Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[gladahmae]

t

Is there a way to see if a hen will adopt chicks? Someone told my husband that we can put the chicks in the yard and one of our hens should take them in. I'm afraid that the chickens would hurt the chicks. We have the chicks in a brooder right now. Would it be best to keep them there?

*My* understanding is that this is usually done with a broody hen, best done when the chicks are a few days old, and that people have the most success with slipping chicks under the hen at night so she wakes up in the morning and thinks she's hatched her eggs. I have yet to have a broody though, so that's just based on what I've read......I could be totally wrong.

Personally, I would NOT just put my chicks out with the hens. This past summer we got 3 chicks when our original flock was about 15 weeks old and one of them squeezed under the fence into the run with the big girls and they almost killed her.

 

[SillyChicken]

Is there a way to see if a hen will adopt chicks? Someone told my husband that we can put the chicks in the yard and one of our hens should take them in. I'm afraid that the chickens would hurt the chicks. We have the chicks in a brooder right now. Would it be best to keep them there?

one might....or one might kill them... It depends on your birds. If I were to risk it, I would introduce the chicks to a broody hen at night.

 

[jrsckn]

My cayugas finally came in yesterday!!!




And my 5 week old pekins are getting huge, I had no idea they grew so fast. Please hurry up spring, they want to go out and play!

 

[SillyChicken]

My cayugas finally came in yesterday!!!

Looks like a sparty - shirts lined up with duck - which is very cute! Wish they weren't such messy critters!

 

[jrsckn]

Looks like a sparty - shirts lined up with duck - which is very cute! Wish they weren't such messy critters!

Lol, I couldn't have done that on purpose if I took a million pictures

I know, very messy. We gave the pekings a little tub yesterday because they go thru so much water and it took 5 minutes for them to splash it all over and soak every inch of bedding. Oh well, it was fun to watch!

 

[going country]

t


Is there a way to see if a hen will adopt chicks? Someone told my husband that we can put the chicks in the yard and one of our hens should take them in. I'm afraid that the chickens would hurt the chicks. We have the chicks in a brooder right now. Would it be best to keep them there?

*My* understanding is that this is usually done with a broody hen, best done when the chicks are a few days old, and that people have the most success with slipping chicks under the hen at night so she wakes up in the morning and thinks she's hatched her eggs.    I have yet to have a broody though, so that's just based on what I've read......I could be totally wrong.

Personally, I would NOT just put my chicks out with the hens.  This past summer we got 3 chicks when our original flock was about 15 weeks old and one of them squeezed under the fence into the run with the big girls and they almost killed her.

Is there a way to see if a hen will adopt chicks? Someone told my husband that we can put the chicks in the yard and one of our hens should take them in. I'm afraid that the chickens would hurt the chicks. We have the chicks in a brooder right now. Would it be best to keep them there?

one might....or one might kill them...      It depends on your birds.   If I were to risk it, I would introduce the chicks to a broody hen at night.

Thanks! I'm going to keep them in the brooder. I've had chickens for 4 years now and only had one hen go broody (in the middle of winter!).

 

[NovaAman]

Middle of winter is good. Eggs come early summer then.

 

[gladahmae]

Spring is coming to the north-west part of Michigan! HURRAY! I almost hit a robin on the way to school this morning.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

I am with you on that chore list, and the tired before beginning. But I need to add to that trying to either find scrap or shopping for a more secure coop/lean to and more hardware cloth to go around a borrowed covered dog pen the neighbor loaned me for a month to get them set on returning to the coops on their own. I will have to move them from the TSC bought (cheap) coop to the dog yard by hand the first few times so they can do some ranging and stretch. Quite windy today but sun is out.

Breakfast for me and finish the pot of coffee first. Already put fresh food and water in screened coop "porch" for them. Yes I fed the girls first.

 

[wanaBfarmer]

That's awesome! I love humming birds! And orioles. I am waiting to see a robin. The official sign of spring. Any spotted yet???

we have Robins everywhere around here right now. So Spring is here, allthough you wouldn't know it with the low temps these last few mornings. I heard possibillity of 70's next week though