One of my least favorite chores is watering chickens in winter. All the de-thawing and re-filling chicken water containers when my hands are wet and cold despite wearing gloves. Even in the double walled barn the temps drop below freezing and that means various trips to and from the house to thaw the ice. I have found the best chicken waterer for winter, at least for here on CG Heartbeats Farm.
I decided to try something new recently by emptying the chicken waterers at night. The next morning, I refill them. This reduces the amount of time and energy I spend waiting for ice to thaw. Since I am not carrying waterers into the house. it reduces the inside mess, as well. This only works for those days the temps are below freezing, but not terribly cold.
When the temps get down into single digits and below zero, I have a different strategy. I still use the same type of waterer but twice a day while I am feeding other animals, I rotate water to the chicken pens during the daytime. This method works for extreme cold when water freezes in a matter of minutes.
In the last few years, I found one chicken water container style that makes the task a bit easier all the way around. No pun intended for it is indeed a round container.
Best Chicken Waterer for Winter
The cold has been slowly moving into our area. Soon I will once again be dealing with a lot of frozen water to thaw and replace here at CG Heartbeats Farm.
The hardest part for me when it comes to cold weather is dealing with ice and keeping water in front of the animals I care for.
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The style pictured to the right is hands down my favorite style in winter time.
There are various places to pick one up such as local farm stores, if that is where you prefer to shop.
The one pictured on the right is my choice option on Amazon. Click on it to order today.
I have found a chicken water style that fast became my favorite. Several reasons draw me to this functional idea, but largely the ease it creates when it comes to dealing with ice.
The design of the containers allows ice to be removed that has barely begun to thaw. This means way less time waiting to de-thaw and refill.
I still use the screw on type in some pens, but growl to myself at the longer time it takes to thaw and remove the ice. I hope to fade out the screw on kind or at least have enough of the other style to retire them during the winter months. An exception would be when using in the brooders, as the heat lamp provides enough warmth to slow the water freezing.
With this style of waterer, it is easy to know that the base is locked on. I have no idea how many times I have picked up a water container, full of water, only to have the lid slip off and water gush everywhere. For whatever root reason, my gut reaction is blood boiling. I feel angry. I should, perhaps, examine my reaction, but not for this post. Now however, when using this style of water container, I can look and know it is not going to slip loose and make a mess.
How to Verify the Container is Closed
I have on at least 2 occasions had conversations involving the question of how to use this style that are a little different, but functional.
Other reasons I like this style:
Due to the flat design, there are no crevices in the upper part of the waterer. This means easier cleaning.
I have found the plastic to be durable as it is sturdy and flexible enough that I can lightly bump it against a wood post to loosen ice that is slightly melted.
Compared to screw on and bottle style design I am comparing this
water container style to the kind with a screw on base, pictured below.
The optimal system would be rain barrels collecting water. PVC pipe to directing water to different pens with nipples in each pen for the chickens to drink from. This system would be almost maintenance free any time the temps are above 32 degrees. I hope to implement this as permanent outside pens are constructed. But the afore mentioned is not a winter solution.
If you only have a pen or two, you might consider a heated waterer. Then you will not need to deal with ice at all. Pictured above.
I have too many different pens to use the heated waterer. The above style is my choice.
These are my preferences. What is your favorite tool for watering chickens in winter? Leave a comment sharing your best chicken waterer for winter.
I previously shared questions to ask as you decide on specific chicken breeds in the blog post titled What Chicken are Right for You. Today’s post takes you on the next step. When deciding on chickens that are for sale, there are 4 different growth stages to choose from, hatching eggs, chicks, juvenile or grow outs, and adult. Let’s examine different reasons you might choose from adult birds, hatching eggs, chicks or grow outs when choosing your first chickens.
Adult Birds: Choosing your First Chickens
There are a few reasons adult birds are the best options for your new chickens. By purchasing adult chickens, you will not need to wait for them to start laying. You will not need to feed them for the 4 to six months prior to beginning to lay. This, also, applies to birds you are raising for meat if they are heritage breeds.
The modern meat bird is ready to harvest as early as 2-3 months. Either way you will not need to invest the time to wait or the money to feed them. Do expect to pay a higher price for adult birds compared to juveniles or chicks to cover the fact the seller has invested the time and money (that you did not) to raise them.
Juvenile or Grow Outs
Some breeds cannot be easily sexed until 2 or 3 months of age. If you do not want a rooster, waiting for male or female characteristics to appear might be the best route for you. If sounds like you, there are still advantages to purchasing a juvenile over an adult.
If your chickens are your pets, you will be able to bond with them as they finish growing and will be able to decide what they are eating. Feed options such as organic, non-GMO, traditional, or even grow your own feed will be up to you. Raising them yourself allows them to have free range time and finish raising them to your standards. This is not to say that you cannot connect with a breeder that feeds chickens in a manner similar to yours, but that makes your search chickens a little more challenging.
Buying Baby Chickens for Your First Chicks
Purchasing chicks can be a bundle of fun. The cute, little fuzzy babies chirping and running around. When they have had enough of that, their little heads suddenly droop. They slowly lay down and sleep. Whether purchased locally or picking up at the local post office the fun of bringing them home and watching them grow up provides a bit of ole fashioned entertainment.
Other Considerations When Purchasing Chicks.
The act of shipping them through the mail can sometimes cause loss of life, even with the best of packing.
There often is a shipping charge in addition to the price of the chicks.
If you choose to stay local with your purchase, you will be limited to the local breeds of chickens for sale.
Chicks need a heat source until their first feathers grow in.
A brooder of some fashion is needed for chicks until they are old enough.
Hatching Eggs: Choosing Your First Chickens
Hatching your own chicks gives children the experience of seeing a new life develop. The lessons learned go a bit farther than sitting down at a desk and reading a science book. The hands on activity creates an environment where seeds of responsibility and discipline can be planted. The best part is watching a healthy chick pop out of its shell.
A word of truth here: As it is in all aspects of life, the genetic imperfections that fill our world may occur. As an example, a chick may not hatch all the way due to improper development. Or one may hatch, but it did not develop properly. This too is an excellent opportunity to teach a child the facts of disappointment and grief. As adults we know these are a part of life, and what a great time to teach a child how to deal with them in a manner that promotes healthy minds.
