SO, for the past month and a half I have been going absolutely CRAZY
with my broody hens. Four out of my five have decided to go broody (it doesn't help that I own particularly broody breeds, 2 sizzles, 1 serama, 1 cochin) The problem I was having was that they are way attached to each other and every time I tried to separate them they went nutso. Cried, got off their eggs, literally tried to scratch themselves out of wherever I had them, it was strange. They were all raised together from birth so I guess it makes sense but whoever thought chickens were smart? ANYWAY, I finally decided to build them each a nesting box and move on with my life. My two sizzles INSIST on sharing a nesting box and the other two were happy in their own. What's the problem you ask? My sizzles were klepto chickens
Every morning I'd come in and they had stolen all of the eggs from the other two sometime in the night. It got so bad that one morning I came in and they were sitting on 38 EGGS!!!!
Honestly!!! I started candling and realized that their mental problems were killing the chicks due to the movement detaching air sacs
SO, this week I got fed up and decided to just give them some babies
I took their eggs, stuck them in the incubator and bought them 6 TSC chicks
I divided them up, gave the sizzles 3, the serama 1 and the cochin 2. The next morning I checked and the klepto sizzles had 4, the serama 1 and the cochin 1.
That afternoon I checked and this is what I found
I think the other chickens decided to give in to the klepto's and raise the chicks together! They are now all raising the chicks in a big circle around the food!!!
It takes a village!
I think the other chickens decided to give in to the klepto's and raise the chicks together! They are now all raising the chicks in a big circle around the food!!!
It takes a village!
