My bobs finally hatched babies all on their own!!!

[practic]

I just wanted to thank everyone whose posted information that Ive used over the last 2 years to help my birds lay, brood, and hatch eggs on their own.

I've tried all sorts of things over the past 2 year and now that I've had success i can answer any questions regarding the subject for anyone that wants their birds to brood.

 

[sami sdata]

How about a brief summary of what you did? For now I'm just using and incubator but in the long run I'd love to let the hens handle the hard work.

 

[practic]

I'll start off by saying that I am not an expert or have any professional training in this field. The following statements are based on my experience with my birds which I raise in my backyard.

That said,

In a standard raised cage birds would lay eggs all I've the place.

I took my birds out of standard cages and put them in a tractor setting. They would nest and lay eggs in the same place but no one would sit on them. The tractor would then be moved and the cycle would continue.

I built a stationary coop with an upper level and a lower lever. The birds nested and laid in the nest. Once the nest was full of eggs a male would sit on them... Which I thought was weird. Then I noticed that it was only the males that were brooding. But also they were fighting amongst each other and that was interrupting the brooding process.

I added an 8'x4' open extension to the coop to give them more space but the fighting continued.

I finally removed all birds but 1 male and 1 female. For a year she laid eggs in nests that would change location throughout the coop but never brooded.

Having just one couple in the coup has allowed the grass to grow tall giving the birds plenty of privacy. I think this was the determining factor.

So pair up a male and a female and separate them from the rest.
Give them a habitat that is somewhat similar to what they would see in the wild.
And give them plenty of space to run around and do their bird thing.
I will post a picture of my coop later that way it will be easier to understand what I'm describing

 

[JKav]

Congratulations! And who doesn't like a little privacy I love that they did it all (eventually) on their own. Funny how this goes "against" what we've all read, yet goes "with" what seems most natural. Bravo!

 

[JKav]

Funny, i just picked up the book "That Quail, Robert" and the very 1st paragraph.. "We had known that there was a quail nesting I the deep grass.. My friend .. had discovered the nest in June, and he had carefully left the surrounding grass unmowed." Then more about how the hen would go to the nest and move the grass with her beak until she was completely hidden.