Best Option Hatching Eggs vs. Chicks?
Hatching eggs are less expensive vs. chicks. Do not expect every hatching egg to produce a chick. It would be an unusual case for all purchased hatching eggs to hatch. I do not always get a 100% hatch from eggs that travel no farther than from the barn to the house. If the eggs are shipped a general rule of thumb is 50% of the eggs will provide you with new baby chicks.
Let's look at the math for a minute. As an example, with shipping and the price of eggs you have $70 into 12 eggs. If you hatch 6 (50%), the price per chick would be $12. If the same breed of chicken cost $15 and you purchased 6 chicks, you would have spent $90 plus shipping. Congratulations you saved money! and had the fun of hatching. However, this is intended only as an example. The hatching result could go either way resulting in more or less chicks. This is where you decide the risk or chance you are most comfortable with.
In conclusion
Knowing your goals and resources will lay a foundation for choosing your first chickens.
Leave a comment, if you found this helpful and share which stage of a chicken’s life you have decided to purchase.
There are many factors to consider when choosing what breed or breeds of chickens are right for your flock. That sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Your Flock. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when deciding what chicken breeds are right for you. You will also find brief corresponding points to aid in making your decisions.
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What are your goals for chickens?
Will your birds be your pets? Some have chickens merely for the food they provide. others enjoy them as a pet.
Do you plan to produce your own food with your chickens? You might want to choose a breed for its egg laying ability. Do you plan to raise them for meat? If so, there are breeds available whose fast-growing heavy muscle patterns make them ideal for eating.
Perhaps you intend to own chickens for both meat and eggs. There are wonderful heritage and dual-purpose breeds who lay a decent number of eggs and are delicious to eat. For example, the Silver Gray Dorkings raised here at CG Heartbeats Farm.
Do you plan to raise chicks? If so, you might want to include a breed known to go broody in your flock. Will you be raising chicks to a breed standard, a backyard Heinz 57 mix, or a little of both? There is no wrong answer, only what you prefer.
Do the breeds you want play well with others?
Some breeds are known to be more aggressive compared to
other breeds. If you choose to own more
than one breed, you will want to purchase breeds that are able to get along
with each other. There will always be a
pecking order among chickens. One hen
will rule the others. There will be one below her in the domination order. Each hen will have a place in the line down
to the lowest.
Do you want more than
one breed?
A flock of mixed breeds can be a beautiful thing. The beauty of a dozen different colored eggs may make the decision for you. Many find joy in seeing blue, green, different shades of brown eggs and even eggs with a pink tint. The diversity of backyard chicken breeds provide a wonderful way to enjoy owning birds.
To vaccinate or not vaccinate is a personal choice based on
several different factors.
Desire to raise chickens completely natural
Comfort level with the risk of loosing some
birds
Desire to have eggs and possibly meat from birds
that were not vaccinated
Allowing for the survival of the fittest
Belief that vaccinating will stop disease from
spreading (It has been proven to slow down the spread in the last century.)
Over all sustainability of the environment.
Loss of money due to loss of birds
Some breeders vaccinate all chicks, some do not, and others
leave the choice up to the buyer. If you
are purchasing older birds and have strong feelings one way or the other about
vaccination, make sure to inquire before purchasing. That goes for any age bird, truthfully.
How many chickens do
you want?
This decision will depend in part on how much land you have available. Other factors include the goals that you have decided on. If you are breeding chickens, chances are you will have more chickens than an average backyard flock. If you live on a lot in town, the number you can have will be limited to the size of the coop that fits in your space. In general, there should be 3 to 5 square feet per bird in a coop and 8 to 10 in a run. If chickens are kept in coop 24/7 the square footage would need to larger per bird.
Understand that this can vary depending on the size and breed of chicken. Still, this gives you an idea to base the number of chickens you want to own. Perhaps you live in the country and want to sell farm fresh eggs locally, you may want 50, 100 or even more.
Will your flock
include a rooster?
Depending on where you live, roosters may not be allowed due to the loud crowing they are bound to exclaim as morning dawns. I personally enjoy hearing my roosters crow early in the morning.
A rooster is needed if you intend to hatch chicks to fertilize the eggs. A hen will lay eggs without a rooster, so if you certainly do not need one for a hen to lay eggs. Will your first
Do you plan to free
range your flock?
Traits of a chicken that does well free ranging include high awareness of predators, ability to fly, and of course scratch and look for food. Some breeds are known to be better as a free-range bird then others.
Another factor that influences free ranging abilities is the environment in which they are raised. If you choose to free range your flock, expect to have some loss of life. The advantages and disadvantages are yours to weigh.
One more thought is that if you have close neighbors with dogs, or even not so close this seems to be another disadvantage to free ranging birds. Even if you choose to keep your chickens in a pen of some sort that does not entire reduce the risk of loss from a predator.
How many eggs do you
consume on a daily or weekly basis?
Different breeds of chickens are known for how many eggs they produce a day. In recent years, chicken breeds have been developed that are known to be the best for laying eggs, (laying highest number of eggs in the shortest amount of time). These often lay best in the first year, but after that the number falls of drastically.
Heritage breeds of chickens tend to lay less eggs each year but have longevity to produce eggs for several years. Does the idea of supporting heritage breeds appeal to you? Or perhaps the desire for large numbers of eggs in a shorter amount of time works best for your goals.
In Conclusion
Know what your goals are. Use these questions to decide what chickens are right for you. Decide what is most important for you. Have fun and try new breeds. Maybe there is not a chicken breed that fits your requirements. If you are up to the challenge, you may decide to create your own breed. I have. See the post titled Introducing the Lemon Flower Chicken Breed. Click below
Chickens offer two readily known assets to a homestead in producing eggs and meat. I have found a third use for chickens here on CG Heartbeats Farm. While I am likely not the first to do so, in this post I share how I have put chickens to work on the homestead.
Humble Beginnings
One of my frustrations early on in this journey was a desire to garden, but no good way to bust up the sod which has a fantastic root system. I wanted to turn parts of the yard into garden space as long as 2 or 3 years. I started looking for little ways to begin producing some of my own food and here is where that journey has taken me so far.
