess until they are about 6 months old), you can make some educated guesses if you arm yourself with a little knowledge.
Most chicken breeds, especially those with single combs have signs that can help you tell if you have a hen or rooster by about 8 weeks of age.
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If you are are looking into getting chickens for eggs, one question you may wonder about is “do roosters lay eggs?”
To answer the question do roosters lay eggs, first you need to understand basic chicken terminology. (And maybe also understand a little basic biology.) If you don’t already know, a rooster is a mature male chicken.
Of course, the short (and probably obvious answer) to this question is no. No, roosters do not lay eggs. Males of most species do not lay eggs, and roosters are not an exception to this.
Ok, so that seems pretty simple, right? But, if you were wondering do roosters lay eggs – that may have also made you wonder:
This perhaps, isn’t quite a simple as the fact that males do not lay eggs. But, the answer is still the same. Do chickens need a rooster to lay eggs? No, they do not.
However, if you want to hatch your own chicks either by incubating eggs or using a broody hen then you WILL need a rooster. While the answer to can chickens lay eggs without a rooster is yes, they can. The eggs that hens lay without a rooster are unfertilized.
In order to hatch and raise baby chicks from your flock, you will need fertilized eggs. And, you can only get fertilized eggs if you have a rooster (or roosters) with your hens. So, if you want to get chicks, then you will need a rooster.
First, roosters tend to be much more colorful and flashy than hens. So, if you want really striking looking birds in your flock, you may want to add a rooster or two.
Also, as mentioned above, while chickens can lay eggs without roosters, in order to get fertilized eggs you need a rooster. So, if you want to hatch your own chicks, you will also want a rooster.
Additionally, roosters are good flock protectors. They will help ward off potential predators. We actually had one of our boys defend his girls against a predator one night – he was almost killed, but he kept all of his girls safe and we were able to nurse him back to health.
So, even though the answer to the question – do roosters lay eggs – is no. There are several reasons you may still want to consider adding a rooster to your flock.
