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  1. Sunny Side Up

    What is this on my cockatiel?

    My poor little cockatiel, Gimel, has a big lump just behind his left leg, about the size of a grape. The vet says it's a lipoma, a fatty tumor, caused by poor diet (too much seed, not enough pellets). She advised changing his diet and dabbing it with DMSO. The DMSO did nothing to affect the...
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    New to peachicks, what to feed?

    Today I was given a peachick that someone found. It's acting lively but it feels light to me. It came with game bird starter but the chick didn't seem very interested in eating it. I've added a splash of ACV in the water and scrambled an egg for the chick to eat. It was most interested in eating...
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    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Graciesing2us you'd need to put those eggs under a hen who was "broody", who was in the mood to set on a nest all day & night for weeks and incubate eggs. It's difficult to make a hen go broody if she doesn't want to, if she isn't getting the signals from her body to do it. Some folks say that...
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    Ever hear of a broody tom turkey?

    So this morning I noticed a big "broody poop" in the yard and asked my boys, who were doing the chicken chores, "who did this?" and they said "Wilson!" They said that he's still been setting in the corner of his house, even though we had removed the eggs from there. There was a plastic tumbler...
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    Ever hear of a broody tom turkey?

    While I know there are species of birds whose males set eggs and tend chicks, I don't know if this is normal for domestic turkeys. Wilson has never done this before, neither did the other tom I had. Wilson has fathered poults already, but I usually keep the hen and poults in a separate pen...
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    Ever hear of a broody tom turkey?

    Here's Wilson setting in the corner of his house, and below puffing up his feathers while hissing "Go away!" We put an end to his project this morning and he's been strutting around the yard as usual, seemingly unaffected by our interference. (We ate the eggs for breakfast!) I didn't want to...
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    Ever hear of a broody tom turkey?

    There's always something new to discover when you keep poultry...today my tom turkey, Wilson, has gone broody! Yeah, that was my reaction too when my boys came in from doing the chicken chores chuckling and shaking their heads. Some chicken hens have been laying eggs in the big wooden dog...
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    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Oh DEFINITELY put her in a Broody Buster cage ASAP! Four months is a long, long time for a hen to be setting! Leghorns aren't bred to be broody so something is a little haywire in this hen's head. Try putting the cage out in the sun during the daytime (with cover for shade of course) the...
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    How to Break a Broody Hen

    You *should* be able to put 2 broodies in the same buster, as long as they're getting along nicely.
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    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Just begin at the beginning. The original post has a lot of good basic information.
  11. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Aww, don't feel guilty! Better she spend a few days in the Broody Buster than several weeks or more of futile brooding. Though if you find this hen is frequently going broody every 3-6 months you may want to allow her to set a few eggs once in a while. Buff Orps tend to be a broody breed...
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    What do you do with a roo that won't do? (aggressive)

    What do you do with a roo that won’t do? While the typical backyard chicken keeper has a flock comprised solely of hens for egg production, eventually everyone has to consider the above question. What do you do with a rooster that you don’t want to keep? Perhaps one of the chicks you bought...
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    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Because each hen is different, with her own component of broody instincts & skills, there are a variety of ways to break one's broody mood. Some hens are so lightly committed their broodiness can be broken by simply taking her off the nest and putting her out in the sunny yard with the rest of...
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    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Each hen seems to have her own component of broody skills. Some are just more competent than others. Especially breeds that have been selectively bred for production. It seems their DNA for broodiness can be a bit scrambled. I like to call these birds "Kardashi-hens" because they seem to...
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    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Orpingtons tend to be a broody breed. You could try to change her mind in a Broody Buster cage, it might be easy to adjust her attitude. But if you find that she keeps going back to being broody every few months or less you might either want to accommodate her mood or trade her to someone who...
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    How to Break a Broody Hen

    Jeanetteiacovon, one of the great things about keeping chickens is that there are really so very many different methods that can work for all sorts of folks. I'm glad your basketball method worked to help break your broody hen's spell. The way I keep my hens in a Broody Buster cage is not at...
  17. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    I've had the best success with a wire-bottomed cage set up on blocks or sawhorses so that there is a nice air flow up underneath their breast. I try to create the opposite environment they want for brooding. Bright light rather than shade, no bedding rather than a cozy nest, cool air up under...
  18. Sunny Side Up

    How to Break a Broody Hen

    The dynamics of a chicken flock are a lot like those of a junior high gym class. Anyone who appears different will be targeted. Even hens that were once an accepted member of the flock might be targeted when they return after even a brief absence. IMO if a hen is frequently going broody...
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