Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

Ron, a couple of things I meant to add about the hen raising the chicks….first is that I haven't had a lot of success letting hens hatch their own eggs. Partly that is that I want to focus on certain breeds and don't want the hens hatching any old egg because then I'll just end up with a bunch of mutts. But mostly its because they typically go broody in a nest box and usually aren't that crazy about the idea of moving. In their heads, they already picked the perfect spot to brood and what do we know about it anyway? So there they sit in the prime nest box and the other hens have to squeeze in with them everyday to lay their eggs. Even if I mark the eggs so that I only gather the new eggs laid that day and leave the ones she's supposed to be sitting on, in the course of 21 days, the eggs she's trying to hatch risk being cracked and broken by all the activity. Or, a hen jumps in there with dirty feet and contaminates the eggs and they turn rotten. In the unlikely event she is actually able to hatch them, there's a good chance chicks will fall out of the nest box while stumbling around after first hatching, and the hen will keep sitting and let them fend for themselves which can have bad results. Chickens are not always that tolerant of a baby on its own.

So - although I said I let my hens raise chicks in the flock, what I do is let them brood wherever they want to but I collect all the eggs every day. Meanwhile, I incubate the eggs I want hatched in my incubator. When the eggs have pipped - or sometimes after the chick has hatched - I move the hen to a small broody pen (I have several just for this purpose). I move her after dark, make her a nest, put her on it with either the pipped eggs or the chicks and by the morning she has almost always accepted the chicks as her own. I leave them there for the first week as it takes a little time for the chicks to bond with their mother and recognize her voice over those of the rest of the flock. The broody pens are on one level so the chicks can't fall out of anywhere and get lost, and it makes it easy to give them access to food and water as well. Once the new family is established, then I let them out of the broody pen to join the flock.

 

[chicken danz]

Thanks for all the replays everything had been helpfull. I do have a 1 gallon waterer we used with the chicks I can use again when we have more. I will have to try the water in a pan to let them cool there feet. I will just have to make sure to change it often to avoid masqueto problems. I'm happy to hear all the great reviews on letting the hen raise the chicks. I can't wait to start getting eggs and start hatching. I really want to grow my own chickens for the freezer. Keep sending me info I'm loving it. It's been along day so I better get to bed.

Oh Ron I change all my water every day. The main reason is I wouldn't want to drink dirty water and even if it is water to stand in they get it really dirty and it gets hot. I fear water born disease from whatever is on their feet. I know every one isn't quite that picky but I try to keep things as healthy as I can.
My set up is much different than HEChicken's so I feel differently about the whole broody hen idea. Many of my layers free range and choose their own spot to brood. And others use the floor or the nest boxes. But my nest boxes go down to the floor and I have a lot of them so I've not had a lot of problems. If you can come up with them on the cheap, plastic dog kennels or cat kennels are excellent places for broodies to hatch eggs. They like their privacy so any darker enclosed place works great. You can sort of pre-stage nesting areas if you have the room. I hatch most of my own chicks in an incubator but usually about this time of year I let a few girls just do their own thing. This summer I replaced mixed eggs with pure eggs and let some of my layers hatch for me. It seemed to work just fine. Another option is to take a broody and place her where you want her. If you give her eggs to set on she might settle right in. But some are just darned stubborn about where they sit. You just have to do what works for you.
The best situation here has been the barn which is super cluttered. But the hens find all these little spaces to go lay and brood and seem to do very well there. If you are serious about hatching your own and don't care if they are mixed it's a lot easier than pure bred birds that have to be separated. But I would seriously consider getting an incubator. Keep an eye out on places like craigslist, especially off season and you might score a good price. I also use my incubators as emergency warmers. Sometimes chicks get in water and get chilled etc and you need to get them warmed up quick or they'll die. I just did that last week when he had a big storm. The hen only had two chicks and they got smashed down in the mud and one was dead and the other nearly dead when I found them. 15 minutes in the incubator and it was fine.
A lot of this is food for thought. As time goes on you'll encounter more problems and questions. I'm just giving you a little information from my perspective.

I had to turn the heaters on in the brooder and the trailer last night. It was supposed to be pretty cool out. I hope the birds did okay with the cooler temperatures. I haven't hobbled out to check yet. I really spent too much time on my feet yesterday. I need to be a little smarter about it. We got a mid day rain and it rained hard but only lasted a very short time. I was hoping for at least a half inch but if we got a 10th we were lucky. I had a hatch yesterday and had to set up another bin in the house just to have some place I could care for the chicks. I really need to get back on my feet so I can get these birds out of here. I still need to move more birds out in the pens. This is such lousy timing. I think it's going to be fairly pleasant the next few days. I might drag one of my projects out to the front porch to do some sanding if I find the energy. I could sit and do it and stay busy that way.

