Utah!

[hen-thusiast]

Quote:
I 100% agree with writermom. I bet they don't know how vulnerable they have left their pullets.

I asked somebody who recently bought chickens if they were planning on building a coop. You know what their answer was? "Oh is that when I can feed them table scraps and such?" Whatever that meant. So I had to rephrase as - "so are you going to build something for the chickens to live in?"

 

[hen-thusiast]

I'm 99% sure our GLW just went broody. We've got her sitting on golf balls right now. We had to pry (literally) her out of the nest box last night to put her on the roost and she's back in the nest box again.

It's tempting to let her hatch some eggs, but I don't think I can part with the 50% that aren't the right sex. Ugh.

 

[muddypuddles]

My cochin bantam was broody last month. I took out the the wooden eggs and golf ball and any eggs that she laid so she didn't have anything to sit on. It ticked her off every time I had to lift her up and take them but she is really sweet and never bit. I think the thing that really broke her of it was introducing a couple of newbies to the coop---it upset the pecking order and she got occupied with coop politics. After about two and a half weeks, she gave up and now its business as usual--although every once and a while if I don't get the eggs before nightfall, she'll be on them in the nestbox when I close up for the night. I think its going to be an ongoing thing with her. I would have put her in my empty rabbit cage if she hadn't quit--I've heard that the wire bottom keeps them cool underneath and snaps them out of it. She had plucked all her feathers underneath! Did your hen do that? Anyway, Good Luck with your hen!

 

[kimbobim]

Quote:
Good luck if you have to break her of it!

Our Black Australorp went broody in January - we let it go way too long and it was difficult to break her of. DH does the feeding and checks for eggs in the winter, so I didn't realize what was going on for a while. She was stubbornly determined to hatch those wooden eggs and any eggs the other hens laid in that box (they all preferred that one box, even though we have three, and would cram in there with her to lay even when she refused to leave). I was afraid she'd starve or freeze to death, since she would not leave to eat or drink, and even slept in there alone (during the worst of the cold in January). We finally had to isolate her in a separate area of our coop with food and water, a roost, no nesting box or shavings, hard floor. She was royally ticked off at us, and it took several days before we could let her out without her immediately streaking back to the nesting box.

Do you have a rooster/are her eggs fertile, or would you have to buy some? Somedays I think it'd be so fun to let a broody hatch some, but most of the time I'm just to busy to deal with it.

 

[PacsMan]

Quote:
It was fun and a learning experience to do, But... buying a dozen eggs on eBay, a new first-time broody hen, I didn't manage it well, only produced 2 out of 12 chicks. Of course, one was a rooster, and he wasn't all that good eat'n...

So, with all that, why do I still want to buy an incubator?

Stupid addictive hobby...

Marty

 

[PoultryPedia]

Quote:
A way you could possibly minimize them feeling on-the-spot would be to leave a note that you've been seeing raccoons in the gully & noticed they have chickens so thought you'd let them know. Tell them you have chickens, too, and with coons around you've had to do (fill in blank with types of things that keep chickens safe) because raccoons are so good at breaking in to coops and enclosures. Tell them you wanted to let them know they have predators in the neighborhood who can be EXTRA resourceful at chicken hunting.
Just an idea, but you may find a better way to be helpful.

 

[hen-thusiast]

Well - we decided that we've got to try it at least once so we broke down and gave her some eggs.

It's supposed to get warm, so I hope she does okay. I'm going out of town for a week, so my husband will be responsible for her.

Quote:
She's had broody tendencies for the last couple of months (hours in the next box at a time and it looked like she had been plucking her belly) so we knew this was coming. While she's a big girl she's so sweet when it comes to dealing with her as a broody. I'm glad our campine didn't go broody because she's mean enough on a daily basis.


Quote:
I bet they get mad when you try to break them of it. And yes, we do have a rooster courtesy of SpeckledHills. I'm so bad at the spelling, but he's an araucana and we threw some easter eggers eggs under the broody. We'd really love a blue egg layer. We'll see if any hatch, we didn't give her that many eggs, so it's possible none will hatch.

I guess it will also be a good learning experience to see how we deal with parting with the unwanted roos.

 

[Stands With A Fiddle]

Hi all. My friend has a Malaysian Serama pair. Someone called animal control on the rooster, and long story short, she needs to find them a new home. I don't have space for them, plus I live in an apartment where I already teach viola and violin lessons, so I don't need to add a rooster to the list of things to piss off my neighbors with.

So, if anyone is interested in a Malaysian Serama pair, please send me an email or a PM and I will refer it to the appropriate source.

 

[vermontgal]

Hey, can someone who has been through the SLC / SLCo permit process tell me what the Animal Health Services considers to be "rodent proof"? Do I need to get myself a metal container (not ideal due to condensation) or will a plastic tote be sufficient?

Also, my coop has about 6" of toed-out 1/2" hardware cloth around the perimeter. Will this pass muster, or do I need to extend the toed-out area? Is toeing it out sufficient, or do I need dig it in? I am trying to keep the coop portable in case I should move.

What happens if your coop doesn't pass the first time?

Thanks in advance for advice!

 

[NurseDr]

The county folks were helpful and supportive, so don't worry to much. I have my feed in a galvanized can I got from IFA with a bungee over it, not even sure the officer looked at it. My coop is tractor

[/img]. There is no toe out area. When the officer came by we were battling a rat infestation and had a bait box next to the trator. She asked what it was, but not other concerns. The officer that came out has chickens and was very helpful and realistic. The hens free range during the day in our lot.

So, I recommend calling them and go from there.