lovin my broodies

[shadowpaints]

i have decided that broodies with their chicks are so cute! usually i take the chicks as they hatch, but this time i decided to let my silkies and silkie cross keep theirs..

the babies are all silkie babies, several of them being from my standard silkie project

i have one broodie that is hatching right now and another that should be hatching any day

 

[Judy]

I am definitely pro-broody. I am convinced the chicks are healthier, better educated, feather out faster, and tolerate temperature changes better. I even leave mama and chicks with the flock so I don't have to integrate anyone. There is something wonderful about watching a mama with chicks.

Disclaimer coming: I am certainly not saying there is anything wrong with using brooders, at all; certainly there are dangers doing it the way I do it, and maybe more losses as well. Just my preference.

 

[Wildflower_VA]

As much as I enjoyed raising my current chicks in a brooder, I can't wait for those girls to start laying and then go broody to raise chicks as nature intended. I am living as sustainably and natural as possible, and trying to preserve heritage breeds, so I don't want "production models" or egg-laying factories for hens. Breeding broodiness out of hens for the sake of non-stop egg laying is not for me. There is not much in nature more beautiful than a mama hen and her chicks.

 

[Fluff-n-Feathers]

I love having my hens raise chicks for me!!! It is so much less work and worry for me!!!