Broody Hen Thread!

[jajeanpierre]

I ask because I don't know if it's "normal" or if it's "obsessive" of me to worry about what's going on under my very first broody. This hatch isn't as much for me as much as it is for a little 8 year old girl with mild autism, who believes that her Gramma set the sun and the moon in the sky just for her.....and I would be crushed for her and for myself if I've done something to compromise this hatch. So I wait and I worry.

Blooie, I have an adult Aspie son and another that is on the fringe so I understand some of the autistic issues you are dealing with. I think it is important for every child, autistic or not, to have an understanding right at the outset that things don't always turn out well. I think this is probably especially important for a child on the autistic spectrum, since as you know, they don't deal with change or the unexpected very well. I would not be bringing her out to check on the eggs if they start to hatch because she might have an over reaction to a dead chick or a dead-in-the-shell chick. or even the sight of a hatching chick. (Has she seen pictures of a chick hatching so she has an understanding of the whole process?) I would be preparing her for a bad outcome in a matter of fact way. Life is not a Disney movie. Our Western society has insulated us from death and dying, and I think an autistic-spectrum child might have a much harder time dealing with unexpected bad outcomes. I still do that kind of preparation with my adult sons. My youngest, 22, has a lot of autistic traits. (He's the more "normal" of the two.) I still prepare him for bad-outcome events well in advance. For example, I will talk to him weeks or months ahead of culling cockerels, going over which one to keep and why and which one to cull. As our pets age, we talk about the likely outcomes and the options well before any decisions need to be made. This son is an adult with many university biology and zoology courses under his belt, yet I still deal with a lot of issues with him as if he were a child. I think it is the nature of the autistic beast.

 

[Blooie]

Nice to meet someone who's been there and understands first hand about the sneaky, insidious nature of Autism! Katie is amazing. Her geneticist told us that if we kept working with her the way we do, by the time she was 8 or 9 it would be hard to tell she was ever diagnosed. Well, she's almost 9 now. Good news this week - got her last IEP and she no longer qualifies for services! Yayyy, Katiebug! She still has issues with hyperaccusis, her spacial sense, eye contact (which I've never personally felt was that big a deal) and frustration, but she's smart, active, happy, and very well liked at school She's been in dance classes since she was three - she'll never be the best dancer in the class but she knows that, she still loves it and the other kids love her. It's been good for her socially and her balance improved more with dance than it did with her physical therapy!

We've never overprotected her. She knows full well that something could happen to this hatch. She spent the night here last night, and will until either the chicks hatch or we make the determination that it's time to pull the eggs. When she came over and ran back to the brooder when we got our first chicks, she was the one who came back into the kitchen and told us that one of the chicks looked like it was dying. It was and it did, but she was more worried if the other chicks could "catch" whatever killed the one she found. She's the one who, when I explained to her mom that Agatha wasn't sick but was broody, said, "Oh, great! Agatha's gone broody and Gramma doesn't have a rooster so none of the eggs are fertile!" She went out to the outside fridge on her own, selected 9 eggs from a couple of forgotten cartons, brought them in and warmed them up overnight, then put them under Agatha. My husband and I were out of town at the time. The dates on the eggs said they were laid in July, and we had roosters then, so she figured those eggs would be fertile. Hence the reason we ordered hatching eggs. They've hatched eggs in an incubator in school, and she has written children's tri-fold brochures all about chickens. She was fine when we culled the roosters. She lives right across the street, and spends every minute she can over here, so it's pretty hard to hide anything from her.

I am just worried that if something goes wrong with this hatch it will be from something I've done or not done. That fact wouldn't be hidden from her either, so it is not a conversation that I'm looking forward to. She calls unexpected things in her life, which as you know upsets these special kids, "clinkers." As long as those sad turns life takes have a name, she can deal with them pretty well. It's not unusual for her to look at us with those big blue eyes and say, "Well, that was a clinker we didn't see coming." If this hatch is unsuccessful, that'll be one heck of a clinker! Sorry, got off on a tangent.....checked this morning and Agatha was off the nest getting a drink so I got a good look at the eggs. Nothing. Not a sound, nothing. Please. Lord - just one chick........

