The 6th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[Cynthia12]

No I have only stacked once. I had a lot of bators, sold most of them..I only have one now!


Hey, did you by chance see..or hear of that Meteor that went over the northern part of the state, people are saying that they saw it in Logan. It was moving really slow, and pretty good sized! People are seeing it more in Idaho and Montana..that sucker was huge, and lasted a long time. Hope it didn't land somewhere.

 

[Cynthia12]

Here's a video that was taken in Idaho..there are a lot showing up now.

 

[Cynthia12]

News says it was probably a Chinese rocket that was sent up in Dec..hit the atmosphere, down it came.

 

[Fyremelody]

Welp, I set some eggs from The Girls yesterday to see if they are finally fertile. Yes, I could crack them open. But their rate of lay has dropped off with this new weather clash, and I don't want to spare one if they are. Laugh. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck! This is what I want to primarily do come March 14th.

 

[chattery41]

Add me to the HAL plz !

 

[bantambury]

No I have only stacked once. I had a lot of bators, sold most of them..I only have one now!


Hey, did you by chance see..or hear of that Meteor that went over the northern part of the state, people are saying that they saw it in Logan. It was moving really slow, and pretty good sized! People are seeing it more in Idaho and Montana..that sucker was huge, and lasted a long time. Hope it didn't land somewhere.

Here's a video that was taken in Idaho..there are a lot showing up now.

No I have only stacked once. I had a lot of bators, sold most of them..I only have one now!


Hey, did you by chance see..or hear of that Meteor that went over the northern part of the state, people are saying that they saw it in Logan. It was moving really slow, and pretty good sized! People are seeing it more in Idaho and Montana..that sucker was huge, and lasted a long time. Hope it didn't land somewhere.

News says it was probably a Chinese rocket that was sent up in Dec..hit the atmosphere, down it came.

still super cool Cynthia! thanks so much for sharing!

 

[myfivegirls]

My silkie that brooded last September had 7 babies of her own and adopted 3 more from my OEGB hen. The OEGB was a violent mother and was attacking my silkie's babies. She was an amazing mother and cared for her babies for 10-12 weeks lol. She wasa great mom for a first timer (6 month old Pullet when she went broody)


My OEGB would've been a great mom too. .. if she were the only one at that time. She was VERY protective.

My last broody hatch though was a BCM. She was NOT the best mom. She didn't teach them much and did kinda leave them on their own at a couple weeks old during the day (the hatched in late October). She wasn't protective or anything. I'm amazed that they survived her! I won't be letting her brood again.

I too love broodies, especially when they're great moms.
The last two years I've incubated eggs in the incubator and under a broody hen at the same time. Most of the time the hens have "adopted" the incubator chicks and have been one big, happy family! I still have to supply additional heat, as the hen can't keep 20-40 chicks warm at the same time. But, I think it's a good trade-off for what the hen teaches her brood.
One time I even ordered chicks from a hatchery & "Alix", a Black Sex Link hen, accepted them; but I made the mistake that she was still sitting on eggs due to hatch within the next day or two. So, she ended up trampling most of the chicks that were just hatching. Out of all the eggs she was sitting on, only 3 chicks survived to adulthood, even though all but a few of the hatchery chicks were mostly sold within a few days.
Last year another hen, "Olive" hatched out chicks in the nesting box. Then I moved her into a separate coop with her mother "Lydia" (Partridge Chantecler - she's a "super broody") + lots of incubator chicks. They seemed to be ok, so I added some Cornish Rock chicks from TSC. "Lydia" wouldn't allow "Olive" to move about freely, so I partially separated them, giving Olive all the Cornish meaties. She fully accepted them, but became so protective of them, that she ended up killing several of Lydia's chicks that came too close. But, she did a wonderful job of teaching those lazy Cornish how to be more active and be more like "regular" chickens. Here's one of my favorite pictures of Olive and her brood:


I eventually fully separated them, and when they later on introduced their chicks to the rest of the flock, they did ok as long as they stayed away from each other. As the chicks got older though, the mothers became less protective and allowed their broods to co-mingle during the day.

Overall, both Lydia and Olive are good broodies, just a little "crazy" at times. Last year, Lydia had so many chicks to care for & it was cold outside, I used my homemade "hover brooder". Well, Lydia decided to crawl under the hover brooder too, and positioned herself right under the light bulb (prob a 75 W).


As I watched, her feathers began to "smoke" and a nasty "burnt feather" smell filled the air!! I quickly pulled her out, and put a metal pan underneath it, so she couldn't fit, only the chicks.
Lydia also loves to scratch & dig, and is very enthusiastic about teaching her chicks how to "dig" in their food dish! So much so, that she ended up either scratching all the food out of the dish or ends us burying the food dish under a thick layer of shavings and wood pellets. Last year, I finally moved the feeder against the wall & blocked her from accessing it with the hover brooder. She tried so desperately to get to that feeder, that she dug a "ditch" all the way around the hover brooder! In the photo below you can see how she's almost totally undermined the hover brooder legs!



When the chicks were older and the temps were warmer, I let them all outside & Lydia was so much happier, so I think part of her "problem" is being bored and cooped up with the chicks. Once she's out and about with them, she seems to calm down. Also, then her efforts of digging holes in the compost is rewarded with earthworms for her brood.

