Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Lady of McCamley]

Oh no! It sounds like I'm going to have my hands full! How do I know who's chicks are whose since the first hen went broody on the 20th and 2 others on the 25th and the last one on the 26th. Or would it be better to just seperate everyone now if I can?

Some hens communal brood with harmony; some not so much...all depends on the hens and the environment. To close of quarters and not enough feeders can cause squabbles between hens with chicks getting tromped upon. Some hens covet others chicks and are chick stealers. Some hens are bad mothers and leave their chicks with the neighbors. It all depends.

I keep my broodies separate as they tend to compete and shove each other off the nests when they brood (leaving eggs cold); and moms tend to squabble with each other (but never attack chicks)...so I separate them at first but let them have a free run area together that is large enough so everyone can find their own corner. In time they integrate pretty well.

Assess your hens and flock and conditions, set up a plan A and have a plan B and C in line in case things don't go well.

Lady of McCamley

 

[elsfieldchickens]

My latest hatchling that hatched a week ahead of the other there is some hatching in the incubator now.once they hatch i will give them to a hen to raise

 

[Tuhmu]

Took away 6 of my broody's eggs last night, when I let her out of the box I noticed a few of them weren't warm at all. Not sure why she's not able to cover them all, being a brahma, but I was able to squeeze them into the incubator. Was just the excuse I was looking for to get another incubator to use as a hatcher.

Still plan on trying to give her all the chicks though.

 

[help4me]

A strange weather shift can definitely bring on an odd molt. I experienced that this late summer/fall. (I think we went from sunny 90 to a cool 40's, or something like that...ALL the birds molted).

I'll post a good info article on how to check for mites and lice. No, chickens (to my knowledge) do not get fleas.

The best time to do anything with your birds if you need to handle them is at night when they roost. I choose just after twilight as they are very sleepy but there is still some light left. Often you can pick them right off the perches and they'll be very calm. (It has to be significantly dim light though...if you go out too early, they'll jump up to great you for the treat bucket.)

Lady of McCamley
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html

Again, you have been so very kind and helpful. Thank you for your time and effort to help, it is much appreciated. I think we have a mite/lice problem so I am trying to figure out the best plan of attack. I have a brother- in- law who is a vet, (I don't know why I didn't think of him first, and I forgot his parents raised chickens while he was growing up!) I made the call to him, and hopefully he will soon be able to confirm what is going on, he is one busy guy though. In the meantime, I am studying all I can about treatment. I see that I really need to learn and be confident about handling the chickens. Another problem is our coop is not built in such a way to grab them off the roost. We definitely need a way bigger coop with a whole different design, (it's fine for just the two but we are hoping to get chicks we NEED more hens.) This coop was a surprise gift from Megan's grandparents which was so sweet and amazing of them. So, we have some chicken logistic to do. We need to convert our horses run in shed into a coop for the Orpingtons and then we will be able to move the 3 chicks my son got from his teacher,( 2 silkies and a bantam of some sort) into this one, The good thing is now I have a better idea of what needs to be done for the run in, and I know now to keep working and handling them. Another question is everyone has different ideas about how to handle a rooster, do you or don't you? Like I said, he has never done anything to any of us, but he is very much a protector of Collette, and he takes his job very seriously! I respect him for what he is, and I don't want to find out what he would do if he thought we were harming is love, hence I will wait for the vet who works will HUGE and sometimes mean dogs, who knows how to handle chickens show me what and how to do it. Like I said, the real chicken is me!

On another note we have 4 eggs in the incubator due to hatch Sunday, and I so think I screwed it up yesterday. Then we have the eggs that Collette is still laying being rotated out in case she goes broody again, but what is safe to use if it does turn out the have mites? Oh so it goes. I pray that some of the 4 we have from them will actually hatch and as much as Megan is hoping for the two of them to hatch some, I think I am going to put that dream of hers on hold till we have things under control, then I wonder do I ever really have things under control, ah, no.

 

[Johnn]

Chicks first day out

 

[help4me]

Hens have so many feathers, and they can lose A LOT of them without it being obvious. They continue to slowly lose feathers then all of a sudden it starts to show and it looks really obvious, so we think it happens all in one day, when really it's been building up over weeks to months. I had one of my young turkey hens that squatted for the first time (as far as I know) for the tom right in front of me. After he got finished (he is a bit clumsy, being young) there were SO MANY feathers on the ground that if I hadn't seen all the action myself I would have thought there had been a predator attack. It was truly startling. That was 2 months ago. She is just now getting to the point where there is obvious feather loss, and I see them mating regularly. Feather loss in a hen that is limited to the saddle area, shoulders, and back of the neck/head is very typical of feather loss from breeding. If you also include front of the throat and/or front of the chest, that often happens in flocks where one of the hens is fighting with other hens often enough to cause feather loss.

