So if this hen goes broody again.. from the current day there are 8-12 eggs.. when i see her get a little broody I'll place 6-8 eggs under her, isolate her, and leave her alone? Can I leave those 6-8 eggs in that same box and see if she gets broody next day (assuming she left them the previous...
OK update and question. So it's getting warm here in east central WI. Yesterday one of the same type of chickens as last year (black sex link) was "broody" - or so I thought.. she was a statue on 1 egg for about 3 hours.. so I thought if she was still there and didnt perch with other chickens...
very good thank you, great advice. Not sure if our new rooster will allow grampa rooster to sleep at night in the new coop, but i'll figure it out when the time comes.
Thanks alot!
Hello again all!
Last year my attempt to let the broody chicken failed due to too many other chickens bothering her and laying eggs alongside the ones she was already brooding. It was a failure.
This year I have built another coop within 20ft and the 19 chickens and 2 roosters get to freely go...
Also, which hens are more likely to be better brooders (aka commit to sit for full 21 days)... the older hens or younger hens?
I've got 4 yr old regular brown hens.. 3yr ols barred rocks (and rooster is 3tsr old), 2 yr old sex links, 1 yr old buff orphs and 1yr old all black colored birds (not...
OK, i've had egg layers for 8 years in a 8x8 coop, as many as 22 birds and as little as 8. It's worked out great. Now i built a new 12x16 shed with 1/2 partitioned off for a new coop. My 8x8 old coop has nesting boxes 24" high.. so the hens need to jump up and lay eggs, has worked fine. New...
What if my nesting boxes are too high for the chicks to leap up to when their little? my current laying boxes are 2ft off the ground so the hens have to jump up to them... should i build new nesting boxes closer to ground?
Yes I do not have enough room. You're right. And to be honest i think it's 20 laying hens and a rooster in the 8x8 coop. Ive had layers for almost 10 years and this is by far the most i've had in there. Years past has been between 8 and 14.
Thus i'm building another coop close to it... and...
great info guys thank you! If i leave the BR hens with the other 22 hens and 1 rooster in 8x8 coop (with outside access) wont the other hens destroy the chick regardless of how well she protects them? Also how many chicks will a hen raise at a time? I understand the broody thing as i've had...
i have 23 hens, 1 rooster. 3 hens and the rooster are Barred Rock chickens. I'd like to sperate the 3 barred rock hens with the rooster to let them raise chicks naturally in the yard, fenced off from the other laying hens.
We have a large run and the flock gets out every afternoon to eat and...