Nevadans?

[Lacy Blues]

Broody is DEFINITELY contagious! My kids and I have dubbed 2012 as "The Year of the Hen!" We have TEN broodies this year... so far... I hope thats all! It's great having their help when it comes to brooding and raising the babies but TEN OF THEM? Sheesh!

One of my broodies was a faithful little mother to the eggs but she got scared when one hatched. She was on for 3-1/2 - 4 weeks too. I let her set some infertile eggs at first to be sure she was serious. She was serious! I think she just turned one year old here recently so is pretty young. Anyway... she bit the first chick pretty hard, opened it right up! I found it in the nest, as far from her as it could get. When I reached in to pick it up, I expected to be bitten... punishment I've received for candling the eggs... but she didn't care. I was going to put it under her when I noticed the wound. It was feeding time so I brought the baby in and put it in a box with some heat and antibiotics on its poor little head. After feeding, I checked her again. She had a second chick which I had not noticed when I was out there before and it was dry but not under her. I was going to take all her eggs away but as she had not hurt the second chick I decided to extend grace. I took her out of the nest, left the baby in the nest and then encouraged her to get back in. She did, without any fuss whatsoever toward the new chick. I thought she'd gotten over her fear and all would be well. When I went back out to close up for the night, I checked and the chick was not under her and was cold. So, I brought it in and put it with the other chick. I went and finished closing up and then took the rest of her eggs which hadn't hatched yet and put her naughty little self on the perch with the other girls. She was quite confused. She jumped down and started looking for her nest but I put her back and shut the door so she couldn't see to jump down.

I decided to stitch up the wounded chick because the one with it, though unaware of anything the first day, we be aware of everything the second day. So, this chick has been dubbed "Stitch" and is doing very well. His head is almost completely healed up. It was a pretty nasty wound. It was probably 3/4" long and gaped open maybe a half inch or so. I cleaned it up and put 4 or 5 stitches in it. Now all you can see is the stitch thread. Had to use cotton as I don't have any cat gut thread. So his little body will just have to absorb the thread that is under the skin.

All in a day's work! Ho hum...

 

[aubreynoramarie]

I went to put the chickens away tonight and while collecting eggs in the main coop I heard peeping in there. I check the grow out pen where the broody and 10 chicks stay and there's only 8 lonely chicks. I go inside the main coop and there's the broody on the roost with one chick on one side and one of the polish chicks on the other side under her wing! I can't believe they could get up there!
I left everyone as they were but I'm sure the other 8 will move into the big coop tomorrow, they looked sad their mom abandon them.
Hope everyone is well.

LOL! what the heck man?

Wow aubrey is seems all your broodys are breeds that shouldn't go broody

I am painfully aware of that. BAHA!

Ok, I am channeling Missy and I looked at grocery flyers today. Scolaris has sweet cherries for 1.99/lb. that was the best price i saw. savemart has pork spareribs for 1.78/lb, avocados 2/$1, whole chicken for 88cents/lb. safeway has corn 6/$1 Smiths has 4 lbs strawberries for 4.99 and 4lbs watermelon for $1. Now I just need to locate a savemart. I have never been to one. scolaris and smiths are easy stops on my way home.

Elizabeth there is a savemart on keystone, less than a mile from your work


I think tomorrow might be day five on my broody, so i might be out there obsessively candling. If there isnt any development then it certainly isnt her fault, thats for sure. She is DEDICATED. and she bited. HARD. I always thought people exhaderated about broodies being crazy because every one ive ever had has been all bark and no bite. But Millie, the leghorn is MEAN. she doesnt even growl to warn you. she just starts biting and pecking, and she does the whole bite and twist and tear thing. shes EVIL.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Broody is DEFINITELY contagious! My kids and I have dubbed 2012 as "The Year of the Hen!" We have TEN broodies this year... so far... I hope thats all! It's great having their help when it comes to brooding and raising the babies but TEN OF THEM? Sheesh!

