Fingers crossed she stays put Scott. Can't wait to see new chick pics when they hatchTina's got her new eggs! I yanked her out of her nest, fed her some frozen corn (thawed) and a couple of peanuts and while she was getting a drink I put the 8 eggs in her box. She came back, jumped in the coop and inspected her new found bounty. She liked it.
So glad she got something out of her long sit! Nicely done.on the topic of broodies... I didn't want to post anything at first, because I was afraid it wouldn't work, but it HAS! when I got home last weekend from the swap, all the babies that went with me got put straight into an outside pen, where the oldest of those youngsters had already been. i moved the nest box down to the ground for them to sleep in. but the first night it was too cold and the younger ones didn't huddle like I figured they would, so I added a heat emitter (ceramic heating element that uses a light fixture - puts out no light, just heat). that helped some, but a couple had already been chilled and weren't catching up. so on a whim, I took my buff orp girl who's been broody for well over a month and just tossed her in with them, to see what would happen. she's been in there a week now, and this is what resulted.the oldest chicks continued sleeping on the floor of the house. during the day the chicks 'act like chicks' eating, drinking, getting warm (either under buffy or the heat).
and no, the roost isn't crooked. it's perfectly level. it's the ground that's crooked... LOL if you look over the top of this pen, you see my hoop coop which stands only 5' tall, and just beyond that, the carport that has a 10' center peak... LOL next time I buy property it's going to be a lot flatter... the roof of this pen is just over 6'... I put some bales of shavings up against the exposed sides of the pen to help keep heat in somewhat, since the breeze comes from that direction the most. there are 8 older chicks (12-16 weeks) and the rest (about 15) are 4-6 weeks.
Oops. I've done stuff like this. Don't beat yourself up! How will you fix it? Can you make a human door in the cloth? Even a securable flap? It's only temporary right? If they only knew the hassles we go through for them. LolTina looks very happy! I made a classic goof up. The sulmtalers hated by the rooster are separated and have their own tiny coop. Its a sulmtaler who is broody. The little coop has a people door on one side, and a chicken door at the other end.the nest box is in the corner facing the people door. yesterday, the two other hens climbed in the nest with the broody and laid eggs, and the broody took all the "foreign" eggs I had given her, rolled them out of the nest box, and was sitting on her sisters eggs. I took her sisters eggs and put back the foreign eggs. It was day 1, so I figure it didn't matter that the foreign eggs were cold. [COLOR=FF0000]hey, correct me if I'm wrong!!![/COLOR] Anyway, I wanted to make a separate area for the broody so this wouldn't happen again. Here's the goof-up: this morning, I took some hardware cloth and made a wall from the back of the coop to the edge of the people door, partitioning off the coop into two areas. Open the people door, and you are facing a nest box with a very placid broody, and a small area in front of the box. Look to your right, and you see the roost and the end with the chicken door. I figured the two other girls would have to make do without a nest and just lay on the floor. I didn't figure out ( 6 am, cold pouring rain, working from outside the coop, and after a rough late night) that........I can't fit through the chicken door to get their eggs!!! no way to reach them with the hardware cloth wall either!.
It will be fine that they got cold..it is unusual that a bird will roll out eggs unless they are not truly broody. I would remove the sister for a few days and let her set them tight, then let the sister back in.Tina looks very happy!
I made a classic goof up. The sulmtalers hated by the rooster are separated and have their own tiny coop. Its a sulmtaler who is broody.
The little coop has a people door on one side, and a chicken door at the other end.
the nest box is in the corner facing the people door.
yesterday, the two other hens climbed in the nest with the broody and laid eggs, and the broody took all the "foreign" eggs I had given her, rolled them out of the nest box, and was sitting on her sisters eggs. I took her sisters eggs and put back the foreign eggs. It was day 1, so I figure it didn't matter that the foreign eggs were cold. hey, correct me if I'm wrong!!!
Anyway, I wanted to make a separate area for the broody so this wouldn't happen again.
Here's the goof-up: this morning, I took some hardware cloth and made a wall from the back of the coop to the edge of the people door, partitioning off the coop into two areas. Open the people door, and you are facing a nest box with a very placid broody, and a small area in front of the box.
Look to your right, and you see the roost and the end with the chicken door.
I figured the two other girls would have to make do without a nest and just lay on the floor.
I didn't figure out ( 6 am, cold pouring rain, working from outside the coop, and after a rough late night) that........I can't fit through the chicken door to get their eggs!!! no way to reach them with the hardware cloth wall either!.
