Ok I have been addicted to Byc since the 1st time reading it. It is my "Go To" for anything chicken. So many times i was unsure or worried. I cant count how many times I found my self asking "is this normal ?" as a first time chicken owner.
Me and my husband and two young children got our first set of chicks last year we bought 6 and later adopted one and what a great year it was learn many new things and shared many moments with the birds good bad and ugly!
We love our girls to Dallas they are spoiled and they are so smart an extremely sociable to humans since we handle them a lot
Many times on Byc I would read about taking a broody hen and having her hatch out bought fertile eggs.I would also read about taking day old chicks and putting them under broody hen and swapping her eggs out. Of course I read about the horror stories that hen would leave babys or worse... Your hen killing the baby chicks.
The morn more I was sure I wanted to try this the more more I found myself reading about it sometimes even reading the same set of instructions or stories 2 & 3 times over to make sure I would get it right. One thing I would see over and over again stressing not to do or a sure fire way for failure of the adoption was the instructions not to use chicks older than a day or three at most. many stories of people swapping out with week or older chicks** only to have them killed..
So I am pleased to announce as in the title I beat the odds and I've had success I had a one year old hen, and she is a breed in which broodiness and ability to stay with egg clutch and hatch them is supposed to have been bread out of. Let alone abandoning or killing the chicks.
She had NEVER gone brody before. Nor is she a breed that tends to.
Easter/Spring was approaching and out of the 7 in our flock that we raised closely handled snd closely loved She is one of the two left. We lost five one st s time to the resident red tail hawk.
So I had been eager to replenish our chicken family. I wasn't sure if I should. so I decided not to collect sophie's eggs for like 7 days. I said to myself if she starts setting on them all on her own im gonna try it.
And broody she went. Amazing i hadnt cleared eggs from boxes but 1once a week and between the two of my girls all winter long they saw clutchesof eggs and never once tried so this was my second "sign" to go for it!
Something else I believe played a factor was my girls have been used to the heat lamp light on 24 /7 all winter long once she had collected 9 eggs I cut the lights out for 2 days so it was dark in there for 2 days and by the end of the second day when I had peaked in the coop there she was puffed up, growling and Broody.
So having done this yes I do believe that you can influence a hen to go Broody.
now I'm thinking what's the worst that can happen she either doesn't adopt the chicks and I'm raising them. Bcause I was certainly going to observe and if I saw a sign of aggression or her trying to kill the chicks I was going to remove them.
Over the next 3 weeks it was interesting watching her in her trance and more times than I can count my other girl, Marla, would join her on her clutch and share the duty almost. any eggs lingering out of the edge she would gladly cover up.
The closer I got to the 21 days the more nervous I got hoping that she would not reject the check I found myself reading and re- reading and googling chicken adopt and swap the closer we got to day 21 the more anxious I got.i would call my local farm stores; checking the daily deliveries, trying to ensure that I was getting the youngest chicks possible and then accidentally I stop at Tractor Supply to pick up wild bird seed on sale they had baby chicks 5 different pens for 5different breeds.and not one pen had day or two old chicks. infact there was not one chick that hadnt got its first few wing feathers.
They were so cute and so irresistible. I knew from all the forums I read that hens adopting chicks older then a week is unheard of.
But that is who I am I love challenges I love when people say that something cant be done and breaking the barrier and doing it is who i am. It's what I do best.so I bought 9 of them. 4 of my Marla's breed 4of them of Sophie my broody and two surprises breeds.
And I find myself rather clever because I did all of this with my two young children home and they were completely unaware of it because I want it as a less commotion as possible.
At night it is still cold where I live so I park my car next to my garage I hooked the heat lamp up to my sun visor through the car window. Chicks on floor of front seat. Waiting for the children to go to sleep and I waited for the chicks to quiet down n stop peeping and go to sleep themselves and at about 1 a.m. I snuck outside I got 2 chick and i waited for them to fall back asleep in my hand so they would stop chirping and I quietly and slowly open a window to the dark chicken coop slid my hand under mama hen put the two chicks under her and took out two eggs.
I closed the window and stood by quietly and listen I heard nothing so I went back in the house and waited another 45 minutes went back out and again did the same thing this time I put some broken egg shells scattered around mama hen again it worked all was quiet I went back outside taking a small flashlight and checking on new mommy. One of the chicks had snuck out from under her and when I saw the light he was without his siblings started chirping the champion got louder and louder my hens eyes got real big and she started viciously pecking at the chick. I picked up the check removed the flashlight and went back in to think. is she not going to take them now did I blow it I took that particular chick and put it back in the car listen in coop for any noise it was quiet and return to the house for another hour again I went outside I grabbed two chicks slowly put them under mom and removed eggs it was quiet. The next 2 checks I grabbed i made sure the noisy chick she rejected was there. Again he started his yelling and when I went to place them I pushed him as far under mom as I could get them and that shut him up!!! only waiting 10 minutes I put the rest on under her.
I would check on them occasionally and things would be quiet I went to turn the heat lamp on I noticed every time I would turn the lamp on the checks what come out from under her and that's when she would peck at them so I removed the heat lamp and that made them stay under her to keep warm. And because they stayed under her and kept it dark for a whole day that allowed them time to bond and by the time she finally saw them in the light she had already accepted them.