 

[kculbert]

What a wonderful grandma Katie has! Keeping my fingers crossed that you and Katie get a chick or two.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Nice to meet someone who's been there and understands first hand about the sneaky, insidious nature of Autism! Katie is amazing. Her geneticist told us that if we kept working with her the way we do, by the time she was 8 or 9 it would be hard to tell she was ever diagnosed. Well, she's almost 9 now. Good news this week - got her last IEP and she no longer qualifies for services! Yayyy, Katiebug! She still has issues with hyperaccusis, her spacial sense, eye contact (which I've never personally felt was that big a deal) and frustration, but she's smart, active, happy, and very well liked at school She's been in dance classes since she was three - she'll never be the best dancer in the class but she knows that, she still loves it and the other kids love her. It's been good for her socially and her balance improved more with dance than it did with her physical therapy!

We've never overprotected her. She knows full well that something could happen to this hatch. She spent the night here last night, and will until either the chicks hatch or we make the determination that it's time to pull the eggs. When she came over and ran back to the brooder when we got our first chicks, she was the one who came back into the kitchen and told us that one of the chicks looked like it was dying. It was and it did, but she was more worried if the other chicks could "catch" whatever killed the one she found. She's the one who, when I explained to her mom that Agatha wasn't sick but was broody, said, "Oh, great! Agatha's gone broody and Gramma doesn't have a rooster so none of the eggs are fertile!" She went out to the outside fridge on her own, selected 9 eggs from a couple of forgotten cartons, brought them in and warmed them up overnight, then put them under Agatha. My husband and I were out of town at the time. The dates on the eggs said they were laid in July, and we had roosters then, so she figured those eggs would be fertile. Hence the reason we ordered hatching eggs. They've hatched eggs in an incubator in school, and she has written children's tri-fold brochures all about chickens. She was fine when we culled the roosters. She lives right across the street, and spends every minute she can over here, so it's pretty hard to hide anything from her.

I am just worried that if something goes wrong with this hatch it will be from something I've done or not done. That fact wouldn't be hidden from her either, so it is not a conversation that I'm looking forward to. She calls unexpected things in her life, which as you know upsets these special kids, "clinkers." As long as those sad turns life takes have a name, she can deal with them pretty well. It's not unusual for her to look at us with those big blue eyes and say, "Well, that was a clinker we didn't see coming." If this hatch is unsuccessful, that'll be one heck of a clinker! Sorry, got off on a tangent.....checked this morning and Agatha was off the nest getting a drink so I got a good look at the eggs. Nothing. Not a sound, nothing. Please. Lord - just one chick........

A little off topic...

Oh, Blooie, do I know the challenges of autism.

My eldest was your classic Aspie kid and just a horror to raise. He's turned out to be a wonderful, good, kind person. He works at Google, so he is right at home with all the other autistic computer geeks.

Keep in mind that autistic-spectrum disorders are developmental disorders. Early intense intervention can teach these kids those social skills they lack or don't develop at the age-appropriate time. Because they are often so odd, their peers will shun them and often bully them. That shunning means they don't get to practice social skills so the gap between the social skills of their "normal" peers' and their own skills widens as they get older. Puberty can be a challenge. As they get older and more self-aware they can start to look into their own behavior and effect a change if they are motivated to change and grow. Your granddaughter appears to be quite self aware since she is identifying those "clinkers" after the fact. Her challenge will be to identify them before they happen and do something about it so they don't happen. She's a lucky girl because it looks like she has had the support she needs and the innate nature to accept the challenges she is facing. Kudos to her family. Aspie kids just break my heart because they can be so challenging to parent and it really takes a village to raise them. Lots of these kids don't have the support of their "village" or their parents. Bad parenting happens to normal kids and to special needs kids. Society in general can be cruel to these kids and their parents.