Originally, I used broken buckets to grow sweet potatoes and pots to grow peppers, and tomatoes. The first year I had the best success with the sweet potatoes and from that soil, created a small container garden. I also utilized a part of one the flower beds which for years, I hardly kept the grass at bay. My garlic journey began with 18 cloves of garlic in 2016 with 3 varieties. Fast forward 5 years later, I have around 600 cloves planted in 8 varieties. I no longer use the flower garden. Now I am able to use other areas, thanks to the work of chickens.
Looking Back
As a part of using what I had in the form of dog kennel panels, I set up first one 10 x 10 and an additional 5 x 5 off the side of the 10 x10 pen. These were covered in a netting that we had purchased in a roll and a part of that roll remains. These pens were placed in an area where I wanted to create garden space. In the fall of 2018, the chickens had sufficiently killed off the sod in the 5 x 5 pen.
How did I know this you might wonder? There was almost no visible grass or roots sticking up in this pen. A few stray root tops near the surface along a piece of wood was about all I could see from the surface. Simply put, it had a look of bare ground.
I moved the 3 panels to a different side of the 10 x 10 pen. In this new location, more sod could be removed by the chickens.
Back to the spot where the pen had been. My next step was to take a spade to this area and turn the dirt over. At this time, I also found and removed any remaining roots I could find. There were a few, but certainly not the number that would have been present had I randomly picked this spot in the yard and tried to start digging up the grass. I have done that before when planning grapes and black raspberries and it proved to be a bit difficult for my current physical state.
Sustainable Gardening Ideas
With the ground prepared, I used this area to plant the Music garlic variety and has a mild, sweet flavor that I find pleasing. It has been a bit of a trial for me being the first time I had planted garlic in this area of the farm. Knowing this spot also contained a sandy subsoil same as where I planted garlic before in a garden near the house, I felt confident planting one variety in this location. Adding hay chaff and eventually wood chips are a practice for garlic I am raising. Both could be considered a waste product, but not if I am looking for ways to be sustainable. Since I don’t like weeding and I love the benefits of chaff and woodchips as a method to cover the soil.
Early Spring 2019 the garlic garden in the flower bed
Early spring 2019 the Music variety of garlic is growing nicely in the new bed
Recalling the Spring of 2019
Spring of 2019 rolled around and proved it was indeed excellent
for garlic. It is doing every bit as well as in the other location where it is
planted on CG Heartbeats Farm.
Here the chicken pens are moved to a new location. The patch of dirt is where the pens were previously located.
In March I was itching for the 3rd week of April
to arrive for that was the week I planned to move all the current panels to a
new nearby location. Here the chickens
would have fresh ground and I would have another garden plot. I am finding I like the idea of having different
plots around on the farm instead of one large garden area. I think it adds character, reduces wind and
water erosion, and in time with some flowers mixed in, beauty. It may provide a
way to rotate crops in different areas, a sustainable practice.
Julie is running the roto tiller. She has a growing flower business, Blooms on 800.
I had started heritage tomato seeds indoors and looked forward to planning them outside in this new garden space. My excitement helped energize me for the task. No sooner than the new pens set up we had 5 inches of rain in about a week’s time. That put a damper on the progress.
Help from a Friend
I learned to know Julie last year at while attending the markets. She has proved to be a continued encouragement to me. She had earlier offered to bring her tiller over and work the ground for me, saving me the work with a spade. This past Monday that day finally arrived.
Feeling excited to see the progress made, I proceeded to plant the tomatoes that day. What I cannot share in a picture or quite in words was the smell. I will only say that ground did NOT smell like roses. Julie, in her encouraging way, said, “You will have the biggest tomatoes around.” This in response to my comment about the bad smell.
Now that tomatoes are planted and covered due to the forecasted temps in the low thirties and I will continue to leave the cover on until the weather has warmed. These ‘covers’ are the tops of apple cider vinegar and milk jugs, an example of ways to re-propose materials otherwise considered trash. (#usewhatyouhave) This project has cost me little to nothing. Perhaps even saved me a small amount as it provided a natural food source for the chickens while they lived outside. I did, of course, feed them additional food.
Tomatoes planted with room for additional plants, perhaps corn and beans? Notice in this picture I have already added hay chaff to cover the ground. Wood chips will be added, also.
Continuing the Progress
Over the last 2.5 years I have continued putting the chickens to work on the homestead creating additional garden space. I am getting close to creating a garden entrance and fencing a portion of the garden.
Garlic and onions are currently planted in a 10 foot by 36-foot garden where chicken pens sat in 2020. Eventually a portion of this space will be home to an additional row of grape vines.
The garlic and onion garden for the 2022 harvest. Pictured here in the fall of 2021 shortly after planting. This is one of several current garden spaces. Notice I had just started to put hay chaff on.
The vision of the gardens I am creating has developed slowly over the last few years. To be honest, it will likely continue to be modified as time goes by.
I am looking forward to adding flower bulbs against a fence line. Last fall I planted 2 Dwarf Alberta Spruce trees, one in each outside corner of where the fence will be. How are you using what you have?
The Lemon Flower chicken breed developed over the last few years as I sought to use what I had and work within my limits when I struggled with reproducing Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner chickens. When this process started, I was not sure how the process was going to unfold. For the first time I share the story as a part of introducing the Lemon Flower chicken breed.
How The Lemon Flowers Began
Feelings of failure and frustration filled my mind as I went about the chore of feeding chickens. 3 years into ‘raising’ Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiners I had yet to hatch a single chick. What did I know about hatching? About breeding chickens? Was I up to this ‘new experience’ I had taken on 3 years ago? Give me horses and horse illness, problems and work. This I knew as a 30 plus year horse owner. My thoughts recalled a concept I had learned in the last 3 years; taking on a new project or experience was bound to include failure. Well, in the moment, I was feeling it.
I mean! Could these hens even produce a fertile egg? I had been through 3 roosters. Not a single chick had hatched!! Additional frustration feelings of failure overwhelmed me. My body responded by energy leaving my body. Perhaps taking on new projects was NOT the way to improve my health. Maybe if I had continued with horses, I would have overcome my loss of desire to ride, compete and continue chasing my childhood dream. Maybe? Ah, but no turning back now! Onward.
Testing Fertility of the Hens
Wait! I had a plethora of fertile roosters in the Swedish Flower Hen breed. Perhaps I could test the LCN hens’ fertility by crossing the hens on a SFH rooster. If they produced chicks, then the infertility fault would be in the LCN roosters.
