Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder (Picture Heavy) - UPDATE

[junebuggena]

Thank you, this is so helpful to know that if they have the mama it goes faster and easier. Not having had the experience of a broody hen hatching babies within my flock, I keep wondering what the differences are, just so I know more about the whole thing. My littles are now 2 days short o 6 weeks old and still on the floor together, but someone else mentioned 7 weeks and getting their littles up on the roost so sounds like I'm still within normal bounds.

I've got hen brooded chicks that are now 5 weeks old, and they still insist on sleeping in a pile, even though there are plenty of other birds in the coop to show them. Some batches just take longer.

 

[AllynTal]

I did not mean to start whole side discussion about whether round or flat roosts were better. I was only offering it as a suggestion that maybe the birds who were resisting moving to the round roosts might prefer flat ones. When I had chickens up north, we always had flat roosts so when the chickens settled down for the night, their feet -- more importantly, their toes -- were under their bodies so their toes stayed warm. Some people claim it prevents the toes from getting frost bite. I don't know, we just always used flat roosts. A 2x4 is actually 1.5 x 3.5 and if my birds want to curl their toes over the edge of the board they can....and do. Now that I live in the deep south, I still use flat roosts. It's just what we've always used and the birds are fine. In fact, with the flat roosts, they can walk up and down the roost if they want to, and they do when finding just the right spot to settle for the night. They free range during the day and they have a wide assortment of roosts to choose from -- wide and flat, small and round, big and round. Their favorite place to roost is on a 2x4 or on a large branch about 10 inches in diameter -- and it bounces; they seem to really like that. Go figure. It was just a suggestion.

 

[Donna R Raybon]

I like wider, flat roost, too. Chickens are not true perching birds like a songbird. Especially for large, heavy breeds the 2 X 4 is much easier on their feet. I just don't want anything wide enough to catch poop.

 

[AllynTal]

I'm getting mine to move to the roosts. Up until this weekend, they'd all pile into the corner and at bedtime it was a writhing mass of white feathers, all clucking and squawking, until they finally settled down. During the day, they'll use the roosts, but come dusk, it's into the corner, they go. I know they'll eventually work it out, but I need to put nesting boxes in the coop, so I need them to move now.

At dusk, when I go out to lock the coop up, I pick them up one at a time and set them on a roost. It's too dark for them to really see, so they stay where I put them. In the morning they wake up on the roost and I'm hoping they realize that it's pretty neato. I've been doing it every evening for 5 days. Every evening, there are more birds on the roosts when I go in than there were the night before. I started out with 18 writhing bodies in the corner and none on the roosts. Tonight, there were only six in the corner and the rest had put themselves on the roosts. I hope by the end of this weekend, all of them will put themselves on the roosts.

And just an FYI follow-up. When I went out to lock up the coop tonight, they were all on the roosts. The sand in the corner hadn't even been disturbed from when I cleaned the coop today, so I know none of them went into the corner. Yay for small victories.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote: ok cool, thanks. I think I don't need to worry, is what I can live with.

 

[aart]

Quote: Ditto Dat^^^
The one broody I've had never showed them how to roost, she slept with them in the portable floor nest then just on the floor,
but when she went back to roosting with flock at about 7-8 weeks, they were on their own.
A separate roost and putting them on it well after dark for a week or so did the trick.

 

[azygous]

And then there are my four EEs, precocious in every way up to this point, they are still more inclined to pile in a corner to sleep than to roost at seven weeks.

Last night one hopped onto the perch, while I had to extract the other three from their pile and place them on the perch. Then this morning, following the overnight turds as evidence, I saw one had jumped ship during the night and slept alone in the corner while her three sisters remained roosting.

This bunch has been slowest of any brood in seven years to learn to roost though they've been far ahead in integration and gaining courage to free range distances from the safety of the run.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote: Ditto Dat^^^
The one broody I've had never showed them how to roost, she slept with them in the portable floor nest then just on the floor,
but when she went back to roosting with flock at about 7-8 weeks, they were on their own.
A separate roost and putting them on it well after dark for a week or so did the trick.
Ok cool, I really appreciate everyone letting me know there is so much variation in this.

And then there are my four EEs, precocious in every way up to this point, they are still more inclined to pile in a corner to sleep than to roost at seven weeks.

Last night one hopped onto the perch, while I had to extract the other three from their pile and place them on the perch. Then this morning, following the overnight turds as evidence, I saw one had jumped ship during the night and slept alone in the corner while her three sisters remained roosting.

This bunch has been slowest of any brood in seven years to learn to roost though they've been far ahead in integration and gaining courage to free range distances from the safety of the run.

Yes, these chicks are incredibly fearless. And yet, they still want to be a group and some of the group are just not ready. Thanks again for the help!

 

[dyorto]

I think my one EE that has always had a redder, but kind of a strange comb is in fact a girl. It has always been the most skiddish of the chicks but it has now started to do the submissive squat instead of run away when I come close.

 

[COChix]

Hi, been awhile since I posted an update from our hatch of 04/01/16. As we kinda suspected all three are cockerels, about two weeks ago we moved them from our spot in the suburbs of Denver to our farm spot north. I split our covered run in half and gave the cocekerels the small coop, our roo and crew get the other half of run and the large coop. Things have gone well so far. We are trying to either sell or fatten them up for processing....we might keep one for breeding as they are EE and OE and they will be pretty boys.

Should have heard our BO rooster when he first laid eyes on the three of them. Boy did it make you stop in your tracks, the sound was definitely something out of Jurassic Park. Interestingly the grey one keeps escaping into the big birds area and last time when my BF went to get him our BO roo became aggressively protective over the young cockerel.