Hatchability in turkey eggs stored for 15 days prior to setting improves if the incubator temperature during the fi rst 7-14 days of incubation is increased (Christensen and colleagues in 2003).
Add stinky to the list of preferred fly aromas and a dirty chicken butt is a recipe for flystrike. After the fly eggs are laid on or in the skin, the larvae can hatch into maggots in less than 24 hours; the maggots then begin feeding on the skin, causing deep, painful sores that can become infected.
We have a number of different kinds of chickens. Barred Rocks, Cochins, Frizzles, Silkies, Marans and Americanas. They have lived from 3 years to 6 years and counting. We started our flock when our son was in kindergarten. He is now in 5th grade. Of the original birds, two of the five are still alive. Two died at the hands of coyotes and one died of natural causes at 4 years old.