There was a nice looking SFH rooster who had been raised outside as a grow out. I often admired him, but had no need for him in any of my current breeding pens. He was available and a nice specimen. I mulled over my thoughts for a week at least. I had conversations with friends over my idea. If I did get chicks, what would I do with them? Perhaps, I could sell them as laying hens to folks who wanted pretty chickens. I mean they were bound to be pretty, right?
The SFH rooster wasted no time at all in breeding the LCN hens after I placed him in their pen. The hens were not laying right then. I also have a protocol of waiting 6 weeks after switching roosters before hatching eggs to ensure integrity of the genetics. In other words, I do not want chicks are from one rooster and they are actually from another. It is my understanding; 6 weeks is a conservative measure. Often breeders will consider 2 to 4 weeks a good wait time when switching roosters.
Fertile Eggs
In time I incubated eggs from the SFH rooster and LCN hens. YES! I had fertile eggs. Now I could blame the LCN roosters for the infertility in the LCN hens. I ended up with 5 chicks, 3 roosters and 2 hens.
The 5 50/50 crossbreds I hatched
These chicks were 50% LCN and 50% SFH. At the time, I had no luck in hatching LCN and no roosters to use. I had picked up 2 pure grow out roosters, but they were not old enough. My pen space was limited so I put the 50/50 hens in with the purebred hens. I kept 2 of the nicest and similar colored 50/50 roosters in a separate pen.
The difference in the eggs of the 50/50 hens and the LCN hens was obvious. The cream colored LCN eggs were oblong, almost in a detrimental fashion and the 50/50 hens had a rounder structure and were definitely darker in appearance. When the grow out roosters, I named Cisco and Clinch were old enough and knowing I could easily tell their eggs apart, I put them in with the 50/50 hens and the pure hens.
Imagine my excitement when the black based 50/50 hen went broody. I happily set her up in a brooder tank and gave her the eggs she was sitting on. Now I am uncertain if any of the eggs she hatched were from the pure hens or not. I can speculate one was based on how she turned out and the type of egg she is producing.
For the beginning of 2022, chick in question is now an adult and in with my known purebred rooster. See last week’s blog post (click below)
Deciding to experiment to see what I would actually get I incubated the crossbreds eggs. They were faster to produce chicks over the purebred. Frustrating!
I am all about using what I have. At the time, I had nice sized, egg producing cross bred chickens who were not perfectly uniform in color but were similar in size who were producing fertile eggs crossed back on Lemon Cuckoo Nierheiner Roosters.
This second generation of my crossbred project was 75% Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner and 25% Swedish Flower Hen
Taking the pullets for the red CB hen I created a pen with one of the 50/50 roosters. The pullets from the black based 50/50 hen I placed with the other 50/50 rooster. My plan was to keep 2 lines going with the 3rd generation.
2021 proved a difficult year for me on a personal level. Chicks did not always get banded or marked. For the record I am honest with customers and communicate if I do not know which pen a bird came from. Depending on their goals, the pen they came from does not matter to them. So, I communicate honestly and allow the customer to decide.
Notice how yellow the hen is in the top right of the photo. She is the hen who has since moved in with the 100% Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner rooster.
To reduce chore time, I combined the 4 75/25 hens with the 50/50 rooster. The short video below shows the 1 rooster and 4 hens.
In late fall of 2021, I added any female offspring back into the pen. for the winter season. I marked each crossbred hen to know what generation and line they are.
Colors of Lemon Flowers in Developing Generations
Of the original pairings, one 50/50 hen was almost all black, the other was mainly red or ginger. As I created the next generation pens, I grouped them based on what hen they came from and similar color.
Colors of 75% LCN and 25% SFH or Second Generation Cross
The cross of 75% LCN and 25% SFH hens over 50/50 % roosters produced 1 or 2 consistent color patterns. In other words, there were 1 or 2 different colors which showed up. The feather patterns were similar, but the colors appeared 1 of 2 ways.
Generation 4 in creating the Lemon Flower Chickens
The most consistent coloring has shown up in the fourth generation. However, I am optimistically waiting to see what the 4th and 5th generations produce
The roosters readily show a heavy muscle pattern but demonstrate a willingness to fly and roost. These characteristics are a combination of the 2 orginating breeds. The hens lay consistently and produce a tan, sometimes speckled egg. To date, I have not documented the average number of eggs produced by single hen.
Breeding Goals and Needed Improvements for Lemen Flower Chickens
I would like to see improvement in color uniformity although many hens are quite consistent with in the 3rd generation. I need to document and calculate the average number of eggs a hen lays in a given year. My 2022 goal is to hatch all I can and select the best for next generation pens to continue improving on what I already have.
For 2022 initially I will have 2 pens of Lemon Flowers. The 50/50 rooster over 3rd generation hens and a third-generation rooster over the second-generation hens.
What questions do you have about my developing breed? Leave me a comment below or post on the Lemon Flower Chickens Facebook page. I am not planning to sell many, if any, of this breed until I have worked with them more.
Do you want to learn more about Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiners or Swedish Flower Hens the two originating breeds? Check out the links below:
I am excited to be introducing the Lemon Flower chicken breed. There is a Facebook page to connect and chat about these beautiful chickens. Use the link below to like and follow.
In the fall of 2016, after purchasing Swedish Flower Hens, I found these gorgeous, dual-purpose chickens called Lemon Cuckoo Niederrhiener. Newly imported only 2 years prior, to the United States, they sold for around $30 a chick. My homesteading journey was just beginning and the prospect of selling baby chicks for such a price appealed to me. This post tells tell my story of raising Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner chickens.
As, I scoured the internet, searching for a place to purchase my own. I came across 2 or 3 farm websites who no longer sold them. Not thinking too much about the fact at the time, I now believe the farms struggled to reproduce them; quickly decided the breed would not be a good financial return on their investment.
Circle M farm offered a deal on chicks for only $20 each. I ended up with 8 chicks, 6 females and 2 males. While harder to distinguish males from females at hatch, by the time they were 4 weeks old the males were lighter and the females darker. All with a yellow look to them.
2017
With great anticipation I set their eggs in 2017. Imagine my disappointment when time after time the eggs either lost viability early on or were not even fertile to begin with. I started looking for a different rooster.
