The Old Folks Home

[Arielle]

Let me know and we can discuss it then. I can part with one if he will have buddies where he is going, though you might want a poult or two and have them grow up together.

 

[Wisher1000]

I've done a bit of research and the most convenient advice was to start them under a broody, so I did. I have a BO that has been on the nest since mid June. I pulled her two golf balls and gave her the two peacock eggs. Have any of you ever given a broody extra food to help her through a long brood or do you just break them when you see them declining? I have heard that raising peachicks if very difficult and that they have to be kept under heat for a long time (I heard a year, but don't believe THAT!) I am not even sure that they are fertile, but if they hatch, I will be giving them back to her to raise. I offered to try to hatch them for her, and she didn't offer to share them. Maybe if she gets these two to adulthood, she will share eggs or birds later. I would love to have a pair, but not enough to pay big bucks for them.

 

[Wisher1000]

I am also having a predator problem. I am losing birds every few days. It could be a hawk, I have seen a large one around lately, but it didn't seem interested in the chickens any of the times I saw it. It may be a fox or coyote. Whatever it is, it takes the chickens during the day, large birds and small. Sometimes two in one day. I have lost six birds in the last three weeks and only found one patch of feathers. Otherwise, they are just gone when it is time to come into the coop at dark. I work full time and can't sit outside all day watching. I really don't want to keep them up, I would rather eliminate the problem. I can't shoot what I can't locate or see, any suggestions?

 

[Arielle]

I feed my hens, I feed so guilty that she only eats once daily. I do make sure the broodies get off the nest every day to stretch and eat. And we give her goodies while on the nest. ANd my boys will offer her water, too. She does seem to enjoy the extra attention and gobbles up the food. I never check to see if this was a no-no, just felt like the right thing to do.

SO for a broodie who has been sitting for so long might enjoy a few healthy yummies.

 

[Wisher1000]

I have picked her up and made her go eat and drink a few times. I am sure she goes on her own, but she is getting thin and I can feel her breast bone. I was considering taking her some scrambled eggs and maybe some milk soaked bread to try to fatten her up some. I kind of want her to keep sitting so the pea-eggs will have a better chance, but I feel sorry for her. I wondered if anyone else had a system.

 

[GardenerGal]

Let me know and we can discuss it then. I can part with one if he will have buddies where he is going, though you might want a poult or two and have them grow up together.

I'll PM you. I have ducks, geese and chickens. My old turkey was happy hanging out with the chickens and with me. I'm around a lot (I'm a professional gardener and have a flexible schedule) and work in the yard all the time, and I'm used to having a turkey follow me around.

I'd consider raising two poults together, as well.

 

[GardenerGal]

Wisher,
Any chance you could keep your flock in a covered run while you're away? My chickens have a 12X20 barn with a side door that goes to a covered (hardware cloth) run that varmints can't get into. It has given me peace of mind. When I use to let my flock free range, the foxes would pick off hens at every opportunity, even with me standing right there.

About the broody losing weight - I have a hen brooding now and I put small bowls of food and water right in front of her. She eats and drinks readily when it's right there in close reach. She gets up to stretch when she needs to, but I like to make sure she has constant access to water and food without getting off the nest.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I am also having a predator problem. I am losing birds every few days. It could be a hawk, I have seen a large one around lately, but it didn't seem interested in the chickens any of the times I saw it. It may be a fox or coyote. Whatever it is, it takes the chickens during the day, large birds and small. Sometimes two in one day. I have lost six birds in the last three weeks and only found one patch of feathers. Otherwise, they are just gone when it is time to come into the coop at dark. I work full time and can't sit outside all day watching. I really don't want to keep them up, I would rather eliminate the problem. I can't shoot what I can't locate or see, any suggestions?

I don't know if this will work for your situation but I was losing birds to hawks and eagles last fall while I was at work. I strung up fishing line across the chicken run in a haphazard way (not a grid, more like a cats cradle). The first few days that I had it up I'd get home from work and a line would be down, but I wouldn't be missing a chicken. Now the lines all stay up and I still don't lose chickens. The fishing line helps deter airborne beasts or at least slows them down enough that the chickens can scramble under or into the coop for safety. I occasionally get caught up in the lines (because who can remember to watch for fishing lines in the sky at 4 am?!) and they do tend to sag in the winter after a good storm, but otherwise they're pretty low maintenance.

You could also set a have-a-heart(less) trap and keep the birds in one day. Bait it with some old chicken and see if you catch a ground predator. Some lead poisoning may be warranted. Beware you will have to deal with anything you catch in said trap, including striped stinkers.

I gave the goats Blue Seal grain alone this morning, and they started tucking into it, then I came back in the house. I think they just don't like it mixed. I swear they didn't touch it at all yesterday morning. Weird little goats. I guess I'll give Poulin in the evening and Blue Seal in the morning until I'm out of Poulin.

 

[dsqard]

Wisher I was having the same problem last year. I would open the pen door in the morning before going to work so they could free range and would come home to one or two missing. I am pretty sure my problem was a coyote. I had to just keep them locked up during the day when we weren't home. In fact, if I let them out before it is light enough, even if we are home, I have lost one here and there. Lurkey went missing last weekend and I am pretty sure she isn't hiding out and brooding a clutch. No feathers anywhere to show what happened, but I let them out too early and I think she got nabbed. You may want to consider leaving them locked up when you are not home. I have lost way less birds this way.

 

[ChestnutRidge]

May I suggest something easier than an ax if you are not experienced. Sometimes it is less stressful on all to hang the chicken upside down,for ex. tie legs to clothes line, and slit the throat with a very sharp knife.

I do think that would be easier, but I feel funny about him still being alive while he's bleeding out.

I've thought about using pruning shears to cut off his head while he's upside down, so the spinal cord is severed, but I think my big, heavy-duty ones have handles which are too long to line up on a moving chicken. I do appreciate your suggestion. I need to think more about the method...

My speckled sussex are from Hot2Pot, with an exception of Hoppy (my favorite chicken) who is a SS from Murray McMurray and the love of my life (after BF, of course). Hot2Pot got them from someone else so I have no idea where they come from. I absolutely love the SS. Hoppy is the worlds WORST layer, in fact we're contemplating naming our farm "If Hoppy Laid An Egg" because we've been joking that we should write a childrens farm book based on Hoppys adventures and lack of desire to lay eggs (because other things are so much more important, like eating all of moms tomatoes). The other SS lay decently well, but they just started.

I have a skittish and perpetually broody phoenix too! She spends all winter up on the roost and all spring, summer and fall in a nesting box trying to hatch golf balls. Wide open spaces are not for her. I have to clip her toenails (I was going to insert a joke here but thought I'd be more mature) because she doesn't get out enough to wear them down.

Love the book idea.

You should write it! My SS hen won't win any awards, for looks or laying, but she does lay about three days a week or so. She didn't start until she was about 8 months old, but she's a big girl. I wonder if there is any meat on them, though, or if it's just a big frame.

I'm actually thinking about moving my Phoenix into the 6+ week old chicks' pen for a little bit. I moved Rosie back to the layers' coop last night when I found her sleeping in one part of her little broody coop and her three chicks in another. She's been laying for about a week, so it was time. Poor thing - she's happy back with her friends, but she is getting a lot of extra attention from the rooster. My phoenix, Phoenie (fee-nee - creative, huh?), has been brooding part-time for a few months now after a hard-core stint of brooding this spring (during which she let the eggs she was allowed to sit on be broken by another hen trying to lay under her). So, she is looking pretty rough and feels pretty thin when I put her back on the roost every night. I wonder if she'd peck the chicks or be nice and break up a bit. Hmm...