soloequestrian
In the Brooder
- Aug 18, 2019
- 41
- 21
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Two of my hens brooded eggs last year and successfully hatched chicks. I'm really excited because they look like they're going to go broody again soon and I can't wait to get some fertile eggs in for them. I'm hoping the experts out there will help me improve on last year's experience....
- how many eggs should I put under each hen (maximum)? Last year a couple of eggs got broken during the brooding period, although I'm not sure if that was something the mum did or that one of my other hens decided she needed to lay into the broody nest for a while. To stop that I'm going to put the broodys in a secure run earlier than I did last time, so my second question is....
- what sort of arrangement should I have for the broody nests? I want to try to keep the two mums together - last time they brooded in different places and then when I put them together one attacked the other's chicks and I had to separate them again which meant building a new secure run in record time. I'm hoping if they are together for the whole brood they might both accept the other's chicks which would make life much easier. I've read that ideally they want to have the nest on earth rather than any other kind of floor - is that correct? Last time one had a nest in the base of a cat carry box (long story - I wanted it to be easy to move her). This seemed to work find and it was also easy to clean once the chicks had hatched.
Any other advice also gratefully accepted!
Many thanks
- how many eggs should I put under each hen (maximum)? Last year a couple of eggs got broken during the brooding period, although I'm not sure if that was something the mum did or that one of my other hens decided she needed to lay into the broody nest for a while. To stop that I'm going to put the broodys in a secure run earlier than I did last time, so my second question is....
- what sort of arrangement should I have for the broody nests? I want to try to keep the two mums together - last time they brooded in different places and then when I put them together one attacked the other's chicks and I had to separate them again which meant building a new secure run in record time. I'm hoping if they are together for the whole brood they might both accept the other's chicks which would make life much easier. I've read that ideally they want to have the nest on earth rather than any other kind of floor - is that correct? Last time one had a nest in the base of a cat carry box (long story - I wanted it to be easy to move her). This seemed to work find and it was also easy to clean once the chicks had hatched.
Any other advice also gratefully accepted!
Many thanks