One of my broodies was a faithful little mother to the eggs but she got scared when one hatched. She was on for 3-1/2 - 4 weeks too. I let her set some infertile eggs at first to be sure she was serious. She was serious! I think she just turned one year old here recently so is pretty young. Anyway... she bit the first chick pretty hard, opened it right up! I found it in the nest, as far from her as it could get. When I reached in to pick it up, I expected to be bitten... punishment I've received for candling the eggs... but she didn't care. I was going to put it under her when I noticed the wound. It was feeding time so I brought the baby in and put it in a box with some heat and antibiotics on its poor little head. After feeding, I checked her again. She had a second chick which I had not noticed when I was out there before and it was dry but not under her. I was going to take all her eggs away but as she had not hurt the second chick I decided to extend grace. I took her out of the nest, left the baby in the nest and then encouraged her to get back in. She did, without any fuss whatsoever toward the new chick. I thought she'd gotten over her fear and all would be well. When I went back out to close up for the night, I checked and the chick was not under her and was cold. So, I brought it in and put it with the other chick. I went and finished closing up and then took the rest of her eggs which hadn't hatched yet and put her naughty little self on the perch with the other girls. She was quite confused. She jumped down and started looking for her nest but I put her back and shut the door so she couldn't see to jump down.

I decided to stitch up the wounded chick because the one with it, though unaware of anything the first day, we be aware of everything the second day. So, this chick has been dubbed "Stitch" and is doing very well. His head is almost completely healed up. It was a pretty nasty wound. It was probably 3/4" long and gaped open maybe a half inch or so. I cleaned it up and put 4 or 5 stitches in it. Now all you can see is the stitch thread. Had to use cotton as I don't have any cat gut thread. So his little body will just have to absorb the thread that is under the skin.

All in a day's work! Ho hum...

HOLY COW thats quite a story, lol. The only broody i have ever let hatch eggs turned out to be a great mom and actually cared for her chicks until they were her size!

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I think tomorrow might be day five on my broody, so i might be out there obsessively candling. If there isnt any development then it certainly isnt her fault, thats for sure. She is DEDICATED. and she bited. HARD. I always thought people exhaderated about broodies being crazy because every one ive ever had has been all bark and no bite. But Millie, the leghorn is MEAN. she doesnt even growl to warn you. she just starts biting and pecking, and she does the whole bite and twist and tear thing. shes EVIL.

Yeah, I asked Sunny, "So, can you actually candle marans eggs?" She winced and said, "No, not really." So I have the date marked that I gave these eggs to Loco, and if nothing happens in 21-23 days, I'll know nothing's up. I feel like getting a few more eggs for Tom Ka Gai, just to make her broodiness into something productive.

Loco puffs up when anyone comes close, and she fights with the ducks when they tried to nest in there at night. The other night, I was in the coop to witness it all and I pulled poor L'Orange out of her nest and put her in with Balut because she just couldn't understand why this chicken was fighting with her. She'd been sleeping in there for several weeks, and none of her nesting partners had bitten her. Sour is very sweet (Ha!) and fluffs, but doesn't peck at all. I reach right under her, pick her up, and take out the new eggs that my hens have laid. I don't know about Tom Ka Gai... last night I noticed that she hadn't gotten off the nest in hours, said, "Sheesh!" and walked away. But for a BR, she's a sweet girl anyway... that might change if she has eggs.

 

[2seth2]

I alreadu biult my coop it is just about the money.

so are u trying to hatch maran eggs missy?

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I alreadu biult my coop it is just about the money.

so are u trying to hatch maran eggs missy?

It's more of an experiment, anyway. I figured... I had a broody or two, might as well give her some eggs. And I wanted eggs that I could tell from my unfertilized ones.

 

[chicharomirinda]

Broody is DEFINITELY contagious! My kids and I have dubbed 2012 as "The Year of the Hen!" We have TEN broodies this year... so far... I hope thats all! It's great having their help when it comes to brooding and raising the babies but TEN OF THEM? Sheesh!

