California - Northern

[Happy Chooks]

I had an English Orp do the exact same thing Pam. She crushed 2 in their shells (I found them alive but they didn't make it), managed to hatch 1 and didn't protect it and the flock killed it. I usually separate my broodies for a week or so after they hatch, but I wasn't fast enough on this little one. She went back to sitting for a while, but I would yank her out of the nest. She finally gave up on her own. She will get no more babies or eggs to hatch.

Now I've had 5 other broodies since then - 2 have hatched their babies and are doing great with them (experienced momma's), 1 new mama hatches tomorrow, a welsummer hatches tomorrow, and an olive egger in 2 more weeks. Another welsummer was trying to be broody, but I think I broke her by throwing her off the nest. I do not need any more broodies right now. I will be gone for a week in July and cannot deal with them having babies while I'm gone.

 

[Miss Molly]

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to not be dealing with the heat during chores, but I thought the rain was only supposed to be yesterday. Today was only supposed to be a chance of showers. I'm going to wait on the bulk of my outside chores until this afternoon, hoping things dry out, but I HAVE to go feed the sheep, open up a couple of brooder sheds and turn the turkeys out of their nighttime pen. I am ready for DH to get home from AZ. He does all the outside chores normally except the ones I WANT to do

I realize I'm spoiled, but I like it that way!

Last night when I locked up, I could see three turkey eggs in their shelter, but I looked at the "mud" I'd have to walk through and thought......................"oh, I'll get those tomorrow", LOL And now it rained all night. I'll need to wear barn boots, ick!

I have to do 90 % off the chicken stuff. My husband will build coops. I do EVERYTHING else ... It is way to much work for me. That is why I'm going to down size. I'm going to keep most of the breeds I have, just maybe 4/5 hens and 1/2 roosters from each breed. I can't wait until I get things under control. I did sale 10 roosters yesterday and I have 10 more going Friday...happy Dance !

 

[ChickNmamma]

I've been reading and reading! Then had to pay some bills, clean house and read again! Dang this thread moves fast.....I need to share my broody fiasco! I have 3 black EEs that all went broody together. I think two were broody last year but they're really hard to tell apart. One has a little bit of a different comb and she likes to screw with me by changing nests but by morning everyone's back in their spot.

The first girl to commit (I've named Cindy, short for Cinderella because she's a sweetie and the other two are skin twisting, biting, evil step-sisters). She hatched out her first two fine. Before we left for a weekend on the lake two more were pipping and we returned to 4 chicks and a squished one still in the egg with eggshell pecked off. Since the first was a couple days old I put a little water bowl in the nest. They drank a bit and we got the boat stuff done and I check back a couple hours later and one was drowned in less then a cup of water! What kind of animals sits within inches of thier offspring drowning and doesn't do anything? I mean these girls will go 4 nests over, tuck an egg under their wing and bring it back to sit on but not grab a soaking chick out of a cup of water? The morning there's another wet dead chick under her and another squished so I decide she's done, pass off the remaining eggs to the next step-sister.

Tonight I see that evil stepsister one has a chick half out and obviously the pecking of the shell was from the outside more then the inside. Chick was still alive when I tucked it back under.....then I see another squished egg. Pick it up and yoke is pouring out so I open it to see what stage it's at ( these girls are steeling eggs before I can get them in the morning), it was about 1/2 way...and moving. Big huge eyes, little tiny feet and wings. I held this little life until it died. I hate broodies right now.

When broodies do it right, it is a joy to watch. When they do it wrong - its terrible.

Yes, baby chicks will drown in anything over 1/8 of an inch of water.. and when they do they don't make a sound.. so the momma doesn't know to rescue them. I suspect they go into instant shock. I had one last year - bunch of hatchery chicks - put new water (those little teeny chick waterers even) and got up to check something in the other room - standing up made the chicks scatter - when I came back about 20 seconds later there was one on its back in the water container - dead. Not a peep... just gone! I use the quail waterers now for the new ones and change over after about a week.

I have also found when you have more than one broody in an area - or have laying hens where a broody is (and she isn't top dog) the chicks/eggs get squished by the other girls coming over to lay in the nest. Those will peck at chicks - and squish pipped eggs because they aren't trying to hatch anything - just trying to lay an egg... I only leave top dog broodies in with the others - all low dogs get moved to dog crates until a week or so after hatch.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

I had an English Orp do the exact same thing Pam. She crushed 2 in their shells (I found them alive but they didn't make it), managed to hatch 1 and didn't protect it and the flock killed it. I usually separate my broodies for a week or so after they hatch, but I wasn't fast enough on this little one. She went back to sitting for a while, but I would yank her out of the nest. She finally gave up on her own. She will get no more babies or eggs to hatch.

Now I've had 5 other broodies since then - 2 have hatched their babies and are doing great with them (experienced momma's), 1 new mama hatches tomorrow, a welsummer hatches tomorrow, and an olive egger in 2 more weeks. Another welsummer was trying to be broody, but I think I broke her by throwing her off the nest. I do not need any more broodies right now. I will be gone for a week in July and cannot deal with them having babies while I'm gone.

I guess I'm surprised because I know two of the three are repeaters. I was guessing it's not Cindy because the other two are biters and so were the two from last year. Cindy has her two and she's taking good care of them. Last year I moved them out of the coop and into the grow out pen but the last two broodies I just left in the coop and they did fine keeping the other chickens from harming their chicks so we'll see how it goes. After posting last night I went out and checked and the half way out chick is chirping and seems hardy so I hope it makes it. If not....I'm getting the incubator ready and I'm hatching them and slip them back under them to raise.

