Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Faraday40]

Thank you, I did decide to do the trash because things are pretty frozen here. The hawk did come back the next day. Amazingly it got my hen under the back deck, pretty brazen.

So sorry about your loss. We had our 1st chicken lost to a predator the day after Thanksgiving. The Cooper's hawk was about the same size as the pullet it had killed. The dog's chased it off & we made sure the hawk was not rewarded with the kill. Could not eat it b/c who knows what the hawk might carry. Because the hungry hawk camped out in our yard, I only let the flock out while I was outside with them. A few days later, the hawk tried again while I was standing right there! I had to keep the hens locked up for more than 3 weeks before it stopped its daily visits. Now I let them out for only a few hours per day, but the recent snow is keeping all of them inside for a while.

I found the same (or same type of) hawk INSIDE the enclosed run one day this past summer. My poor chickens were huddled inside the coop, while the hawk was sitting on their roost waiting for one to venture out. When I walked up to the run it started flapping around banging into the roof & sides before finding the open door. Sadly the experience didn't scare it off for good. They can be very bold & do not seem to fear humans. It normally just flies out of my reach & no further. I must throw rocks at it or send the dogs after it to make it fly away.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

So sorry about your loss. We had our 1st chicken lost to a predator the day after Thanksgiving. The Cooper's hawk was about the same size as the pullet it had killed. The dog's chased it off & we made sure the hawk was not rewarded with the kill. Could not eat it b/c who knows what the hawk might carry. Because the hungry hawk camped out in our yard, I only let the flock out while I was outside with them. A few days later, the hawk tried again while I was standing right there! I had to keep the hens locked up for more than 3 weeks before it stopped its daily visits. Now I let them out for only a few hours per day, but the recent snow is keeping all of them inside for a while.

I found the same (or same type of) hawk INSIDE the enclosed run one day this past summer. My poor chickens were huddled inside the coop, while the hawk was sitting on their roost waiting for one to venture out. When I walked up to the run it started flapping around banging into the roof & sides before finding the open door. Sadly the experience didn't scare it off for good. They can be very bold & do not seem to fear humans. It normally just flies out of my reach & no further. I must throw rocks at it or send the dogs after it to make it fly away.

My experiences as well with Cooper's Hawks...they are very bold and determined...I have had good luck with hawk netting (lots of it) and reflector tape...and extreme diligence to ensure they don't feel comfortable on my property so they go to happier hunting grounds.

I also do not eat any bird that I do not purposely kill for eating...predators are hardly hygienic and can carry a boatload of pathogens.

Lady of McCamley

EDITED TO ADD: and I too lock up my birds for several days after a kill or an attempt. I've divided my run up so that I can give the birds part of the run, but completely covered by hawk netting, so they don't get cramped in the coop for days on end. The I venture out to the open run only after at least a week of no show by the hawk....crossing my fingers.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

I just lost my first hen to a hawk. What does everyone do with the carcass? Should I just let the scavengers have it so at least it's not a total waste to nature? My poor little chicken, she was the only one that wasn't a good flyer.

Predator attacks are the worst...

i know how you feel. I hatched last spring using an incubator and hand raised the chicks...it definitely was an awesome experience! But sitting there watching mama with her chick & how natural everything is to her is so amazing.

It is fun to watch!

Hi there

So this Is my first ever broody hen hatching chicks! She has been sitting on 6 silkie bantam eggs for two days now and we are very excited! Just wondering if anyone could give us some tips and tricks from experience on ensuring this proccess goes smoothly.
Thank you

Lady of McCamley said it correctly. Just remember Mama broody knows what she is doing.

My broodies eggs have started to hatch!

Yay! We expect pics soon! e

Thank you, I did decide to do the trash because things are pretty frozen here. The hawk did come back the next day. Amazingly it got my hen under the back deck, pretty brazen.

Do you mean you lost 2 hens?!

So sorry about your loss.  We had our 1st chicken lost to a predator the day after Thanksgiving.  The Cooper's hawk was about the same size as the pullet it had killed.  The dog's chased it off & we made sure the hawk was not rewarded with the kill.  Could not eat it b/c who knows what the hawk might carry. Because the hungry hawk camped out in our yard, I only let the flock out while I was outside with them.  A few days later, the hawk tried again while I was standing right there!  I had to keep the hens locked up for more than 3 weeks before it stopped its daily visits.  Now I let them out for only a few hours per day, but the recent snow is keeping all of them inside for a while.

