Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[bobbi-j]

Wow!! This is awesome. . . I did not know you could do that with store eggs and then add chicks later, how long can you leave the eggs under her before you add the chicks and I am assuming you add them at night time?

I didn't get a chance to try. She never went broody this spring. Upon further reflection, I'd probably put golf balls or fake eggs under a broody until it was time to add chicks. And yes, they would be added at night. I did that a couple of years ago when I had a broody bantam cochin hen. I (thought) I gave her fertile eggs to hatch, but when Day 25 of incubation arrived and there was no sign of chicks, I went to the local feed store and got her some babies to raise. I kept them in the house until night, then put them under her. She accepted them with no problem. (I checked the eggs she was setting on and none had developed)

 

[stonykill]

Originally Posted by bobbi-j


I was hoping all summer for a broody. When my BO finally went broody, it was mid-October and too late in the year for me to be able to hatch out and house all 14 of the eggs she was sitting on! (Most of them were fertile, too.

) So, hoping she does her thing in the spring. Unless, of course, I can find me some good heritage birds close to home. Then I'd just let her set on some store eggs for awhile and transfer some chicks under her when her time is up.

I didn't get a chance to try. She never went broody this spring. Upon further reflection, I'd probably put golf balls or fake eggs under a broody until it was time to add chicks. And yes, they would be added at night. I did that a couple of years ago when I had a broody bantam cochin hen. I (thought) I gave her fertile eggs to hatch, but when Day 25 of incubation arrived and there was no sign of chicks, I went to the local feed store and got her some babies to raise. I kept them in the house until night, then put them under her. She accepted them with no problem. (I checked the eggs she was setting on and none had developed)

Why was mid October too late? I've had broody's hatch until December, then start again in early March. The broody keeps them plenty warm and newborn chicks will go out with mama hen in the snow.

 

[Beekissed]

ok i just have to post this. my friends all know i have chickens. i am chicken obsessed. so i get this phone call. my friend says you are not going to be leave this. i just left a customers house ( he does home improvement ). the couple was arguing horribly. i said okay but why you telling me . i don;t give a rats butt. he then goes on to tell me they have chickens. i said ok, and.
the husband was going raving mad . the wife just got home from the vets with a bill close to 2500,00 because the chicken needed an operation. i dropped my phone.
true story i give you my friends number.let him tell you.

so bee, i am going to need a diaper cause i am still laughing so hard i lost all body function control and that was over a week ago

I'll send you one right out...pink with frills or the blue with tiny Tonka trucks? As laughable as that story is it is also sad....extremely sad that many don't have money to get their children proper medical care but one thinks nothing of dropping that kind of cash on an animal. The world has turned upside down.

 

[bobbi-j]

Why was mid October too late? I've had broody's hatch until December, then start again in early March. The broody keeps them plenty warm and newborn chicks will go out with mama hen in the snow.

I already had 13 LF chickens in my 8x8 coop and felt that the added 14 would be too many for the space I had at the time. My chickens aren't locked in during the winter, but choose not to go out in the snow. I felt had to move the broody because she was on the floor of our old, falling-down barn with no protection and I figured it was just a matter of time before something got her.

 

[deedee1]

When does molting (spelling) start?

 

[fowlman01]

I didn't get a chance to try. She never went broody this spring. Upon further reflection, I'd probably put golf balls or fake eggs under a broody until it was time to add chicks. And yes, they would be added at night. I did that a couple of years ago when I had a broody bantam cochin hen. I (thought) I gave her fertile eggs to hatch, but when Day 25 of incubation arrived and there was no sign of chicks, I went to the local feed store and got her some babies to raise. I kept them in the house until night, then put them under her. She accepted them with no problem. (I checked the eggs she was setting on and none had developed)

Day 25? It is a good idea to candle and remove eggs that do not show sign of development. Eggs can explode in the incubator and let me tell you you will only let that happen once!

Walt

 

[bobbi-j]

Day 25? It is a good idea to candle and remove eggs that do not show sign of development. Eggs can explode in the incubator and let me tell you you will only let that happen once!

Walt

I do candle the eggs in my incubator. In this case my incubator was a broody and I didn't want to bother her.

I have no idea what happened with those eggs. I know the rooster was fertile, I know he was doing his job. (He went to live with a friend a couple of months later and her hens hatched out several clutches from him that summer) It was early April, but I don't know if that would have made any difference.

 

[ejb3810]

WHAT WOULD YOU THINK?
This has been eating on me for some time, and finally I am compelled to inquire what others think. I made an inquiry as a personal message to one of the respected contributors on this thread regarding availability and pricing of hatching eggs for two different breeds of large fowl. They are not very common and good ones are hard to find.
I assumed that the individual was not interested in my request and that I was not going to get a response. I made arrangements and went in a different direction to fill what I was looking for.
More than 50 days later I got a message from the original party contacted that hatching eggs were available and price was $x. I responded politely and informed him that I had made other arrangements. His reply back was, "I just love it when people waste my time".
It burned me to think that this individual thought that he was so important that people should wait almost two months for a response from him without looking for other possible sources.
What would you think of an individual that responded as he did? Would you even consider attempting to do business with them a second time?

 

[stonykill]

WHAT WOULD YOU THINK?
This has been eating on me for some time, and finally I am compelled to inquire what others think. I made an inquiry as a personal message to one of the respected contributors on this thread regarding availability and pricing of hatching eggs for two different breeds of large fowl. They are not very common and good ones are hard to find.
I assumed that the individual was not interested in my request and that I was not going to get a response. I made arrangements and went in a different direction to fill what I was looking for.
More than 50 days later I got a message from the original party contacted that hatching eggs were available and price was $x. I responded politely and informed him that I had made other arrangements. His reply back was, "I just love it when people waste my time".
It burned me to think that this individual thought that he was so important that people should wait almost two months for a response from him without looking for other possible sources.
What would you think of an individual that responded as he did? Would you even consider attempting to do business with them a second time?

nope I wouldn't. IMHO that person is a jerk to be avoided, whoever it is.

 

[fowlman01]

It wasn't me........I'm a jerk for other reasons.

Walt