My eldest's goal is to be indistinguishable from a "normal" person. He is a very friendly and social person and wants social interaction with people. He is motivated to fit in with society. It sounds like your granddaughter is the same. Some adult Aspies I've met don't care one bit about anyone else's feelings or fitting in with society. I don't know what they were like as kids, or if this antisocial attitude is a defense to the horrors of not fitting in to a society that didn't accept mental illness (which autism is NOT) or any other handicaps.

When my eldest was diagnosed and I read what little literature there was available at the time (I'm talking 1996 when Aspergers was first identified by the mental health community as a syndrome on the autistic spectrum) I realized my husband was also an Aspie. He was an odd person, but his hyperaccusis never went away. He lives in ear plugs. He has his quirks, but continues to develop more "normal" social skills.

If your eggs are shipped eggs, they will have a pretty low hatch rate. Many shipped eggs never hatch and it is nothing you did. The one thing I've found with my Aspie family is that you can be incredibly blunt with them and their feelings often aren't hurt the way a "normal" person's would be. They don't do subtleties well because being subtle is ambiguous. I've found I needed to spell everything out for them and that would mean to be very clear about the prospects of these eggs. Good luck with your granddaughter.

 

[abserbean]

Good luck on your hatch Blooie! I know shipped eggs can be not so great, maybe if none hatch you could put some day old chicks under your broody? My (one) attempt with grafting went very well, but it depends on each individual bird. I hope you have cute fuzzy butt pics soon, and not a clinker.

 

[sahmhomesteader]

I think I have another broody as of yesterday. This is her first time so I don't want to break her, but I am nervous as winter is approaching fast. This is only my second broody ever. Anyone have experience with broodies in late fall?

 

[Blooie]

Still nothing going on out there. Once I get my chicken chores done I usually don't go back into the coop - I have perfectly good windows in there which are ideally positioned for observing without disturbing. That said, I'm about ready to go out there and rip her off that nest! But I won't - it's her gig, not mine.

 

[Blooie]

I think I have another broody as of yesterday. This is her first time so I don't want to break her, but I am nervous as winter is approaching fast. This is only my second broody ever. Anyone have experience with broodies in late fall?

I'm dealing with it right now. I put eggs under Agatha in early October and hatch day is today. Did you hear that Agatha? Hatch day is today!!! Um, I don't think she's listening. She's my first broody and she's been broody since early September. People with a lot more experience than mine have said that it's okay to set them late in the year. Mom will know how to take care of them. Personally I'd rather do that in the spring and early summer, but I'm sure everything will be fine once the eggs hatch. Did you hear that Agatha? Once the eggs hatch!! <sigh> I'm sure she's not listening!

 

[PD-Riverman]

I'm dealing with it right now. I put eggs under Agatha in early October and hatch day is today. Did you hear that Agatha? Hatch day is today!!! Um, I don't think she's listening. She's my first broody and she's been broody since early September. People with a lot more experience than mine have said that it's okay to set them late in the year. Mom will know how to take care of them. Personally I'd rather do that in the spring and early summer, but I'm sure everything will be fine once the eggs hatch. Did you hear that Agatha? Once the eggs hatch!! <sigh> I'm sure she's not listening!

OK, hope she hatches tonight!! Keeping fingers crossed. Most all of My broody hens usually start hatching on day 20 and usually have them all hatched on day 21. They usually come of the nest on day 22. Didn't you light the eggs a few days back to see if they were good?

 

[Blooie]

Thanks for the support, my friends! Candling? I wouldn't even know what I was looking for. I did pick a couple up a few days ago and thought I heard some kind of faint grinding noise but Ken thinks I just wanted to hear something so bad that I imagined it. I'm just hoping right now that because it's been so chilly there's been a slight delay. I've also read that shipped eggs seem to have more trouble. So I haven't given up yet. Just starting day 22.