The first year the hens regularly laid eggs. I remember thinking their egg production was to be commended.
2018
I purchased a rooster to hopefully gain fertile eggs to incubate. With the hens all enjoying an outside pen, I examined them using the translated standard from Germany. I choose the hen who best represented the breed and placed her in a separate pen with the new rooster. In this fashion I would now have 2 lines from which to add diversity to the gene pool.
Disappointed again, as none of the eggs were fertile. I do not think I ever had a fertile egg from the rooster I purchased.
Raising Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner Chickens in 2019
Feeling a bit frustrated as 3 years into raising Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiners and I had not hatched a single chick. Could the hens be the problem? I knew my Swedish Flower Hen roosters were consistently fertile. Perhaps I would test the ability of the Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner hens to produce a fertile egg.
After tossing around the idea in my mind and looking over my Swedish Flower Hen roosters, I decided why not. I was not getting anywhere as it was. I might as well try this new idea of mine. If I did get any chicks, I could always sell them as crossbreds or egg layers.
The 5 chicks who hatched from the crossbred experiment.
The hens crossed on the black based mille fleur rooster produced 5 chicks using a Janoel 12 incubator. I had my answer, the roosters were to blame. In my conversations with others about this docile breed, I learned of the importance of trimming the vent feather of both roosters and hens.
Cisco and Clinch
I was hopeful with the addition of Cisco and Clinch to now have a chance at hatching Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner chicks. Timing has proved a difficulty in itself. The hens were 3 years old and not laying as regularly at this point.
Cisco and Clinch were not mature enough to breed the hens the summer I brought them home. By the time I put them in with the hens, the hens had stopped laying for the winter.
2020 Raising Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner Chickens
2020 I continued with my crossbred program crossing roosters who were 50/50 with pullets/hens who are 75% LCN/25 % SFH. Next weeks post will share details of my crossbred project I now call Lemon Flowers.
Cisco and Clinch with 3 my original Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner hens
I combined the 2 hens who were 50% Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner in a pen with my remaining Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner Hens crossed on Cisco and Clinch. The black 50/50 hen went broody. Check out the chicks she hatched.
Notice how white 2 of the chicks are. I was testing Cisco and Clinches fertility using eggs from a pen which contained both pure Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner hens and 50/50 hens. I might have ended up with a pure hen also. As I hatch her eggs, I will have better idea. She is currently in with my only pure LCN rooster.
The black broody 50/50 hen with 3 of the chicks she hatched.
I was disappointed in 2020 to have lost 2 hens, leaving me only one original Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner hen. The timing of when the hens laid eggs was not conducive to incubating. The 2020 season came and went.
2021
Imagine my delight when I finally had fertile Lemon cuckoo Niederrheiner eggs. I only hatched one chick in the incubator, but I congratulated myself on progress. The hen stopped laying before I could get any other eggs rounded up to incubate. She was approaching 5 years and no longer laid eggs as often.
Possum Attack
Its 4 am and I hear roosters crowing, while not entirely unusual I heard anther sound and listened closer. It sounded like a chicken in distress. I dressed quickly and took a moment to grab my pistol. It was fairly chilly out with a wind blowing. No time or desire to waste on warm clothes, I wanted to investigate.
Taking a quick glance at Aneta, our Great Pyrenees told me where the problem was located. In my headlamp I inspected the interior of the LCN outdoor pen. The rooster was huddled and then I see it. A possum was eating on my hen. My blood ran cold. I wanted a clear shot, and the possum was already on the move. After moving into a better position with the possum still in motion, I shot and missed. Wait! Was the hen breathing? She was but did not survive the attack.
I waited around for the possum to return and managed one more shot. Regrettably I appeared to have missed again. I apparently need to improve my skill. Certain the varmint would return; I moved the rooster into the barn. He did not seem to have injuries either, but unfortunately, I also lost him a few weeks later. Another setback in raising Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner chickens.
Trying Chicks from a Hatchery
A subscriber and fellow Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner enthusiast alerted me a hatchery was selling LCN chicks. Of course, hatcheries are not known for their excellent representation of any breed. Rather the opposite, no matter the breed. Given the difficulty of finding others breeding and selling LCN’s I choose to order chicks.
Notice the inconsistency in these 2 roosters. Both were from the hatchery chicks I ordered.
By the time fall arrived I was sorely disappointed. The inconsistencies were beyond obvious. There were not uniform or even anywhere near the way my original birds had presented themselves. Not a single one actually looked like a LCN.
Pictured are the 5 pullets from the hatchery. Notice the inconsistency also.
In the fall of 2021, I looked at pictures at pictures of Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheirs from the hatchery catalog. Definitely NOT what my original birds looked like. I would likely not be ordering a second time.
Click the picture below to read a translated version of SOP (Standard of Perfection) from Germany for Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiners.
Left with only one pure LCN rooster, and possibly one hen, and no contacts with chicks available at the time.
My options:
sell them all and say forget it.
work with the obviously not pure pullets from the hatchery and cross them back on my pure LCN rooster
find the best representation from my crossbred project and my possible pure hen (hatched in 2020) to cross them back on the LCN rooster (hatched in 2021) I now have.
At least I knew what percentage my crossbred birds had of the LCN line.
With the hatchery birds I have NO idea what was in them or the percentage of LCN they possess if any. Chances are someone here in the United States had tried to recreate the breed using breeds the birds were originally created with in Germany. Cheers to them for trying, but full disclosure would be appreciated.
For the beginning of 2022 I am starting the year crossing my lone pure LCN rooster on the 2 yellowest of my crossbred hens with correctly colored legs out of my cross bred project. One of these hens is potentially pure. The cross bred project chickens will be called either lemon flowers or flowering lemons.
One of the 2 hens who will be crossed with the pure LCN Rooster in 2022
I am on the fence about using the hatchery pullets to cross back on my full Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiners. With no idea what breeds went into what they are calling Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner. I do however know what percentage my crossbreds carry. For this reason, it seems easiest to work with the 2 hens from my crossbreds I have chosen who represent the LCN breed the best.
Lemon Cuckoo Niederrhiener rooster who hatched in 2021
Hopefully, I can add LCN from the original imports. This continues to be my goal for raising Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner chickens.
I welcome your thoughts and conversation on the Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner breed. Leave me a comment below.
