California - Northern

[ronott1]

sO i think emily is finally deciding to sit on her eggs so yay

I hope they hatch!

 

[TheKeeper]

Mama "Blue" took her brood outside for the first time today.

Adorable!

 

[PetRock]

Mama "Blue" took her brood outside for the first time today.

Cute!!! I love mama and babies pics! 2 of the 5 eggs under my blue Langshan pullet hatched overnight. I'm hoping the 3 other ones hatch today!

 

[PetRock]

Chickens are flock animals, and part of their instincts is to attack anyone that does not belong. It's completely normal. The best way to introduce new birds to an existing flock is to have them in their own area where the others can see them, but not be able to attack them. After about a week, it is fine to let them out together - there will still be skirmishes/chasing/bullying as they learn their place in the pecking order, but it won't be an outright attack. The closer they are in size, the better. Once your flock is used to birds being added, you can comingle them earlier in age. I can usually let youngsters out by 8 weeks of age with my flock BUT I have many, many broodies each year, so they are used to babies.

As for roosters, mine are quicker to accept new pullets. But a bird they have never seen will likely be attacked. My males also stand guard over broodies and their babies to protect them.

My flock is used to new birds and babies. Yesterday, 3 of my Pita Pinta chicks got separated from their mama. One of my Pita Pinta cockerels was taking care of them. He has staked the garden area as his territory and that's where the chicks were. I wish that I could keep him here in town for a while longer but he has decided to start crowing at 6:15 every morning so it's time to take him to the farm.

 

[chrissyr]

Thank you for your response I contacted fish and game and shared with them I was loosing chickens and how I was going to approach the problem with the Hawks. The hawks eye sight is extremely good and they can see the fishing line and if they happen to hit it the line will snap I use six pound tess, this would be rare for the hawk not able to see it. I also was concered about hurting this beautiful animal. If the hawk sees the line they will not attempt to pass through it because they do not want to chance breaking a wing. I have four and five feet gaps and I have had no problems what are your thought? My friend

I used it for just a short time. But @Hangtown Farms referred me to 1" poultry netting on ebay. They are usually auctions and a 50'x50' runs about $60, which include shipping. I changed many of my pens to that. It just was more secure to me than the line.
I think it may work in most cases, but someone in FB posted a VERY smart hawk finding some small holes in a coop. So it's what worked for me.
I actually got some 1/2" netting pretty cheap because the little sparrows were getting in the duck pen and stealing food. The bigger stuff didn't stop them.
I really like the netting.

 

[chrissyr]

Mama "Blue" took her brood outside for the first time today.

I love mama and baby pics!! My old reliable broody raised muscovies quite well. They were bigger than her and if the dogs played too close she'd let them have it!

 

[PetRock]

I used it for just a short time. But @Hangtown Farms referred me to 1" poultry netting on ebay. They are usually auctions and a 50'x50' runs about $60, which include shipping. I changed many of my pens to that. It just was more secure to me than the line.
I think it may work in most cases, but someone in FB posted a VERY smart hawk finding some small holes in a coop. So it's what worked for me.
I actually got some 1/2" netting pretty cheap because the little sparrows were getting in the duck pen and stealing food. The bigger stuff didn't stop them.
I really like the netting.

Amazon has 50 x 50 with 1 in square openings for $64.99 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-P..._sim_lg_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1VKM9AP7ZGMPDZY7MTTT

I purchased 25 x 50 with 2 in square openings to use to cover part of the runs at the farm. In the future, I'm going to buy the one with the smaller openings. The farmers had used a similar product by the horse pen and their pet banty rooster got caught in it and they found him upside down & dead. He might have still gotten tangled in the net if the openings were smaller but I think that it would have been less likely.

 

[EZFarms]

is it normal fpr a hen to stay off the nest fpr several hours? Emily is sitting but she stays off the nest for one or two hours then goes back. the eggs get kinda cold sp im a bit worried

 

[Happy Chooks]

is it normal fpr a hen to stay off the nest fpr several hours? Emily is sitting but she stays off the nest for one or two hours then goes back. the eggs get kinda cold sp im a bit worried

It varies by hen, but yes, that can be normal. They usually eat, drink, and dustbathe before going back to the nest. Or she's getting kicked off by someone that wants to lay their egg there.

 

[PetRock]

is it normal fpr a hen to stay off the nest fpr several hours? Emily is sitting but she stays off the nest for one or two hours then goes back. the eggs get kinda cold sp im a bit worried

My broodies usually stay off the nest for 30 min. or so but sometimes longer. I've even had some get kicked out of their nest and go sit on freshly laid eggs in a different nest box. I've found the developing eggs stone cold and they have still hatched although sometimes they hatch a day or two late.