I have a Buff Orpington that hatched last spring and only started laying a few months ago. She was acting a little broody starting with her first egg, and now she is full broody and my broody buster is only set up for daytime use...I'm also a bit concerned about leaving her out in the weather we're getting.
I'm excited to have another broody after a raccoon got the one who raised her, but we get heavy winters here and I don't want her freezing. She has plucked her chest bare already and just keeps plucking and plucking.
In a month or so we'll have steady subfreezing temps during the day (teens to twenties) and temps around 0 at night with plenty of snow on the ground. Will she be alright with a bare patch on her chest the size of a softball? Is there anything I should do? I waited until after dark to put her in the coop away from the raccoons, but she still managed to stumble her way into a nesting box after walking into just about everything else inside the coop.
I'm excited to have another broody after a raccoon got the one who raised her, but we get heavy winters here and I don't want her freezing. She has plucked her chest bare already and just keeps plucking and plucking.
In a month or so we'll have steady subfreezing temps during the day (teens to twenties) and temps around 0 at night with plenty of snow on the ground. Will she be alright with a bare patch on her chest the size of a softball? Is there anything I should do? I waited until after dark to put her in the coop away from the raccoons, but she still managed to stumble her way into a nesting box after walking into just about everything else inside the coop.
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