Natural breeding thread

[boulter]

There are 3 (not aggressive) heritage chickens about 1 year old. First broody hen and so we got her 4 eggs to sit on. They have the whole side of the house to roam and also lots of feeding stations. Here is the gate to the girls (2 non broody staring through bars)

Here is the inside of their run:

And the other side:

 

[BDutch]

The run is very spacious. Is it safe for chicks? No cats, birds of prey?
How is the inside of the coop? Do all chickens sleep and lay eggs in the coop (first building) in the second picture?

Maybe you need to add some safe space for the chicks. Hard to tell. I have an old prefab with a small attached run where the broody and chicks stay the first 2 weeks when they are most vulnerable and I keep them inside a larger net covered run for much longer if I am not around to protect little bantam chicks. This is very necessary because we have an overload of free roaming cats here.

Maybe you can ask other people (tag them) to ask their opinion. Like @Ribh who lives in Australia too. Or @DobieLover who wrote a good article about natural brooding.

 

[boulter]

The run is very spacious. Is it safe for chicks? No cats, birds of prey?
How is the inside of the coop? Do all chickens sleep and lay eggs in the coop (first building) in the second picture?

Maybe you need to add some safe space for the chicks. Hard to tell. I have an old prefab with a small attached run where the broody and chicks stay the first 2 weeks when they are most vulnerable and I keep them inside a larger net covered run for much longer if I am not around to protect little bantam chicks. This is very necessary because we have an overload of free roaming cats here.

Maybe you can ask other people (tag them) to ask their opinion. Like @Ribh who lives in Australia too. Or @DobieLover who wrote a good article about natural brooding.

Thanks - will section off a part and use an old dog crate and separate them just to be safe. I've had no predator issues but I have two large dogs who guard the chickens and any predator has to get past the dogs first

 

[boulter]

Thanks - will section off a part and use an old dog crate and separate them just to be safe. I've had no predator issues but I have two large dogs who guard the chickens and any predator has to get past the dogs first

They all sleep together in the grey prison like shed. My backyard is a haven for wild birds actually because I have fruit and nut trees that I leave unpicked for them to eat. It makes me worry about bird flu but I love the sound of birds so I'm risking it. Everything free ranges together some days (dogs, kids, chickens and wild birds)

 

[kattabelly]

The main thing I worry about with small chicks running loose is that they'll squeeze through a tiny gap somewhere and get stuck (either physically or because they can't work out how to get back) and their mum won't be able to get to them.

I'd probably cover that big blue tub of water with something too, even if it was just fine chicken wire or similar, when they reach the age they can just about fly that high but often misjudge the landing.

 

[boulter]

The main thing I worry about with small chicks running loose is that they'll squeeze through a tiny gap somewhere and get stuck (either physically or because they can't work out how to get back) and their mum won't be able to get to them.

I'd probably cover that big blue tub of water with something too, even if it was just fine chicken wire or similar, when they reach the age they can just about fly that high but often misjudge the landing.

thanks for the advice - I'm starting to realise that the two other chickens are the least of my problems with baby chicks! My run is not at all safe I have come to learn...

 

[kattabelly]

thanks for the advice - I'm starting to realise that the two other chickens are the least of my problems with baby chicks! My run is not at all safe I have come to learn...

They'll stick very close to mum at first but they soon start to wander, especially in warmer temperatures when they don't need to spend so much time under her. Depending on the size, they might well be able to squeeze through the gaps in that chain link fence and what looks like chicken wire blocking off some space under your house. If they aren't freaked out and running away from something they might just calmly work out how to get back the same way but they will sometimes get stuck in silly places - plus they're at greater risk of predation (and dying of exposure, though probably not such a risk in your climate) while they're on the other side of a fence or something and their mum can't get to them.

They might be completely fine or you might end up with a chick who likes to explore and constantly gets lost or stuck in ridiculous places.

 

[boulter]

They'll stick very close to mum at first but they soon start to wander, especially in warmer temperatures when they don't need to spend so much time under her. Depending on the size, they might well be able to squeeze through the gaps in that chain link fence and what looks like chicken wire blocking off some space under your house. If they aren't freaked out and running away from something they might just calmly work out how to get back the same way but they will sometimes get stuck in silly places - plus they're at greater risk of predation (and dying of exposure, though probably not such a risk in your climate) while they're on the other side of a fence or something and their mum can't get to them.

They might be completely fine or you might end up with a chick who likes to explore and constantly gets lost or stuck in ridiculous places.

There's a heat risk for us at the moment so keeping shallow water bowls full is going to be challenging. I think I may have super chickens though! I only just joined this online platform, have had the chickens for just over a year but did absolutely no research until now as I am about to have chicks. I have learned I am a terrible chicken owner BUT I have watched my 3 girls attack and kill multiple rats (one of them they herded into the blue bucket and then just sat on the sides of the bucket not letting it back out until it drowned). I have a family of blue tongue lizards in my yard as well (they are big) and they have learned to stay away from the chicken coop or the girls will eat them.

 

[BDutch]

I think we all go through a learning curve. The first year I lost chicks bc they were probably sick before I got them. Lost one who went through a fence with 5 cm mazes . The second year I let my chickens brood and lost 2 to rats. And 2 years ago 2 chicks/young bantam pullets vanished after they were abandoned by their broodies, just a few weeks before point of lay.

Hopefully it all goes well for you, but it sure is wise to look for potential problems to avoid casualties.

 

[boulter]

I think we all go through a learning curve. The first year I lost chicks bc they were probably sick before I got them. Lost one who went through a fence with 5 cm mazes . The second year I let my chickens brood and lost 2 to rats. And 2 years ago 2 chicks/young bantam pullets vanished after they were abandoned by their broodies, just a few weeks before point of lay.

Hopefully it all goes well for you, but it sure is wise to look for potential problems to avoid casualties.

@BDutch they should hatch in 10 days. I'll refurbish, re-wire and report back on how it goes. The eggs are Australorps so the chicks will be bigger than their mum in no time (that's if any hatch/survive)