So I get back from vacation, and not one, but two, of my girls are broody. Apparently they had been sitting since at least a week before. Typically my solution to broodiness it to lock the hopeful mother in a nice little broody apartment we have constructed under the coop, with a wire bottom floor and her own food and water. However, this wouldn't work with two of them. Since it seems very few of my girls are laying currently (two others had gone through a broody spell while I was away), I tried just locking everyone out of the coop nestboxes. This didn't really help, as one just decided to make her nest in the corner under the coop where everyone else was laying eggs. And as soon as I opened the coop at bedtime, the other rushed back to the nestbox.
Now, the first time a girl went broody, @chiqita offered to bring over chicks for her to foster. I don't have space for more chickens, but chiqita was offering to let her raise and wean them, and then take the babies back. That was pretty enticing, and was all set to go until I discovered the nestbox had mites. So instead of getting cute little babies, the poor girl got a bath and locked in a cage in the house. The upside of that experience was that I did learn that a few days in a wire bottom cage seemed to work to break her broodiness. Hence the effort to create a specific space under the coop, so the broody girl was still with her flock, and not in the house for several days.
Back to the current situation. I had two broodies. I could have tried to put one in the apartment, and one in a cage in the house (the cage I have isn't predator proof, so couldn't stay outside). But then I figured I'd ask chiqita if she happened to have any chicks needing foster mommies. And she did!
So last night, I went over and picked up seven cute little fuzz buckets:
I snuck four under Elanor (a bantam brahma), and three under Sybil (a bantam easter egger), in the middle of the night. I put little dishes of food and water for each of them (in their separate nestboxes), and came in to finish voting. [I am a permanent absentee voter, but never manage to actually fill my ballot in time to mail it, so have to take it in person to my polling place; at least I don't have to stand in line.] After that was all done, I figured I'd go check on everyone before heading to bed. But what do I find?
Sybil is as flat as usual, but in Elanor's nestbox there is just a little pile of fluffy babies huddled in a divot in the shavings, and Elanor is roosting with the rest of the girls! Bad Elanor! No treats for you! I brought those home to you special!
I tucked those four under Sybil as well and went to bed.
In the morning, I went out to check on them, and one baby was off on an adventure. It had managed to get all the way across the coop to the top of the ramp, but couldn't get over the lip of the tray, so was peeping madly. I'm not sure if Sybil kicked it out, but I stopped it's trip short by moving it back under a wing. We'll see how it goes.
I hope she can keep everyone warm. She's only 750 grams.
If anyone has helpful hints and recommendations on making sure everyone is happy and healthy, I'll take them.
Quote: One by one is how I do it, but many of mine don't have wattles, so I have to open their beaks with my fingers.
Pictures here: Please note that I was the one holding the bird and taking the pictures, please use both hands!
Hold bird - I like to sit with my thighs parallel to the ground, feet firmly on ground and the bird in my lap. I hold it gently, but firmly and grab the head.
Open mouth and wait for bird to relax.
Insert syringe - I like to insert from left to right, across the tongue, behind the trachea, into the oesophagus. Again, wait for the bird to relax.
Give wormer
Repeat in ten days.
-Kathy
That is really nice of her to hold still like that...
They are great pictures none the less. Gives a good visual for where the ctop is (to the left) ansd where the trachea is (the big hole on the right...not good to put wormer there....)
Well...it seems my hatching season is winding down for the year. I am down ot only one incubator running right now and it is on lockdown. It is full of Mottled Ameraucana Project eggs and Guinea eggs. I am kind of ambivialnt about it. I think with the heat getting ready to hit I am leaning toard being relieved. I got the brooder box finished and the meaties are in it, along with the Grocery Store chicks. They are so happy to be out of the stock tank. They have more than twice as much room nowo don;t have to moved them back and forth between the tank and a smaller tub each night so they will fit in a secure place. The brooder box has wire tops that lock. I made so can separate into 2 halves for storage. I want to make it so it would fold up, but couldn't get the hinges to work right for that.
I used Window Sash Latches to hold the 2 halves together.
The center cross support here will lift out to add a divider. I haven't built that yet though.
I don't think I will need it this season, but will next.
Well...it seems my hatching season is winding down for the year. I am down ot only one incubator running right now and it is on lockdown. It is full of Mottled Ameraucana Project eggs and Guinea eggs. I am kind of ambivialnt about it. I think with the heat getting ready to hit I am leaning toard being relieved. I got the brooder box finished and the meaties are in it, along with the Grocery Store chicks. They are so happy to be out of the stock tank. They have more than twice as much room nowo don;t have to moved them back and forth between the tank and a smaller tub each night so they will fit in a secure place. The brooder box has wire tops that lock. I made so can separate into 2 halves for storage. I want to make it so it would fold up, but couldn't get the hinges to work right for that.
I used Window Sash Latches to hold the 2 halves together.
The center cross support here will lift out to add a divider. I haven't built that yet though.
I don't think I will need it this season, but will next.