Funny thing is, the best broody I ever had was my Silver Laced Polish. She hatched out 15 chicks! She did squish a few but that was because she had so many chicks to take care of. And she stayed at it for a week hatching what she had.

 

[tommysgirl]

I've been reading and reading! Then had to pay some bills, clean house and read again! Dang this thread moves fast.....I need to share my broody fiasco! I have 3 black EEs that all went broody together. I think two were broody last year but they're really hard to tell apart. One has a little bit of a different comb and she likes to screw with me by changing nests but by morning everyone's back in their spot.

The first girl to commit (I've named Cindy, short for Cinderella because she's a sweetie and the other two are skin twisting, biting, evil step-sisters). She hatched out her first two fine. Before we left for a weekend on the lake two more were pipping and we returned to 4 chicks and a squished one still in the egg with eggshell pecked off. Since the first was a couple days old I put a little water bowl in the nest. They drank a bit and we got the boat stuff done and I check back a couple hours later and one was drowned in less then a cup of water! What kind of animals sits within inches of thier offspring drowning and doesn't do anything? I mean these girls will go 4 nests over, tuck an egg under their wing and bring it back to sit on but not grab a soaking chick out of a cup of water? The morning there's another wet dead chick under her and another squished so I decide she's done, pass off the remaining eggs to the next step-sister.

Tonight I see that evil stepsister one has a chick half out and obviously the pecking of the shell was from the outside more then the inside. Chick was still alive when I tucked it back under.....then I see another squished egg. Pick it up and yoke is pouring out so I open it to see what stage it's at ( these girls are steeling eggs before I can get them in the morning), it was about 1/2 way...and moving. Big huge eyes, little tiny feet and wings. I held this little life until it died. I hate broodies right now

I have a squatter!!!!!!

I am so excited!....our first egg should be within weeks!


Terri

Now That is Exciting WOOOT WOOOOOOT

I have to do 90 % off the chicken stuff. My husband will build coops. I do EVERYTHING else ... It is way to much work for me. That is why I'm going to down size. I'm going to keep most of the breeds I have, just maybe 4/5 hens and 1/2 roosters from each breed. I can't wait until I get things under control.
I did sale 10 roosters yesterday and I have 10 more going Friday...happy Dance

What breeds do you have Molly? I know Brabanters right...? What else? Are your roos going for processing or is someone actually wanting to keep them??


Here, we moved Beakface last night and this morning she is still sitting tight. She has her own apartment totally away from any one else, hoping to get a variety of eggs together to slip under her but am limiting it to 6 or 8. Don't need more chicks but want her to get something out of the deal. So far I have two BOxMixed red roo Today I hope to get a couple BRxMixed red roo.

In April I gave 4 or 5 Pullets from my Privett order to a friend. Check out this California Grey girl ....apparently that turning into a boy thing is going around. My friend says he is already very comfortable with the big girls and they named him Napoleon because he seems to have small bird complex :

 

[tommysgirl]

So Beakface was out with the GP for her stretch water and food and she went back to the nest in the coop, not the Broody area. I screwed up I guess letting her all the way out but do I just stick her back in the Broody pen or do I wait till tonight?? Help!

 

[chiqita]

last year I had a chick drown himself IN the incubator in a covered water cup overnight. Had not been born or pipped so managed to hatch, take off the cover and get into the water cup and drown in 6 hrs.

I have quail drown in quail warterers.. fall asleep next to it and move their head. I had one drown with ROCKS in the quail warterer. Really.. you have to be determined to do that, it was like quail suicide.

My poults are doing well! I had 1 late quitter, one pip and drown ( it was under a broodie, apparently she does not believe in high and dry) and one not drink that passed this morning. The rest of the 12 are doing well. It was my best turkey hatch ever. As long as I don't loose a bunch in a week to bacteria after giving them air holes, we are good!

The quail /poult thing seems to be good, the quail eggs were set on the same day as the turkeys, so they are 2 weeks older I think? they get very enthusiastic about eating and drinking and the turkeys come over to see what is up and eat and drink too.

Good luck on your squatting mossy!! And Huzzah for less roos miss molly! I'm a big believer is 4-5 hens and 1-2 roos myself. Unless its a really broodie breed. The goal is enough to send out 12= eggs in 3-4 days, assuming one broodie. That of course all depends on how often people lay.

 

[debs_flock]

The goal is enough to send out 12= eggs in 3-4 days, assuming one broodie. That of course all depends on how often people lay.

Yes, with my experience, you'd need about 20+ Olandsk Dwarf hens in order to send out a dozen fresh eggs. And then it's iffy, LOL

Beautiful little breed and needs people to champion it, but man they are stingy in the egg department. At least mine are. More than once I've gotten two eggs per day a couple of days in a row and then nothing for a couple of weeks, then maybe one.

They are pretty easy to throw the occasional egg into the incubator and they hatch well, but a pain to try to accumulate a dozen.

 

[debs_flock]

And yes, I've had chicks drown in a teaspoon of water. You check, everything is fine, leave the room for 15 minutes and come back to a cold, wet, stiff chick. I've had chicks like that, dried them with a hair dryer and they came back around. Only to go back into the brooder and do the same thing. I then start to look at it as a genetic purge for survival instincts.............too dumb to live.

 

[chiqita]

And yes, I've had chicks drown in a teaspoon of water. You check, everything is fine, leave the room for 15 minutes and come back to a cold, wet, stiff chick. I've had chicks like that, dried them with a hair dryer and they came back around. Only to go back into the brooder and do the same thing. I then start to look at it as a genetic purge for survival instincts.............too dumb to live.

I stich cold wet chicks in the incubator. Works well for me.