Recent content by Wild Iris

  1. W

    Chickens vs. Barn Cats - Looking for Suggestions

    They make covered cat litter boxes with swinging flap doors. You could get a clean/unused one and put a bowl of food in. I don't know whether the chickens will go through a swinging pet door or not, but they wouldn't smell the food, and it's usually rather dark inside so maybe they wouldn't...
  2. W

    Natural breeding thread

    Yes, that's a good idea; I will look into it.
  3. W

    Natural breeding thread

    Yes, I've been experimenting with that! I thought the layer feed might not be enough of the right things for chicks, and our feed store only carried the medicated chick feed, which I didn't want, so I've been trying to offer a variety of other human foods to complement the mash. I've offered...
  4. W

    Natural breeding thread

    I really appreciate the input a couple days ago. I decided to watch my game hen and see how she behaved before (maybe) moving her & the chicks to a crate. I noticed that she was very intent on teaching them to forage: selecting a good spot and hunting & scratching for bugs or seeds. Only...
  5. W

    Natural breeding thread

    My question is about whether, when, and how to move a mama hen and her babies to a safer confinement area. In short: my game hen (American Game, I think) made her nest near the house but outside our fenced chicken area. The spot is very sheltered and fairly safe, so I left her to brood there...
  6. W

    American Gamefowl

    What is the best way to move the chicks without her attacking me? What warning signs does she give that she might attack? What precautions do I take? Will she come off the nest occasionally like she does when brooding? I might pile them into a basket when she's gone for a sec and then move them.
  7. W

    American Gamefowl

    The game hen I mentioned before is now sitting on a nest with eleven eggs. She lived with the flock (not in a crate) for about a month. Although she roosted in a nearby tree and could fly over the fence, she would spend 2/3 of her day inside the chicken yard with the flock, and the other third...
  8. W

    Landrace/adaptive breeding discussion

    Very true--thanks.
  9. W

    Landrace/adaptive breeding discussion

    Thank you so much for explaining it further. i don't know whether i'll chance it or not, but it helps to know what risks i'm taking and where to look for problems.
  10. W

    Landrace/adaptive breeding discussion

    That makes sense. If I did it, and the regular chicks hatched and the later eggs weren't hatched yet, could I take the later eggs and sort of finish off the incubation myself with a box and a heat lamp, then put them with the other chicks?
  11. W

    Landrace/adaptive breeding discussion

    There are other threads about this topic, but I wanted to ask here since most of you are dealing with more game-type or free-ranging chickens. My game hen (rescued in January, no clue as to history) has just gone broody. The past 2-3 nights she hasn't roosted in her tree like normal and she...
  12. W

    More broody hen advice

    I appreciate the conversation and information from experience--thank you to everyone! I have removed all ceramic nest eggs, and started checking for newly-laid eggs several times a day; as long as there are no eggs, the little hen runs around eating and scratching like normal. As soon as she...
  13. W

    More broody hen advice

    Thank you! This is helpful.
  14. W

    More broody hen advice

    Thank you for weighing in. I understand that it's difficult on the hen. I've read the threads; I've used the search fuction. It's neither foolish or nor careless of me to want to know whether a particular young hen would stay broody for a full 3 weeks the very first time she goes broody; I...
  15. W

    More broody hen advice

    I have an OEGB hen--about 8 months old--who went broody about a month ago. She stayed broody even though I moved the entire flock & coop into a new location. She gets off the nest twice a day to eat and drink, sometimes staying off for as much as 30 minutes at a time. I try to make sure I see...
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