May Hatch-a-Long!

[crsch1888]

What's good to use for like the nesting boxes that they'd use for sitting on eggs, or laying them in? I got a small flock of araucanas today & one of my hens is acting like she wants to go broody, or so that's what the lady told me when I went to get them. All I have is chicks before getting them today, so hadn't thought far enough ahead to have a nesting box made up. I have 4 hens, how many boxes would I need?

 

[mrshaggie810]

I believe anyone can join by doing exactly what you just did...have eggs to be hatched and say so, lol.
What's the weather like where you live?

Been rainy the last few days...has been a nice warm spring otherwise so far. Supposed to have a break from the rain tomorrow, with plans to plant a bunch in the garden, then it's supposed to rain again for 3-4 days.

 

[SatNavSays]

What's good to use for like the nesting boxes that they'd use for sitting on eggs, or laying them in? I got a small flock of araucanas today & one of my hens is acting like she wants to go broody, or so that's what the lady told me when I went to get them. All I have is chicks before getting them today, so hadn't thought far enough ahead to have a nesting box made up. I have 4 hens, how many boxes would I need?

You'll only need one or two nesting boxes at best. My husband made up some wooden ones when one or two of my 22 strong flock (before the fox attack 3 weeks ago) used to use, the rest use a mixture of pet carrier (picked up for AUD $10 each) or plastic storage crates that I have cut a hole into the side of (and then placed masking tape over the cut plastic edges). Ironically they much prefer the black plastic crate or my huge pet carrier (the latest one I picked up which is dog sized). So don't bother with expensive made nesting boxes. They'll nest in most things and my (now deceased) Australorp who was huge, ended up being moved to a massive cardboard box when she went broody because it was the only thing I had that was large enough for her and the chicks

 

[crsch1888]

Ok

​You'll only need one or two nesting boxes at best.  My husband made up some wooden ones when one or two of my 22 strong flock (before the fox attack 3 weeks ago) used to use, the rest use a mixture of pet carrier (picked up for AUD $10 each) or plastic storage crates that I have cut a hole into the side of (and then placed masking tape over the cut plastic edges).  Ironically they much prefer the black plastic crate or my huge pet carrier (the latest one I picked up which is dog sized).  So don't bother with expensive made nesting boxes.  They'll nest in most things and my (now deceased) Australorp who was huge, ended up being moved to a massive cardboard box when she went broody because it was the only thing I had that was large enough for her and the chicks

Ok thanks, I'm sure I can come up with something around here, don't want to spend anything if I don't have to. Sorry to hear about your hen

that stinks! What do you use for the bedding? That I will probably have to buy, I don't have anything other than grass.

 

[jnckids]

You can use 5 gal buckets as well.

 

[SatNavSays]

Ok

Ok thanks, I'm sure I can come up with something around here, don't want to spend anything if I don't have to. Sorry to hear about your hen

that stinks! What do you use for the bedding? That I will probably have to buy, I don't have anything other than grass.

I lost 10 hens in the attack! it would have been more if I hadn't have come home during the daylight raid! I reckon its cost me near AUD $800-1,000 in total now between cost of replacing the hens, emergency treatment for survivor, dressings, petrol, other hens, borrowing an incubator, chick stuff, etc.... its been back twice since as well - unsuccessful, but i'm out tomorrow so am having a friend come over to chook sit for me (paid of course but I still have 12 others...)

anyhow..

bedding - wood shavings, sugar cane mulch, not straw (it can harbour mites in the hollow stems), avoid pea mulch (very dusty). I use woodshavings and put some pestene (anti-mite) powder in with it to reduce any issues. I don't change it that often because they generally go in, lay and come out again... so it doesn't get a huge amount of use, they don't need one each. they will have a preferred box and you will find that they will always lay in it. and they will queue up to lay in the same box... hence my use of second hand pet carriers... something else that doesn't get much use otherwise!

 

[two j farm]

I lost one hen and two roosters a few weeks ago to a Fox and my neighbor lost 30 to a fox. They kill one Fox but but missed the other one. They have kits right now so trying to feed their babies. I'm keeping my chickens penned up for now. Don't want to lose anymore. Hope you get your Fox.

 

[yeye5]

I'm sorry to hear about your Silkie and the fox. Chickens have the most amazing ability to heal though as I am learning at the moment, so she should survive.

