Hens go broody when you don’t want them to… and won’t go broody when you do. 
I happened into our local farm store last Friday morning, just as always to "see what they have" now that chicks are here. I am somewhat of a regular, so they spoke when I walked in. One of the guys came up and said, "you want some chicks?" I smiled, well, I am just here looking to see if there is something I can't live without is what I told him.
He said, "No, really, do you want some chicks, I have a couple that have been picked on and I can't sell them, and I need to get rid of them before they die." Hmmmm, I thought, what kind are they? And did you know these ones over here are also picking on each other. All in all, I walked out with 6 totally free White leghorns.
I know, leghorns - supposed to be crazy birds, but I have wanted a couple just to try them out. Last year I got 2 that were supposed to be leghorns that ended up being two very nice white rocks.
So, I have got my leghorns. I got them fixed up, polysporin on the feather picked, bloodied areas. I put them on a seedling heat mat covered with shavings for a few days set at 95 degrees and kept them away from bright light (still were eating/drinking, etc) that seemed to break the pecking issue. Now they are under a red lamp and doing well. They stopped picking, the wounds healed and I have 6 healthy peeps (I added some tetra tints since I had the brooder set up, just to be economical of course!LOL).
Just had to share!
He said, "No, really, do you want some chicks, I have a couple that have been picked on and I can't sell them, and I need to get rid of them before they die." Hmmmm, I thought, what kind are they? And did you know these ones over here are also picking on each other. All in all, I walked out with 6 totally free White leghorns.
I know, leghorns - supposed to be crazy birds, but I have wanted a couple just to try them out. Last year I got 2 that were supposed to be leghorns that ended up being two very nice white rocks.
So, I have got my leghorns. I got them fixed up, polysporin on the feather picked, bloodied areas. I put them on a seedling heat mat covered with shavings for a few days set at 95 degrees and kept them away from bright light (still were eating/drinking, etc) that seemed to break the pecking issue. Now they are under a red lamp and doing well. They stopped picking, the wounds healed and I have 6 healthy peeps (I added some tetra tints since I had the brooder set up, just to be economical of course!LOL).
Just had to share!