 

[Trish44]

Ron Rose, It all depends on your setup with the birds & dealing with broody hens & hatching chicks. HEChicken really does have a good setup for that with her hoop coop. I on the other hand don't have a pen setup just for that kind of activity so it has not worked out for me to have hens raise their own chicks. With having to keep breeds in separate pens to keep them pure bred I normally just take the eggs & incubate them from the ones I want to raise chicks from. I have had a hen or two hatch chicks for me, but I haven't had any luck with them raising them. I don't have a fenced off yard for the chickens though either, my laying flock just free range all day where ever they want to & that is quite a range of places they can go. I live in the Flint Hills & our house is built into the hill so they range over the backyard, which is hilly, down the front yard, & into the woods area & orchard. They're pretty good about not going too far, but a few do stay in the back at times till almost dark & show up to go roost. I guess what I'm saying is you have to decide what works best for your situation & go with that. We all kind of do things our own way but it all works out. Chickens are happy if they have somewhere to peck around, eat greens & bugs or whatever they find, & get some good food & shelter when they need it & fresh water. I take greens to all of my birds that have to stay in pens to keep them pure bred & they love those treats. I even give some to the smaller chicks I'm growing out. I figure if they can't get out to eat it I'll bring it to them. I wish I had a way to let them all out to free range, but I just don't have a way for that to work.

Yeah danz I hope my young ones made it OK last night too. I don't have heat out there where they are, but most of them are feathered out, at least partially. Your foot & ankle will for sure tell you when you're overdoing it. That's the bad thing though because when you do that then it takes longer to get it settled down again, believe me I know.

We didn't get a drop of that rain yesterday, it skirted right around us. We did however get the cooler temps that came in with it. We could actually use some rain again now, it's really dry. I heard the weather radio go off warning of the storm & went out early to get the lambs & goats in so they would have shelter & then it didn't rain.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

I have been having a occasional "white" chick hatch out of a Mottled Java clutch of eggs. These are second generation hens and only with a Mottled java male. I have been told that the original Java breed was black, so I would thing that the Mottle java would be a white-black cross. Do you think that if I kept the white javas separate, I would get a good percentage of white chicks from this arrangement?

 

[lizzyGSR]

Talk about crazy weather!!! Today's high is 70*F. Tomorrow's high is 67*F. I'm wearing long sleeves and house shoes around the house today. I appreciate the cooler weather, but it sure feels COLD compared to what we've had recently!

 

[chicken danz]

I have been having a occasional "white" chick hatch out of a Mottled Java clutch of eggs. These are second generation hens and only with a Mottled java male. I have been told that the original Java breed was black, so I would thing that the Mottle java would be a white-black cross. Do you think that if I kept the white javas separate, I would get a good percentage of white chicks from this arrangement?

Ralph some of those birds may not have a true mottling gene and may actually appear white now and feather in as a splash. Without knowing where they came from they may have bred for mottling by using a BBS bird. If you are anything like me though, I'd have to grow them up and see how they feather in and then decide what to do with them. I have a chick right now that had a blue gold rooster bred to a blue hen and the chick is pure white. I suspect that it has enough splash in the background that the white came out more dominant. I expect it to be splash eventually. But you just never know without knowing the exact genetics of the parent birds. White is a dominant color in a lot of cases so you could end up with white birds as well.
Lizzy, It's not that cool here. It's predicted to get to 77 here today but I suspect it will get warmer cause the sun is bright and its not cloudy at all. It's 72 here now.

 

[Ron Rose]

I already made some nesting boxes. I took an old desk and took the drawers out. I took plywood and made a bottom for the birds to lay eggs on. I cut out 3 holes on the front side for the birds to get into one in the knee space and the other two where the drawers were. On the side you would normally sit at I covered with 2 boards with hinges. I used an 11 inch piece on the bottom and the larger piece on top that way I can fold it down to get the eggs. I would like to use the larger space in the middle for one that goes broody. In addition to that we took 2 old end tables and put a divider in them. Cut 2 holes in the back for the hens to crawl in and I can use the doors to open to get eggs. The end tables work great on top of the desk and this gives me 7 laying nest. I put these in one end of my coop that I can walk in and keep feed as a clean side. I used chicken wire to block the rest and added a door so I can get to the chicken side to clean and add or change wood chips. I think I got a good set up. Now if I can just get the chickens to start laying eggs I can find out if they like it. I have hay in all the boxes and a golf ball.

During the day the chickens hang out a lot in one of our big lilac bushes. When they start to lay eggs will they know to use the laying boxes I made them or will they use the bushes they hang out in? I do see feathers in the laying boxes but have never seen one in there. Not sure if the feathers are floating in or if the birds are actually going in. Do chickens lay eggs when ever or is there a certain part of the day they lay such as: morning, midday, evening, or night. These may seem like funny questions but I've never been around chickens until now.

If I were to make a brooder box in the future what size should it be and what all would I need? I know it needs food and water but do I need a divider for a dark side to roost and an open side that allows daylight or do I just need to cover one in for shelter. If I need to make an area for roost does it need to be high enough for the hen to get off the grown or will she stay on the eggs and with the chicks? I know it's early but it gives me an ideal to plan, save, and build.

