Quote: That's interesting, I'll definitely have to look into that. Thanks!
Broody Hen vs artificial incubation
- Thread starter LukensFarms
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #32
Fox took one mom hen and four chicks this morning. Kind of a bummer.
Yeah, it's a bummer alright.
I lost nearly a dozen chicks in one night, randomly, first a phascogale went into the cage and disemboweled a few, then the same night a rabid rat went in there and disemboweled a few more. All from under the same hen. They just fetched them out, not harming her, and did the deed. Another hen in the same cage with babies was not predated on. Bizarre things happen. Sorry to hear it, though.
I lost nearly a dozen chicks in one night, randomly, first a phascogale went into the cage and disemboweled a few, then the same night a rabid rat went in there and disemboweled a few more. All from under the same hen. They just fetched them out, not harming her, and did the deed. Another hen in the same cage with babies was not predated on. Bizarre things happen. Sorry to hear it, though.
- Thread starter
- #34
I
I hear that. I'm working on a better system that will deter the predation.
- Thread starter
- #35
Another hen hatched a clutch yesterday. I sure wish my grandfather was still alive. They had a system down. Of course there are no pictures to fall back on. I'd like to see a full production system that self sufficient farmers used for chicken production without electricity.
What are you using electricity for? I've not run a commercial production system, though I've considered getting an automatic door opener and closer.
- Mar 15, 2012
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I'm too inexperienced to have much useful input but would love to ask a question.
We seem to have an extremely low hatch rate with our broody hens. I know that part of it is that they aren't in their own coop, they go broody in a nesting box in the main coop and then other hens keep laying eggs in there. We try to mark the first few eggs and then remove the others as they are laid but this doesn't always work. However when we try to move a hen and nest as soon as we notice she is broody, they have (so far) not adapted at all and simply broken their broodiness. We are only able to move the nest after the first ones hatch. I have to move them since the main coop nesting boxes are above ground and once the babies are mobile, they fall out and can't get back up.
this summer we've had three hens go broody and here are our results:
#1 sat on about 6 eggs, had 3 healthy hatch (moved her after the first two hatched, she hatched one more in the nursery coop, then left the other eggs)
#2 sat on 4 eggs, had one hatch and after two days, left the nest to raise her baby (moved her to the nursery after the first one hatched, she kept sitting but no more hatched, removed the eggs after she left them)
#3 sat on 6 eggs, had one hatch, baby died (my fault, I put two hens with new chicks in the nursery at the same time, I think the other hen killed it), she kept sitting (put her nest back into the main coop) and a week later had another hatch. baby lived (moved her to a make shift pen) she kept on sitting, a week later another one hatched, was deformed and died. I then took the remaining eggs so she could concentrate on her one baby.
#4 (same hen as #1) sat on 6 eggs, two hatched and are fine, she has left the other four and seems content to raise two babies.
I'm having a hard time finding info on the best way to let broody hens have a successful nest, all info seems to be about using incubators. I know that ideally mommy would be left alone once she goes broody, but since it's a group coop, that isn't feasible; if I move them, they don't stay broody, if I don't, the nest gets interfered with.
We seem to have an extremely low hatch rate with our broody hens. I know that part of it is that they aren't in their own coop, they go broody in a nesting box in the main coop and then other hens keep laying eggs in there. We try to mark the first few eggs and then remove the others as they are laid but this doesn't always work. However when we try to move a hen and nest as soon as we notice she is broody, they have (so far) not adapted at all and simply broken their broodiness. We are only able to move the nest after the first ones hatch. I have to move them since the main coop nesting boxes are above ground and once the babies are mobile, they fall out and can't get back up.
this summer we've had three hens go broody and here are our results:
#1 sat on about 6 eggs, had 3 healthy hatch (moved her after the first two hatched, she hatched one more in the nursery coop, then left the other eggs)
#2 sat on 4 eggs, had one hatch and after two days, left the nest to raise her baby (moved her to the nursery after the first one hatched, she kept sitting but no more hatched, removed the eggs after she left them)
#3 sat on 6 eggs, had one hatch, baby died (my fault, I put two hens with new chicks in the nursery at the same time, I think the other hen killed it), she kept sitting (put her nest back into the main coop) and a week later had another hatch. baby lived (moved her to a make shift pen) she kept on sitting, a week later another one hatched, was deformed and died. I then took the remaining eggs so she could concentrate on her one baby.
#4 (same hen as #1) sat on 6 eggs, two hatched and are fine, she has left the other four and seems content to raise two babies.
I'm having a hard time finding info on the best way to let broody hens have a successful nest, all info seems to be about using incubators. I know that ideally mommy would be left alone once she goes broody, but since it's a group coop, that isn't feasible; if I move them, they don't stay broody, if I don't, the nest gets interfered with.
Are you moving them at night and restricting them to the cage you move them to?
Another suggestion for the infertility, particularly because you mentioned a deformed chick that died... Are you breeding them soon after being wormed or vaccinated? Some have breeding stock withholding periods for months.
One thing I do with new mothers is to put a bird cage over the top of them when they've got peeping and tapping in the eggs. That's if I've let them stay on the nest in the main cages. I mean any small bird cage, minus the bottom. Quite handy.
It will also stop the chicks falling, since it's got bars that are close enough together.
