The Old Folks Home

[NotAFarm]

@perchie.girl I can smell the horsey breath.....

 

[perchie.girl]

@perchie.girl I can smell the horsey breath.....

Like apples, and alfalfa, and Cawatts and ooooo pepper mint... her favorite.

 

[Bunnylady]

At this time of year, horsey breath around here is usually tainted with wild garlic . . . . Every time I catch a whiff, I think "scampi."

 

[bamadude]

Elba, Alabama is bracing for record flooding ofthe pea river. Their flood of 1998 was epic. Google it if u have a min

 

[Latestarter]

Pretty awesome flooding. Is this supposed to be worse? I don't watch news so heard nothing about it.

 

[bruceha2000]

You are right that would suck.
she is in one of those cheep tsc nest boxes that can just sit in the coop would she stop sitting if I moved her and the eggs with the nest to the grow out coop I have for my no momma chicks?
She would move from the back yard to the Garage since the coop was put on skids in the garage to get the silkies out of the rain until we got tarps for their dog run. that would put her far from the other Chickens but not out of ear shot of the Roos.
I just don't want to unhinge her so close to time for the hatch. She has been in that coop before so she knows it is safe.

I had more room in my coop than you do so I made a brooding area in the corner with scrap wood and 1/2" hardware cloth for the sides and a 2x4 wire top. I don't know if the other hens would have bothered the chicks or not but Zorra, biggest chicken I have but definitely not top of the flock, turned into the dragon lady after she 'hatched' the chicks I got from Meyer. Ever seen a (probably) 10 pound Black Australorp flare all her feathers, stand tall on her toes and flap her wings in anger? Time for the other girls to

She would attack any bird that got within 5' even if they weren't paying any attention to the chicks at all. Top of the flock Anconas ran for their lives when when she had the chicks outside the pen and they wanted to get past her. They had a private door (the original one I made before I got the Pullet-Shut which didn't fit the space) which I opened in the morning after the other hens headed out for morning BOSS. Zorra brought them out and they all hung near the door. Day by day she expanded their range both in the barn alley and into the coop. The biggest problem I had was the other chickens (and the ****** woodchucks) getting in and eating the chick feed once Zorra started taking them farther down the barn alley toward the door. When they were 2 weeks old she tired of waiting for me to let her out and took the chicks up into a nest box one night instead of going back in the brooder pen. I got a 10# bag of chick starter, at least 2/3 of it ended up in the feeder with the regular layer stuff because it didn't take all that long before the chicks could eat like the big girls, they just had to get up to the feed tray. Given they could fly up 2' by the time they were 2 weeks old, the feed tray wasn't a challenge once they were about 1 week old.

I see you have moved her so hopefully all will go well with the hatch. I would give serious consideration to getting them back in the coop with the rest of the girls as soon as possible so you don't have integration problems. If your hen is like Zorra, she will happily protect the chicks in the nest in the coop. Maybe you could make a chick feeding corner? Sized just big enough for the chick feeder and the chicks with a hole much too small for the older birds to get in? Or if you make it with 2x4 wire fencing, it will already have holes that fit the bill as long as the feeder is beyond a hen's stretched neck.

 

[drumstick diva]

I can't smell any horsey breath but, Katie is beautiful

 

[tjo804]

I may be wrong (usually am) But I think I heard a tap tap tap under the broodie tonite

is that a real thing? will they chip a way at the egg to hatch or just bust out of it?

I don't wanna move mama she is acting a bit different tonite

 

[Wisher1000]

DS#2 received a Christmas card tonight. He opened the envelope and read the front . "Oh, oh, oh."

That was about an hour ago and I'm still laughing.

 

[perchie.girl]

I may be wrong (usually am) But I think I heard a tap tap tap under the broodie tonite

is that a real thing? will they chip a way at the egg to hatch or just bust out of it?

I don't wanna move mama she is acting a bit different tonite

You will hear tapping and chirping and watch momma she will cock her head to hear and maybe even chirp back at them.