MJ's little flock

[Grammy60]

Good morning/evening MJ and everyone

 

[rjohns39]

Good evening folks

 

[Shadrach]

Oh interesting. I thought it would be full time for the hen but not the person. I assumed there were long stretches where the hen would want to be left alone and that would be when MJ could write. But as I have never experienced anything like it I will just shut up and let myself out.

It may just be me but while the hen is sitting I make sure she gets off the nest every day, eats, poops, baths etc. That means I need to be there every day.
Then there comes the nail bitting bit when you can hear the hen talking to the chicks while they are still in the shell. I wouldn't want to miss any of that. Then they start hatching and I want to see as much of that as the hen will allow.
I wouldn't want to miss thos first chick sighting when a head appears between the mothers feathers. Of course one wants to know how many have hatched and I like to wait and try and count the different faces as they appear.
The hen and her chicks often need to be fed at the nest for the first 24 hours and I like to make sure they all eat and drink.
In the event that there are parial hatching which the hen abandons I need to be there to put the abandonned chicks out of their misery as soon as the mum leaves the nest.
One wouldn't want to miss thos first few chick steps as they try to follow mum when she leaves the nest.
I have a hard enough time getting time to feed myself let alone do much of anything else.

 

[Shadrach]

Here's Ivy taking a bite of cottage cheese

View attachment 2910632

You seem to have a rodent in the background. Get Ivy to have a bite of thhat instead.

 

[BY Bob]

It may just be me but while the hen is sitting I make sure she gets off the nest every day, eats, poops, baths etc. That means I need to be there every day.

For me this meant being home but not sitting at the coop waiting. Everyone knows that I had to remove Phyllis from the nest every day. However that was not all day. That was an hour tops.

Once the day approaches though it becomes much more involving. And that first week or so after hatching requires a lot of time and provides so many wondrous moments.

I do recommend deploying cameras so you can monitor events without disturbing mum too much.

 

[RoyalChick]

It may just be me but while the hen is sitting I make sure she gets off the nest every day, eats, poops, baths etc. That means I need to be there every day.
Then there comes the nail bitting bit when you can hear the hen talking to the chicks while they are still in the shell. I wouldn't want to miss any of that. Then they start hatching and I want to see as much of that as the hen will allow.
I wouldn't want to miss thos first chick sighting when a head appears between the mothers feathers. Of course one wants to know how many have hatched and I like to wait and try and count the different faces as they appear.
The hen and her chicks often need to be fed at the nest for the first 24 hours and I like to make sure they all eat and drink.
In the event that there are parial hatching which the hen abandons I need to be there to put the abandonned chicks out of their misery as soon as the mum leaves the nest.
One wouldn't want to miss thos first few chick steps as they try to follow mum when she leaves the nest.
I have a hard enough time getting time to feed myself let alone do much of anything else.

Yes. That is sort of what I imagined.

 

[MaryJanet]

You seem to have a rodent in the background. Get Ivy to have a bite of thhat instead.

Trouble is, cat doesn't peck Ivy so Ivy likes cat. They're often within a metre of each other and contented.

Mary and Blossom go into stand-off mode once a week and it usually ends with Blossom hissing as she backs down and slinks off, but her hiss is not like other cats hisses, it's with a far, far more gentle intent.

Peggy raises the alarm if Blossom is within her unpredictably flexible exclusion zone.

Janet and Blossom ignore each other except for those few times one of them moves suddenly and startles the other.

 

[MaryJanet]

It may just be me but while the hen is sitting I make sure she gets off the nest every day, eats, poops, baths etc. That means I need to be there every day.
Then there comes the nail bitting bit when you can hear the hen talking to the chicks while they are still in the shell. I wouldn't want to miss any of that. Then they start hatching and I want to see as much of that as the hen will allow.
I wouldn't want to miss thos first chick sighting when a head appears between the mothers feathers. Of course one wants to know how many have hatched and I like to wait and try and count the different faces as they appear.
The hen and her chicks often need to be fed at the nest for the first 24 hours and I like to make sure they all eat and drink.
In the event that there are parial hatching which the hen abandons I need to be there to put the abandonned chicks out of their misery as soon as the mum leaves the nest.
One wouldn't want to miss thos first few chick steps as they try to follow mum when she leaves the nest.
I have a hard enough time getting time to feed myself let alone do much of anything else.

Have you never observed a hen with a serviceable nest skip a day of getting up and be none the worse for it? Or do a 36 hour sit?

Aren't hens better off in the long run if they establish habits of eating and drinking when needed?

 

[Shadrach]

Have you never observed a hen with a serviceable nest skip a day of getting up and be none the worse for it? Or do a 36 hour sit?

Aren't hens better off in the long run if they establish habits of eating and drinking when needed?

Yes, I've had pullets/young hens sit three days straight at the very start of their sit but they did get off their nest after that every day. A couple that did miss a day I liked to check on. A discrete crop feel tells me if they have either eaten and I haven't seen or they have a full enough crop.
I like to get them to establish a daily habit if I can. In the early days with the Marans in particular some needed a jump start but soon got the hang of it.
The bantams had it all sorted from day one as did the mixed breeds.

 

[MaryJanet]

Yes, I've had pullets/young hens sit three days straight at the very start of their sit but they did get off their nest after that every day. A couple that did miss a day I liked to check on. A discrete crop feel tells me if they have either eaten and I haven't seen or they have a full enough crop.
I like to get them to establish a daily habit if I can. In the early days with the Marans in particular some needed a jump start but soon got the hang of it.
The bantams had it all sorted from day one as did the mixed breeds.

That is coherent with what I've seen too.

I figure if the hens can establish good self-care habits, then if something unforeseen happens to me, they'll have a better chance of surviving their next chicken keepers learning curve.