Peeps in Europe!

[LoreWalker]

Our broody is broody no more. Thankfully, because she had lost quite a bit of weight already in the short amount of time she was. Maybe if she goes broody again next year, we'll let her hatch some eggs.

The wyandottes and orpingtons are growing well! They're 6 weeks old on Tuesday and are almost the size of our wyandotte bantams. They eat a lot of food too, so it's good to know that all of ita is put to good use
Just a little bit more until they can hopefully be sexed, more because I would like an estimate of how many hens and roos we have than really needing to "do" anything with those numbers yet.

 

[abpatchy]

I am so sorry for everyone who lost chickens due to different causes.

What a scare @BDutch!! But I am so happy that the chick was just hiding and it's ok.

 

[BDutch]

Good news and nice photos Lorewalker. i do prefer spring for natural breeding. Chicks have better opportunities to grow in spring because the days are longer and the temp is right if a broody gives up on them after approx. 6 weeks.

My chickens act quit normal except for the chick that was lost. She didn’t dare to free range and stayed in the run, hiding under bushes. Somehow the name Katrientje sticks to her. Katrien is the girlfriend of Donald Duck. Their names wil be; Kwik, Kwekky and Katrientje for the time being.

edit: spelling

 

[Erba]

My second broody abandoned her eggs yesterday. So I am back to the one. I gave her a bowl of scrambled eggs yesterday, and she ate it all up. I am a bit concerned, she is not eating enough in her broody trance. Going to be giving just her, power food in the nest, So only just she can eat it. Bless her little chicken heart.

 

[abpatchy]

My second broody abandoned her eggs yesterday. So I am back to the one. I gave her a bowl of scrambled eggs yesterday, and she ate it all up. I am a bit concerned, she is not eating enough in her broody trance. Going to be giving just her, power food in the nest, So only just she can eat it. Bless her little chicken heart.

too bad! Did you put the eggs in your incubator? You might be able to sneak them under the hen that is still sitting... if she hatches the eggs.

 

[Erba]

Did you put the eggs in your incubator?

Nope, but I cracked them open, and only two looked like they were developing, I am now collecting eggs to incubate. I'd like to have laying hens grown out and laying by winter.

 

[BDutch]

Nope, but I cracked them open, and only two looked like they were developing, I am now collecting eggs to incubate. I'd like to have laying hens grown out and laying by winter.

Possibly you are too late for autumn layers. My first pullets that hatched in summer didn’t lay until early spring.

 

[LoreWalker]

The chicks are 6 weeks old today, and at least 4 of the chicks seem to have discovered they can sit on the branch I put into their "pen". Smart girls/boys!

I really enjoy watching them grow and learn, so much of the "typical chicken behaviour" (scratching the floor searching for food, sunbathing, dust baths, roosting) is just built into their instincts, and it's really fun to watch them discover a bunch of these things as they age!

They're starting to get big enough that they probably won't be needing the lamp much longer... Hopefully they can be introduced to the rest of the flock soon-ish too, they're starting to outgrow their pen!


Now to wait (im)patiently for them to get just a little older yet, so I can post a thread to figure out their sexes. Still hoping for a lot of hens, of course

 

[abpatchy]

The chicks are 6 weeks old today, and at least 4 of the chicks seem to have discovered they can sit on the branch I put into their "pen". Smart girls/boys!

I really enjoy watching them grow and learn, so much of the "typical chicken behaviour" (scratching the floor searching for food, sunbathing, dust baths, roosting) is just built into their instincts, and it's really fun to watch them discover a bunch of these things as they age!

They're starting to get big enough that they probably won't be needing the lamp much longer... Hopefully they can be introduced to the rest of the flock soon-ish too, they're starting to outgrow their pen!
View attachment 2739503

Now to wait (im)patiently for them to get just a little older yet, so I can post a thread to figure out their sexes. Still hoping for a lot of hens, of course

I don't have a lamp just a warming plate. Mine use it until they are about 4-5 weeks old. So, yes, you can turn off the lamp. The temperatures are also not cold. You can save yourself some money
Since they don't have a mother to introduce them to the flock I would not include them until they are much bigger. I would keep them separated from the flock to where they can see then thru the fence and get to know them... but they are too small. They will have no ranking within the group and will get picked on very much. Is there a way for you to separate them from the flock?

 

[LoreWalker]

I don't have a lamp just a warming plate. Mine use it until they are about 4-5 weeks old. So, yes, you can turn off the lamp. The temperatures are also not cold. You can save yourself some money
Since they don't have a mother to introduce them to the flock I would not include them until they are much bigger. I would keep them separated from the flock to where they can see then thru the fence and get to know them... but they are too small. They will have no ranking within the group and will get picked on very much. Is there a way for you to separate them from the flock?

They outgrew the heating plate we had, which is why we use the lamp instead! Good to know it's probably okay for them to be without it though. They don't seem to huddle under anymore during the day, not sure about the nights! Then again, they're in a shed, in a coop, so it's not like they'll be sitting in the cold wind even if the weather gets bad.

They're in a makeshift pen within the adults' coop, as they outgrew the coop we had them in previously (and it partially flooded twice...) It's off the ground, a walking plank leads up to their area. So the chicks can see the adults, but they can't interact through the "fence". None of the adults except for one really ever used the area, so it would be a safe spot for them.

Our adult chickens are 4 wyandotte bantams, a BarnevelderxSilkie cross and a large Brahma rooster. The chicks are already close to the size of the bantams! So they will not be smaller than the majority, in about 1 or 2 weeks. I'm really mostly worried about our rooster, Duts, since he is a big boy and I don't know how he'll respond to the chicks. He's very protective of his hens.

One option I have would be to put them in an entirely separate area, on the other side of our garden. They'd have plenty of space to roam, but they would then not be able to see the others unless we let the adults roam outside near that area. We were planning to keep the roosters in it once it becomes necessary to separate them from the rest of the flock, as it's a little further away from the coop.