Natural breeding thread

[sdm111]

Been using brooding hens exclusively for years now. I have and had hens throughout the years that that was thier sole purpose.

 

[BDutch]

Been using brooding hens exclusively for years now. I have and had hens throughout the years that that was thier sole purpose.

Can you tell us something about the pro’s, the setup, how you managed and the problems you had over the years?

 

[fluffycrow]

I have my doubts too. But fully free ranging is not something I would dare to do. And small chicks with a mama in my garden is a no go for me too, bc there is an overload of cats and other chick predators.

That is something that I’ve been wondering as well, as I have yet to have a broody hen in a true free range setting.

What happens to a broody hen both on a nest, and with chicks, in case of a predator attack? I’m guessing the former can go two ways; either the hen abandons the nest and makes a run for it (if found), or she stays put and tries to stay hidden.

But when chicks are involved, what is the course of action? Does the hen abandon the chicks, hoping to have better luck next year, does she stay to protect them, or does she try to run beside them?

Hopefully the more experienced members on this thread can answer with their opinions and/or personal experience(s)

All this is of course is a problem for the first two, maybe three weeks of a chick’s life. Even in a semi-free range setting (which is what the chicks hatched here last summer were raised on), two week old chicks are somewhat capable fliers, and thus, not at such a disadvantage

 

[Shadrach]

It has ben pointed out somehwere in this thread (I think it may have been by
Skyeknight) that the right type of cover has a major impact on the survival of ranging and free ranging chickens. Bamboo clumps are close to pefect but one needs lots of cover, therefor lots of bamboo clumps or next best alternatives.
Roosters also make a difference but there is a critical stage when the chicks become juveniles and stray from the groups (they all do it in my experience) and it was at that point I lost most juveniles to predation. After a couple of weeks the smarter juveniles realise they need to keep with their group even if they get the occasional peck by the seniors. It seems that the natural order is the adults will attempt to drive the juveniles out of the group; go and start your own family elswhere type of attitude. This I think is the natural order of things with most tribal creatures.

The hardest part for most chicken keepers is adjusting their view of predation. If you have 20 hens prone to going broody then one can end up with an exponential population climb. One doesn't really want that. What one wants usually is to maintain a stable population with the smart survivors taking their genes forward.

I used to lose about half the hatchings to predation which saved me the unpleasant job of deciding who I could keep and who I couldn't. Working with nature rather then trying to protect the flock from it has its benefits.

Most setups I've seen have nothing like enough decent cover.

 

[Perris]

What happens to a broody hen both on a nest, and with chicks, in case of a predator attack? I’m guessing the former can go two ways; either the hen abandons the nest and makes a run for it (if found), or she stays put and tries to stay hidden.

Last year for the 1st time I found a hidden nest had been predated, and the pullet (now a hen) gave up nesting in the hedge and started using the nest boxes in the coops, so the answer on that occasion was: hen abandoned nest and wrote off the eggs and uses better nesting site now.

But when chicks are involved, what is the course of action? Does the hen abandon the chicks, hoping to have better luck next year, does she stay to protect them, or does she try to run beside them?

Hopefully the more experienced members on this thread can answer with their opinions and/or personal experience(s)

I have seen this multiple times, because a broody yells 'hide' when something as common as a pigeon or crow flies over. The chicks scatter for cover in different directions, and they are all always close to cover. For one unfortunate broody quite early in my time with them, a goshawk targeted her brood. The light coloured chicks were predated by it. On the last occasion of that episode, I saw the broody attack and pursue the lawn-skimming goshawk about 8 feet into the air - which was quite an achievement for her, as she is a pretty chunky lady. So on that occasion, having already lost some chicks to that predator over a number of days, the broody not only yelled 'hide' but also went on the attack. The goshawk was not seen again for a few months, and has not to my knowledge attempted to take any chick since.

two week old chicks are somewhat capable fliers,

and the fast featherers are at an advantage there, as they can fly by the end of the 1st week.

 

[Perris]

the right type of cover has a major impact on the survival of ranging and free ranging chickens

definitely, though I beg to differ on the utility of bamboo. I think a traditional hedge is excellent, and ornamental shrub borders a good second best. The key thing is that there are plenty of them and that the chicks can forage all day around their edges without running out of food and therefore get forced by hunger out into the open.

 

[igorsMistress]

I much prefer broody mamas to incubators. Less work for me.

The nest area is in a secondary coop and at ground level. Once chicks hatch I provide food and water in that coop but let mama do what comes naturally otherwise. We have aerial predators, but lots of cover and usually the chicks are out and about with the flock in a couple days.

 

[Altairsky]

Thing is, is a pullet more inclined to be broody if she was raised by a broody hen?

No, my 10 months old pullet that I incubated last season just hatched her babies and she's a better mom than my elderly hens.

 

[BDutch]

but there is a critical stage when the chicks become juveniles and stray from the groups (they all do it in my experience) and it was at that point I lost most juveniles to predation.

Experienced this with two juveniles in 2023. Hatched 9 chicks. Sold 7 and kept two juveniles. Two cute and tiny Dutch bantams.

The hens didn’t accept the juveniles to roost with them. And I gave the 2 newcomers a tiny coop in the run.
During the day I let them free range a few hours. At first supervised but when I thought it was safe unsupervised too. They didn’t stay with the adults and both wandered too far away and into the high grass and blackberries on municipality ground. Both disappeared one month after another. After the first one disappeared, I thought the other one would stay with the adults and would be more careful. Unfortunately she didn’t/wasn’t. They probably both have been taken by a predator, but I don’t have clue which one.

This experience was a reason to hatch somewhat bigger bantams last year. No losses this time.
Maybe it was bc Ini was a smart mother? She mothered the 3 juveniles until they were about 4 months old. The didn’t go solitary like the 2 Dutch in 2023.
It was a big + they hatched later too. Bc when they started to free range by themselves the municipality had mowed the field between our garden and the creek. Not all cover is safe cover.

 

[Altairsky]

Roosters also make a difference but there is a critical stage when the chicks become juveniles and stray from the groups (they all do it in my experience) and it was at that point I lost most juveniles to predation.

In my experience, and with my flock (all flocks are different), when the mother of the chicks weaned them, the dominant hen took over in the protection of the chicks so none of them ever went stray. A good rooster should take this role. We'll see if mine does with the current batch.
My neighbor has 2 cats that kills everything that breathes, we have magpies and crows nesting nearby, and I never lost a chick to predators. My hens are heritage meat/dual purpose breeds that weights 4 kg so that also make a big difference. They destroy anything the size of a cat.