I would like to share with you where my idea came from to batch the job of hatching baby chickens. I will continue to improve The ideas I share here will communicate the basics of my current process.
What is Batching ?
Batching a writer’s work load is a concept I learned about as I became apart of the online community. Blogging and podcast coaches speak of batching content creation, scheduling social media, and answering emails. In a nut shell the concept revolves around the idea of doing the same or similar tasks in a setting or a grouping.
The idea is when working on a repeated task if you do it all at one time your mind stays focused and it will take less time to complete the process.
In content batching for example, one might set aside time to write out a list of content ideas and when they will be shared. Another time slot is set aside to create outlines for the above mentioned material. A third time period is set aside to actually write or record (podcast) the material. And a final time slot is set aside to edit the created material.
Does this actually save time? Or is this a mind shift which will work well for some people and not for others? Good questions I do not have the answer to, but keep reading to read about how I am using the idea of batch hatching baby chickens.
NOTE: This page or post contains affiliate links. When you click and make a purchase I earn a portion of the money you spend at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate and other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.
Tools for Hatching Baby Chickens
Not sure if it actually saves me time, but I decided to apply it to my hatching process. First, I want to share my current hatching tools and what I have been doing.
I currently use 4 table top incubators. These are not the most expensive on the market and not as automated as other incubator options, but these are what I currently use here.
At CG Heartbeats farm we raise 3 breeds of heritage chickens and most of the time I source my hatching eggs from my own flock.
Silver Gray Dorking
Swedish Flower Hens
Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner
Silver Gray Dorking, a five toed bird, has existed in some variation for over 2000. years. Writings during the reign of Julius Caesar depicts a five-toed bird. Named in more recent times (last 2 or 3 hundred years) after the town of Dorking, England. They traveled to the United States with the early settlers. I have found the roosters to be……Click to continue reading
The first Swedish Flower Hen birds were first imported into the United States in 2010. These beautiful birds known for their white tipped feathers are primarily an egg laying bird. Click to continue reading
This friendly breed has only been in the United States since 2014. Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner roosters weight may top out at over 10 lbs. They are truly a duel purpose bird as 6 hens have consistently laid anywhere from 1 to 6 eggs since the started laying at around 5-6 months old until going through their first molt. Click to continue reading
Why I Use Small Incubators for Hatching Baby Chicks
There are several Swedish Flower Hen breeding pens here at CG Heartbeats Farm. I have found it challenging when I incubate eggs from several different pens to identify which pen the chicks came from.
I have in the past watched a hatch extremely close, pulled out chicks to band them as soon as they hatch, and put them back in the incubator.
Want Wasn’t Working when Hatching Baby Chickens
This was not satisfactory to me for several reasons.
My time hovering over a hatch kept me from other duties
Because I was drawn away at times, I would miss a part of the hatch. (Thus the chicks were unknown parentage and recorded as such.)
Opening and closing an incubator repeatedly to band chicks does not create the best conditions for the remaining eggs to hatch
Often a part of the hatch happened at night and these days I cherish my sleep.
I opted to purchase smaller incubators to hatch less eggs at a time such as the Janoel 12. I have had good success using this incubator for the price of it.
Using my old system I hatched every week or so. One week I would set eggs from one pen. The next week another pen and so on. Every week I had something on my calendar around hatching chicks.
Experimenting with Workflow on CG Heartbeats Farm
Late in the year of 2020, I had an idea to try a new system. I decided to batch my hatches.
After saving eggs for a week or so from all the pens I wanted to incubate eggs from, I collected eggs from all the breeds. You see it is easy for me to tell the different breeds apart as chicks. I am able to hatch Silver Gray Dorking chicks with Swedish Flower Hen chicks or Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner.
I organized the eggs placing them in one of the 4 incubators based on
How many eggs I had from a specific breeding group
Space in the incubator for other breeds
In one day all 4 incubators were set. After 7 days of incubation I would candle all the eggs at one time. I would have one day for lockdown all 4 incubators, one hatching period of a couple days. One day to move the chicks to brooders and one day to clean all the incubators and start the process again.
I am currently on round 2 of using the process of batch hatching baby chickens. I do not know if it is actually shortening the amount of time it takes to complete the work around hatching baby chicks. It does reduce my temptation to become distracted and keeps me focused,.
Benefits
No need to hover over a hatch, banding chicks to preserve breeding lines. Now I have around 2 weeks free time with no need to take action around the incubating process. During this time, I can focus on other jobs and projects.
I have the option to narrow it down to 3 incubators if I end up with infertile eggs. If you are new around here you may not know, I test a breeding group’s eggs for fertility before selling them. And yes, there are times I a particular pen is not producing a fertile egg. It doesn’t mean they never will, but it does mean I do not sell eggs from that pen until I start seeing fertile eggs and chicks.
Do you need gift ideas for the chicken owners in your life? My Gift Guide for Chicken Owners shares 15 ideas I picked. I had fun putting this list together. As a backyard chicken owner, I would enjoy any of these items.
No worries if the person you shop for lives in town or country, these chicken related gifts work for all. Items range from under $10 to $35.
NOTE: This page or post contains affiliate links. When you click and make a purchase I earn a portion of the money you spend at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.
15 Gift Ideas for the Chicken Owner
This mug from Lang sells for $25.99. The cute box adds functional decor to any part of your house (2 gifts for the price of one).
1
Coffee Mugs
A coffee drinker loves to sport their favorite mug while enjoying a hot beverage, chicken lovers included.
Click on picture above to shop
Does the chicken owner in your life wear earrings? I know I could see myself wearing these to a farmers market. The 2 pictured examples showcase different art style.
Click on a picture to order or view other options
2
Ear Rings
Under $10
Click on the picture to order
Clicking will provide additional varieties. If you gifted a hen and rooster set with matching art and color, a person might choose to wear a hen in one ear and a rooster in the other. Now for the price of 2 sets of earrings they would, in fact, have 3 to choose from. How fun is that?
3
Metal Signs
Price $8.99. Click on picture to order.
Click on picture to order.
I like seeing metal signs decorating a chicken coop or barn. They also look cute on a front porch or in an entry way.
4
How about these cute socks (pictured below)? I think these are my favorite.
Socks
Click on any picture in this grouping to purchase
These socks look cute and imagine the fun and laughter to be had with them.
