The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

@oldhenlikesdogs , I'm overrun with broodies too - got 4 going right now. Must be the midwestern air (I'm in central mn probably not all that far from you).

Two are just hatching. One started Friday and got off her nest with the 3 chicks that hatched so far, left 2 eggs in the nest. stone cold when I got there - I did an "eggtopsy" because I'ld been told you would learn something from it - oh yuck!!!!

I'll never do that again. One was clearly not going to make it, but the other was fully developed and it was pitiful.. If I had caught her while the egg was still halfway warm, I might have tried putting it under one of the broodies who are only on week 2 or so - just to see if it would hatch out in a few days. But maybe that would be a bad idea, because if it was a "bad" egg it might break and threaten the viability of the other eggs?

The reason I have 4 is that I stupidly used the broody breaking cage for one of the broody hens, so then there was no way to break the broodiness of the other hens ....taking them off the nest before leaving for work wasn't sufficient and they would be back on that nest tight when I would get home from work. I did limit the number of eggs though so I won't be overrun with chicks.

 

[lalaland]

Question about new chicks, new mamas, and ramps to the coop:

I am worrying in advance about the new mamas taking their chicks out of the coop. My coop is an old converted constructiont trailer, and it is about 3 feet off the ground. The run is 80 feet by 40 feet. I worry the mama will leave a chick behind, and the chick won't find its way back up the ramps to the coop and to mama.

How long should I keep mamas confined in the coop with chicks before I let her take them out? If it was a ground floor coop, I would feel much better about letting her go when she wanted too -


When I had a broody hatch before, she was able to use a small coop with a small attached run, but that isn't avail right now.
Any suggestions?

 

[Leahs Mom]

@lalaland
What breed chickens are these that are broody?

 

[slordaz]

@oldhenlikesdogs , I'm overrun with broodies too - got 4 going right now. Must be the midwestern air (I'm in central mn probably not all that far from you).

Two are just hatching. One started Friday and got off her nest with the 3 chicks that hatched so far, left 2 eggs in the nest. stone cold when I got there - I did an "eggtopsy" because I'ld been told you would learn something from it - oh yuck!!!!

I'll never do that again. One was clearly not going to make it, but the other was fully developed and it was pitiful.. If I had caught her while the egg was still halfway warm, I might have tried putting it under one of the broodies who are only on week 2 or so - just to see if it would hatch out in a few days. But maybe that would be a bad idea, because if it was a "bad" egg it might break and threaten the viability of the other eggs?

The reason I have 4 is that I stupidly used the broody breaking cage for one of the broody hens, so then there was no way to break the broodiness of the other hens ....taking them off the nest before leaving for work wasn't sufficient and they would be back on that nest tight when I would get home from work. I did limit the number of eggs though so I won't be overrun with chicks.

limiting the eggs is a good idea, the first onethat went broody, everyone contributed to the number so when we looked under her she had 30 eggs in on day 3 and wasn't about to let us take any, she tossed 6 out that night though, they can't handle that many, she hatched 11, one died shortly after, 3 died in shell and the others were early quitters cause she they weren't fully covered. She didn't get off though for 2 days after the others hatched so most likely hen knew the chick had died in the shell and that's why she got off

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Question about new chicks, new mamas, and ramps to the coop:

I am worrying in advance about the new mamas taking their chicks out of the coop.  My coop is an old converted constructiont trailer, and it is about 3 feet off the ground.  The run is 80 feet by 40 feet.   I worry the mama will leave a chick behind, and the chick won't find its way back up the ramps to the coop and to mama.

How long should I keep mamas confined in the coop with chicks before I let her take them out?  If it was a ground floor coop, I would feel much better about letting her go when she wanted too - 


When I had a broody hatch before, she was able to use a small coop with a small attached run, but that isn't avail right now.
Any suggestions?

I keep my chicks and momma confine for two weeks, by then they are ready to handle anything and can keep up. You can try after they are a week old to see, and I do let mine out of their pen for short excursions after a week, but to me it seems like the two week mark is when the chicks start to become more independent and are stronger.

 

[lazy gardener]

Question about new chicks, new mamas, and ramps to the coop:

I am worrying in advance about the new mamas taking their chicks out of the coop. My coop is an old converted constructiont trailer, and it is about 3 feet off the ground. The run is 80 feet by 40 feet. I worry the mama will leave a chick behind, and the chick won't find its way back up the ramps to the coop and to mama.

How long should I keep mamas confined in the coop with chicks before I let her take them out? If it was a ground floor coop, I would feel much better about letting her go when she wanted too -


When I had a broody hatch before, she was able to use a small coop with a small attached run, but that isn't avail right now.
Any suggestions?

OH uses 2 weeks as her "freedom margin" When the chicks are 2 weeks old, they have good flight feather development, so... are much more mobile. That would enable them to be better at navigating the ramp, or steps. When I had a broody last summer, I set up some steps and a lower inclined ramp to make it easier for the chicks. No matter how or when you do it, you'll have to watch them the first couple of days to be sure they manage the in/out details well, and none of them get separated/lost. FUN!!!!

 

[armorfirelady]

leahsmom, I'm going to follow your bee experience closely!

Busy spring - building the hooop coop, the quail are calling and starting to mature, so there is a little chasing going on. Have to get some optional quarters so they can separate if they like. They have been ranging a bit father each time I let them out, but soon go scurrying back to their run. The wild world frightens them.

One of the buff orps who is just about a year old, a hatchery hen I took in when the owner didn't want to overwinter the tiny flocok - has repro problems. In the 4 months I've had her, she has been in sick bay twice - sort of generally not feeling well. Both times, after 4-5 days, she was ready to rejoin the flock. Today she was doing the telltale standing still by her self thing and I thought oh-oh, here we go again. Watched her and she was straining hard, and finally laid an egg (standing in the run). When I went to shut the coop up, she was still out under the coop and had just laid a rubber egg. Wish there was something I could do for her, but I figure it will be another few days in sick bay and then either she will be better or be culled.

I have two broodies setting - today one had kicked an egg out of the nest to the other end of her quarters, and another egg totally disappeared. I think it may have broken since it looked like one egg in the nest had yolk on it - didn't get a good look. Hatch day is april 30.

@armorfirelady , I can't remember if you put a roof brace on your hoop coop or not?

I took 2 old 2x6 (by old I mean old wood thats probably close to 50 years old & sturdy as all heck) from when my garage was repaired & used them as tall braces for the top. I just stood them up vertically with a pool noodle on the top to protect the canvas from the wood. MY only mistake was I measured when the deep litter was in it so they are to short now that I cleaned it out but come fall I can just put some blocks under them if needed.

We didn't have 8 ft of snow again this winter but it easily held up the few feet we had at a time.

 

[lalaland]

@lalaland
What breed chickens are these that are broody?

Remember that time I ordered eggs to be hatched, and the woman got it all screwed up and I got potlock? The rooster came from that, as did 3 of the 4 broodies, a little gamebird type hen, an icelandic, and a sulmtaler. The sulmtaler broody was one of the three sulmtalers that coparented the hatch that petunia came from. Petunia is probably a wellie mixed with that unknown rooster from the potlock chick hatch.

The icelandic should hatch on May 19, and the gamebird type hen, Seaquist, should hatch on the 12th.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Yes! I do remember the mixed up chicks!

Hey..on your iclandic (that are now called Silverud's Blues) ... Do they lay nice blue eggs?

 

[FridayYet]

I thought it was the Isbars that changed names to Silverudd's Blue? They lay green eggs.

Icelandics lay off white eggs, I think.