Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[BarnGoddess01]

Well I have a broody due to hatch first of next week, went in to clean coop and felt something crawling on me, looked down on my arms and their were 1000's of tiny mites crawling,

I clean out my coops everyday and spray them with poultry protector but still have mites, so went ahead and treated Betty White with Epernix pour on and I had just gotten an order from Vita cost and saw they had Orange Guard so i ordered 2 bottles good thing cause I just about used the whole 32 oz in my one coop, I even took broody out and her eggs and sprayed down her nest and shaving, I was so grossed out and mad too since I trusted this PP to keep them out. So watch out with all this hot weather mites are going to be a problem I have a feeling. Now to see if I can buy Orange guard in gallon jugs.

Dang, Miss Lydia!!!

We are facing that sort of thing here in the north this summer too because we didn't have a proper winter last year. I just HATE it ....

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Good luck, Stony! They're going to be able to make a TV show about me pretty soon. Sitting out in the yard with a pitch fork in one hand and other weaponry in the other .... NOT keen on critters disturbing the peace with my birds.

(A WHOLE lot of cold water and ice cubes required right now as well. This heat is NOT fun .... )

 

[artsyrobin]

looks like the weather is finally going to cool down this week, so i am going to either oxine the coop or vinegar it- one will kill the bacteria and the venegar will kill the mites... i have to girls wanting to be broody, not letting them this time of year- so collecting eggs a couple times a day... and mama guinea is ranging with her little ones and the month old chicken chicks thinking it is great having more friends...it is so funny to watch!

 

[Kagu]

Has anyone ever had a broody chicken hatch duck eggs?

We've hatched our own fertile eggs three times now, but DD has a drake now, and she'd really like some ducklings. Our hens tend to be very patient and will sit for more than 3 weeks. The one time a hen gave up on her nest (she had been broody for 3 weeks, but only had the eggs for one week) another hen took over and hatched them!

Yup they can, and its funny when her 'children' go swimming, LOL

 

[bobbieschicks]

  glad you got it BG.

   I wasn't so lucky this morning. A Red Fox got my RIR broody and one of her chicks. The remaining 3 are around 3.5 weeks old and acting like chickens. As long as they  go to bed in the coop tonight they will be ok. 

   So I have another Fox to shoot. 

Oh no Stony, I'm so sorry to hear that. Yes, take that fox out!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Topsy is acting broody again, I'm hoping it is just the heat. She's walking around puffed up and keeps getting back into the nestbox. Little booger!

Went out to close up, it's 95F in the coop. Topsy was sitting in the nestbox all puffy. I picked her up and put her on the floor. She squawked and hissed at me and stayed all puffed when I left. As I closed the door I looked back through the screen window and saw her still puffed up eating food from the feeder.

Looks like she's trying to go broody again. Smokey keeps lingering in her box after laying. And now Sunny the EE/WL mix keeps hanging around in the nest boxes too.

At one point earlier today when I was checking for eggs I was screeched at by my LO girls and by Topsy. I think this heat is driving them all into broody madness! They all seem to want to go broody!

 

[stonykill]

Oh no Stony, I'm so sorry to hear that. Yes, take that fox out!

thank you.

I figured that their mama had taught them well and that they were old enough and I was right. Tonight before lockup they were milling around with the other RIR's and the other large girls by the coop door. At 8:30 everyone was inside. The 3 chicks in the nest box their mama used to take them in and everyone else was on roost. So they will be ok. Their mama did a good job teaching them to be chickens.

 

[Glasshen]

Stony, very sorry to hear of your loss. It seemed like you were pretty fond of your RIR hen, and pleased with her raising chicks. Guess there are just too many foxes this year.

 

[Miss Lydia]

glad you got it BG.

I wasn't so lucky this morning. A Red Fox got my RIR broody and one of her chicks. The remaining 3 are around 3.5 weeks old and acting like chickens. As long as they go to bed in the coop tonight they will be ok.

So I have another Fox to shoot.

I'm so sorry to hear about your mama RIR stony thats too bad, and it's chick, I hope the rest will be okay, I'm sure she's taught them well. We have to remember mama Fox is feeding her own too. Be nice if she stuck to mice and squirrels though.

 

[stonykill]

I'm so sorry to hear about your mama RIR stony thats too bad, and it's chick, I hope the rest will be okay, I'm sure she's taught them well. We have to remember mama Fox is feeding her own too. Be nice if she stuck to mice and squirrels though.

thank you. I'm still going to kill that fox however


The babies are going to be just fine. Last night I blocked them in the nest box. Well I though I did. This morning they were all on the roost with the big girls! Of the 3 remaining chicks 2 are Sumatra/RIR mix and 1 is a purebred Blue Sumatra. And she is the smallest one. But she is in charge of her siblings. She was the 1st chick out of the coop and called her siblings out and to the brush to eat. Mama RIR taught them well.