Any of these socks would tickle my fancy to unwrap for a present.
Click on any image to purchase or search for additional sock options.
This wallet has credit card slots and potential cell phone holder.
Wallet or Small Purse
Click on a picture to order
5
I like the outside pocket on this wallet.
I like the fact this key chain is hand made.
6
Key Chains
7
Kitchen Sets
Maison d’ Hermine Campagne
You may purchase individual items to make up a complete kitchen set: table cloth or table runner, placemats, along with the items pictured here.
Set of 2, 100% Cotton Kitchen Towels
Set of 4, 100% Cotton Napkins
Hot Pad and Mitt
Table Runner
This apron is my favorite.
Give the chicken lover in your life a new kitchen look.
Set of 4, 100% Cotton Placemats
Click on any picture to order and see other items in this set.
8
Kitchen Accessories
All of these add to any kitchen sporting a farm or chicken theme.
.
Click on the above picture to purchase these cute rooster hot plates
Who doesn’t like a cute hanging wire basket hanging in their kitchen., or bathroom or entry way? This basket might fit in any room of a house.
A chicken door stop provides an attractive way to hold the door open in the house or barn for the chicken enthusiast.
Click on a picture to order.
9
Door Stops
10
Fun Garden Decorations
These would be cute in a garden or near a chicken coop.
Solar powered, lighted chicken
Click on a picture for further details.
The chicken owner appreciates a good pair of chore boots. I feel lighthearted thinking about going out to the barn in style.
These boots come in these two design patterns and styles.
Rubber Boots
11
Click on either picture to order and see other options
Click on the picture to go shopping.
12
Salt and Pepper Shakers
Give the chicken lover in your life a cute way to show off her hobby with a rooster and hen. There are several cute options to choose from these are 2 of my favorite.
13
Sweatshirt and T- Shirts for a Chicken Owner
The saying and colors are one of my favorite I have seen so far. When you click on the picture you will find other options.
Who doesn’t like a cozy sweatshirt or chicken themed T shirt? Click on a picture to order.
A cute way egg ‘basket’ how be-it less practical. It would look adorable sitting on a kitchen counter or shelf.
14
Egg Baskets
A cute practical egg basket for 12 eggs or more.
Click on either of these pictures and you will find other baskets to choose from.
Chimes
15
Wind Chimes
Does the chicken owner on your list enjoy wind chimes. These are a perfect addition for a porch or coop.
Perfect for the t-shirt wearin’ chicken lady in your life.
Do you know of an item that should be in a Gift Guide for Chicken Owners? Leave me a comment telling me what you would add to this list.. Thank you for looking. Happy shopping.
Read what I like and do not like about the Janoel 12 Incubator. I share a few tips I have used to help this incubator work for me.
While I have used different incubators, I have found the Janoel 12 to be my go to incubator right now. To be open here, I have used the Incuview (plastic), and the Little Giant Styrofoam incubator with the addition of a fan. I have listened to others experiences with different incubators. Of course, the price has influenced my personal incubator purchases.
My flock of 3 heritage breeds consists of breeding pens made up of 1 or 2 roosters with 1 to 6 hens. To clarify I do not put one hen with 2 roosters. Due to the smaller pen sizes and my desire to track what chicks hatch from each pen, I like the incubators that hatch a smaller number of eggs. I share this to provide a picture of where I am coming from with my current goals.
What I like about the Janoel 12 Incubator
1. Price
I find it hard to beat for the price of slightly over $50.00, based on what I see available on the market. This incubator has an auto turner, temperature settings can be modified and a display of real time temperature.
NOTE: This page or post contains affiliate links. When you click and make a purchase I earn a portion of the money you spend at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.
Learn more by clicking the picture above.
2. Auto Turner
The auto turner provides room for 6 to 12 eggs. I say 6 because with larger eggs that is about all that fits on the turner. Given the fact I may only have 5 or 6 eggs from a specific breeding pair, this incubator serves an important purpose on CG Heartbeats Farm. I have found a way to place close to 30 eggs in the Janoel 12 incubator. See my Tips for the Janoel 12 Incubator in this post.
3. Bottom Half Cleans Easy
I love the how easy cleaning the bottom of this incubator is. To start I dump out the water and mess. I spray outside with a garden hose. Next, I put apple cider vinegar in the bottom and the amount varies based on how dirty it is. I fill almost to the top with water and allow it to soak for several hours. The mess simply does not stick to the sides or interior bottom. The tray takes a bit of scrubbing with a brush to get the stubborn stuff off. I wipe the legs of the hatching tray with a paper towel. I also wipe the bottom half inside and out to dry it.
Examples include a hatch that started with 14 eggs, 2 were not fertile, at lockdown there were 11 viable eggs and the end result was 9 chicks. In another (1 time) instance, all 10 eggs hatched. I generally have a decent hatch rate with this incubator. There are several factors that influence how well a hatch goes. I will share that the first couple times I used this incubator I was not successful. I needed to determine the right amount of water to add at lockdown and I share that later in this post.
5. 360 degree View
The sides provide a view all the way around the incubator.
6. Adjustable Spacing in the Janoel 12 Turner
The spacers in the turner allows the width of each row to be a custom fit.
7. Durable
The longer I use this incubator, the more I am impressed with its durability. I have hatched in my original incubator for 3 years, gaining multiple batches of chicks each year.
Purchase your own Janoel 12 Incubator by clicking the picture.
NOTE: This page or post contains affiliate links. When you click and make a purchase I earn a portion of the money you spend at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.
What I do notlike about the Janoel 12 Incubator
1. Cleaning Inside of the Top
Cleaning any part of the top requires a screw driver to remove parts. It is simple to take part and put together, but more time consuming due to needing to remove several screws. I do not clean the top every time.
2. Lack of Setting Options
While the temperature is displayed and can be changed, that is the only setting. This model does not provide other settings such as a count down to hatch day, or a setting based on current room temperatures. There is not a humidity reading or a way to automate humidity levels. I have experimented with how much water to add at lockdown, based on the climate here in northern Indiana.
3. Not made in America
I like to purchase products made in America. This incubator
is not.
4. Harder to See
While there is a 360 view of the eggs, the durable plastic has a bit of smoky haze when looking through it or taking pictures. The view is not as clear compared to other incubators I have used or seen used. I have noticed after several hatches the plastic becomes scratched, clouding the view.