One of my broodies was a faithful little mother to the eggs but she got scared when one hatched. She was on for 3-1/2 - 4 weeks too. I let her set some infertile eggs at first to be sure she was serious. She was serious! I think she just turned one year old here recently so is pretty young. Anyway... she bit the first chick pretty hard, opened it right up! I found it in the nest, as far from her as it could get. When I reached in to pick it up, I expected to be bitten... punishment I've received for candling the eggs... but she didn't care. I was going to put it under her when I noticed the wound. It was feeding time so I brought the baby in and put it in a box with some heat and antibiotics on its poor little head. After feeding, I checked her again. She had a second chick which I had not noticed when I was out there before and it was dry but not under her. I was going to take all her eggs away but as she had not hurt the second chick I decided to extend grace. I took her out of the nest, left the baby in the nest and then encouraged her to get back in. She did, without any fuss whatsoever toward the new chick. I thought she'd gotten over her fear and all would be well. When I went back out to close up for the night, I checked and the chick was not under her and was cold. So, I brought it in and put it with the other chick. I went and finished closing up and then took the rest of her eggs which hadn't hatched yet and put her naughty little self on the perch with the other girls. She was quite confused. She jumped down and started looking for her nest but I put her back and shut the door so she couldn't see to jump down.

I decided to stitch up the wounded chick because the one with it, though unaware of anything the first day, we be aware of everything the second day. So, this chick has been dubbed "Stitch" and is doing very well. His head is almost completely healed up. It was a pretty nasty wound. It was probably 3/4" long and gaped open maybe a half inch or so. I cleaned it up and put 4 or 5 stitches in it. Now all you can see is the stitch thread. Had to use cotton as I don't have any cat gut thread. So his little body will just have to absorb the thread that is under the skin.

All in a day's work! Ho hum...

wow! that's a story. that's amazing the chick is doing fine. 10 broodies! i've had 2 go broody so far. i'm sure there will be more but it sure is a pain when I'm not planning to hatch anything.

LOL! what the heck man?


I am painfully aware of that. BAHA!

Elizabeth there is a savemart on keystone, less than a mile from your work


I think tomorrow might be day five on my broody, so i might be out there obsessively candling. If there isnt any development then it certainly isnt her fault, thats for sure. She is DEDICATED. and she bited. HARD. I always thought people exhaderated about broodies being crazy because every one ive ever had has been all bark and no bite. But Millie, the leghorn is MEAN. she doesnt even growl to warn you. she just starts biting and pecking, and she does the whole bite and twist and tear thing. shes EVIL.

thanks for the savemart tip! good luck with your broody. wear gloves

Yeah, I asked Sunny, "So, can you actually candle marans eggs?" She winced and said, "No, not really." So I have the date marked that I gave these eggs to Loco, and if nothing happens in 21-23 days, I'll know nothing's up. I feel like getting a few more eggs for Tom Ka Gai, just to make her broodiness into something productive.

Loco puffs up when anyone comes close, and she fights with the ducks when they tried to nest in there at night. The other night, I was in the coop to witness it all and I pulled poor L'Orange out of her nest and put her in with Balut because she just couldn't understand why this chicken was fighting with her. She'd been sleeping in there for several weeks, and none of her nesting partners had bitten her. Sour is very sweet (Ha!) and fluffs, but doesn't peck at all. I reach right under her, pick her up, and take out the new eggs that my hens have laid. I don't know about Tom Ka Gai... last night I noticed that she hadn't gotten off the nest in hours, said, "Sheesh!" and walked away. But for a BR, she's a sweet girl anyway... that might change if she has eggs.

it'll be interesting to see what happens with your little experiment. My BO broodies have been pretty docile with me. they both let me take the eggs. but they were both pretty grumpy with their flockmates. Broody on a rampage!

everyone runs when she comes outside.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

AARGH, my chickens must be reading this thread! I was feeding the horses and I hear two chickens having a stand off. Ones sitting on eggs that are NOT in the coop where they are supposed to lay and the other is pushing under her to join her! I check the hay room in the barn all the time for eggs because I have a few girls that prefer laying there but I must have missed these....anyway, these two continue with a very vocal dispute over this particular spot for laying eggs so I finally crawl over the bales of hay and gently push the one out of the way trying to break the stare contest and another chickens head pops up! There's THREE! I moved them all enough to see and there's about 8 eggs in there so it's only been a couple of days since they started this nest but man they're serious about it!

