Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Duck Drover]

I have Silkies hatching Orpington eggs and now it looks like I have three broody Orpington hens. One already has over a dozen eggs under her and the second one will get a clutch of eggs to hatch tomorrow since she seems determined to hatch the nesting eggs. The third one is not determined enough for me to trust her with eggs yet but in a few days I suspect she will not budge from the nest box. It will be nice to have Orpington hens raise Orpington chicks and I will have more hatching in the incubator that I am hoping I can slip in on the hens if they will take them.


My nest boxes are large enough that I have hens trying to lay in the nest boxes where the broody hens are trying to sit so I am going to try closing them and then opening them so the hens can take breaks during the day. I have not seen the hen that is sitting come off the nest yet but I am sure she is when I am not looking. My hen ducks come off their nests at different times of the day so I am not sure what is the optimal time to give the hens a break. I am also not sure if I should keep food and water in the nest box or if that will just create problems. I have not confined the Sillkie hens when they are sitting since they seem to share nest boxes without stepping on each other but I know some people do. When we built on the nest boxes we made them based on the board spacing of the coop (converted playhouse) frame so I was not really thinking about them being too big, especially for large fowl. Now I need to limit the number of hens that can crowd into one nest box and give the hens some privacy to hatch and raise a clutch of chicks..

This picture shows the door openings from the coop to the nest boxes.

This picture shows the finished outside before the rest of the coop got a fresh coat of paint.

I have some square wire panels that make cube shelves and they fit perfectly to close the door while also keeping it open for air circulation. Then I need to figure out a break schedule for the hens so they can eat, drink, and poop. How many breaks a day does a broody hen even take on average?

 

[Duck Drover]

So the wire panels work perfect.

 

[elizmartin]

So the wire panels work perfect.

Interesting….Is there a way that you could cage in around the specific batch of nests that are already being claimed by the broodies? Then place food & water in it, that way You won't worry yourself if they don't break when you are hoping they will?

 

[Duck Drover]

Interesting….Is there a way that you could cage in around the specific batch of nests that are already being claimed by the broodies? Then place food & water in it, that way You won't worry yourself if they don't break when you are hoping they will?

There is enough room in the nest boxes to put small dishes with food and water but I generally don't offer feed or water in the coop to prevent mold and to avoid attracting rodents to the coop. I have gravity feeders we made that always have feed so the chickens have constant access to feed and water when not in the coop.

I was able to let the sitting hen out with the rest of the chickens and then after she returned to her nest I closed it off again to keep the other hens out. Fortunately broody hens take quick breaks so I did not have to wait long for her to return to her nest. I offered several more times during the day but she just scolded me for bothering her and did not want to budge from the nest. I did the same for the second hen to go broody so she has over a dozen eggs as well now. I will probably have another dozen eggs tomorrow for the third hen.

I am actually going to let them hatch the eggs and raise the chicks because I have too many eggs so they won't all fit in the incubators anyway. I have over a dozen Silkie eggs that need to go in as soon as there is room since I just gave my two broody Silkie hens some Orpington chicks to raise. I like having broody hens as long as they do their job. These hens are under a year old so they are not proven but they are determined. There are 5 nest boxes so there are still boxes for the rest of the hens to lay with three closed off. The third hen has changed locations so I want to make sure she has her box picked out before I put a panel over the opening to keep the rest of the hens out.

I was going to have my husband make privacy doors but these cube shelf panels are the perfect size and they will allow more ventilation. There is also ventilation at the top of the nest boxes but we did not design them to be closed off from the rest of the coop. The intent was to be able to collect eggs from the outside since the coop is raised and not a walk-in design. Two chickens can fit in one nest box, three if they are determined enough, but I prefer one chicken with enough room to sit without her beak in a corner. The coop has roosts so it is primarily a bedroom rather than a living space. The chickens free range so they have lots of room to run around all day. No matter how big a coop is, the chickens will all group together to sleep. There is a lower level they can use as well but we keep the trap door closed and let them use the area underneath as a shelter to get out of the rain so it is only partially enclosed right now. The temporary fence you see in the picture is in another location, it is not attached to the coop. We can use it to make an exercise yard around the coop but we have not needed to confine the chickens to a smaller space on a regular basis.

 

[broodytood]

Agreed -- Not all chickens carry salmonella.
If you want to know if your flock is clear a fecal test can be done by a vet.

Salmonella can be introduced in many ways. Not only chickens carry Salmonella, but also dogs, cats, other pets, wild critters, and people. According to the research I've done, of the over 200 strains of Salmonella only 2 or 3 are seriously harmful to people. So if you and your family continue to wash your hands, don't put your hands in your mouth and eyes, etc. you're probably going to be fine. Practicing good bio-security with your flock is also important.

That being said, if I'd bought chicks this year I knew were from a hatchery known to be selling infected birds, I would probably replace them. Peace of mind is worth something to me and it would always linger in the back of my mind. But year old birds --not unless we'd been getting sick a lot. If I were cooking for people with low immunity I'd want to be more careful, too. Personally, I ate enough dirt as a kid to be immune to a LOT of germs!

Here's something encouraging I found this morning:
Probiotics and other additives: The use of probiotics is becoming more and more popular and proves to be a useful tool in the fight against Salmonella infections. In recent research work we (Avila L.F et all 2011; Soncini R. et all 2011; Herich R. et all 2010) showed the beneficial use of this option. Besides probiotics, the continued use of organic acids remains to be another alternative in a prevention program.

So, all you conscientious chicken folks using unfiltered ACV are doing good things. I make and use probiotics (Lactobacillus Serum) following the techniques found at The Unconventional Farmer.

What is unfiltered ACV, if you don't mind the question?

 

[Hinotori]

What is unfiltered ACV, if you don't mind the question?

All the unfiltered apple cider vinegar I've seen are raw, which is good as it's alive. Bragg is the easiest brand to find. Most stores carry it.

 

[broodytood]

All the unfiltered apple cider vinegar I've seen are raw, which is good as it's alive. Bragg is the easiest brand to find. Most stores carry it.

OH, ok. We use Braggs apple cider vinegar and love it. I guess I just didn't put it together with its acronym. lol Thanks.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
Yup, it's good stuff. I've been using it for years

 

[Chickielady]

I personally would cull the birds knowing they had a high probability of carrying that strain of salmonella.

X2, if they are carrying~~~~~

What is getting at me is that Mt Healthy hatches

every year it seems @ MAY that this happens !!!

The old breeders I have talked to in that area say this happens due to filth........................They did not allaborate & I did not ask them to....but I can.

 

[Chickielady]

Anyone here teach or use Mandolin or teach banjo ?

Hammered dulcermer ?