Tips for Using Janoel 12
How to fit 20 plus eggs in the Janoel 12 Incubator
If I remove the tray the turner sets on and place in the hatching tray, the Janoel 12 holds 20 to 25 eggs. The eggs need to be hand turned. I try for 6 times a day, but fall short some days. This starts a larger group of eggs. Often when I use this method, I know that it is likely not all eggs will be fertile. If the number of fertile eggs drop low enough after a week, I begin to use the turner. If not, I am committed to hand turning the eggs until lockdown. Either way, I end up with a higher number of chicks compared to only using the turner from day one.
Adding Water at Lockdown
I have found the best hatch results by adding ½ cup to ¾ cup of water at lockdown. The room humidly plays a part in my determination. To date, I use the dry hatch method. I may add a ¼ cup water on day 17 depending on the size of the air cells when I candle. If I do, I would only add ¼ cup to ½ cup more at lock down.
Note the incubator in the picture is not on a level surface. The water level is not equal but this is a general idea of what it looks like.
Maintaining a Hatch
The eggs often become bunched when using the auto turner. Maybe I do not have the spaces set correctly? I am not sure if that is the cause. I check the eggs once a day when they are on the turner and place them in a better spot.
“I like this incubator so well I have three.”
Maria Graber
NOTE: This page or post contains affiliate links. When you click and make a purchase I earn a portion of the money you spend at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.
In Conclusion
The Janoel 12 has been my go to incubator this year. I even purchased a second one in April, to hatch out different batches in. As I said, knowing the chicks correct parentage ranks high for me and the Janoel 12 helps me meet this goal. Is it a perfect incubator? No, but when I consider the small amount I invested in each one and all the ways it serves my purposes. I am excited to use the Janoel 12. I would love to hear your experience with the Janoel 12. Please reach out using the form below to send me an email with your questions or leave a comment at the bottom of this post.
Do you know what you need to hatch your own baby chicks? If not, read on. If items you will need may be obvious, may I encourage you to give thought to a few details when preparing to incubate chicken eggs.
4 Items to Hatch Baby Chicks
Hatching Eggs
Egg Candler
Incubator
Brooder (for chicks after they hatch)
Hatching Eggs
Yes, to hatch chicks you need hatching eggs. I am sure you all are aware. Let’s consider, for a minute, where you will get chicken eggs.
4 Places to Obtain Fertile Hatching Eggs
Hatcheries
Private Breeders
Local Private Breeders
From your own Chickens
Hatcheries
Commercial operations often offer many different breeds to choose from, both hatching eggs and chicks. If you are looking for a variety to hatch, here is where you often get the most choices. Sometimes the quality of the breed may not be top notch as hatcheries often go for quantity over quality. If you are not planning to show your birds, or breed your birds to a breed standard and want a pretty back yard flock, consider this option.
Private Breeders
Private breeders offer a smaller selection of breeds., but there may be several to choose from. Another option is ordering from different smaller breeders. This can be coordinated so that the hatching eggs arrive at the same time.
Local Private Breeders
If you find a local private breeder producing the breed of chicken you are looking for, you will not have to have your eggs shipped. This should potentially should increase the number of chicks hatched. Shipping hatching eggs can reduce the viability. The local breeder hopefully will package the eggs similar to if they were shipping them. Even a car ride can cause the eggs to be shaken up a bit.
From your own chickens
If you have a rooster, most likely you will have fertile eggs, needed to hatch chicken eggs. It is possible for a rooster to be infertile, but if so, you have the option to find a different rooster. The way to find if your rooster is fertilizing eggs is incubate them.
NOTE: This page or post contains affiliate links. When you click and make a purchase I earn a portion of the money you spend at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.
Incubator
You may click on the link below to order the IncuView Incubator pictured here. I like the large viewing window on the incubator.
Incubators imitate a broody hen to the best of technologies ability. There are many to choose from in today’s market. Some are produced in the USA and others are imported. Incubators come with different prices tags and corresponding functions. Often the more automated the process the higher the price. Particular brands carry a higher price, but with that comes an expectation of superior performance.
If you are interested in hatching a large number of eggs at one time as in hundreds, investing in a cabinet incubator may be the route you choose to go.
Features of Incubators: Air quality, humidity, and turning the eggs are all critical for proper incubation.
Fans
Forced air meaning an incubator has a fan moving the air around in the incubator. This feature promotes incubator air to be a consistent temperature throughout. It also pulls in air from any available air vents.
Humidity
The humidity levels are controlled by adding water. Tools are available to automate that process. Or another feature may be a exterior port to add water so the incubator does not need to be opened when adding water. A hen will generally get off her next one time per day so I am not convinced that opening a lid to add water is a terrible detriment to hatching success. In fact, there is a newer incubator on the market that can be programmed to intentionally cool the eggs one time a day.
Turners
A tray attached to a motor will turn eggs for you. If an incubator does not have an automatic turner you are responsible for turning the eggs approximately 6 times a day. Many incubators can be fitted with a turner. However, a draw back is the number of eggs that can be fit into the incubator at one time. As an example, one of the incubators I use is set to turn around 9 eggs, but I can fit around 25 eggs with out the turner
Egg Candler
From setting the eggs to trouble shooting a hatch once it has ended, an egg candler with be most useful. When I started I used a bright small flashlight and went to a light marketed for the sole purpose of candling eggs. I am all about using what you have and when I started a small bright flashlight was what I had. A candler plugs into an outlet instead of using batteries as a small flashlight would. I now use a small bright flashlight once again. I have at times used the light on my phone. If you are interested in saving money, use what you have on hand.
Brooder with Food and Water
Once a chick hatches and dries, they will need to move into a brooder. Brooders come in different forms, material and shapes. On a homestead they often are a product of using what one has available and develop out of creativity. There are commercial brooders that can be purchased at stores. They all serve the same purpose, to provide dry shelter, heat, food, water, and protection from predators.
Newly hatched chicks need to be provided with a heat source of 95 degrees in a shelter safe from predators. Dry clean bedding, clean fresh water, and chick starter should be in place near the heat source. The temperature in the room needs to be a match for the heat source. A pen that meets the above criteria will qualify as a brooder. What creative ideas have you seen, thought of and possibly used for a brooder? Leave a comment below.
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