The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[hellbender]

Or right out in the case of that chick! Beautiful sequence shots!

That one is certain to cause problems...

 

[bluebirdnanny]

That one is certain to cause problems...

You mean ME or that first out chick?!

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
uh... yes?

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Hey! Wasn't askin YOU!
But right on both accounts.

 

[ki4got]

well, not sure why I done what I did, but we're heading to a huge swap Saturday, and every time, If I have broodies I use them for heat for babies, rather than having to listen to the generator...

so my Dorking girl Blitz has ALL the sfh. LOL 8 around 3-4 weeks old, 15 hatched last week, plus whatever hatches today/tomorrow... and she's taking them all, but the older chicks aren't so sure about her. they'll change their tune if they get cool. LOL

I gave all the silver laced bantam cochin babies (4 hatched today, 5 from last week) to my mottled bantam cochin broody, then realized the older babies were trying to find food, so I put her and them (and her 2 dudd eggs) in the brooder with the turklings... she immediately went for food and water, so did the older babies. then I turned off the light so she'd settle back down, I peeked in and the turkeys were snuggled up with her. man those broad breasted guys grow fast! they're about 1/4 her size and they're just a week old. LOL

then I gave all the Wyandottes that came in today (blrw and 2 slw) to my silver laced girl, who wasn't sure about them, but they stopped crying so I guess she took them all. LOL but I need to give her food/water soon since a few of the chicks were about a week old.

thankfully, the dorking has enough body fluff to cover all the babies and then some, for this age...

I should elaborate... not sure why I gave the 'stay at home babies' a broody to keep watch over them...

 

[bluebirdnanny]

I think it was just common sense to do that. They will learn well from her. The best arrangement there is for nature to take care of and teach the little ones. No better sitter could you find for them.

IMHO you did right.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Hi all I'm in. I know culling is something I'll have to get comfortable with, I'm willing so please be understanding too.

Welcome.

Also culling can take time to be a comfortable action. There is good news though for some of the times the word culling gets used, it does not mean killing the chicken. Sometimes it means a chickens lives but is kicked out of the breeder's best breeding program. It might get tossed into a laying flock or sold as a pet chicken. Other times, the chicken is put down either to eat or to save the chicken from a health issue or both.
For us the idea of processing became much easy after we owned a mean rooster for a while.

 

[gevshiba]

Or right out in the case of that chick! Beautiful sequence shots!

Thanks. It was just a case of right place at the right time. Once he started zipping, he was out in about 5 minutes. He has a buddy now. I sure hope I get a good hatch. I've been waiting for these chicks a long time. These were what I was supposed to get when I was sent the Silkie eggs.

 

[ki4got]

I think it was just common sense to do that. They will learn well from her. The best arrangement there is for nature to take care of and teach the little ones. No better sitter could you find for them.

IMHO you did right.

oh I know I did, but I was thinking 'to keep babies warm'... and they're staying home so could have stayed under the heat. but you're right I prefer letting a broody do the work.

 

[ki4got]

well, had a 'broody malfunction'... thought the silver laced girl was keeping her babies warm, but she was really standing over the top of them and not letting them touch her, so they were all a bit cool...

in a pinch, my mottled girlie took 14 wyandottes on top of her 10 or 12 cochins and 3 turkeys... if it weren't for the turkeys they might have fit, for a day or 2. LOL.

instead, I tromped miz b!+@# back out to her coop and plopped her back on her nest, scooped up my superbroody from last year, who's been broody all of 2 days this time, and brought her in. let her get some food and water, put her in a tote with 2 eggs and she settled right in. 20 minutes later she was the proud talkative momma to all the cochins and turkeys. LOL the 'dottes need a bit more tlc I think, so they got the momma with a whole brooder. superbroody will be moved to her brooder in the morning, after she gets to know all her babies for the night.

got a couple pics in the interim tho. LOL of my overloaded blue mottled girl...

the turkeys kept trying to pile up under her butt, looked like they were trying to flip her onto her head.


and finally the turkeys got settled, and the 'dottes were fighting for snuggle space.

but now both broodies have their babies, fairly evenly distributed (if you count a cochin with 3 turkeys 'fair')...

here's a pic of superbroody last spring, with her 42 chicks of varying ages. she stinks as an 'on the ground' momma, but is great for keeping babies happy.

and yes, she's a larger girl than the mottled is... that mottled happens to be the cute black and white face at center breast. she had a good teacher.