You should keep the incubator at 100 F, but since your only two degrees below it is all okay. Don’t forget about the humidity, it should be at 60%. Also you need to turn the eggs about six times everyday so that the yolk doesn’t stick to one side. Its hard work but such fun. I loved it when my family had their farm. Good luck.

Technorati Tags: Hatching Eggs, incubating eggs

Blue Splash Silkie hatching to “Somebodies Watching Me”

Duration : 0:4:4

Technorati Tags: bantam, barnyard, bird, chicken, coop, egg, Hatcherie, hatching, silkie

Part of the the farms ‘Rare Breeds in the City’ project, the Marsh Daisy is an ‘Endangered’ breed of poultry

http://www.rbst.org.uk/watch-list/poultry/marshdaisy

Duration : 0:1:45

Technorati Tags: breed, chickens, Chicks, city, daisy, days, Easter, eggs, endangered, farm, feathers, marsh, old, poultry, Rare, shoreditch, spitalfields, Survival, trust, two

Well-designed and built coops should last you a long time and we always ensue our coops are responsibly sourced and well-built.

 Cheap imports from China may lok a bargain, but check the quality before you buy.

If you’re getting started a complete kit could be the way to go - this idea is from the UK. http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/thepoultrypeople Made in our UK Workshop, complete with 3 birds. Compact and ideal for smaller gardens and city or town lives. We will supply you with 3 hens free of charge if you buy one of our Arks to help you in getting started with poultry keeping. Thanks for looking and please browse our other videos to see some of our chickens.

Duration : 0:1:1

Technorati Tags: ark, chicken, chickens, hen, house, housing, uk

However, finding out what the law is in your city can be anything but straightforward. This example illustrated the point:

Is it legal keep chickens in the city of Chicago? Listen to conflicting information I receive from the police, the city clerk, and the legal department.

Duration : 0:9:52

Technorati Tags: chicken, Chicks, coop, coops, for, hatcheries, hatchery, houses

A When chicks are hatched they should be given the vaccine for Merrick’s disease. Most U.S. hatcheries provide them. Call your state veterinarian, and ask your county agriculture officer, and ask about risks about chicks with Merrick’s. Try your local Blue Seal Feeds store, Tractor Supply Company store, or another agricultural store to find more info/the vaccine. Merrick’s disease is a bacteria that has become common in chicks age hatch-POL. It paralyzes the chicken from the neck down.

The chick is unable to move, therefore it dies a slow and painful death of hunger and thirst. But once a chick get’s Merrick’s, it’s very difficult to bring it back. When they get to POL, call the state vet to have him/her come out and test your birds for Salmonella and Bird flu. In the state of Connecticut, the vet charges $5 to go out to your home, and $1 for each bird tested. It consists of taking a scalpel and cutting its wing, taking some blood, a vaccine and a ID band around its ankle, which is helpful when you sell them, if the future owner wants to send them in a show

Technorati Tags: Chicks, vaccinating chicks

Duration : 0:9:1

Technorati Tags: chickens

Duration : 0:1:28

Technorati Tags: birds, breed, chickens, cockerel, Dipple, fowl, Gordon, Rare

Duration : 0:5:22

Technorati Tags: baby, bird, chick, chicken, egg, eggs, hatch, hatching, incubator

Let’s look at the chickens themselves now, and I’ll come back to the chicken coop question later.

There are large chickens like the Orpington and smaller types such as bantams, there are beautiful birds such as the Leghorns but they can be flighty - and then you need to decide whether you are going to go for Chicks and rear them yourself, or broody hens that are ready to lay.

Start by making a list of what you want from your chickens: e.g. good layers, type of eggs, good as pets, good in larger numbers, highly attractive etc. Then you can research the different breeds and start to take a view.

You may also be influenced by what kinds of chicken breeds are available where you live - and which work well in your climate - some are better than others in colder climates, or damp conditions for example. And then there’s the simple matter of supply. if you want broody hens you may want to go and pick them out at the farm, so you’re likely to be limited in the choice available.

Finally - if you want to raise chickens, which breeds are better for beginners.

We’ll be coming back to this subject over the coming months as I work through some of the options.

Technorati Tags: building a chicken coop, chicken breeds