I don't know that I want another batch of chicks, the other 10 (soon to be 9, one has a cross beak) are only about 4 weeks and at least half are roos so I don't know that I want to deal with anymore right now unless I can get my head around processing them!

I already have 3 beautiful Polish roos that need to go. Too many roo ratio in the Polish pen and I can't just throw them out to free range since my EE roo is very territorial. Two of my hens need one of those saddles if I can't get rid of these boys soon. I hate to cull them because they're really beautiful WCB roos. One is Black with leakage so not much for a breeder but the other two are pretty nice. No bites on Craigslist. I've had better response for my EE roos then these. Too bad because if someone just wants a flock leader, these guys are a good choice and much better attitude then other breed roos.

Lacy Blue, what did you do with the rest of the eggs? Glad little stitch is doing OK.

 

[StevieNay]

I'm going to have to channel you, Missy, and start filling my freezer with produce while it's cheap. I have quite a bit of room in mine!

And, thanks for the tips on where to find the cheap stuff, Elizabeth! I'm definitely going to get some strawberries.

I've had frozen guacamole before and it seemed okay. Do you think I could make my own and freeze it, or is there something special that needs to happen for it to stay edible?

And my chicken news...

We got our first egg! One of our little Cinnamon Queens laid yesterday afternoon. We are so proud! 17 weeks and one day old! AND she even laid it in the nest box. They have been getting more and more chatty the last two weeks, and making all kinds of noise. Last week we noticed two of the Cinnamon queens were squatting, and they were really interested in the nest box.



The picture of her in the box was taken the day before we found the perfect little egg.

 

[chicharomirinda]

AARGH, my chickens must be reading this thread! I was feeding the horses and I hear two chickens having a stand off. Ones sitting on eggs that are NOT in the coop where they are supposed to lay and the other is pushing under her to join her! I check the hay room in the barn all the time for eggs because I have a few girls that prefer laying there but I must have missed these....anyway, these two continue with a very vocal dispute over this particular spot for laying eggs so I finally crawl over the bales of hay and gently push the one out of the way trying to break the stare contest and another chickens head pops up! There's THREE! I moved them all enough to see and there's about 8 eggs in there so it's only been a couple of days since they started this nest but man they're serious about it!

I don't know that I want another batch of chicks, the other 10 (soon to be 9, one has a cross beak) are only about 4 weeks and at least half are roos so I don't know that I want to deal with anymore right now unless I can get my head around processing them!

I already have 3 beautiful Polish roos that need to go. Too many roo ratio in the Polish pen and I can't just throw them out to free range since my EE roo is very territorial. Two of my hens need one of those saddles if I can't get rid of these boys soon. I hate to cull them because they're really beautiful WCB roos. One is Black with leakage so not much for a breeder but the other two are pretty nice. No bites on Craigslist. I've had better response for my EE roos then these. Too bad because if someone just wants a flock leader, these guys are a good choice and much better attitude then other breed roos.

Lacy Blue, what did you do with the rest of the eggs? Glad little stitch is doing OK.

you have really had your share of broodies! good luck on finding homes for your roos.

I'm going to have to channel you, Missy, and start filling my freezer with produce while it's cheap. I have quite a bit of room in mine!

And, thanks for the tips on where to find the cheap stuff, Elizabeth! I'm definitely going to get some strawberries.

I've had frozen guacamole before and it seemed okay. Do you think I could make my own and freeze it, or is there something special that needs to happen for it to stay edible?

And my chicken news...

We got our first egg! One of our little Cinnamon Queens laid yesterday afternoon. We are so proud! 17 weeks and one day old! AND she even laid it in the nest box. They have been getting more and more chatty the last two weeks, and making all kinds of noise. Last week we noticed two of the Cinnamon queens were squatting, and they were really interested in the nest box.



The picture of her in the box was taken the day before we found the perfect little egg.

yay! on the egg. it's a beauty. So exciting. sounds like you'll have some more coming shortly. I have never had frozen guac. It seems wrong to freeze avocado but maybe it would work.