Beat this record! How long broody stays with chicks? Pics!

[Jubilee1111]

Quote: This sentence is absolutely hilarious!!

 

[Sasa]

Chickens can get a virus that's pretty common and it makes them grow a testicle. My "hen" Millie has spurs and tries to crow every time she lays an egg.

 

[suebee]

I have a hen that started crowing after I let her hatch eggs. :/

 

[Sasa]

Chickens are just too funny.

 

[sumi]

Will you please post a video of that? I'd love to see it.

My broodies are still at it. The first one hasn't started laying again and she regained the weight she lost while sitting. She's getting fat!

 

[oesdog]

I should have updated this thread my appology

Bertha sadly died this year back in March she was 5 yrs old and died of an infection probably pnumonia.
Of the chicks Bertha brooded for all those weeks:
The two roosters A Maran and a Red Sussex went to a local farm - they had them briefly and despite promises of a good home we learned later they had been killed.
Mable the eldest girl died last month 26th June 2013
We still have little Betty who was a day younger than the other three and has never grown to the full size and only ever lays poop eggs.
She was very upset at the loss of her sister and she too was ill from an unknown respiritory infection. She has been on Tylan and that seems to have helped. Sadly we have lost half of our flock since January so we are still hoping that the rest including little Betty will make a full recovery.
Bertha with her very big chicks


Mable was the first to break free and roost - shortly after this shot she was pulled back down and sat on by her mum Bertha seen in the background rounding up her 18 week chicks to sit on! I will never forget the joy and laughter she brought to our home with her lovely little family - Both Bertha and Mable will be missed a great deal as they lived with us for a good long time.

* Of the other two chicks that were incubator and hand reared at the same time as Bertha was bring up her own babies.
They went to a local petting farm for rare breed fowles. Sadly we got news that the Cream crested Legbar Blue died this winter however the little Maran roo Omlet is still alive and has fathered quite a few babies apparently!

Oes

 

[suebee]

Oes, so sorry to hear about the flock. It's so hard when you're especially attached to them and the special ones go with what seems no rhyme or reason. You've shared great memories of your super broody here so hopefully you'll print them to save.

I still have Lola and she's brooded more babies but they usually part ways around 2 months so she hasn't broken her own record.

 

[oesdog]

Thanks for that -
The good news is that whatever was killing the girls, we are now into August and out of the 4-6 weeks between the other deaths, and so far we have not lost another bird.
As for little Betty she still coughs a bit but on the whole is in good health other wise. She is stomping round the yard making lots of noise and clogging up the nest box - but only ever lays eggs half the size of everyone elses! Though she makes a considerably big deal out of this and is rather put out if she does not get the nest box when she wants! We have other nest boxes but all the girls only lay in the one?
Aftert he terrible infection - we scrub everything down once a week. All the nest box is changed and it is lined with new newspaper and hay. We never use wood chip anymore. The roost bars are taken out and put under the jet wash hose and the floor of their coop ( Which is a pull out large try) is now covered with lino and washed down with bleach every week. It will be easier to keep doing this in the winter months as we can dry it easily with an old towel. Outside in the run - we use Js fluid and put it all round the run and up the wooden posts and gate from a watering can. So the whole lot gets done. We spray the girls with mite spray once and week and WD40 round the feet. It is hard work but better than to ose more of the girls. We do know that the disease is still hanging about what with the coughing etc so we are thinking of blasting them for another week of Tylon once they come off the lay and into the molt in the autumn. Then we will "feed them up" for the winter so they will get lots of nice things. We will also make them porridge with whisky and honey in it to help over the winter months! lol ! The coop is going to have tarp put over the whole thing so there is no risk of drafts this comming year. We are also making the small outdoor run more sheltered from the worst of the wind and rains.
We have never lost birds like this before so have had to make lots of radical changes. We are not easy going about their health anymore.

The only times we lost Birds before - was
Eleanor - broke her neck in a freak accident when she fell from the roost bar in the big coop.
Elly - Died from a prolapse.
One chick we had to put down because it was unviable. ( newborn -Guts were out and its leg broke)
One chick - failure to thrive and died of no apparent cause.

So the loss of so many hens in such a short time was very hard to handle and we are only now starting to think of re-stocking and of the one surviving chick from this years hatch that cannot at the moment be introduced to the main flock.
If only we had a broody? I do so miss Bertha!

Oes

 

[Thassa]

How long is the average time broodys stay with babies? I've got 6 hens caring for 22 chicks. 2 buff orp. hens were sharing 16, 3 silkie hens had 2 and the other buff orp hen had 4 . It looks like one of the silkie hens might be done and at least 1 of the buff orp broodys is done. I noticed her with a few chicks on the roost the other night thinking she took them there, but she squatted for me this am so I'm guessing she is done too. THe chicks were 4 weeks yesterday. I'm hoping the other 2 silkie broodys stay with the 2 chicks, they seem more needy than the ones the BO broodys are caring for.

 

[oesdog]

A broody usually stays with the babies until about 5-8 weeks. Really until they start to feather out and are able to maintain their own body heat. It is most unusual for a hen to spend as long as Bertha did on chicks! Though some will stay brooding until the chicks are about 11 weeks which is longer than the norm but not unusual. Chicks younger than about 4 weeks may have been abandoned by their mother and sometimes these need to go back into a brood box if they are not adiquately feathered up or they will get cold and die.

Oes - hope this is of help to you good luck.