Too Early for Feb Hatch-A-Long Thread??

[CluckNDoodle]

Last summer I had like 12 or 15 chicken hens trying to sit.... problem was they kept switching nest and wasting eggs. So I finally just let the whole bunch have 8 eggs total they managed to hatch 5 babies... one broody scalped one so the 2 that had live ones under them got to raise 2 each. Whew what a wreck!
I would have given a free broody to any one who would take it!
Now this broody turkey thing I just put the chosen girl in a dog crate and if she settles back on the nest she gets shut in, fed and watered and given the chance.

Yikes! Yeah that would have stressed me out!

 

[aliciaplus3]

Not hatching any more birds until May-June-ish here. Garden preparations begin in earnest in about 2-3 wks. Potatoes and cool weather greens in the ground in 6wks. No time.

Gardening here is at a stand still.... well except starting pepper plants here the first of feb. But the ground is frozen and covered in white stuff

 

[Mtnboomer]

I only have 1-2 hens go broody a year. They never take the egg to full term but rather give up on it after about a week. Unless of course they aren't actually sitting on an egg. The I have to blow a little compressed air under them to get them out and back to normal

 

[Mtnboomer]

Aliciaplus3 I am very jealous of your white stuff! We seem to be getting less and less of it. In Feb, the "sun room" in our house turns into a greenhouse. It is filled with seed trays containing anything and everything from vegetables to chestnuts, oaks, and persimmons. Gets me excited every spring!

 

[EggWalrus]

I can't think of anything better to be overrun with! lol View attachment 2012536View attachment 2012536View attachment 2012536

I'm curious, how big is your flock? Last year I had about 8 broody hens in my small flock and I already have my first broody of the year now too! I'm glad to hear there's someone else out there overrun with broody hens!

Im down from around 200 a few months ago. Now I only have about 30 hens and 10 roosters. I plan to start buying some Meat Babies every month to try to sell. The ones the broodies are sitting on now are all heritage breeds and take to long to get to market weight. Hopefully I can have a crop of Meaties every two months to sell. I can't afford to feed the heritages otherwise (even with them foraging all day).

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Im down from around 200 a few months ago. Now I only have about 30 hens and 10 roosters. I plan to start buying some Meat Babies every month to try to sell. The ones the broodies are sitting on now are all heritage breeds and take to long to get to market weight. Hopefully I can have a crop of Meaties every two months to sell. I can't afford to feed the heritages otherwise (even with them foraging all day).

Wow! That is A LOT of mouths to feed. I've never had more than 20 in my flock at any given time, lol. I can't even imagine having 200!

 

[aliciaplus3]

Wow! That is A LOT of mouths to feed. I've never had more than 20 in my flock at any given time, lol. I can't even imagine having 200!

wait you can Count YOURS????!!!???? hummm maybe someday I will learn how to keep that few of numbers... I have 15 different pens thats counting right?

 

[CluckNDoodle]

wait you can Count YOURS????!!!???? hummm maybe someday I will learn how to keep that few of numbers... I have 15 different pens thats counting right?

Is it really worth being able to count my chickens though? I say no, I want to move so I can happily keep so many chickens that I can't even remember their names. That's the life, lol.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Holy shnikies! I love my 30 odd birds but yall are on a whole nother level!

 

[FortCluck]

wait you can Count YOURS????!!!???? hummm maybe someday I will learn how to keep that few of numbers... I have 15 different pens thats counting right?

I have under twenty, but that's not counting chicks. We are moving so I don't want too many, but when we move I'm going to get a barn for my chickens. That means no more counting