Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[chickydee64]

Johnn, your hens are so beautiful. Their feathers look like silk.........

Just a little up date on my broodies....
My old broody stole the young broodies nest...........the young broody just rejoined the flock.
Received 24 shipped eggs yesterday and discovered I have one more broody hen soooooo.no incubating this time.........

I am posting a pic of the old broody from last spring.
She insisted on hatching in the pine shaving bag.............12 lovely chicks.................
The in the fall she disappeared. I was heart broken thinking Mr. coyote had taken her.


About three weeks later, she strolled into the barn with 18 babies.............
And here she goes again........just loves chicks I guess.............

 

[perchie.girl]

Johnn, your hens are so beautiful. Their feathers look like silk.........

Just a little up date on my broodies....
My old broody stole the young broodies nest...........the young broody just rejoined the flock.
Received 24 shipped eggs yesterday and discovered I have one more broody hen soooooo.no incubating this time.........

I am posting a pic of the old broody from last spring.
She insisted on hatching in the pine shaving bag.............12 lovely chicks.................
The in the fall she disappeared. I was heart broken thinking Mr. coyote had taken her.


About three weeks later, she strolled into the barn with 18 babies.............
And here she goes again........just loves chicks I guess.............

What a sweet picture.... Just about all my broodies were Stealth broodies.... Disapper for a few weeks then show up with a bunch of fuzzbutts.

deb

 

[Johnn]

Johnn, your hens are so beautiful. Their feathers look like silk.........

Just a little up date on my broodies....
My old broody stole the young broodies nest...........the young broody just rejoined the flock.
Received 24 shipped eggs yesterday and discovered I have one more broody hen soooooo.no incubating this time.........

I am posting a pic of the old broody from last spring.
She insisted on hatching in the pine shaving bag.............12 lovely chicks.................
The in the fall she disappeared. I was heart broken thinking Mr. coyote had taken her.


About three weeks later, she strolled into the barn with 18 babies.............
And here she goes again........just loves chicks I guess.............

Thank you! . The girl on your pic is very pretty too!

 

[mstricer]

So cute, I have a total of 5 broodies right now, opps 6 counting the turkey. One of my broody's only hatched one chick so I went and picked up some meat birds, had 6, 3 disappeared (think skunk got them) let me tell you if you are going to do a small batch of meaties, this is the way to go, they are not gross, dirty or even pigs, they are feathering nicely and forage with the mom, their butts are not swollen and pulsating. I will do this as long as I have girls willing to raise.

 

[Pyxis]

Well, today Penny took her new chicks out of the coop. Even though the door to the run was open for free ranging she kept them in. Smart girl. All was well until she kept trying to get them back up and they didn't understand the ramp. So here I was chasing ten chicks around trying to get them in under Penny, who hopped up and in as soon as I had the first two away. The last one was a brat and ran out of the run and I had several tense moments where I thought it was gonna be gone and I'd never see it again. So I told them tomorrow, they either learn the ramp, or mom's gonna have to take you into the duck house for the night.

 

[CGinJCMO]

I waited till it was almost dark and the chicks were hunkered down. Then I was able to scoop them up and put them inside next to Mama (with the chicks that were able to figure up the ramp.

CG

 

[bobbieschicks]

After careful consideration I decided to try and break Bunny. She was sitting for just 4 days on four possibly fertile eggs, unfortunately I found those eggs were developing when I decided to crack them and dispose of them. Makes me sad I did it. I won't do that again.

So I dunked her in ice water and held her for a few seconds until she calmed down. Then I removed her to the outer run for a couple of hours. When I got back home I dunked her again in the cold water and tossed her back out to forage. Time will tell if I need to repeat the dunking even longer.

Little bugger was back in the empty nest box. Smokey was trying to go broody as well. So I doused them both again and moved them to the outer run. It's got shade so they should be fine. I'll let them back in probably one hour from now.

 

[emmapal]

I need suggestions for mama proof chick feeders and waterers. Something she and the chicks can use without tipping spilling drowning pooping in food etc

 

[CAjerseychick]

I need suggestions for mama proof chick feeders and waterers. Something she and the chicks can use without tipping spilling drowning pooping in food etc

I just use my regular feeders and waterers-- Just lower them so the chicks can reach, or place them on a ground on something low like a piece of wood or a cinderblock (I put a chunk of leftover 2x4 in front so the chicks can hop up and drink)-- also even though the grownup feeder is 2 inches off the ground, the hens cant scratch around in it but there is enough scattered underneath it for the chicks(and mom will also give them beak fulls to eat)-- everyone is eating Starter crumbles, with oystershell on the side for the layers...

 

[emmapal]

We use milk jug feeders so the chicks get inside and poop on the feed, plus they are too small to hop in to eat for a week or two anyway

They could drown in the water jug so i did a bucket on a brick with a brick for weight inside and a nipple screwed on the bottom to solve that after mama always tipped over the chick waterer.

The chick feeders seem so flimsy for the mama i havent even tried.

What do you mean by "regular" feeders? The metal tube ones with the holes around the base? I have 3 broodies now and dont want to buy one for each pen.