Broody Hen Thread!

[nchls school]

This is a great idea! I can take her whole nest up in a scoop shovel, I think. It's just a bunch of leaves that she made into a nest under a fallen tree with some dead branches around it. If I can just get the whole thing in one scoop she might go for it. She found this spot before she started laying a few months ago and it's the only place she's ever laid an egg, she's really attached  to it. Thanks!

I hope it works for you. Good luck.

 

[emmimini1212]

Hi all! I know this is a broody hen thread but it's the best one I know with the most help! I'm hatching 8 duck eggs that I'm really nervous about! They range from 3/2 to 3/5 as the day I put them in- what I'm worried about is lockdown! The eggs from 3/2 are currently on day 25- putting the latest ducklings on day 22. What do I do to ensure that they all hatch safely and on time. Their most recent candling puts them in a very good position- they all look to be thriving and very close in development. Any advice on how to make sure my babies hatch safely would be greatly appreciated!

 

[fisherlady]

I have noticed that in my girls going back to the flock, they dont want to be bother by the roo for a while. 

X2 our hens avoid the roos for a while also

 

[ChickenGrass]

Is this your first hatch? We had banties years and years ago, but they were just loose out at the barn.
i lovrd their personalities!

Hi crista
This is not my first hatch
But I still get exited even though I
Hatch about 60 chicks a year
And sell atleast 100+ hatching eggs
I show and breed Barbu d'Anvers and silkies
I also show and breed cream legbars
I just have this pekin bantam for hatching
But I also have a brinsea 20

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

I think someone posted this info before but I have 19 chickens 18 laying hens (i think) and 1 Rooster for sure. If I do have 18 laying hens will my one rooster be enough for all of them or do I need another roo?

 

[sharol]

I think someone posted this info before but I have 19 chickens 18 laying hens (i think) and 1 Rooster for sure. If I do have 18 laying hens will my one rooster be enough for all of them or do I need another roo?

It depends on what you want to do with the birds. Do you want to hatch LOTS of eggs? If you do, you might want another rooster. If not, one can do a fine job of warning the girls about hawks and mediating arguments between hens. A second roo will cause some conflict as the two of them work out a division of the hens.

Personally, unless I was going to keep cockerels of a certain breed and isolate them with hens of the same breed, I would only have one rooster. It is generally less complicated.

 

[nchls school]

Hi all! I know this is a broody hen thread but it's the best one I know with the most help! I'm hatching 8 duck eggs that I'm really nervous about! They range from 3/2 to 3/5 as the day I put them in- what I'm worried about is lockdown! The eggs from 3/2 are currently on day 25- putting the latest ducklings on day 22. What do I do to ensure that they all hatch safely and on time. Their most recent candling puts them in a very good position- they all look to be thriving and very close in development. Any advice on how to make sure my babies hatch safely would be greatly appreciated!

If you haven't already done so, I'd start lockdown now. Good luck!

 

[microchick]

I agree with Sharol, the only difference is that I would go with two roos for that many hens.I have 12 hens right now and 8 4+week old chicks from Aggie's hatching. Hopefully there will be a few hens in that clutch to add to the flock. But I'm getting ready to separate the roosters into their own coop so that there are only two cockerels with the girls. Yes, there will be some squabbling between the roos at first as they sort things out but two roosters gives you that higher degree of protection for the flock and also insures fertile eggs.

If you only have two roosters, you are also assured that if one of them dies or gets killed, there will be another rooster to step in and take his place.

 

[nchls school]

Two mature roosters that are new to each other will fight. Depending on breed and temperament, the fighting can get vicious, even fatal to one of the roosters. I have found that introducing a juvenile cockerel works better when there is an adult rooster already in residence. The cockerel is not threatening to the rooster and the pecking order will be established without the bloodshed.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Thank you everyone so I don't know if any of my 19 wk old are Roosters we thought so orginally but now not so sure and the one Rooster we are sure of is a Juv bird so we will just leave it as it and see what happens. I really want eggs as my main reason but I also want enough fertile eggs that when I have a hen go broody that she can raise a cluth.