Maine

[ashandvine]

Well, I do have kids so the match box might be great and low emissions too! Of course... I like ducks and so do they. Let's see who's right.

Okay, so share/story time:
My 11 yo son helps me most mornings. We have two broodies here now, sitting side by side where they made little nests in this years first cut hay. Its dark and out of the way so they are hard to see since they are both black. Well, I over hear him this morning saying, in a very baby-talk voice, "How's my broody this morning?" There a brief pause and then he come bouncing out on his toes with a big grin, "Grumpy! Just the way I like it!"
I loved it.

 

[Widget]

Well so far I've had two white dutch hookbill guesses from two different people. So for now that is what I am going with. I'll let her grow out a bit more and see if that makes any difference and to see if I can get better pictures.

 

[MustardTiger]

Back with more woes, these girls, I tell you, are being a PITA! So the newest fun situation is that one of my EEs is getting pecked bloody. Today is the first time I have seen anything. Our coop is plenty big for the 5 girls we have. They get let into the run in the morning and have access to inside the coop and the run until 4pm at which time they are all let out to free range. There are two EEs and 3 Buff Orps.

Today when I let them out to range I saw the blood on Eunice. I watched them for a bit and the only one who pecked at her was the other EE, Enid. The weird thing is that Enid also has a bit of a bare spot on her back (no blood) so I am wondering if there is another culprit.

I am going to isolate Enid in the run for tonight, since I have heard that isolating the aggressor can help "reset" the pecking order. My question for you all is, does the offender have to be out of sight during this isolation or can I keep her isolated in the run and let the others roost in the coop and free range all day or do I have to get Enid far away from them for this technique to work?

These girls are as catty as 12 year old pre teen girls!

 

[annabananaandfamily]

Pete the Sizzle hen is insane!! She has a little baby that isnt even fully feathered out yet and has decided she must sit on eggs....but she doesnt have any eggs to sit on so right now she is trying to hatch wood shavings. I keep carrying her out of the coop into the pen, but a couple of hours later I find her back on her spot again. Any tips on breaking a broody?

 

[buckabucka]

Pete the Sizzle hen is insane!! She has a little baby that isnt even fully feathered out yet and has decided she must sit on eggs....but she doesnt have any eggs to sit on so right now she is trying to hatch wood shavings. I keep carrying her out of the coop into the pen, but a couple of hours later I find her back on her spot again. Any tips on breaking a broody?

Ha! Well, a lot of people have luck with putting them in a wire cage, but some hens (mine, for instance) are stubborn. I tried cages, cages with fans blowing, ice cubes, ice packs, etc.

Now, I just let mine sit, removing them twice a day for a little food and exercise. If I'm giving the others scrambled egg, or some high protein treat, I'll deliver some.
Good luck with her!

 

[echosrevenge]

Man, I wish one of mine would go broody! I've got more eggs than I need, and every single one of the last three dozen I've cracked has been fertile (I really do have the BEST rooster), and I'd love to raise up some cockerels for meat before the summer is up. Despite a flock full of heritage breeds, and several hens that went broody at their last homes before I bought them, no one shows any interest at all. The perversity of farm animals, right? "Oh, you don't want me eating that, over there? Well, too bad because it's delicious!" "Oh, I'm here to make babies? Not today!"

 

[TayFray!]

ok, so I haven't been on in like forever and I am selling all of my chickens! I have 1 Ancona hen, 2 Silver Duckwing Yokohama 1 Year old hens, 1 Blue laced red wyandotte (Possibly cross) Hen, 1 Black Australorp Pullet, 3 Partridge Wyandotte Bantam Hens, and 1 Bantam Blue cochin hen, 3 Silver Spangled Hamburg Hens, a striped feather footed hen, and maybe a few more im forgetting! I dont really go on here anymore so if you have any questions or want any of them Please email me at [email protected] or call me at (207)-779-7710, I also have 2 fixed bunnies for sale! Just getting out of it all right now!

 

[hoppy]

ok, so I haven't been on in like forever and I am selling all of my chickens! I have 1 Ancona hen, 2 Silver Duckwing Yokohama 1 Year old hens, 1 Blue laced red wyandotte (Possibly cross) Hen, 1 Black Australorp Pullet, 3 Partridge Wyandotte Bantam Hens, and 1 Bantam Blue cochin hen, 3 Silver Spangled Hamburg Hens, a striped feather footed hen, and maybe a few more im forgetting! I dont really go on here anymore so if you have any questions or want any of them Please email me at [email protected] or call me at (207)-779-7710, I also have 2 fixed bunnies for sale! Just getting out of it all right now!

i'd be interested in seeing the blue laced red hen, no pictures on your website

 

[annabananaandfamily]

Well, I think I killed my some of my chickens.


I had several of the younger birds, just a 3-4 months old, die. They were fine one day, slow and kind of sluggish the next, and dead by morning. I could not figure out what was going on!! I have been watching, googling, and generally driving myself mad trying to figure it out. I have been watching them extra hard the last few days and then combining what I see with what I find online...It looks like my younglings dont know what to stay out of!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

And on top of that I had to spend almost 3 hours on the phone with the IRS and several banks today. So I am REALLY not in a good mood right now!!!!

But I really do need to say that the folks I spoke with at the IRS were the nicest most helpful people I dealt with all day!

 

[Mainechick168]

Back with more woes, these girls, I tell you, are being a PITA! So the newest fun situation is that one of my EEs is getting pecked bloody. Today is the first time I have seen anything. Our coop is plenty big for the 5 girls we have. They get let into the run in the morning and have access to inside the coop and the run until 4pm at which time they are all let out to free range. There are two EEs and 3 Buff Orps.

Today when I let them out to range I saw the blood on Eunice. I watched them for a bit and the only one who pecked at her was the other EE, Enid. The weird thing is that Enid also has a bit of a bare spot on her back (no blood) so I am wondering if there is another culprit.

I am going to isolate Enid in the run for tonight, since I have heard that isolating the aggressor can help "reset" the pecking order. My question for you all is, does the offender have to be out of sight during this isolation or can I keep her isolated in the run and let the others roost in the coop and free range all day or do I have to get Enid far away from them for this technique to work?

These girls are as catty as 12 year old pre teen girls!

We had one hen who's tail got pecked bloody, just barely...but we kept her inside over night, cleaner her up and painted her barespot with blu-kote, and that solved the problem.

I can't believe how much chicken drama there is! It's better than watching a soap opera!