"Olive" went broody a 2nd time this past fall, but after the chicks hatch, I let "Daisy" (EE) raise them, as she's a much better mom. But I know that she has to be separated from any other broody hen, whereas I've had "Lydia" and "Daisy" happily "share" chicks, but that's pretty rare.
"Lydia" and "Confetti" (the bantam Cochin in the photo below) have both tried going broody during the early part of winter, but I persuaded them to wait until warmer weather.



I love watching a hen and her chicks - it's so sweet, especially when they are under her feathers & poke out their head! And when they climb all over her like she's a play gym. And when she "talks" to them because she's found them a tasty morsel, to "come here", to "run for cover", and a sweet contented "chirping" when they're all snuggled underneath her feathers.

Muscovy ducklings are also adorable, but the ones I have don't have as great mothering skills as the broody hens.
They do ok, but tend to leave them unattended for too long, leaving them vulnerable to predators or being run over by Cornish "bulldozers".


I just had a wonderful time looking though some of last year's photos - so delightful to see all those baby chicks, ducks & rabbits. Helps out with "thinking spring" when it's -16*F outside!

 

[ronott1]

I too love broodies, especially when they're great moms.
The last two years I've incubated eggs in the incubator and under a broody hen at the same time. Most of the time the hens have "adopted" the incubator chicks and have been one big, happy family! I still have to supply additional heat, as the hen can't keep 20-40 chicks warm at the same time. But, I think it's a good trade-off for what the hen teaches her brood.
One time I even ordered chicks from a hatchery & "Alix", a Black Sex Link hen, accepted them; but I made the mistake that she was still sitting on eggs due to hatch within the next day or two. So, she ended up trampling most of the chicks that were just hatching. Out of all the eggs she was sitting on, only 3 chicks survived to adulthood, even though all but a few of the hatchery chicks were mostly sold within a few days.
Last year another hen, "Olive" hatched out chicks in the nesting box. Then I moved her into a separate coop with her mother "Lydia" (Partridge Chantecler - she's a "super broody") + lots of incubator chicks. They seemed to be ok, so I added some Cornish Rock chicks from TSC. "Lydia" wouldn't allow "Olive" to move about freely, so I partially separated them, giving Olive all the Cornish meaties. She fully accepted them, but became so protective of them, that she ended up killing several of Lydia's chicks that came too close. But, she did a wonderful job of teaching those lazy Cornish how to be more active and be more like "regular" chickens. Here's one of my favorite pictures of Olive and her brood:


I eventually fully separated them, and when they later on introduced their chicks to the rest of the flock, they did ok as long as they stayed away from each other. As the chicks got older though, the mothers became less protective and allowed their broods to co-mingle during the day.

Overall, both Lydia and Olive are good broodies, just a little "crazy" at times. Last year, Lydia had so many chicks to care for & it was cold outside, I used my homemade "hover brooder". Well, Lydia decided to crawl under the hover brooder too, and positioned herself right under the light bulb (prob a 75 W).


As I watched, her feathers began to "smoke" and a nasty "burnt feather" smell filled the air!! I quickly pulled her out, and put a metal pan underneath it, so she couldn't fit, only the chicks.
Lydia also loves to scratch & dig, and is very enthusiastic about teaching her chicks how to "dig" in their food dish! So much so, that she ended up either scratching all the food out of the dish or ends us burying the food dish under a thick layer of shavings and wood pellets. Last year, I finally moved the feeder against the wall & blocked her from accessing it with the hover brooder. She tried so desperately to get to that feeder, that she dug a "ditch" all the way around the hover brooder! In the photo below you can see how she's almost totally undermined the hover brooder legs!



When the chicks were older and the temps were warmer, I let them all outside & Lydia was so much happier, so I think part of her "problem" is being bored and cooped up with the chicks. Once she's out and about with them, she seems to calm down. Also, then her efforts of digging holes in the compost is rewarded with earthworms for her brood.

"Olive" went broody a 2nd time this past fall, but after the chicks hatch, I let "Daisy" (EE) raise them, as she's a much better mom. But I know that she has to be separated from any other broody hen, whereas I've had "Lydia" and "Daisy" happily "share" chicks, but that's pretty rare.
"Lydia" and "Confetti" (the bantam Cochin in the photo below) have both tried going broody during the early part of winter, but I persuaded them to wait until warmer weather.



I love watching a hen and her chicks - it's so sweet, especially when they are under her feathers & poke out their head! And when they climb all over her like she's a play gym. And when she "talks" to them because she's found them a tasty morsel, to "come here", to "run for cover", and a sweet contented "chirping" when they're all snuggled underneath her feathers.

Muscovy ducklings are also adorable, but the ones I have don't have as great mothering skills as the broody hens.
They do ok, but tend to leave them unattended for too long, leaving them vulnerable to predators or being run over by Cornish "bulldozers".


I just had a wonderful time looking though some of last year's photos - so delightful to see all those baby chicks, ducks & rabbits. Helps out with "thinking spring" when it's -16*F outside!

Quick, save this post for the short story contest!

Coming soon....

 

[chickadoodles]

Cynthia that is a huge meteor! If that thing landed on earth it made a huge Crater.

 

[myfivegirls]

Quote:
I'm full of stories and photos of adorable chicks & broody hens, so I'll keep that in mind! Believe it or not, what I wrote was a "shortened" version.

I did a Shutterfly book about "Daisy the Broody Hen" a few years ago, and would love to do an updated version as she's still with the flock at almost 4 years old.