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| Dear Farmer, What is the most dangerous disease that sheep can get in a area and how do you prefent this risk? Karise, year 9 but grade 7, Christchurch Dear Karise, There are many diseases and parasites that affect our farm animals, it is really difficult to determine the most dangerous. Probably the most dangerous problem that affect sheep in an enclosed area is parasite infestation. It is not really a disease but it can be fatal to your whole flock. The best prevention is a deworming schedule and rotation of grazing area if possible. Dear Farmer, how old does a hen have to be before she will lay eggs 5th, baltimore Hens are usually at least 4 months old when they begin to lay. Dear Farmer, can chickens and turkeys live together in a coop? livvy, 8th grade, usa Dear Livvy, There seems to be conflicting information about this. You can't feed the chickens the turkey's production food, so if you are trying to get the turkeys to grow quickly they should be fed separately. Also, the turkeys carry different diseases and parasites than the chickens. But, I have seen accounts that there were no problems. It depends on the size of your area and what you plan to feed them. Dear Farmer, I am hoping to do the chick kit at my school and had a question or two. First, I'm not sure yet how to tie it in to my curriculum (I know, big first) - I thought about introducing it when I teach plants and plant fertilization... orrr I thought about just doing it in general regardless of what I'm teaching. I basically just want to get out of the textbook with the kids. What do you think, do you have any suggestions? Thanks a lot. Lisa, 5th grade teacher, Illinois Dear Lisa, That IS a big question. And, you are located in Ilinois which actually has a wonderful resource at the University of Illinois Extension: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/eggs/. If you email back with your address in the message I can send you to our chicken expert. The chicken embryology program is an excellent life cycle curriculum and fits in almost anywhere. Dear Farmer, hello, I incubate my own eggs, but all that hatch are roosters. why? christine, 7th, rochester Dear christine, It is just the luck of the draw unfortunately. Maybe pick a different hen's eggs to incubate? Dear Farmer, I have a jumbo x rock meatbird my parents got her to butcher but I dont want to eat her, so I talked them into letting me keep her as a pet. she is about 20 weeks old and very heavy, I want to let her lay eggs and I was wondering if this type of chicken is a good mother hen? Also what kind of chicken would come out of a cross between a jumbo x rock and a partridge rock? Would the combination of them make a bigger chicken? I would like to try that and see. She is the best chicken we have, she is not afraid of the dogs or anything and she is very lovable.Also can a chicken rooster and a female turkey have babies together? What would they be like? Can the chicken rooster fertilize the turkeys eggs and would they develope into babies? Heather, 6th grade, Lakeland Dear Heather, I am not sure if the jumbo x rock is a good mother or not, but regardless all hens will lay eggs. The mothering part does not come in until it is time to set on eggs and you may or may not want her to do that. It is hard to tell what the chicks of a cross would look like. You'll have to wait and see. A chicken and a turkey cannot mate. They are different breeds. Dear Farmer, At what age do roosters begin to crow? Ally, third grade, san diego Dear Ally, 4-5 months usually. Dear Farmer, what age will my chicken have a wattle and comb? corey hutchison, 4th grade, grimsby Dear Corey, 4-5 months usually. Dear Farmer, how long does a hen have to set on eggs before they hatch???? kay, 6th grade Dear Kay, 21 days. Dear farmer, I have a couple of questions for you. 1st, I have 26 chickens and 1 blue slate turkey hen and today one of my roosters grabbed my turkey by the back of the neck and held her down and climbed on her back just like he would do to mate with a chicken hen, but I want to know if a rooster can actually mate with a turkey, and if they can do this, what would the outcome be? I dont have to worry about this now because Hazel (my turkey) is only 18 weeks old but I have tried looking this up and have not found anything on this matter. 2nd my hens are 21 weeks old and have not started laying eggs yet but I know they will start soon, they used to get into their nesting boxes and sleep at night until I put up the sides of a baby crib across the rafters in their coop to hold extra bales of straw, now they jump up there and sleep at night until morning, when they get old enough (any day now) and start to lay their eggs, will they get into their nesting boxes and lay eggs or will they lay them in the rafters so they will drop onto the floor or will they get on the floor of the coop and lay them there? Thanks, Also, can roosters be roosters but not have spurs? christina, 8th grade, mays indiana Dear Christina, First off, nothing will happen with your turkey mating with the hens except the hens might be injured. As far as where your hens will lay, that is a good question. You can use fake eggs in the nesting boxes to give them the idea that that is where they should lay. I would guess they are only roosting in the rafters and won't lay up there. So I would predict they will lay either on the floor or the nesting boxes. Roosters take a while to grown their spurs (even up to a year) so it is possible they haven't grown them yet. Use all the other clues to determine if it is actually a rooster. Dear Farmer? What is the difference between the eggs we eat and the eggs with chicks inside them. john, 4th grade, memphis Dear John, None. The hens that have a rooster will lay "fertile" eggs. They will only have a chick develop inside if they are kept warm either by an incubator or a hen. You will never get an egg from the grocery store that has a chick in it. Dear Farmer, what is a two week old female rhode island red chick suppose to look like? Jemma, 8th grade, Palm beach Dear Jemma, I am not sure what you are asking. Red chickens are usually yellow chicks. After 2 weeks they would start to develop their adult feathers. Dear Farmer, Would a hen lay on and hatch duck eggs???Would They Raise them??? Ashley, 7th grade Dear Ashley, A brooding hen (one that is ready to set on a clutch of eggs) would set on any eggs that you put under her. The mother duck does add some moisture to the eggs from her feathers after she goes swimming, which the hen does not do. Once eggs are hatched the birds are pretty self sufficient, but a hen would probably keep track of them. It really depends on the chicken. Dear Farmer, I am wanting a milk goat for the milk, what i want to know is do you have to breed a milk goat before they start giving milk? I only want one goat and dont want to breed them. Tammy, 8th grade, connersville Dear Tammy, If you buy a goat in milk and milk her twice daily you will keep getting milk for a year or so, but her production will begin to drop off. All mammals make milk to feed their babies. So, she does have to be bred. And, eventually she will stop giving milk. Dear Farmer, Thanks for the answer but I have one more. How long should I wait before introducing my chick in with the other four hens? Should it be gradual like a few hours out in the run a day? Or should I just put her in and let them establish the pecking order. Lee, 5th grade, Bayshore Dear Lee, You should wait at least for the chick to be fully feathered to introduce it unless you can convince one of your hens to "adopt" it. If you can set it up so that everyone can see each other but not peck it would be best to have them that way for at least a week. There is going to be a certain amount of pecking due to the "pecking order" as you said and that is okay, you just don't want the younger chick to get bloody. You can try them little bit at a time as well. Dear Farmer, I have one egg in an incubator and the temperature got to about 104 degrees today in there. Can that kill the chick growing in my egg? Eileen, 6th grade, Westchester Dear Eileen, There is a chance, it really depends on how long it was at the higher temperatures. Dear Farmer, I have been hatching eggs in a small incubator but only one hatched. I know they are supposed to live together but it is way too small to put in with my hens. What should I do? Lee, 5th grade, Bayshore Dear
Lee, Dear Farmer, how big can a chicken grow? smith, 3rd grade, akron Dear Smith, It really depends on the breed of chicken. There are bantam breeds that are miniatures and they would only weigh a couple of pounds. And there are larger breeds that could weigh close to 20 pounds. What's Your Question? Ask the Farmer. Fill out the form below and click on the submit button. |
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