So yes I say I beat the odds because not only did I influence her to go broody but I put 2 week old checks that have begun to feather under her and to her........they are day old just hatched babies!!!!!!
Me and my husband and two young children got our first set of chicks last year we bought 6 and later adopted one and what a great year it was learn many new things and shared many moments with the birds good bad and ugly!
We love our girls to Dallas they are spoiled and they are so smart an extremely sociable to humans since we handle them a lot
Many times on Byc I would read about taking a broody hen and having her hatch out bought fertile eggs.I would also read about taking day old chicks and putting them under broody hen and swapping her eggs out. Of course I read about the horror stories that hen would leave babys or worse... Your hen killing the baby chicks.
The morn more I was sure I wanted to try this the more more I found myself reading about it sometimes even reading the same set of instructions or stories 2 & 3 times over to make sure I would get it right. One thing I would see over and over again stressing not to do or a sure fire way for failure of the adoption was the instructions not to use chicks older than a day or three at most. many stories of people swapping out with week or older chicks** only to have them killed..
So I am pleased to announce as in the title I beat the odds and I've had success I had a one year old hen, and she is a breed in which broodiness and ability to stay with egg clutch and hatch them is supposed to have been bread out of. Let alone abandoning or killing the chicks.
She had NEVER gone brody before. Nor is she a breed that tends to.
Easter/Spring was approaching and out of the 7 in our flock that we raised closely handled snd closely loved She is one of the two left. We lost five one st s time to the resident red tail hawk.
So I had been eager to replenish our chicken family. I wasn't sure if I should. so I decided not to collect sophie's eggs for like 7 days. I said to myself if she starts setting on them all on her own im gonna try it.
And broody she went. Amazing i hadnt cleared eggs from boxes but 1once a week and between the two of my girls all winter long they saw clutchesof eggs and never once tried so this was my second "sign" to go for it!
Something else I believe played a factor was my girls have been used to the heat lamp light on 24 /7 all winter long once she had collected 9 eggs I cut the lights out for 2 days so it was dark in there for 2 days and by the end of the second day when I had peaked in the coop there she was puffed up, growling and Broody.
So having done this yes I do believe that you can influence a hen to go Broody.
now I'm thinking what's the worst that can happen she either doesn't adopt the chicks and I'm raising them. Bcause I was certainly going to observe and if I saw a sign of aggression or her trying to kill the chicks I was going to remove them.
Over the next 3 weeks it was interesting watching her in her trance and more times than I can count my other girl, Marla, would join her on her clutch and share the duty almost. any eggs lingering out of the edge she would gladly cover up.
The closer I got to the 21 days the more nervous I got hoping that she would not reject the check I found myself reading and re- reading and googling chicken adopt and swap the closer we got to day 21 the more anxious I got.i would call my local farm stores; checking the daily deliveries, trying to ensure that I was getting the youngest chicks possible and then accidentally I stop at Tractor Supply to pick up wild bird seed on sale they had baby chicks 5 different pens for 5different breeds.and not one pen had day or two old chicks. infact there was not one chick that hadnt got its first few wing feathers.
They were so cute and so irresistible. I knew from all the forums I read that hens adopting chicks older then a week is unheard of.
But that is who I am I love challenges I love when people say that something cant be done and breaking the barrier and doing it is who i am. It's what I do best.so I bought 9 of them. 4 of my Marla's breed 4of them of Sophie my broody and two surprises breeds.
And I find myself rather clever because I did all of this with my two young children home and they were completely unaware of it because I want it as a less commotion as possible.
At night it is still cold where I live so I park my car next to my garage I hooked the heat lamp up to my sun visor through the car window. Chicks on floor of front seat. Waiting for the children to go to sleep and I waited for the chicks to quiet down n stop peeping and go to sleep themselves and at about 1 a.m. I snuck outside I got 2 chick and i waited for them to fall back asleep in my hand so they would stop chirping and I quietly and slowly open a window to the dark chicken coop slid my hand under mama hen put the two chicks under her and took out two eggs.
I closed the window and stood by quietly and listen I heard nothing so I went back in the house and waited another 45 minutes went back out and again did the same thing this time I put some broken egg shells scattered around mama hen again it worked all was quiet I went back outside taking a small flashlight and checking on new mommy. One of the chicks had snuck out from under her and when I saw the light he was without his siblings started chirping the champion got louder and louder my hens eyes got real big and she started viciously pecking at the chick. I picked up the check removed the flashlight and went back in to think. is she not going to take them now did I blow it I took that particular chick and put it back in the car listen in coop for any noise it was quiet and return to the house for another hour again I went outside I grabbed two chicks slowly put them under mom and removed eggs it was quiet. The next 2 checks I grabbed i made sure the noisy chick she rejected was there. Again he started his yelling and when I went to place them I pushed him as far under mom as I could get them and that shut him up!!! only waiting 10 minutes I put the rest on under her.
I would check on them occasionally and things would be quiet I went to turn the heat lamp on I noticed every time I would turn the lamp on the checks what come out from under her and that's when she would peck at them so I removed the heat lamp and that made them stay under her to keep warm. And because they stayed under her and kept it dark for a whole day that allowed them time to bond and by the time she finally saw them in the light she had already accepted them.
So yes I say I beat the odds because not only did I influence her to go broody but I put 2 week old checks that have begun to feather under her and to her........they are day old just hatched babies!!!!!!
