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  1. barbara4rb

    Momma killed, babies hatched, surrogate mom?

    Update: Pull in early this morning. Mom is still in the nest box. Contented peeping all around her. YAY. But Wait. There's More. Sure enough, I hear peeping out in the yard. There's a rooster and he has two more babies with him. WHAT! sure enough. Two more. I manage to catch the kids and put...
  2. barbara4rb

    Momma killed, babies hatched, surrogate mom?

    ...Sat AM early I went down to move my large, portable, chicken cage around the dog house to protect her & the eggs. Unfortunately, Friday night a *$#%@ raccoon found her first. Nothing but feathers left, but some of the eggs were not damaged. I was too depressed to do anything with the eggs...
  3. barbara4rb

    Where do you keep newly hatched chicks and their MOM?

    I currently have 3 "chicken jails" out in the yard. Two have hens with their chicks, and the third has my 4 orphaned chicks. The momma hen died (found her dead) when the chicks where 2 weeks old. Each "jail" is completely screened in with a chicken wire "skirt" so no critter can dig under...
  4. barbara4rb

    Two broody hens, five new chicks, plus four orphan update

    Update: White momma and five chicks are doing great in their chicken jail. Mom was pecking/scratching and kids were quite attentive. She hunkered down and all five crawled under her for a nap this afternoon. Thanks for your insight yesterday! AND I tried giving the 4-week old sets of chicks...
  5. barbara4rb

    Chickens in a tree

    When I bought my 1 acre almost 3 years ago, it came with alot of chickens. They all go up in the cottonwood tree at night. Up, up up, pretty amazing to watch. The neighbor's chickens roost in her cottonwood and elm trees too. Two problems... my mommas who raise their young on the ground are...
  6. barbara4rb

    Co-parenting

    That's great! How big an area are the two hens and chicks in? I had two hens both sit on eggs in a dog igloo. After 3 weeks of sitting, I moved the igloo into an 8'x8' pen and mommas hatched out many chicks. The 2nd day the mommas nearly killed each other.
  7. barbara4rb

    How do I hand feed a new chick that was rejected?

    I have brought in the late hatchers several times. They spend a day or two inside, being fed yogurt+baby scratch "soup" from a dropper. I keep it warm and covered. We put uncooked rice in a baggie and nuke it. Then put a towel on it, and make alittle nest. The baby settles into the warm rice bed...
  8. barbara4rb

    Two broody hens, five new chicks, plus four orphan update

    I don't think I'm cut out for this chicken business....er hobby.... Friend of mine built a 5-nest box "apartment" for me and we mounted it in the carport of the building on my property. The girls loved it, and started laying eggs. Gooooood. Figured it would be excellent for collecting eggs...
  9. barbara4rb

    2 broodies together?

    I would NOT allow the two hens to try and raise chicks in the same enclosure. I have had two experiences with this--with not happy endings. The first one, the hens were both sitting in an empty storeroom, opposite corners. When one hen's chicks hatched out, they were OK for a day, and then the...
  10. barbara4rb

    Four orphans! Found momma dead today

    UPDATE: Tonight I tried moving the 4 orphans into the other "jail" with the black hen and kids. It wasn't totally dark when I went there...but figured dark enough? Momma and kids were in their nest box. All quiet. The 4 orphans were outside still, sitting together in a corner of their pen...
  11. barbara4rb

    Four orphans! Found momma dead today

    Oh, I didn't even think about a brooder! Here in ABQ we're getting to 90+ during the day, but cooling down to 55-60 at night. I bet that's too cold for them??? OK, researched here and found 95 deg first week, 90 the second. They are in their 3rd week, so I won't panic too much. I will stuff...
  12. barbara4rb

    Four orphans! Found momma dead today

    I have free range chickens on my property. No one lives there, it is all fenced, but do get critters in at night--so can't let the hens sit on eggs on the ground. All the adult chickens roost in the trees at night. The hens are always looking for places to lay eggs. I mounted nest boxes in...
  13. barbara4rb

    Do crows pose a threat?

    My goodness! I was getting ready to post a question about how to keep the crows away from my property/free range chickens, but after reading this post, I'll be glad to see them! We have thousands of crows that winter here in the Rio Grande valley. There is usually a "watch crow" in one of my...
  14. barbara4rb

    Docking Tails (dogs- want your oppinon).

    Maybe someone has already posted these comments about tail docking.... we have an Australian Cattle Dog (aka heeler) and her tail was docked at 1 day old. Theory is that heelers don't need their tails because cows step on them. BUT the ACD folks tell you that dogs use their tails as a rudder...
  15. barbara4rb

    Transporting igloo hen+eggs

    Hi, I have free range chickens on my fenced acre and the birds roost in the cottonwood trees at night. This summer, I had hens sitting on eggs in dog-house igloos and had some success with chicks. I could pen the momma+chicks up, and at around 8 weeks, let them out. No one lives on the...
  16. barbara4rb

    How long will igloo momma be a full-time mom?

    Hi, In early July, I had help from you all with my free range hens who lay their eggs in a dog igloo. I put the igloo in a big cage and the hens beat each other up.... ANYWAY, All hens and chicks are doing well and they have been free range for many weeks now. Mom gets those kids up into the...
  17. barbara4rb

    Caught One....Now What?!

    I have no idea what kind of rooster I've got. I bought the acre, chickens included. Never knew anything about them except how to order them (grilled, baked, fried) before this property purchase. That's why I love this forum! :-))
  18. barbara4rb

    Caught One....Now What?!

    Hi, I've caught 3 on my acre this summer. (See pic of my 3rd one in trap waiting to be let out.) https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=79306 To let them go, just point the trap towards the fields and lift the door. They usually shoot out like a cannon ball. Good of you to...
  19. barbara4rb

    Mealworms and my chickens ??

    ...the forum. I set my box up in May, the worms became beetles about mid-late June. I was about to throw it all away by 3rd week of July because I *thought* I had no worms. HA! They were very tiny and once I dug around abit, found them. They were maybe 1/4" long and very thin. I bought my...
  20. barbara4rb

    Mealworms and my chickens ??

    Hi, I found a HowToDo mealworms here on the forum, and in May set up a container w/ ~20 worms. Now have had beetles and now am getting worms. LOTS of worms. The worms were in poultry mash, and I have been keeping apple-halves in for moisture. When should I give my free range birds some...
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