You might consider getting a hen apron, also called a hen saddle, for your hen, as some hens can get so much feather loss that there's really no protection on the back anymore. Then they'll get scratches, then open wounds if it gets severe. And the sunburn can be quite uncomfortable. I love the hen aprons from Hensaver (http://hensaver.org/). The products are some of the best quality I've ever seen, they really work, the customer service is great, the products are now made in the U.S. (there are a few items left over that were made abroad, but all new inventory is U.S. made), and it's a small company with a great background story. Most of the aprons that I use last 2-3 years, although I have one that's still fine after 4 years of continuous wear on the same hen (there are some girls that just take better care of their clothes than others). I use the single strap style with removable shoulder protection for the chickens (I like to be able to adjust its position if needed) and fixed shoulder protection for the turkeys (at almost 30 lbs, the toms are heavy enough to potentially pull the removable protectors off, but it's never been a problem with my 8-11 lb roosters). I have 24 chicken hens and 5 turkey hens, and I have Hensavers on 8 chicken hens. Two of the turkey hens will be getting them put on in a few days, when I have someone available to help at the right time of day. If you use them, don't be concerned about the gyrations you'll see during the first hour. It's like a kid wearing a turtle neck sweater for the first time, or a dog wearing an e-collar for the first time. Mine typically stop walking backwards or jumping after 30-60 minutes, and are 100% normal after a few hours. I did have one hen that just couldn't fly up to her perch in one, and luckily I only put it on her as a precaution, so I just removed it. None of my other hens have had any limitations whatsoever while wearing them. One hen seemed to walk crouched for a prolonged period of time. I checked it several times and couldn't find anything wrong with the fit, so I decided to give it a few more days. After the second day it poured rain all day, and all the hens got soaked. I usually just leave the aprons on -- they dry quickly. But this hen was miserable, so I took it off to dry overnight. When I put it back on in the morning she completely accepted it -- no more crouching as she walked. Despite my checking it, I must have had a feather caught in the Velcro or the elastic or something, so when I took it off and then put it back on her, the problem was instantly solved. And since this is the broody hen thread, it would probably be a good idea to take the apron off when a hen goes broody. It might weigh down the feathers on her back, so the chicks wouldn't stay warm while hitching a ride, or the chicks might get caught in the elastic when nuzzled under her wing.

Regarding your rooster not breeding in front of you, that might be a flock dominance issue. In a properly socialized flock, if there is more than one rooster the submissive rooster is not allowed to breed in front of the dominant rooster. If he tries, the dominant rooster will attack him. If the rooster considers you part of his flock, which is common in tame birds, then he might consider you the dominant flock leader, and would not want to breed a hen in front of you. I have actually read recommendations for taming mean roosters that included not letting the rooster breed hens in front of you, and rushing over and pushing him off the hen if he tries, since that is what the dominant flock member would do. Maybe your boy is being respectful of your leadership -- or maybe he's just shy.

Is your hen still laying eggs? If she is, then theoretically she's not molting, as hens should stop laying when they molt.

Well, thank so very much for your reply! How super sweet of you to spend so much of your time, I truly appreciate it. I do feel bad that this thread of mine got off topic, but I don't know if there is anyway to move it? Anyway, I think what is going on is a lice/mite problem, not 100 percent sure so hopefully my brother-in-law will be able to confirm it for me. I will definitely look into the aprons, once I have a lesson in how to handle them, as I don't want to try anything with Collette while Ricky is out. Our coop is not designed in a way to grab them at dusk, so hopefully Chris will be able to help me. I just know that Ricky is very protective of Collette, and I do believe he will lay down his life for her. Although, he has NEVER done anything to us, I don't want to find out what he will do if he thinks we are harming Collette. See, she still is laying, and both are acting normal, so I guess not molting? Seems odd they would lose so many feathers over it, but one way or the other we will find out the problem. In the mean time I will have to break it to Megan who is so hoping to have them hatch out some chicks that we need to put that dream on hold, and hopefully their 4 eggs in the incubator will hatch this Sunday, although I feel like I made a fatal mistake with them yesterday so only time will tell.

 

[help4me]

Chicks first day out

Oh my those pictures are amazing!!!! I absolutely LOVE the big fluffy butt shot with her chicks! Oh how we can't wait to join this thread for real, as mine has gotten off into a whole different direction. Now I see why my daughter wants Collette to hatch out her own. Wonderful pictures!

 

[Johnn]

Oh my those pictures are amazing!!!! I absolutely LOVE the big fluffy butt shot with her chicks! Oh how we can't wait to join this thread for real, as mine has gotten off into a whole different direction. Now I see why my daughter wants Collette to hatch out her own. Wonderful pictures!

