North Carolina

[TheRookie]

hmmm nestling in the corner, plucking feathers....sounds like broody behavior...or she could just be preparing to lay and shes confused. LOL

She is picking feathers off the floor of the coop (one of my new chickens plucks her feathers occasionally and flings them in the air... I think shes bonkers lol) not plucking them. She is making a LOT of noise though so I think she is just getting ready to lay and is slightly confused as to what to do. I hope she lays soon, shes my favorite (dont tell the others

) and it would be so special if hers was my first ever homegrown egg

 

[NewHomesteader2010]

I have the WORSE broody. EVER. Jemimah has plenty of eggs to sit on and rather than sit ON the eggs, she is sitting next to them. I have had to slide the eggs under her (when her bottom is facing me...otherwise I risk losing an eye!!)! She is driving me crazy. Today I go out to find her next to the eggs with some scattered around and one egg outside the nesting box broken!!

I am beginning to wonder if it is her or if it is because she is locked up with everyone else and no one has been allowed outside to free range. Perhaps she is just getting bothered too much? She is in the favorite nesting box, so perhaps that is why?!? Has this happened to anyone before?!? If so, did your eggs end up hatching??

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I have the WORSE broody. EVER. Jemimah has plenty of eggs to sit on and rather than sit ON the eggs, she is sitting next to them. I have had to slide the eggs under her (when her bottom is facing me...otherwise I risk losing an eye!!)! She is driving me crazy. Today I go out to find her next to the eggs with some scattered around and one egg outside the nesting box broken!!

I am beginning to wonder if it is her or if it is because she is locked up with everyone else and no one has been allowed outside to free range. Perhaps she is just getting bothered too much? She is in the favorite nesting box, so perhaps that is why?!? Has this happened to anyone before?!? If so, did your eggs end up hatching??

I have a silkie that has been sitting in a bottomless (no bedding, on wire) of a raised coop for 6 weeks. she started off being a 'brood mate' of another broody (in a cardboard box I use for a nest box in there) and now shes continued another 2-3 weeks on her own. she REFUSES eggs. So I gave the eggs to another broody in another coop...I honestly think she isn't interested. OR it could be so warm that she feels its too hot to sit on them ??? I would candle them, see if theres development, and if development then if there is any movement even at 4-5 days if you have a good light and decent eye you can see the heart of the embryo beating in the middle of the veins

 

[BGeezie]

Tomorrow is the day! We are heading to the Little Birdie Chicken Farm and Hatchery in Wake Forest to pick up our first chicks. I can hardly wait! I'll post pictures of my little girls tomorrow after we get them settled.

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Hiya folks

Tonight we stopped in Elizabethtown,Ky.
We got to see Mammoth Cave today after a
bit of hoorah. Along the way we had stopped
at a rock/gift shop that had some very nice
looking large stones outside. I had picked one
up to look at and discovered that it wasn't
stone but actually colored glass, like stained
glass, and ended up cutting/slicing the tip of
my finger and I'm having a slight problem
keeping it from trying to bleed.

Tomorrow we head over to the Kentucky
Horse Park. We are in luck as Breyerfest
is also being held at the park this weekend
............it should be fun!!!!!

Hope you all are doing well and having
a good weekend.

 

[Moores6]

We got our first egg yesterday. LOL It is a little egg. But perfect.

Sharon

 

[NewHomesteader2010]

Way to go Sharon!! Congratulations on your first egg!! There is NOTHING sweeter than finding your first egg!! (Okay, maybe finding your first chick has hatched)

Super proud of DH this morning!! He was outside working on setting up some security factors and doing a few other odds & ends (I was on breakfast & baby duty inside) when he RUNS into the house, grabs his gun and heads back outside. I'll admit, I couldn't help but go outside to see what the commotion was. I see him scoping something and realized he was sighting a bird. No worries, he only shot to scare but the hawk that flew away was NOT the same one I saw the other day!!

This one was largely grey & white while the one I saw was bigger, more of a rust color and did I mention BIGGER?!? I am beginning to suspect that you all were right and we have a family in our woods. There was NO way this hawk could have carried off even our teenager rooster, so I am thinking "he" was being taught to hunt which is why the larger one went after the chicks. Just a guess, but we are hanging wire & shiny objects at the tree line and are shooting when we see it in the area to SCARE it off (does that count as disturbing it?? I don't want to cause trouble...just make it unpleasant for it to stay around). DH is making plans to build a tractor for the mamas & chicks for the future so we can keep them safe and still allow them to "free range". We are working on a few ideas for hides - so far my car seems to be a hit!! LOL the hawk swooped in, the chicks hid under my car, the hawk perched ON my car then flew off into the wood edging!!. At least my rooster FINALLY sounded the alarm which got DH's attention!!