I found the same (or same type of) hawk INSIDE the enclosed run one day this past summer.  My poor chickens were huddled inside the coop, while the hawk was sitting on their roost waiting for one to venture out.  When I walked up to the run it started flapping around banging into the roof & sides before finding the open door.  Sadly the experience didn't scare it off for good.  They can be very bold & do not seem to fear humans.  It normally just flies out of my reach & no further.  I must throw rocks at it or send the dogs after it to make it fly away.

Those cooper Hawks are nasty and stubborn. Most of my girls are big enough that the hawk couldn't pick them up easily, but I have one Silkie that the hawk tried to pick up ( thankfully, it wiggled free and only lost some feathers). I have found foxes to be worse in the suburbs where I am.

 

[Faraday40]

Those cooper Hawks are nasty and stubborn. Most of my girls are big enough that the hawk couldn't pick them up easily, but I have one Silkie that the hawk tried to pick up ( thankfully, it wiggled free and only lost some feathers). I have found foxes to be worse in the suburbs where I am.

Although the Cooper's hawk couldn't fly off with any of my chickens, it still managed to kill one. It had to attempt to eat it on the spot, but didn't get much before we let the dogs out. What I found most odd is that my slower, white pullet and the calm brown pullet were spared but the quick, skittish pullet was killed. We called them the 3 Amigos b/c they did everything together & never mingled much with the flock. Still at 26 weeks old (now only 2), they prefer to keep to themselves & only sleep with the flock. If they stayed closer to our roo, perhaps he could have offered some protection.

Are foxes a threat in the day or just at night? We used to have one in the neighborhood, but she's not been around for more than 6-7 years when they built houses in her woods. Now our rabbit population is out of control!.

 

[rebrascora]

@A6chickenhome
Firstly I must apologise for not saying how sorry I am that your hen was killed. Don't know what I was thinking just launching into how I would deal with the dead body. I'm not usually insensitive.

It is really upsetting when you find one attacked.... or worse still witness it happening and fail to stop it as has happened to me but that was a dog attack where I couldn't catch it and the owner made no attempt to stop the dog or retrieve the hen from it. I therefore didn't get the carcass back in that case and foxes take the whole hen anyway. We don't have hawks big enough to take on chickens here in the UK as far as I am aware.

Really sad to hear that the hawk has been back and got another of your hens.

Quote:

The only ones I've had carcasses from are those that died of illness and disease, which I haven't eaten, although I have been tempted. Now that I'm getting better at diagnosing cause of death, I might consider it in certain circumstances. I think I would personally be wary of eating something that a wild animal/bird had had it's teeth /beek/claws into. I guess, if it was obvious that the flesh was undamaged, then why not. I don't think a short delay in removing the organs would be a problem. The gut will no doubt break down quicker than the flesh, but I think we are talking a day or two, maybe longer at this time of year rather than hours. I certainly can't see any of the organs contaminating the breast or the leg meat during that time, so they might be removed and utilised rather than trying to clean and use the whole bird. The meat will not keep as long, with the bird not being bled out at death but I still think we are talking several days, not hours.
My instinct up till now has been to play it safe and salvage whatever was appropriate, cook it and feed it to the animals.

Regards

Barbara

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Although the Cooper's hawk couldn't fly off with any of my chickens, it still managed to kill one.  It had to attempt to eat it on the spot, but didn't get much before we let the dogs out.  What I found most odd is that my slower, white pullet and the calm brown pullet were spared but the quick, skittish pullet was killed.  We called them the 3 Amigos b/c they did everything together & never mingled much with the flock.  Still at 26 weeks old (now only 2), they prefer to keep to themselves & only sleep with the flock.  If they stayed closer to our roo, perhaps he could have offered some protection.

Are foxes a threat in the day or just at night?  We used to have one in the neighborhood, but she's not been around for more than 6-7 years when they built houses in her woods.  Now our rabbit population is out of control!.

That's terrible, I'll have to keep that in mind. Both of my fox attacks happened early morning. The first attack, my husband heard the girls screaming and let the dog out. I didn't want the dog to be barking and waking up the neighbors, so I asked him to let her back in. About 20 minutes later I hear the ruckus and found the fox chomping on my favorite hens butt. (Thankfully, she did survive, even after a nasty puncture wound and I'm sure a bit of shock, however, th fox had dragged away another girl earlier) I have also heard that they will attack at dusk as well.

