Broody Hen Thread!

[JayJo]

Aggie's second clutch of eggs are due to hatch this weekend. It just dawned on me that a few days before she went broody I bought 200 pounds of game bird finisher for the flock and have 0 chick starter on hand. Wouldn't be hard to get it or at least game bird starter but is it necessary? I did a comparison of of nutritional values of chick starter compared with game bird finisher and the finisher actually seems to be better than the starter in protein and several other nutrients. The MFA chick starter has 15% crude protein, the finisher has 22% protein. Game bird starter has 27% protein but comparing the regular starter with the finisher and the finisher is far more nutritious. 

I checked the bag of Purina chick starter I just bought and it's 18% protein. The crumble is a different texture than what I feed my bigger girla, but other than that, my uneducated guess is that it would be fine.

Question - do you guys vaccinate your broody-hatched chicks? If I'm going to keep them in my home flock, do you think it's a big deal if I skip it?

Mine are due this weekend. My broody is doing well... a little too well... I've only seen one very watery poop in the last week or so and wish she would get up more often. Her pen has two water bottles and two kinds of food, and I'd thrown scratch and dried mealworms and soldier flies on the floor. She's not touching any of it. This morning I scrambled her an egg and dragged her out of her box and she ate most of it and drank something. She's starting to lose feathers so I might keep making eggs and dragging her out.

 

[fisherlady]

Thanks, fisherlady and PD-Riverman.

I will probably have a lot better luck finding the finch seed than ground corn so I will probably go that route. Meaning I will also have to add grit to their diet, correct?

You can give them grit or get a low sided pan or box (at least the size of a cake pan, prefer a bit bigger) and fill it halfway with sand, scatter some of the seeds on the sand to give them something to scratch at. I keep all of our birds on sand and therefore I don't add grit.

If you have a good food chopper or processor you can get a bery blend wild bird seed and put a cup into the processor and chop it up, then use it as a scratch for the little ones with broodies also. Those little buggers can throw sand by the time they are 2 or 3 days old, I am not sure who is more entertained, them or me watching them!

 

[PD-Riverman]

Thanks, fisherlady and PD-Riverman.

I will probably have a lot better luck finding the finch seed than ground corn so I will probably go that route. Meaning I will also have to add grit to their diet, correct?

I sprinkle sand---regular old white sand on top of my chicks feed from day one-----not a lot----kinda like I was "salting" but sanding their feed. even though Chick starter has grit in it---I do a little extra----when they get a couple weeks old I will add a pan with a little sand in it----getting them ready for my sandy soil----I keep adding more sand but controlling the amount because I have seen some eat a lot of it. I would suggest if you are not feeding starter for sure add some sand----I do not use "grit" like you buy at Tractor Supply etc.

I grind my own corn with a "modified" antique coffee grinder----some months back----when I was really hatching alot and raising alot of chickens I was grinding close a ton of corn every 5 to 6 weeks and buying 1000lb of factory feed every 2 weeks. Close 4000lb of feed a month at my peak.

 

[microchick]

I sprinkle sand---regular old white sand on top of my chicks feed from day one-----not a lot----kinda like I was "salting" but sanding their feed. even though Chick starter has grit in it---I do a little extra----when they get a couple weeks old I will add a pan with a little sand in it----getting them ready for my sandy soil----I keep adding more sand but controlling the amount because I have seen some eat a lot of it. I would suggest if you are not feeding starter for sure add some sand----I do not use "grit" like you buy at Tractor Supply etc.

I grind my own corn with a "modified" antique coffee grinder----some months back----when I was really hatching alot and raising alot of chickens I was grinding close a ton of corn every 5 to 6 weeks and buying 1000lb of factory feed every 2 weeks. Close 4000lb of feed a month at my peak.

We have plenty of sand thanks to several streams that run through our property. Time to get some up and flushed/dried.

JayJo. I don't vaccinate. I bought my flock from an NPIP breeder who breeds birds for strength and resistance to disease. The most I do is worm for coccidia twice a year. So far I have a healthy and hardy flock, knock on wood and cross my fingers.

 

[JayJo]

Ok, thanks microchick. Sounds reasonable to me. I think I'll skip it and see what happens.

PD-Riverman, that is a lot of corn!

 

[10AcreChick]

Well, the twelve eggs under my broody Australorp were due this past Saturday. Nothing until yesterday, when I got home from work she had one chick! Three days late seemed weird to me, but I also thought at 14 days candling that they looked a little underdeveloped. We are hoping for more to hatch, but it's a slim chance. I messed up I think on Saturday night when I came home late at night to find a smushed, mostly hatched chick under her back end. I was worried she would smash more, so I carefully moved them inside to a thrown together incubator. Couldn't keep the temp steady, so I gave up and put them back under her the next day. This is my first broody, so lesson learned. I should have just left them all with her and let nature take its course.

She seems to be very attentive to this Ameracauna chick, lets him/her peck on her wattles and neck feathers, completely ignoring it while staring me down and daring me to take it away...

I named him/her Sloopy (Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on!).

 

[PD-Riverman]

PD-Riverman, that is a lot of corn!

A lot of corn and a lot of feed because I had a lot of chickens for a back yard flock----over 1200 for a good while. I am down to about 250(sold 125 the weekend) now---I feel Lost---LOL.

 

[wannahomestead]

This weekend the weather is calling for temps at/over 90 degrees. Do I need to do anything for my broody australorp?

 

[16 paws]

This weekend the weather is calling for temps at/over 90 degrees. Do I need to do anything for my broody australorp?

I make sure they have plenty of water and shade. You can put a fan nearby just for extra air circulation just not blowing straight on her. Good luck with your hatch.

 

[wannahomestead]

I make sure they have plenty of water and shade. You can put a fan nearby just for extra air circulation just not blowing straight on her. Good luck with your hatch.

Thanks.

My coop is small, and has no power. I have a 5 gallon bucket waterer out in the run. Do you think I need to make special accommodations, or just leave it as business as usual?my concern is that the nest boxes are external, and face the south. There isn't much ventilation within the nest box area.