Raising Baby Chick-Along

[orrpeople]

Hello all! I've been a silent member for a few years now but since I'm raising a new clutch I decided to get in on this thread!

I raise my birds by allowing nature to take its course but have had to use a surrogate brood hen, who's the toughest little mutt bantam I've ever known. She hatches my production reds and accepted 5 Silver grey Dorking chicks (all pullets thank heavens) along with the straight run RIR'S.

My alpha roo is Slinky, a 5 year old RIR that controls every living thing in the neighborhood if allowed...heaven knows my husband avoids him at all costs ( but to be fair Slinky has four inch Spurs and is not afraid to use them on man nor Beast...ask my 128lb intact male dog, he's scared to death of Slink!).

With the introduction of the dorkings I will now be able to double my egg production until brood season and then I am able to breed birds for meat.

As of right now, I have 22 birds in my flock. One Buff orpington (ugh...so aggressive that I've separated the sisters and the roo won't mount her but WILL stand on her side and rip her feathers out to get her under control) both blue and cream Wheaton Amaracuanas two gold laced Cochin and the rest production Reds and Dorkings.

Of all the eggs hatched this year I only ended up with one Cockerel. We have known since he was 4 days old that he was he as he is much much more dominant than my big Roo. (I will butcher him at 15 weeks, his name is Skillet...I don't usually name meat birds but dang he's gamey)

I don't usually take photos of chickens but I'll take a pic of the entire flock this afternoon when I change the straw in the laying boxes.

With two roosters, I've got to watch my back, especially since the brood hen has Slinky on high alert (that and the seven red tailed hawks that live in my oaks...never lost a chicken but Slinky killed a big male hawk last year...guess he shoulda stayed out of that pen!)

I've lived on a farm my whole life so I grew up with the "everything is food for something else" mentality which is part of the reason that I've been quiet for so long.

I do know that people love their Birds, I actually love some of mine but, I'm extremely practical and I produce about 80% of our food, meat, fruits vegetables and grain here on my property.

(People sometimes think I'm cruel for raising birds for meat but, I know that my birds have been cared for well, they have never been hurt or dumped down shoots they have had the sun on their faces they have chased butterflies and roosted in trees...they've never been subjected to the intense cruelty of a production farm and my family isn't ingesting chemicals or tortured birds.)

Here's a shot of Slinky I found (he was right at a year old in this photo) . When I leave the kennel to work the bees and chickens I'll take more! (We pulled the well down to re-shingle it so the flock wasn't in their pen at the time this photo was taken)View attachment 1043415

Slinky is gorgeous! Sounds like he definitely serves the purpose you have for him! Do you have some of his little offspring roaming the farm?

Glad you decided to join us! We all gain insight into this "chicken business" from hearing about each others experiences, for sure. Some of us are raising them as pets, some for food, some of us (like me) have some of both out back (the little stinkers grow on you, you know! )

 

[MageofMist]

Got two silkie babies with two more (possibly 3) on the way.

Their parents are two white silkies, so the blue morph one came as a total surprise. I took the eggs as the hen had humidity issues when hatching them, having gone off the nest yesterday to poop, but I decided to put a chick in the nest to see how she reacted... And she rolled it under her like an egg despite me holding them all day! So I gave her the second one and she did the same, no need to struggle with a large brooder when you have a mama hen!


Last time she hatched chicks, she had 0 interest in the chicks and pecked at them, but this time she is being much more motherly and isn't even aggressive towards me, she was even preening my hand after I gave her the chicks to care for.

 

[rjohns39]

In the "for what it's worth category" I have a silver spangled hamburg roo that came as a "free extra chick" that has a pass... he's entertaining and too small to be worth sending to freezer camp. So his job is entertainment!

 

[MageofMist]

I got cold feet fretting over the hen crushing the chicks, so I took them back. The hen is very laid back and didn't even peck me as I took the chicks.



I decided to sand-brood this time, after reading up on the benefits of sand-brooding. The swirls will vanish after I unleash the chicks in it once I get the temp right, I just made it look pretty.

 

[lcertuche]

I've never heard of sand-brooding. I have a broody cochin -mix. She's just about a year old and has only been laying a couple of months. She was being really irritating the couple of weeks before going broody. Maybe that was a sign. I had just about gave up on any of them going broody and then suddenly it happened... I may try slipping some chicks under her if I can get some.

 

[MageofMist]

I've never heard of sand-brooding. I have a broody cochin -mix. She's just about a year old and has only been laying a couple of months. She was being really irritating the couple of weeks before going broody. Maybe that was a sign. I had just about gave up on any of them going broody and then suddenly it happened... I may try slipping some chicks under her if I can get some.

I only recently heard of it and did tons of research regarding it, and it is even healthier and cleaner than pine shavings. It makes it easier to clean out the brooder, distributes heat, acts as a natural grit, doesn't spread bacteria like other beddings and won't mould or rot if it gets wet and the bits of sand that do fall in the waterer sink to the bottom instead of floating at the top and causing obstruction. Plus it acts as a 24/7 dust bath.

I am thinking on switching my quail to sand also instead of hay, but will provide hay as nesting material.

 

[orrpeople]

Got two silkie babies with two more (possibly 3) on the way.
View attachment 1043857
Their parents are two white silkies, so the blue morph one came as a total surprise. I took the eggs as the hen had humidity issues when hatching them, having gone off the nest yesterday to poop, but I decided to put a chick in the nest to see how she reacted... And she rolled it under her like an egg despite me holding them all day! So I gave her the second one and she did the same, no need to struggle with a large brooder when you have a mama hen!


Last time she hatched chicks, she had 0 interest in the chicks and pecked at them, but this time she is being much more motherly and isn't even aggressive towards me, she was even preening my hand after I gave her the chicks to care for.

Aww, so great! I love when a mamma hen takes adopted babies! I heard one lady on BYC say, "My silkie would put puppies under her if I gave them to her!"

 

[MageofMist]

Aww, so great! I love when a mamma hen takes adopted babies! I heard one lady on BYC say, "My silkie would put puppies under her if I gave them to her!"

Well, she did sit on them as eggs and laid them, but I worried about her squishing them so I took them back out from under her. She is a very calm hen and didn't even peck me as I did so, she is more egg protective than chick protective.

 

[orrpeople]

I've never heard of sand-brooding. I have a broody cochin -mix. She's just about a year old and has only been laying a couple of months. She was being really irritating the couple of weeks before going broody. Maybe that was a sign. I had just about gave up on any of them going broody and then suddenly it happened... I may try slipping some chicks under her if I can get some.

For a long time, I kept asking wvduckchick to send me some broody vibes because they just weren't doing it! Then suddenly, like you said, I had a couple of them!! One hatched her own, and the other is raising adopted chicks. I also just sold some of my East Frisian Gulls to a gal who is putting them under her broody tonight - I really hope for the best for her!
Let us know how things work out!

 

[orrpeople]

Well, she did sit on them as eggs and laid them, but I worried about her squishing them so I took them back out from under her. She is a very calm hen and didn't even peck me as I did so, she is more egg protective than chick protective.

Yeah, I just saw your second post. It's all good! Where did you hear about sand brooding?