I keep my girls locked up as soon as it gets dark, and I only let them out after sunrise and letting the dog out, if only for a bit.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

That's terrible, I'll have to keep that in mind. Both of my fox attacks happened early morning. The first attack, my husband heard the girls screaming and let the dog out. I didn't want the dog to be barking and waking up the neighbors, so I asked him to let her back in. About 20 minutes later I hear the ruckus and found the fox chomping on my favorite hens butt. (Thankfully, she did survive, even after a nasty puncture wound and I'm sure a bit of shock, however, th fox had dragged away another girl earlier) I have also heard that they will attack at dusk as well.

I keep my girls locked up as soon as it gets dark, and I only let them out after sunrise and letting the dog out, if only for a bit.

Fortunately I do not have foxes after my birds...yet...but we have quite a bit of green space in our area, and for years there was the one abandoned house where people would selfishly abandon their unwanted rabbits. Well, as is with rabbits, a couple soon became many, and when I drove by one day, I saw a very fat and glossy red fox in the field by that house...looking quite sleek and sassy. He/she would be hunting even in mid-day, so I would not assume only dawn/dusk risk from a fox.

I too lock my girls up at dusk and don't let them out until mid-morn...and on high risk alert, keep them in a hawk- net covered run. I also have owls (neighbor had one fly into her opened coop at night, and I found one sitting in front of my coop one night...left me a very pretty tail feather!). Then of course coons as big a my Sheltie (one friend had a broad daylight attack on hers, my neighbor gave up on his Koi pond as he was just feeding the raccoons)...then of course the Cooper's Hawks, which are very agile hunters that hunt birds as their main stay, chasing them through trees...and my particular nemisis...RATS...there are times I am one step away from being the old woman with the shot gun that you seen at the beginning of the movie "Ratatouille."

Ah yes, the joys of keeping our ladies safe.

Lady of McCamley

...So I eat nothing found dead on my property as I never know what might have killed or been gleaning off of it before I found it.

 

[kristin07035]

Noelle says she's queen of the mountain... lol... mama kept trying to nudge her back under but Noelle had other plans & wanted to explore

 

[A6chickenhome]

So sorry about your loss.  We had our 1st chicken lost to a predator the day after Thanksgiving.  The Cooper's hawk was about the same size as the pullet it had killed.  The dog's chased it off & we made sure the hawk was not rewarded with the kill.  Could not eat it b/c who knows what the hawk might carry. Because the hungry hawk camped out in our yard, I only let the flock out while I was outside with them.  A few days later, the hawk tried again while I was standing right there!  I had to keep the hens locked up for more than 3 weeks before it stopped its daily visits.  Now I let them out for only a few hours per day, but the recent snow is keeping all of them inside for a while.

I found the same (or same type of) hawk INSIDE the enclosed run one day this past summer.  My poor chickens were huddled inside the coop, while the hawk was sitting on their roost waiting for one to venture out.  When I walked up to the run it started flapping around banging into the roof & sides before finding the open door.  Sadly the experience didn't scare it off for good.  They can be very bold & do not seem to fear humans.  It normally just flies out of my reach & no further.  I must throw rocks at it or send the dogs after it to make it fly away.

I think I'd be having some hawk soup for dinner! Wait, is that legal?

Super surprised that you would find it in the enclosed run!

 

[A6chickenhome]

Although the Cooper's hawk couldn't fly off with any of my chickens, it still managed to kill one.  It had to attempt to eat it on the spot, but didn't get much before we let the dogs out.  What I found most odd is that my slower, white pullet and the calm brown pullet were spared but the quick, skittish pullet was killed.  We called them the 3 Amigos b/c they did everything together & never mingled much with the flock.  Still at 26 weeks old (now only 2), they prefer to keep to themselves & only sleep with the flock.  If they stayed closer to our roo, perhaps he could have offered some protection.

Are foxes a threat in the day or just at night?  We used to have one in the neighborhood, but she's not been around for more than 6-7 years when they built houses in her woods.  Now our rabbit population is out of control!.

I didn't lose two hens, only the one but the hawk couldn't fly off with her because of her size. It had to try to eat on the spot which was under the deck next to the house. I am home all day and out with my girls several times during the day, normally. I was traveling and the hens were with a sitter at the time. I think in part the hawk may have become bolder due to my absence. New Years resolution, "never leave my chickens alone again",:lol (sorry don't know whether to cry or laugh)