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

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

Sounds like you aren't going to break her. Get her some fertile eggs and let her sit. If u don't have any let her sit on golf balls or whatever. After awhile switch them out with day old chicks in the middle of the night. I have put chicks under a broody hen after she left the nest with the early hatchers. Incubated the unhatched eggs and gave her back the chicks the next night. Good luck

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

So, I have a question regarding cedar. I'm sure this is a classic, but, can cedar be put in the chicken pen as ground cover and bedding? We used to have a guini pig that we had to get cedar shavings for since the store was out of pine shavings and we needed them then. Well, the guini pig has since died of old age and there is a big bag of cedar just sitting in our utility closet. I know for a fact that if I make a thread for this on BYC all the chicken-eers will say that cedar is harmful to chickens do to the oils it contains regardless of any experience they may or may not have. I don't know if I believe that or not. My thinking is that cedar's oils have never bothered me one bit, so why would it hurt a chicken? What are you OT's opinion? I will not be using cedar long-term if I do, just until this bag is used up.

 

[Clay Mudd]

And I do have 2 Standard Poodles who are the best cattle AND GOAT drovers on the place (I milk 16 head of goats, twice a day!). Before I got bone cancer and could hunt ducks, one of them was my retriever. They are both certified therapy dogs, and have brought much joy to many people. One has a tracking title, and one has an agility and 3 obedience competition titles. So, since you are stepping very near my toes, thought you ought to know that a Standard Poodle, anyway, will do anything you ask him to do!

Thanks -- I always appreciate a chance to become a little less ignorant!

 

[loanwizard]

I guess it isn't just Old Timers that know things! Look what was just discovered about, of all things, boiling an egg.
Tested and approved by our own diaper dandy AL, it is a keeper.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/115799/crazy-easy-way-to-make-hard-boiled-eggs

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

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We go to Little Rock for a day and you guys take off without us! Can not believe how many posts on this thread in a day.

as for day 25 under a hen. Years ago (before exhibition poultry) I had a hen go past her time with eggs. She was out in the big barn. I guess the eggs exploded, because, when she came off the nest she was missing a lot of feathers! Plus, she stunck! Its a wonder she did not die in the explosion. She was not very welcome in the coop for a few weeks.

Sunday night Nicole (7) stated that the eggs would hatch on a certain day. I asked what eggs? She said the hen's eggs. I had sort of forgot about the two broody hens. We set them the same day, so chicks will hatch at the same time. Tonight i will go out with the LED flashlight and candle the eggs. Each egg is also marked (with the breed/variety and date) so I know if someone (hen or child) slips a new egg under them.

If the eggs have not hatched by day 23 you have a problem. Chicken eggs take 21. Enviromental conditions vary. Any egg here that has been candled and verified to be occupied, stays till about day 24. Then it is tossed. Usually as far as I can throw it in the woods! Have never had an egg explode in my wife's kitchen trash... and never want one to!

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

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I can't think of having goats as "weird", at least compared to:

Owning land and not having a garden
Having a garden and not having chickens
Having chickens and not having a garden
Poodles
Apartment buildings

I mean, that's all weird stuff!

I think goats are definitely weird! Weird eyes, noisy, dirty, stinkin' and they always have their tails in the air....weirds me out to be around them.

I agree with all your other weirds on the list!

I personally think anyone with goats is weird!

My brother has goats. Thankfully I do not have goats. I have self propelled weed eaters!

Here are my kids with THEIR goats.

This was taken the week after Easter 2012.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

It is difficult to soar like an eagle when you stuck with a bunch of turkeys!

I don't find chickens to be weird at all. They simply are big birds stuck on the ground and wishing they can soar. Since they cannot, they have to conduct their bird lives on the ground in front of all of us. I identify with that greatly, so chickens and I are sympatico.

bee chickens can fly. being my pullets are starting to lay i had to seperate the roosters and meat birds into seperate pens. well i confused 2 ee;s with my rangers. well before i could get the one ee off the roost she flew over the 6 foot fence and the flew on the 8' roof of the pen. . it was dark out. so now i got a bsl and a ee on the roof.
i think i am going to end my sex link breeding thought. just to many gene variations in the hatchery stock. i don;t think i will get a sex link. so i am going to fatten them bad boys up with the meaties and have dinner

Sumatra's fly pretty darn well for chickens. I've had them fly around the house many times and almost clip me in the head. Luckily they not only fly well, but they have amazing control. They fly better than a wild turkey. Not that that is saying much

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[HallFamilyFarm]

NYREDS is right. Its not going to hurt to let her be broody. He has also described the best way to break a broody hen. If I were you, I would go to https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/36/chicken-hatching-eggs and buy some eggs. Meanwhile place some store eggs or non-fertile eggs under her to keep her busy until your good eggs arrive.

Hey OTs it's me again!! I'm having a heck of a hard time trying to break a broody hen! She is a 9 month old golden comet and she is showing all the signs. I I'll her off the nest and put her in with the teenagers and she finds seem way to get back over there. So I made her a seperate cage inside the coop for nighttime and a seperate cage outside the coop for daytime and yes it makes her angry but hen I let her out tonight after work she picks at the ground a bit and then it's like a switch goes on and she heads RIGHT BACK TO THE COOP! THIS IS MAKING ME NUTS!

2 days of pulling her out of this nest and a whole day away from it and she continues to go back.

I don't want her being broody in this heat. It's 100 degrees out and I can imagine not the best time not to drink and eat regularly. Also, I recently lost a hen when I allowed her to try her hand at motherhood and 4 days into it I find her dead.....so I'm kinda scared to even let a hen be Broody.

Suggestions??

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[stonykill]

We go to Little Rock for a day and you guys take off without us! Can not believe how many posts on this thread in a day.

as for day 25 under a hen. Years ago (before exhibition poultry) I had a hen go past her time with eggs. She was out in the big barn. I guess the eggs exploded, because, when she came off the nest she was missing a lot of feathers! Plus, she stunck! Its a wonder she did not die in the explosion. She was not very welcome in the coop for a few weeks.

Sunday night Nicole (7) stated that the eggs would hatch on a certain day. I asked what eggs? She said the hen's eggs. I had sort of forgot about the two broody hens. We set them the same day, so chicks will hatch at the same time. Tonight i will go out with the LED flashlight and candle the eggs. Each egg is also marked (with the breed/variety and date) so I know if someone (hen or child) slips a new egg under them.

If the eggs have not hatched by day 23 you have a problem. Chicken eggs take 21. Enviromental conditions vary. Any egg here that has been candled and verified to be occupied, stays till about day 24. Then it is tossed. Usually as far as I can throw it in the woods! Have never had an egg explode in my wife's kitchen trash... and never want one to!

I always wait until day 25. As I once, just once had one hatch on day 25. Right before I was going to remove the eggs from the broody. I did candle midway however so I knew none were duds. Actually with my Sumatra's I've never had an unfertilized egg. With the large foul sometimes, but rarely. I have more roosters than "required". Maybe that helps.

 

[thedragonlady]

I agree! People are way too careful these days! You need to be exposed to germs to build immunity to viruses. Anytime someone comes over to see the chickens they act like they are going to leave my house with bird flu or salmonella and it makes me want to scream! These chickens have the life. Fresh clean air, grass, shade, a safe place to sleep.... And how many of my ancestors raised chickens and they sure didn't use sanitizer. How many of them died from touching a baby chicken!???

My old nanny said there are two kinds of dirt on kids...under 12 hours old is healthy, over 12 hours will make you sick. I got thrown into the tub a lot!