The trials of the first broodies - Funny story!

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I feel your pain. I. Feel. Your. Pain.
I have the hardest time getting them to go broody where I want them to go broody. Sigh. I have tried moving silkies only to have them turn into screaming banshee pterydactals. The ameraucanas were scary horrible. Screeching, pecking, all around going for my eyes. Ack. I have tried moving them early in their broodiness, late in their broodiness, middle of their broodiness. It is all horrible. Even waiting until they hatch is fraught with peril. Mine also choose the favorite nest box and they all just cram in there together. I need a barn with breeding pens... and a full suit of armor.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
DH, who stays clueless about my chickens (on purpose I'm sure) asks me on the way home if it was one of the (can't type it on BYC, rhymes with witches) was the one that was broody. He still remembers when one of the SFs tried to take a chunk outta his arm when they were little; thus earning them their nickname.
I told him it was. He told me that if she bites him again she won't live to see her children. I told him he best stay away from her then; at least for the next 20 days or so.

 

[magicpigeon]

Quote:
DH, who stays clueless about my chickens (on purpose I'm sure) asks me on the way home if it was one of the (can't type it on BYC, rhymes with witches) was the one that was broody. He still remembers when one of the SFs tried to take a chunk outta his arm when they were little; thus earning them their nickname.
I told him it was. He told me that if she bites him again she won't live to see her children. I told him he best stay away from her then; at least for the next 20 days or so.

I told my father the same thing. He thought he could move my silkie who broods in the middle of a forest, right next to a sandstone wall teeming with spiders. Well, he moved the spiders but he didn't move the hen. They crawled into his hair and he came cursing at me 20 seconds later telling me I'D have to do it

 

[gritsar]

Yes, I can see where moving a whole colony of spiders would be easier than moving one broody hen.

 

[ranchhand]

Thanks, I'll take the hen though. And I like spiders, usually!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I can just imagine the scene - DH and all. Now you know - this SF is going to expect a midnight flashlight snack/poop adventure from now on - right?

I usually move my girls just after dusk, when they are zoning but I can still see. Talk to them (go ahead and laugh) and tell them what I am doing, I move slow just like when I am giving them food/water or checking eggs. I move the eggs first and then the broody. Wait for her to settle on the eggs and then move the crate/kennel. If I worry she will freak in the morning, I cover the kennel with something (burlap or horse blanket) for the next day.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Okay that leads me to a ?. Everyone said I needed to get her out of her old nestbox, because it's a covered kitty litter box. If and when her chicks hatch, they could fall out of it and not be able to get back in. Plus there was the hassle of retrieving the others eggs out from under her each evening. Me: Grab an egg, check for the mark. Her: Peck me. Me: Grab another egg, check for the mark. Her: Peck me harder. Get the picture?

So between now and hatch day I have to get the bottom half of the kitty litter box away from her, correct?

Exactly how do I do that? My suit of armor is at the silversmiths, getting polished.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Okay that leads me to a ?. Everyone said I needed to get her out of her old nestbox, because it's a covered kitty litter box. If and when her chicks hatch, they could fall out of it and not be able to get back in. Plus there was the hassle of retrieving the others eggs out from under her each evening. Me: Grab an egg, check for the mark. Her: Peck me. Me: Grab another egg, check for the mark. Her: Peck me harder. Get the picture?

So between now and hatch day I have to get the bottom half of the kitty litter box away from her, correct?

Exactly how do I do that? My suit of armor is at the silversmiths, getting polished.

Perhaps it would be easier to sneak out there under cover of darkness and use a pair of brush trimming shears to clip the front lip off of the litter pan, rather than risk "moving" her again.
Er wait, this is gritstar.......better have hubbs do it, I'd hate for you to lose a finger in the dark (and I don't mean to the broody)

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Welding gloves?
Oven mitts?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Aw -

Hope your broodies settle down!!! When is the due date?