Thanks so much

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Again, you have been so very kind and helpful. Thank you for your time and effort to help, it is much appreciated. I think we have a mite/lice problem so I am trying to figure out the best plan of attack. I have a brother- in- law who is a vet, (I don't know why I didn't think of him first, and I forgot his parents raised chickens while he was growing up!) I made the call to him, and hopefully he will soon be able to confirm what is going on, he is one busy guy though. In the meantime, I am studying all I can about treatment. I see that I really need to learn and be confident about handling the chickens. Another problem is our coop is not built in such a way to grab them off the roost. We definitely need a way bigger coop with a whole different design, (it's fine for just the two but we are hoping to get chicks we NEED more hens.) This coop was a surprise gift from Megan's grandparents which was so sweet and amazing of them. So, we have some chicken logistic to do. We need to convert our horses run in shed into a coop for the Orpingtons and then we will be able to move the 3 chicks my son got from his teacher,( 2 silkies and a bantam of some sort) into this one, The good thing is now I have a better idea of what needs to be done for the run in, and I know now to keep working and handling them. Another question is everyone has different ideas about how to handle a rooster, do you or don't you? Like I said, he has never done anything to any of us, but he is very much a protector of Collette, and he takes his job very seriously! I respect him for what he is, and I don't want to find out what he would do if he thought we were harming is love, hence I will wait for the vet who works will HUGE and sometimes mean dogs, who knows how to handle chickens show me what and how to do it. Like I said, the real chicken is me!

On another note we have 4 eggs in the incubator due to hatch Sunday, and I so think I screwed it up yesterday. Then we have the eggs that Collette is still laying being rotated out in case she goes broody again, but what is safe to use if it does turn out the have mites? Oh so it goes. I pray that some of the 4 we have from them will actually hatch and as much as Megan is hoping for the two of them to hatch some, I think I am going to put that dream of hers on hold till we have things under control, then I wonder do I ever really have things under control, ah, no.

The good news is they can apply the dust themselves, although it won't fix a heavy infestation especially if it is mites.

Purchase and sprinkle Permethrin (Prozap or Zytek Poultry Dust or such) on the ground where they dust bathe. If you don't have a good place for them to dust bathe (which can cause lice/mite problems since that is how a chicken rids itself of parasite build up) then create one with some dirt (best if from your property) and any kind of box or tub that is set outside where they can bathe. If you purchase potting soil to use make sure it doesn't have any additives like fertilizer.

Self dusting will rid mild infestations. Heavy infestations generally require liberal dosing of the birds (using Poultry Dust in a nylon sock as a powder puff is an easy way to apply powder). Dust at vent area and under wings for mild/moderate...heavy infestations may require placing bird in a plastic bag containing some Poultry Dust.....sort of like shake and bake without baking the bird. Keep the head out of the bag and shake the bag around the bird.

Also sprinkle your coop's bedding liberally as well, although if it is mites you will need to spray the coop wood and roosts thoroughly with a deterrent as mites live in the coop and feed at night sucking blood from the bird. Lice live on the chickens and feed on the feathers. Severe mite infestation requires abandoning (and even burning) the coop, but if you want to move on to another coop anyway, all the better. If this was a hand-me-down coop, it is possible the mites were in the coop itself already....but wild birds bring in all manner of stuff so there is no immediate rush to assume mites over lice because of the used coop. (I have a used coop as well and have not had mite issues).

Poultry Dust can be used on the Chicks too (but never kittens). You can find that at your feed store. Here's an amazon link to see what it is you are looking for: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...efix=poultry+dust,aps&rh=i:aps,k:poultry dust

If you want to go more natural than the mite/lice spray or dust, then wood ash is excellent as a dusting material, just never let it get wet and sit as that creates lye. Many use Diatomaceous Earth, food grade not pool grade. It has been shown to be helpful in external parasites but must remain dry to be beneficial. Wood ash is a lot cheaper, especially if you have a fireplace or stove. Just pull out the big chunks of wood or charcoal and fill your tub or cover their dusting area.

I like to use "Orange Guard" as a spray on the coop roosts and on the coop wood (corners and crevices especially). It is 100% natural and completely safe to use around food areas...just the oil of orange rinds and water. It REALLY works on ants. I haven't seen evidence of mites or lice to say how well it works on removing them, but many on BYC have expressed it works well for that, and after witnessing how well it worked to rid a heavy spring sugar ant issue recently in the house...I am sold it is wonderful stuff. Heavy mite infestations may need a chemical spray though.

Those are things you can do right now without ever touching your birds. Treatment is pretty much the same whether lice or mites except you really have to douse your coop if it is mites.

Good luck.
Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Chicks first day out