Wild... Wonderful... farm life in Almost Heaven

Hi

My name is Julie, and I raise chickens on a cattle farm in West Virginia, mainly for production of omega -3 enhanced free-range eggs for local market.  At this moment, I have... 148 Leghorns, Five Buff Orpingtons, Four RI Reds, and about twenty five Dark Cornish and 16 Jersey Giant peepers in the brooders. Oh, and one BO rooster, and One BO is brooding.

I've been doing this for three years, and this is my third episode of chicken interaction.  Mother raised Leghorns when I was young, and I raised RI Reds for a while when I lived down south.  The Broody BO is the first time I've 'allowed' one to go/stay broody, so this is a whole new adventure...

I've lurked here occasionally when I had a puzzle to solve, and found some helpful and/or just interesting information.  At this point, the broody hen experience is proving to be a cluster of problems, so...  ~*~ I'm Here! ~*~

Some more than others.  I have one very sweet RI Red that thinks she's my dog... but Leghorns do not win any personality contests!

We're in Greenbrier County - a  bit south of you, I think, and marking off my fifth year at 'return to farm' life in August. We're sort of rebuilding my husbands' grandparents' farm; they farmed here (alone) into their 90's.  It's... not a small place, so there's a LOT of work to do - but not as bad as starting from scratch!

Sorry to hear about your hen (geez, I thought *I* had headaches!)  Mine may not hatch the current clutch of eggs - I opened a thread on another board here, seeking input (she changed nests).  I had a request for hatching eggs & was saving, so I can give her another set if it's a fail, but... she's already been sitting for nearly two weeks and I am apprehensive about starting her over - will she give up?, etc.  I hadn't planned on letting her into the wide open until the chicks feathered - paranoia, ya know - there are no bulls in the barn lot to protect them right now. I figured she has plenty of space in there, once I pull out the donor hens/rooster, and I bring the salad bar to *her*.

I got BO's because of their rep. for broodiness, hoping to get out of the job myself.  They are SO much calmer than Leghorns, it's hard to believe they're the same species.  But, the Leghorns earn their keep, and the others don't.  Baldy pays her way with adoration, lol. What strain was your heroic hen?

Numbers are actually low right now - the post office routed both of my last two chick orders through Pittsburgh instead of Charleston, and the losses were heavy (which was why I needed a nap and missed the nest swap).

And, thank you to everyone for the warm welcome!