The 5th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[AuntWrenny]

I heard about a guy in a gated community who simply called them"jungle fowl"too classify them as pets. I think he has over 30 laying hens!
Sometimes you just have to think outside the box! It's a stupid box anyhow! Who wants tip think in a stupid box? ! ;-)

 

[abmaddox1981]

@Gardeningmama thank you! I hope your new neighbors don't complain about your birds.
The thing is, we've had goats, chickens, and rabbits for 2 years and none of the neighbors complained! Some jack wagon called code enforcement about some stuff my dog had torn up and when the CE officer came out he called zoning and reported the chickens. Turns out, this lot is zoned HWY Commercial and my Grandfather ( who owns the property) is going to move us to an AR-1 property so he can run a business out of this place. My neighbors are livid because this is a quiet area on a culdesac. No to mention, I let the neighbors' kids come visit the critters anytime they want and give folks eggs and meat when we have too much for ourselves.

 

[JoyfulPromise]

(Warning - Long & Detailed post)
Well, I think I can safely say now that I was actually able to get ALL of my HAL chicks adopted by a broody hen (two in fact!).

I mentioned the first one before - a 2 yr old Black Australorp named Winona who raised TWO batches of chicks from our flock last year and was eager to go again this spring. She actually went broody about a week before the HAL chicks hatched, so I was able to give her a few of the eggs to finish hatching herself, and then I gave her more of the chicks after they hatched in the incubator. She ended up with 16 chicks and is caring for all of them with no problems!

Out of the other 15 HAL chicks, I sold 3 BOs to a friend, and then last weekend we had our 2 yr old Blue Copper Marans hen, Margeurite, decide to go broody! I REALLY wanted her to adopt the rest of the chicks, because most of them were either Marans or OEs, (two of the Marans were actually from Margeurite's eggs!) and if she would adopt them it would make it easier to integrate them into the Marans/OE coop.

But I didn't know if it would work with her only being broody for a few days and the HAL chicks were a week old already! I decided to give it a try though, since Margeurite is a VERY laid back & calm broody. We actually bought her last year from a local breeder who was getting out of Blue Copper Marans & only doing Black Coppers. She had tried to go broody last fall but it was too late in the year so we didn't let her then.

So, after she had been sitting for about 4 days, I brought her into our porch brooder (divided by a plywood wall from the chicks) and put her in a nest box with a wooden egg to sit on. She sat there for 24 hours and then the next night I slipped 6 of the remaining 12 chicks under her. She did some little broody clucks as we put them under her and we figured everything was fine. Well, it was... and then it wasn't... Marguerite was fine with the chicks - she loved to have them snuggle under her and would cluck to them, though she was a little annoyed at their strong 1 1/2 week old pecks at her comb & wattles... But the main problem at first was getting the CHICKS to realize that they needed to go back to "mommy" when they were cold. Because they were so comfortable & independant in their brooder, I decided to try putting them outside in a pen on the grass. This would be unfamiliar for the chicks and cooler than the brooder area so they might be prompted to snuggle with mommy more. It kind of worked. Marguerite led them out of the box clucking loudly to them and pecking at the grass and dirt for them. The chicks seemed to respond to her clucking. Then she started pacing the pen and so we let her out for a bit and she led the chicks (yes, they did follow her!) back to her old pen & coop! The chicks had a great time scratching in the straw & dirt, and it was sunny and relatively warm (60ºs) but then Marguerite left the chicks and went back in the coop to her old nest box and wanted to sit in it! Long story short, I ended up putting a wooden egg back in her box nest (I had taken them away when she accepted the chicks), and putting them back in the pen. She settled happily on the wooden egg, and I was able to get the chicks to go back in and cuddle with her. I left them in the pen the rest of the day, and by evening it seemed that the chicks had learned to go back in with mommy on their own, and later in the afternoon Marguerite actually came out on her own and sat with the chicks and let them jump on her back! I brought them all back into the porch brooder last night and after dark I put the remaining 6 chicks under her. This morning they all seem fine and after the new chicks get used to their new "mommy", I think they will be a happy family!

So, while I would NOT recommend it unless absolutely necessary, it IS sometimes possible to graft week old chicks onto a broody who has been setting less than a week!

The End.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Cochin x Brahma, F1 Olive Eggers, F2 Olive Eggers, and Easter Eggers...really excited to see these chicks. The F2 OE's & C x B that hatched for my friend were adorable!
I just set 12 eggs under my broody Barred Rock.

Some of you wanted to see the silver pheasants when they hatched...Here's a picture of one of them.

Long, long legs and super fast

Adorable! Thanks for posting the picture!

She was on the nest last night when I locked everyone up, and she was still on it this morning when I went out to feed and water.

Do broodies pluck their chest feathers in the beginning, or only later in the "broody" stage? I thought I might check and see if she's missing chest feathers.

Also, if she IS broody, do I have to wait 21 days to stick chicks under her? I just hatched 3 of her babies (I incubated some of her eggs) this week...one was born yesterday. The first born has a mouth on her (or him)...constantly peeping because my mother has spoiled her already, and wants to be held CONSTANTLY. Would be nice to get little miss loudmouth out of the house! (she's not even a week old yet!) She's sleeping in my lap as I type, because her peeping woke up my dad (disabled). So the ONLY way to shut her up is to hold her.

Most, but not all broodies, will pluck their bellies. I've had some hens sit on the nest at night, but not sit during the day. They are not serious yet.

Grafting chicks on a hen can be very tricky. Some hens will accept them, and some won't. Mary gave you great advise on trying it.

Hey guys! Congrats to everyone on your hatches!!! I've been MIA due to drama with the county and the stupid ordinances they have regarding poultry/fowl. We recently learned that you must have a minimum 3 acres for any fowl but if you have 2 acres you can have unlimited amounts of dogs and cats. What. The. Crap. So thankfully 2 local bycers are allowing me to keep my birds on their property until we find a place. It has been very stressful and to be honest I have been pretty depressed about it. I am finally getting passed the angry/depressed stage and am just thankful to these awesome ladies for allowing me to keep my chickens on their farms. Hopefully it won't take us too long to find something suitable that we can afford.


P.S. The county didn't say I couldn't hatch, I just can't keep them here, so at least I can still maintain my addiction! Hahaha!!

Oh no! I'm sorry. I hope you get it all worked out soon.

 

[Happy Chooks]

And the winner of the Easter/Spring Fowl Contest is...........


DucksnDaffodils

Congratulations!​

 

[NotAFarm]

And the winner of the Easter/Spring Fowl Contest is...........


DucksnDaffodils

Congratulations!​

Congratulations!

What cuties!

 

[JoyfulPromise]

And the winner of the Easter/Spring Fowl Contest is...........


DucksnDaffodils

Congratulations!​

Hey, that is my sister! Congratulations! I always loved that picture!!

 

[Gardeningmama]

And the winner of the Easter/Spring Fowl Contest is...........


DucksnDaffodils

Congratulations!​

Congrats! That is too cute!

 

[JoyfulPromise]

By the way, here is picture proof of the two broody hens that adopted my HAL chicks...

Winona the BA with her 16 Buff Orpingtons & BO crosses...


And Marguerite the Blue Copper Marans with her 12 Blue, Black & Splash Marans, Rocks, & OEs...

 

[Sally Sunshine]

By the way, here is picture proof of the two broody hens that adopted my HAL chicks...

Winona the BA with her 16 Buff Orpingtons & BO crosses...


And Marguerite the Blue Copper Marans with her 12 Blue, Black & Splash Marans, Rocks, & OEs...

awesome!!!