Hi all! My red bourbon hen abandoned some of her eggs after the first half hatched. One had pipped. I found it yesterday morning and tried putting it back under mama. She would sit on it for a little while and then abandon it again.
I brought the egg inside just now and have it set up on a heat...
I’m not sure the hens are teaching the babies how to eat/drink. Any tips? I’ve tried dipping beaks but they are not taking to it like my shipped poults did
My toms started fighting once they got to 5/6 months old. I ended up having to sell/butcher all but one. I had hens though, so I’m not sure if they would have still fought without the hens around.
So now my question is - what’s the best way to take the babies from mamas? Do I remove the mamas from the nest, gather whoever has hatched and then put mamas back? Do I wait for the hens to leave the nest?
Just wanted to update you all - babies started hatching yesterday! I’ve kept an eye on the mamas since I last posted and they seemed to have figured out a good co-nesting arrangement so I didn’t want to move either nest and risk them rejecting it. It’s a bit chilly here right now so I haven’t...
She is. I just checked again and she has eggs underneath her now but I’m not sure if they are new. I am going to try to candle all the eggs tonight and then go from there. Technically, it looks like they made two nests, they are just right up against each other (e.g. there’s two separate...
The tom does not go in the upper part of the coop.
Also, I just went to check the eggs while Eliza (one of the hens) was out in the pen and realized she’s not sitting on a nest, just Angelica is. I’m guessing Eliza doesn’t want to roost alone, so she’s been sleeping in the coop at night instead.
Hi all! My two hens have decided to go broody and are co-nesting. This will be my first time ever hatching eggs - do you guys foresee any issues with this? Any feedback on where the nest is/any changes I should make before (if) eggs hatch? I counted 25 eggs the other day.
The other toms are getting butchered on Friday. I’m keeping the two hens I still have - do you think the hens will pick on him if he is still in recovery? If not, I just have to keep him separated until Friday. He started attempting to strut today for the first time since his second injury...