Broody Hen Thread!

[NDgoatgirlNV]

My first hatchling are on the ground!

I'm so happy! My 2 broodies are still sitting on a couple of duck eggs, but they seem happy and content.

 

[Halloweengirl13]

No idea, they are my " packing peanuts " from Ideal poultry lol

Halloweengirl that looks like a very happy broody hen. What kind of chicks are your red ones?

 

[Halloweengirl13]

My duck and hen have babies today!!! Nimue and Ophelia have been brooding together and now have little ducklings popping out all over

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Halloweengirl lol too funny but at least they are pretty little chicks

 

[microchick]

Poor momma must be looking at them and saying "Good grief, those are the ugliest babies I've ever seen but they are mine and I love them!"

Thanks for sharing the picture.

I need to get pictures of our 'gang of 8'. They are 9 days, 8 days and 7 days old today. The youngest, our miracle chick named "Rocky" due to it's rocky start to life has turned out to be our little bossy boots. I thought for sure it was a hen but that attitude is all rooster. If I pick up one of it's siblings and bubba or sissy squeal, Rocky chastises them when I put them down by jumping at them feet first. He/she is quite the character for being the smallest in the brood.

Momma is doing a terrific job with them. The weather here has been mild enough that she is staring longingly at the door to the nursery and spending a lot of time sitting by the window.

When have you all let your hen and chicks out in an enclosed environment for the first time and at what temperature? I'm in the midst of planning a little wired in pen for them that would attach to their door so they can be outside during the day once the weather warms up enough but what is your particular rule of thumb?

 

[fisherlady]

Poor momma must be looking at them and saying "Good grief, those are the ugliest babies I've ever seen but they are mine and I love them!"

Thanks for sharing the picture.

I need to get pictures of our 'gang of 8'. They are 9 days, 8 days and 7 days old today. The youngest, our miracle chick named "Rocky" due to it's rocky start to life has turned out to be our little bossy boots. I thought for sure it was a hen but that attitude is all rooster. If I pick up one of it's siblings and bubba or sissy squeal, Rocky chastises them when I put them down by jumping at them feet first. He/she is quite the character for being the smallest in the brood.

Momma is doing a terrific job with them. The weather here has been mild enough that she is staring longingly at the door to the nursery and spending a lot of time sitting by the window.

When have you all let your hen and chicks out in an enclosed environment for the first time and at what temperature? I'm in the midst of planning a little wired in pen for them that would attach to their door so they can be outside during the day once the weather warms up enough but what is your particular rule of thumb?

The doors are open here if above freezing when they are under a week old, anytime it's daylight and not raining after that.

We have broodies who head out even when it snows...

 

[microchick]

Thanks fisherlady. Guess I'd better get working on that nursery pen tomorrow.

 

[fisherlady]

Thanks fisherlady. Guess I'd better get working on that nursery pen tomorrow.

Just give them one location which offers protection from wind... nothing fancy required, just a piece of plywood or corrugated plastic, even a piece of cardboard would work as a wind block during clear weather.

 

[microchick]

Just give them one location which offers protection from wind... nothing fancy required, just a piece of plywood or corrugated plastic, even a piece of cardboard would work as a wind block during clear weather.

I can do that, too. Our coop is in our barn under an overhang that protects them from the weather. The flock can hang out under the overhang or be out in the sun in their run.

We had something spooky happen the other day. My husband and I were out in our pasture and he asked me if I had seen the dead bird remains and took me out to the middle of the field where there was a circular pattern of feathers about as big as a basketball. There was no blood, no entrails, no nothing. Just feathers in a round circle. I didn't recognize the type of bird that belonged to the feathers. They were charcoal grey flight feathers, medium length and down feathers. Some of the feathers were tipped in white. The hawks have been terrible this spring with lots of fighting for territory and chasing trespassers. We have seen 5-6 circling our property in the past two weeks. Last week we found a large owl bezoar in our timber. We are betting a hawk made a kill and stayed long enough to tear out some feathers before carrying off it's meal.

On a brighter note the two bald eagles that were hanging around have disappeared, probably back to the Mississippi River. And that, fellow chicken fans is why we would love to free range and don't.

 

[Halloweengirl13]

Ophelia and the babies