We had something similar here just 3 weeks ago today. The sole injured survivor (there were uninjured survivors plus one I had to euthanise) is still living in our house. I'm now an expert at making chicken diapers! Something I never ever thought I would say! Her injuries were staggering, but a friend of mine who helped me care for her after the attack said she stood a chance of surviving her injuries despite her tail nearly being clean off (no damage to the vent other than a single puncture wound from a tooth) and almost half the skin missing from one side of her body. We couldn't even anaesthetise her to clean everything up because we considered her too badly injured. I never actually thought she would survive secondary infections if she were to get one, but luckily a triple antibiotic ointment, that blue spray (both topically) and cephalexin (orally) kept her infection free. I took her off the oral antibiotics after 5 days and only recently stopped the topical ones, having done a phased reduction in it from twice a day, to once a day to every other and now only when things are bleeding. She has lost so many feathers I can't put her outside again until she has some (its down around zero and below at night at the moment (southern hemisphere) and the chook house is not heated) and she also can't fly or even flutter now. She is definitely on the mend but I reckon my chicks will be outside before her! And the fox attack that injured her and cost me 10 hens, is how I'm now on Day 18 of my first ever incubation! And I have a million and one questions about what's to come at the weekend!

Sadly, mrs fox has been back twice this week, (mr fox is believed to be dead). Our also have no natural predators and we don't normally have foxes in this area (dead animals (usually wombats and kangaroos) are not eaten at all, they just slowly decompose...).

And so we took the interesting decision to put the eggs I had been storing for one of my now deceased hens who was showing the signs of starting to be broody, into a friend's incubator. We have 16 in there that are known to be fertile. tonight is lockdown... A first for me because I have always had hens raise my chicks before now but none are broody and somehow I don't think my injured but well recovered house hen is going to take well to the chicks let alone adopt them. That would be way too easy.

Both of you ladies have really done a super job in becoming chicken docs.I feel that if any chickens could survive these traumas, they'd be yours.
I know we have fox where I live but the worst predators are raccoons here. They did lots of damage to some of my hens and also roos. They just hunt while the birds are asleep.
I wish your hen a great recovery!
Did either of you take pics of the injuries?
@SunHwaKwon I had thought you had a guinea attacked. It was a silkie? I love my silkies but they'd just stand there and allow the attack, they're so mild tempered.

And speaking of silkies...My silkie sister duo (Peaches, yellow and Chula, blue) complete their 21 days at 7 p.m. Today.Those girls hatched Sept this past year...so they got right on the job! Their 3rd sister Antonia completes her 21 days Friday 11 a.m. Toni has been a spaz. Whenever she gets up to eat or drink or poop she gets confused on the way back to her nest and just sits down on the 1st eggs she sees. So yesterday morning I found her--again--on 4 or 5 fake eggs that I'd put in the coop to give the other pullets and their mom and idea of where to lay eggs. Unreal, Toni was on top of those...
I wanted to put her back in the right place and only after settling her down did I realize I should have checked the outer temp of the eggs.
I removed all fake eggs again bcs it is getting me too nervous at this late stage for her to not be paying attention.
These 2 hatches have huge clutches...the reason I put the fake eggs (which I use real eggs but they're just over 2 weeks old and I mark them in red sharpie) was that Mima, the mom of all these broodies kept laying eggs in their nests. So, I sure hope they can sit it out for those eggs to hatch! If they won't I'll try putting them under Mima. I don't have an emergency incubator so that seriously limits my options.
Everyone plz say a prayer, cross your fingers, send these girls some good vibes!

Random question for anyone that knows: if I set eggs in the evening are they likely to still hatch in the evening? or the following morning? I've set eggs with my broodies usually in a.m. or midday. I don't know why I did these in the evening...

 

[yeye5]

I'm addicted. I'm on my second and third hatch already. Ask with broodies. But this is my first time using shipped eggs. But I received more than my little broody can sit on. So we are thinking about having an incubator.

I love the process too! I've asked this in other hatch-along but what does everyone do with the thousands of chickens after so much hatching?

 

[jnckids]

I love the process too! I've asked this in other hatch-along but what does everyone do with the thousands of chickens after so much hatching?

My wife and I are talking about that now. Lol