Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Achickenwrangler#1]

right now i was feeding them layer but i stoped so im feeding my hens and roosters meat builder its just like all the other feed but just a step up so ... grower is for younger ones but my friend feeds all her chickens and chicks and roosters grower crumble with the shells so if they need anymore calcium and mine are free rangers so they get everything they need and i feed them treats all the time like berry's that grow outside i go out there and just sit and share mine my rooster is supposed to be all big and bad but he is a baby he comes right up on my lap and sits down and eats the berry's to lol its cute .. have anyone here have a rooster stand up to a raccoon ???

Haven't had that, but I had a roo stand up to a wolf, he lost his tail because of it, and it has since grown back in Lucky him. The roos are very leery of me if I try to give them treats...they think I must have an ulterior motive! They will watch me feed the hens though...and drool. (Not really_the drool part) I have traded a ripe strawberry to a broody for one of her chicks...she thought that was fair trade...it was the only treat she would eat for herself.

 

[Johnn]

@Johnn: They told me at my feed store not to feed the chick starter to my layers but only because I choose the medicated feed and don't want that passed along in my eggs. Whether they pass along the small amount of Amprollium (sp) in the feed to the eggs or not, I've heard both. I DO give the medicated feed to my broodys that have been sitting longer than 4 weeks (along with eggs). And I DO now separate my layers from my young chicks so they can be on separate feed.


@Achickenwrangler: Do you think that there is a genetic predisposition to having an egg duct prolapse? We just had a hen miraculously recover from this (many baths and a few tubes of Prep H later) and I'm really feeling that although she's quite the looker, she is NOT for breeding. What do you think?

I cant seperate mine form the flock or they would have to be locked in a small shed which i don't think is fair, i could try seperate them at feeding by putting the mothers and chicks in a different part of the feild to eat.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Regarding medicated chick feed; I researched that one a while back and the stuff that is the actual medication part never leaves the digestive tract and as such does not get transferred into the egg. It's in purina's FAQ section.

 

[farmer boy]

Haven't had that, but I had a roo stand up to a wolf, he lost his tail because of it, and it has since grown back in Lucky him. The roos are very leery of me if I try to give them treats...they think I must have an ulterior motive! They will watch me feed the hens though...and drool. (Not really_the drool part) I have traded a ripe strawberry to a broody for one of her chicks...she thought that was fair trade...it was the only treat she would eat for herself.

thats crazy i would never think a roo would do that ... how did he scare the wolf off ??

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

He actually didn't, he lost his tail and ran, the wolf turned on the nearest slower hen. Took her head off then started to leave with the prize. We shot at him but missed. He dropped the hen and ran.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Blarneyeggs..amount other things, yes. Hens are selected to lay eggs, the more eggs the better the hen, right? What would the market be for a hen that laid two eggs a day, how would she do that? Wouldn't that ability be determined by genetics? Then regulated by hormones produced by the pituitary and ultimately the ovary. Alot of factors can affect that production, stress can interfere by conflicting hormones, trauma, before the egg is coated and laid, multiple yolks, multiple eggs, my layers often produce a double yolk, my games do not. I am hoping by crossing games with layers I will get a dual purpose layer with few, if any problems. I'm not in the commercial layer game so i really don't need alot of extra eggs. I will sell extras or supplement the dogs diet, but we can only eat so many and so far the winter has not stopped them from laying. Very few things cross from diet to the egg, or egg membrane, it really depends on the size of the molecule, as in medicated feed...which I don't use anyway....most antibiotics do not.

 

[Johnn]

He actually didn't, he lost his tail and ran, the wolf turned on the nearest slower hen. Took her head off then started to leave with the prize. We shot at him but missed. He dropped the hen and ran.

awww poor hen , I hate seeing my slowest hen, because i think when the stoat comes at the end of the year you are a gonner!

 

[farmer boy]

He actually didn't, he lost his tail and ran, the wolf turned on the nearest slower hen. Took her head off then started to leave with the prize. We shot at him but missed. He dropped the hen and ran.

oh poor girl .. hate seeing those kind of things happen its so sad

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Yeah, it was difficult, I had her from a chick, but at least he didn't get to eat her too!

 

[farmer boy]

ya .. so he killed the chicken when he ran and then you shot at him ?? poor girl