Texas

[lovingmyhens]

Well actually one of them had laid an egg at my feet. I was walking toward the house and the chicken was walking in front of me. She was in a hurry to get somewhere, but she stopped long enough to lay the egg and went on about her business.

Temperatures at this moment: 71 degrees!!

Lisa

I'm totally loving the temp!!

 

[hensfortherapy]

Seeing alot of talk about brooding.... how does one prevent this behaivor to begin with? Or can you? (Remember I'm a newbie all this. Patience lol)

Broodie hens are funny.
All but one of my Buff Orpingtons get broodie once a year. I pick them off the nest and walk them as far away from it as I can and I remove any eggs as quick as I can. I have let each of them be a Momma by sticking 1 to 3 day old chicks under them after they go to roost. The broodie ones will sleep on the nest. They have been wonderful Mommas. My Wyandottes have not really gone broodie. I am waiting to see how the Rhode Island White and Barred Rock do. They have not started laying yet.

 

[bnjrob]

Seeing alot of talk about brooding.... how does one prevent this behaivor to begin with? Or can you? (Remember I'm a newbie all this. Patience lol)

Not leaving eggs in the nest boxes for very long can help decrease the risk of a hen going broody. However there is nothing really that can prevent it with any certainty.

Most chickens from hatchery stock (whether you order from the hatcher or get them from someone who ordered from a hatchery), have lost a lot of their broodiness simply because a broody hen does not lay and hatcheries much lay and hatch large quantities of eggs in order to make a profit. This does not mean that you can't get a broody hen from hatchery stock, just that when you consider the thousands if not millions of hens hatched from hatchery stock, the actual ration of broody hens from them is pretty low.

Most people who want to break a broody hen put them into a broody breaker cage. The sooner you catch a hen going broody, the faster it usually is to break it.

We use a wire cage with a small-mesh wire bottom that is actually a rabbit cage - the bottom of the cage where the chicken walks can be lifted and secured up above the outer edges of the cage. This allows air to get in underneath the hen, even when she is sitting down in the cage, to help cool off her vent and break her broodiness. This lets me keep the cage in the coop she came from so that she is still with her flock, but lifted off the ground - as opposed to using a dog crate where the bottom of the crate sits flush to the ground.I just use a regular rabbit bolt-on feeder for food in there, and then I hang a bottle with a nipple in the cap so that the nipple hangs through the top of the cage for the hen to drink. This keeps things a lot cleaner since the hen is usually angry at being put into the cage and for the first day or two, she usually paces and knocks around in the cage to try to get out.

Broody hens can be great, but they can't always be guaranteed to go broody when YOU want them to be broody. And if you need eggs - then a broody hen messes that up too. Had one go broody in December and because of that, ALL the breeding hens stopped laying. After about two days in the broody breaker cage, the other hens resumed laying. I kept the hen in the cage for a week and once I let her back out, she resumed normal laying not too long after. Have had broodies that were in the cage for several weeks and didn't want to stop being broody.

 

[Brookshire11]

Aw man..I'm bummed guys.
I was so excited about picking up chicks tomorrow but out of all 3 stores near m that carry them right now, only ONE has any that I was interested in..and it was a single Easter Egger..that was like...4 weeks old.

Guess I'm ordering from Ideal...
I guess I didn't think Ameraucanas or Orpingtons would be difficult to find, since they seem to be so popular.

 

[henless]

Aw man..I'm bummed guys.
I was so excited about picking up chicks tomorrow but out of all 3 stores near m that carry them right now, only ONE has any that I was interested in..and it was a single Easter Egger..that was like...4 weeks old.

Guess I'm ordering from Ideal...
I guess I didn't think Ameraucanas or Orpingtons would be difficult to find, since they seem to be so popular.

That is a bummer! How disappointed you must be. Any chance they will be ordering more chicks anytime soon?

I plan on picking mine up at the local feed store, TSC or Atwoods. I thought about ordering them, but being new to chickens I don't want to have to deal with the "packing peanuts" sent out by Ideal. Now next year may be a different story!

I have a vaccination question. Do any of ya'll get the Mareks vaccine for your chicks? If so, why or why not? Also, any other vaccines we need to get for them?

 

[Brookshire11]

That is a bummer! How disappointed you must be. Any chance they will be ordering more chicks anytime soon?

I plan on picking mine up at the local feed store, TSC or Atwoods. I thought about ordering them, but being new to chickens I don't want to have to deal with the "packing peanuts" sent out by Ideal. Now next year may be a different story!

That's why I didn't want to order! lol
But maybe I can find homes for them..i don't know how hard that is..
The farthest one hatches in store, and said to check back tomorrow. But my husband called and forgot to ask the breeds they carried. All I can find are RIR, white leghorns and black Australorps :/
The first store I went to, that had the ONE older Ameraucana said he gets Buffs in..but he had NO idea when he was doing another order.
These are my first birds too so..I guess we'll see. I'll call the hatching store again and if not, Ideal ships next Wednesday so I'd have them Thursday. Also..I'm only getting 4 chicks and you need to place a $25 order..so I guess I'm getting a book! lol

 

[henless]

I think the ones around here start getting their shipments in the first week of March. I do know that one feed store had chicks around Christmas, looked to be a couple weeks old. They said that would be all they had until March/April when it starts warming up.

I'm still working on my coop, so will not be getting any until March or so. I plan on getting a mixture of breeds to see which ones I like the best.

 

[Brookshire11]

Small space, only 4 chicks.........

You must have some strong will power! I would recommend you not get on this thread anymore - if you stay on this thread, the enablers will have you building a condo for at least 20 chickens if you aren't careful - LOL.

Yup..happening already.
I have to meet a dollar amount for shipping..so I threw in a Porcelain d'Uccle...oops!

 

[TexasLisa]

Yup..happening already.
I have to meet a dollar amount for shipping..so I threw in a Porcelain d'Uccle...oops!

and so it begins........

Lisa

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Did you get a home inspection? That should back up your claim.

I've had roofers out and the insurance claim adjuster is coming Monday.

Morning. I'm up. Glad it's Fri.

So glad it is finally Friday.

Aw man..I'm bummed guys.
I was so excited about picking up chicks tomorrow but out of all 3 stores near m that carry them right now, only ONE has any that I was interested in..and it was a single Easter Egger..that was like...4 weeks old.

Guess I'm ordering from Ideal...
I guess I didn't think Ameraucanas or Orpingtons would be difficult to find, since they seem to be so popular.

There is a store in Anna that will be getting chicks in March. Not sure if they have any now.

That's why I didn't want to order! lol
But maybe I can find homes for them..i don't know how hard that is..
The farthest one hatches in store, and said to check back tomorrow. But my husband called and forgot to ask the breeds they carried. All I can find are RIR, white leghorns and black Australorps :/
The first store I went to, that had the ONE older Ameraucana said he gets Buffs in..but he had NO idea when he was doing another order.
These are my first birds too so..I guess we'll see. I'll call the hatching store again and if not, Ideal ships next Wednesday so I'd have them Thursday. Also..I'm only getting 4 chicks and you need to place a $25 order..so I guess I'm getting a book! lol

Ideal's packing peanuts are usually roos. You will get 15 of them. My Pet Chicken lets you order smaller numbers, but this time of year it is higher due to the cold. Get a Black Australorp. They are usually great layers. Have you thought about a road trip? Ideal isn't that far from us.

and so it begins........

Lisa

Chicken Math!