Good Morning! in 2018

[SusanH]

Miranda sitting on seven eggs Day 12. Three are olive, so I can't see a thing with my flashlight. @Kbr42 will bring her candler Sunday and we'll see.
Wondering what to do about feed. For now everyone is getting an all-purpose feed since keeping chick starter and duck grower and layer feed separate was too much trouble. The ducks are laying now, and the Polish are eighten weeks so should be laying soon too, so I'd be switching to layer feed when this bag is done, except in ten days I'll have chicks. What do you do?

[WLLady]

if i'm in a pinch i'll feed everyone starter. but ducks i think are sensitive to amprolium so non-medicated starter.....it's important for the chicks to get a good start, and the other adult birds will find other things to eat too. leave some extra calcium out for the adults (oyster shell). otherwise if i put out a feeder of starter and layer then all the birds just eat the starter anyways....lol

[Colleen Kinzie]

I guess we are lucky
Our feed store sells small bags of chick starter and grower!

[Jaye]

@Colleen Kinzie , yes, you *are* lucky! I have never been able to source small bags of chick starter, so I buy the big bag and I mix any left over in with the new bag when it's time to switch to a grower feed. This isn't a problem for anyone that doesn't have a small flock, but for small flock owners it's a challenge because feed does go stale.

[SusanH]

Bill at the Sydenham feed store recommended gold'n harvest (purina) as an all purpose for chick starting, duck growing, and laying hens. The all seem to like it.
Miranda and her chicks will be in their own coop initially, so I could give them chick starter (I have some from a couple of months ago). How soon after hatching should I open the door and let Miranda take them out?

[Colleen Kinzie]

@Colleen Kinzie , yes, you *are* lucky! I have never been able to source small bags of chick starter, so I buy the big bag and I mix any left over in with the new bag when it's time to switch to a grower feed. This isn't a problem for anyone that doesn't have a small flock, but for small flock owners it's a challenge because feed does go stale.

Yes. They open the large bag and re bag into small plastic bags for people with only a few chicks
And if they don’t have any smaller bags left in the store they will go out and open a large one and bag a small one up for you!!!

[ross]

Sounds like they still know what “service” is to the customer Colleen .

[baronrenfrew]

Bill at the Sydenham feed store recommended gold'n harvest (purina) as an all purpose for chick starting, duck growing, and laying hens. The all seem to like it.
Miranda and her chicks will be in their own coop initially, so I could give them chick starter (I have some from a couple of months ago). How soon after hatching should I open the door and let Miranda take them out?

yes, Purina has a “golden harvest” line with a layena that is very similiar to their “start and grow” feed, minor differences amount of calcium and protein almost the same.

I buy which ever of the two is cheapest (the grower) and its all I feed.

[Brebis]

Our feed mill will usually have large bags open so you can scoop out what you need. Last trip the large bag of the Gloden harvest was about a1/4 full so I just bought the rest of it since there is only the one chick and it’s with the rest of the flock now. Nice when they do that.

I let my Broodie and chicks out with the main flock when they were about 6 weeks old. They are in a separate pen with a gate between they can interact with the main flock so when they start to mingle it’s not too chaotic though they get good at running out of the way when the bigger birds pass by! I also make sure there are lost of places they can hide if they need to.

[Happy]

How soon after hatching should I open the door and let Miranda take them out?

Depends. If I have a first-time mom I give her a space of her own for at least a week where no others can get to her (see but not touch) so I can see how the flock is reacting to her and how good she is at keeping tabs on her babies and protecting them. If all seems well then they get to mingle with the flock outside but maintain their own inside space. With my girl Little she has raised so many chicks and I trust her to just do it. She introduces her babies to the outside world as early as day 2 and no other hen comes near her because she will put a beating on them. By a week old she has them outside all day and only goes in for snacks and at dusk.