FINALLY doing his roosterly duties!! LOL.

Now, off to check on mama broody and see if she is sitting on her eggs (now that there is no one in the coop to bother her) or not. NO clue how to candle, so we will just wait and see and keep our noses sharp for the possibility of a rotten egg!! Once she is checked on...I'm off to make some donut muffins!! A new recipe with a few ingredients and are suppose to taste like old fashioned coffee-cake!!

Already have a pot of Red Raspberry Tea in the "coffee" pot waiting to finish and be iced for some nice ice tea...oh yeah, I am ready to face this day!! LOL

Have a great day everyone!!

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Good morning folks

Sure hope BYC will let me post today!!!!!

We spent the night in Elizabethtown, Ky.
We did get to see Mammoth cave yesterday
after a short hoorah and a wait. It is impressive
to say the least.

Today we head to Kentucky Horse Park and
as luck would have it Breyerfest is also going
on at the park......yea!!!!!!!!!!!
We get to drool on the pretty models.

We are getting closer to home......I'm ready to
rest in my own bed.......

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

Way to go Sharon!! Congratulations on your first egg!! There is NOTHING sweeter than finding your first egg!! (Okay, maybe finding your first chick has hatched)

Super proud of DH this morning!! He was outside working on setting up some security factors and doing a few other odds & ends (I was on breakfast & baby duty inside) when he RUNS into the house, grabs his gun and heads back outside. I'll admit, I couldn't help but go outside to see what the commotion was. I see him scoping something and realized he was sighting a bird. No worries, he only shot to scare but the hawk that flew away was NOT the same one I saw the other day!!

This one was largely grey & white while the one I saw was bigger, more of a rust color and did I mention BIGGER?!? I am beginning to suspect that you all were right and we have a family in our woods. There was NO way this hawk could have carried off even our teenager rooster, so I am thinking "he" was being taught to hunt which is why the larger one went after the chicks. Just a guess, but we are hanging wire & shiny objects at the tree line and are shooting when we see it in the area to SCARE it off (does that count as disturbing it?? I don't want to cause trouble...just make it unpleasant for it to stay around). DH is making plans to build a tractor for the mamas & chicks for the future so we can keep them safe and still allow them to "free range". We are working on a few ideas for hides - so far my car seems to be a hit!! LOL the hawk swooped in, the chicks hid under my car, the hawk perched ON my car then flew off into the wood edging!!. At least my rooster FINALLY sounded the alarm which got DH's attention!!

FINALLY doing his roosterly duties!! LOL.

Now, off to check on mama broody and see if she is sitting on her eggs (now that there is no one in the coop to bother her) or not. NO clue how to candle, so we will just wait and see and keep our noses sharp for the possibility of a rotten egg!! Once she is checked on...I'm off to make some donut muffins!! A new recipe with a few ingredients and are suppose to taste like old fashioned coffee-cake!!

Already have a pot of Red Raspberry Tea in the "coffee" pot waiting to finish and be iced for some nice ice tea...oh yeah, I am ready to face this day!! LOL

Have a great day everyone!!

That is not disturbance at all. Disturbance is messing with their nesting. You can scare them off your chickens all you want. Those links that someone posted a while back are quite good and describe many ways you deter them, while emphasizing that to do more...relocate or kill...you must have a permit. I'll repost them....

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/wild/pdf/wildlife/HAWKS_N_OWLS.PDF This one gives several ways you can deter, and even gives methods of capture and allowable techniques for killing...if you have a permit.
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Licensing/Regulations/NongameandOtherRegulations/WildlifeDepredation.aspx This one points out that while there are many species you can kill outright if harrassing your livestock, federally protected species are NOT on the allowable list. But these are the people to go through for a permit. You must show that the hawk is causing you serious financial distress and that you have exhausted non-lethal deterrent methods.

And yeah, I find it difficult to let this topic rest. I'm a biologist, so it's a hot topic for me.

Bottom line is, you can scare them by any means you want, as long as you aren't disturbing a nest. But you can not capture or kill them without a permit. If someone has a big problem with them, they should apply for a permit.

 

[BHep]

We got our first egg yesterday. LOL It is a little egg. But perfect.

Sharon