how do I know if the egg in my incubator is a dud?

Is this egg a DUD? Good egg vs. bad egg

You are here because you’re wondering: Is this egg is a dud? Well, you’re in the right place. We candle our eggs at 10 days and again just before lockdown on day 18. Candling can be done before 10 days but keep in mind the embryo is quite fragile during the first week. Handling them View Article

Finding the Best Autosexing, Rare and Fancy Chicken Breeds

What we’re looking at for 2023 breeds:

55 Flowery Hen
Black Ameraucana
Lavender Ameraucana
Black Copper Marans
F1/F2 Olive Egger
Cream Legbar
Opal Legbar
Mille Fluer d’Uccle
Frizzle d’Uccle
Gold Bielefelder
Polish (multiple colors)
Frizzle Polish

What do chicken lice look like? Does my chicken have lice?

How to Treat Chicken Lice: What do chicken lice look like?

LAST UPDATED DECEMBER 1, 2024 First step: What do chicken lice look like? Below is a SEVERE case of chicken lice. Chicken lice eggs look like white mats usually near the vent and chin area feathers. The longer the chicken has had them, the larger the mats will become. The lice View Article

Black copper marans hatching eggs maran chocolate copper hobbit hill hatchery maine shipped mail marans of america chart 7

How to calculate hatch rates: counting your chicks before they hatch

Count your chicks before they hatch by calculating the number of mature birds with this in-depth, situation-specific formula.

bielefelder laying hens eating comfrey on wheaton mountain farm

Which autosexing breed is right for your farm?

We will be offering three autosexing breeds for 2023 to allow us to offer sexed day-olds locally of high production and dual purpose breeds.

black copper maran wheaton mountain farm maine hatching eggs chocolate chicken eggs

About Black Copper Marans Chickens

Black Copper Marans chickens are known for laying lavishly dark eggs. Colors range from deep reddish-copper, crackled-copper with dark brown flecks, to a decadent dark chocolate tone.

breese bad aggressive rooster. how to tell a hen from a rooster

How to tell a hen from a rooster in 7 steps

LAST UPDATED SEPTEMBER 12, 2023 Let’s tease out the best ways for how to tell a hen from a rooster. The diagram below shows two very different looking chickens. Bu many breeds exhibit similar traits between hens and roosters. This includes breeds with short combs on both sexes, or on the View Article

a pair of bielefelder chickens on wheaton mountain farm

Golden Bielefelder

This dual purpose autosexing breed is an excellent choice for a homestead. They are curious and gentle, making them a good choice for farms with small children. By only five months of age, the roosters were by far the largest we have ever raised here on the mountain, and have never had an argument.