My hens are used to the idea that I'll move them if they set in the main cage, so abandonments of clutches due to relocating have almost been eliminated. Some of my hens have permanently bonded to their mothering cages, and while they will sleep in the main coops, when working on a clutch they put it in their ex-broody box and will set there in due time. They get quite offended that any other chook uses the cage they think they own, lol!
Best wishes.
Another suggestion for the infertility, particularly because you mentioned a deformed chick that died... Are you breeding them soon after being wormed or vaccinated? Some have breeding stock withholding periods for months.
One thing I do with new mothers is to put a bird cage over the top of them when they've got peeping and tapping in the eggs. That's if I've let them stay on the nest in the main cages. I mean any small bird cage, minus the bottom. Quite handy.
It will also stop the chicks falling, since it's got bars that are close enough together.My hens are used to the idea that I'll move them if they set in the main cage, so abandonments of clutches due to relocating have almost been eliminated. Some of my hens have permanently bonded to their mothering cages, and while they will sleep in the main coops, when working on a clutch they put it in their ex-broody box and will set there in due time. They get quite offended that any other chook uses the cage they think they own, lol!
Best wishes.
I am not as experienced as many of your other responders, and weighing in a bit late perhaps, but I would like to offer my personal experiences. Having had to do my own marketing studies, I find it helpful to know who your potential buyers might be and their personal motives for purchase.
My opinion to your questions: Chicks brooded by a hen are better foragers, have better survival instincts, and having been bonded with a momma hen teaches them to be a better chicken. (As adult birds, they are not better pets, however, as they lack the hand fed connection with humans...something I'm not that concerned about....they still know to run to me when I shake the treat bucket.)
Would I support a commercial production of chicks natural hatched by their mothers...Yes....at 5x the current day old (?) chick price?
Since I don't make the minimum order for most hatcheries (I would only be buying about 6 each spring), I am forced to buy from the local feed stores at prices of about $4 to $6 for commercial re-sells that are incubated/heat lamp brooded, possibly $8 for more specialized breeds. I would definitely consider $10 for a naturally brooded day old to three day old chick, $15 would be a bit high as I could buy a 8-12 week pullet at that price...however I would still seriously consider it as I have brought in disease with older pullets and therefore have made the personal decision to only add through hatching fertile eggs or purchasing very young chicks.
At that price, I would not likely mail order as the shipping would make it impractical. However, if you would consider moving to Oregon, I'd become a regular customer.
Why would buying a naturally hatched chick be important for me?
My personal experience with chicks hatched and brooded by hens (3 times now) has been absolutely wonderful. The chicks are far healthier, grow faster, are hardier, smarter, and begin laying earlier and better than those I buy at the feed store and heat lamp brood. AND I have far less integration issues when they get old enough for integration into the main flock as momma again leads the way.
I am not a commercial grower, but I don't keep my birds as pets either. I keep chickens for their eggs first, enjoyment second. My family has some dietary restrictions (gluten) and eggs have become an important food source. With health issues, it is also important that the eggs and chickens are hormone/antibiotic free.
I live in a semi-suburban area, still unincorporated county but surrounded by complexes..older home that the city encroached...which would not allow roosters (legal but not wise). I have a backyard set up on about 1/3 acre. Because I have some extra space, I keep enough productive laying hens to feed my family and be able to sell extra eggs to offset feed costs. (I've actually calculated my cost of raising to production rate to optimize my number of hens.) I need to refresh my flock regularly to keep my egg production up.
I decided to naturally hen hatch and brood after having a coop burn to the ground (I mean to absolute ashes, you can see the photo on my member page), so no more electricity and hot lamps. But then I found the freedom and beauty of the naturally brooded method as stated above.
However, it is extremely hard for me to get the fertile eggs I want at the key time my hens want to brood. What I can get locally has been "mutts" (which I have really, really enjoyed), but I would like to add color to my egg basket, and would like some more heritage type breeds who lay better in winter, so I want to get some specific purebreds.
I attempted fostering chicks of 2 breeds I wanted (SLW and GLW) purchased from the feed store (commercial hatched/brooded and resold) with dismal results. I used my excellent Silkie hen who had just hatched 3 mutts and always received the fosters lovingly, but the chicks (3 successive attempts on this same hatch...for 6 chicks total over 2 weeks ) were simply not smart enough, hardy enough, nor "chicken minded" enough to brood with her in the February cold....her 3 hatchlings thrived. After much thought and observation, I basically boiled it down to the fact that the foster chicks having been incubated and heat lamp brooded simply did not know what to do to stay with her, hear her voice when she called, and were not as hardy. February is a good time for me to add chicks as I can have them laying by summer before our grey days of Oregon curtail laying.
All that to say, I would be interested in locally buying day old to three day old broody hatched chicks of specific breeds that are either Mareks vaccinated (something I can't do well with my small batches) or better yet, purchase chicks from strains bred for Mareks resistance. I would mail order if the shipping costs made my per chick price of a smaller order (6 chicks) total no more than $10 each...or $60. I would place said ordered chicks under a broody hen and let her foster them to get the health and breeds I want.
My perspectives. Hope they are somehow helpful.
Lady of McCamley
- Thread starter
- #40
I use electricity for incubation
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