No more questions tonight , but all the replies have been very helpful. I am also enjoying the different approaches everyone has it makes me think about what will work with what I have.

Thanks everyone.

 

[DisneyGal25]

lizzy, Ethan is growing so fast, wow. My little grandson is growing like a weed too, I need to get down there to see him soon before he's walking.

DisneyGal congrats on the new duck, Appleyards are kind of hard to find any more. My missing duck never has reappeared so I guess something got her . The other 3 that were in the group with her seem to be hanging around closer to the pens now, maybe they know something I don't.

danz, I hope your ankle heals quickly so you can get around without so much pain. I was telling my DH about your accident today & I told him my ankle still swells & hurts even after 6 months. His comment was, "Well your muscles & bones are weird." I just looked at him like what? He then went on to say that because of my Fibromyalgia & autoimmune problems I don't heal like other people. I guess he's right about that, it does take me a lot longer to heal injuries especially with muscles & tendons involved. What's going on with this bone, well I don't know. I have an appt. coming up with another specialist in a couple of weeks. Hopefully he will have some ideas on getting the thing healed, I sure hope so. I'm just flat out sick of the pain & all of it. I have limited range of motion in that knee because of the swelling & inflammation still there. Anyway, danz I hope you enjoy your day with your family & take it easy.

Thanks Trish!
So sorry your duckie never showed back up!! I hope your other three stay nice and close! Let me know if one of the new ones turns out to be a girl!!

I am super glad we got an Appleyard she's a beauty! Hubby says he for sure wants another Ancona since they are endangered... Wants to help preserve the breed.

 

[cherwill]

I already made some nesting boxes. I took an old desk and took the drawers out. I took plywood and made a bottom for the birds to lay eggs on. I cut out 3 holes on the front side for the birds to get into one in the knee space and the other two where the drawers were. On the side you would normally sit at I covered with 2 boards with hinges. I used an 11 inch piece on the bottom and the larger piece on top that way I can fold it down to get the eggs. I would like to use the larger space in the middle for one that goes broody. In addition to that we took 2 old end tables and put a divider in them. Cut 2 holes in the back for the hens to crawl in and I can use the doors to open to get eggs. The end tables work great on top of the desk and this gives me 7 laying nest. I put these in one end of my coop that I can walk in and keep feed as a clean side. I used chicken wire to block the rest and added a door so I can get to the chicken side to clean and add or change wood chips. I think I got a good set up. Now if I can just get the chickens to start laying eggs I can find out if they like it. I have hay in all the boxes and a golf ball.

During the day the chickens hang out a lot in one of our big lilac bushes. When they start to lay eggs will they know to use the laying boxes I made them or will they use the bushes they hang out in? I do see feathers in the laying boxes but have never seen one in there. Not sure if the feathers are floating in or if the birds are actually going in. Do chickens lay eggs when ever or is there a certain part of the day they lay such as: morning, midday, evening, or night. These may seem like funny questions but I've never been around chickens until now.

If I were to make a brooder box in the future what size should it be and what all would I need? I know it needs food and water but do I need a divider for a dark side to roost and an open side that allows daylight or do I just need to cover one in for shelter. If I need to make an area for roost does it need to be high enough for the hen to get off the grown or will she stay on the eggs and with the chicks? I know it's early but it gives me an ideal to plan, save, and build.

No more questions tonight , but all the replies have been very helpful. I am also enjoying the different approaches everyone has it makes me think about what will work with what I have.

Thanks everyone.

I'm pretty sure they'll lay most of their eggs in the nesting boxes, especially since you have a golf ball in there to show them the way. My hens have always had bushes to hang out under, but they still almost always lay their eggs in the coop. Once in a very great while we'll find an egg under a lilac bush. It's easy to see them, though, because they've eaten all the foliage away from the bottom of the bushes.

Mine will also go through phases where they lay more eggs UNDER the nesting boxes than IN them, but that doesn't last too long.

 

[Trish44]

Ron Rose, that sounds like an interesting setup you have with the nest boxes. Mine have done a pretty good job using their nest boxes, most of the time. Once in awhile they will find another place to lay such as in a straw bale I had left under a topper we have out there for shelter. I removed the straw & they went back to the main coop to lay. Your birds may be going in to test out the nest boxes before they use them, that would not be unusual. They may also sleep in them if they're accessible at night & then you will have messes in there. My young ones have done that before they were old enough to lay.

As far as the box for a broody hen, maybe HEChicken will stop in & tell you how she sets up for that. I really can't give you input on that since I don't have anything like that.

I managed to get my empty hoop coop cleaned out since I sold my last 3 roosters yesterday & got it ready for the Swedish Flower Hens. I got them moved in right before dark & they were kind of stressed over being moved so I hope they settle in. They will have a lot more room there, so I think they will like it once they get used to it. I need to clean out where they were now in the breeder coop to get ready to move a trio of Partridge Orpingtons in there. It's always musical pens around here.