Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Leigti]

Hello, I haven’t been around for a little while. I have a question. I have a broody hen that just won’t give up. About three weeks ago I tried giving her day old chicks from the feed store. I did it at night and she did pretty well but in the morning she killed one of them. I took the other two away before she could kill them.
I think my mistake was that she was only broody for about two weeks before I gave them to her. I should’ve waited at least another week. But this has been going on for way too long now. Should I try live checks again or maybe some fertilized eggs? Or should I just do the old route of putting her on a wire bottom cage?

 

[mixedbreeds]

I would put her in the cage at this point she has probably lost weight that she won’t gain back till she’s done being broody. As far as killing chicks I wouldn’t trust her but I don’t have any experience with that doesn’t sound good.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Unless you want to raise a few then get a few eggs so she sits on them and they hatch
but keep an eye out some should not be mothers for that reason

 

[Old Man Tom]

Just a note for Guy and Penny. We had a good hatch here on the 4th and 5th of June. 20 out of 23 chics! I set 17 eggs from Guy and 6 from my hens, I had just hatched 8 of mine the week before. 15 of Guys hatched, 2 fully formed but did not pip. 1 hatched on day 23. 5 of my 6 hatched, one not fertile. Out of the 8 in the first batch 6 are cockerels. Will grow out for 16 weeks and process. BLCM's at 16 weeks taste really good, but very expensive for feed. Big birds eat a lot. Tom ps Maybe pics tomorrow camera on the blink

 

[mixedbreeds]

Just a note for Guy and Penny. We had a good hatch here on the 4th and 5th of June. 20 out of 23 chics! I set 17 eggs from Guy and 6 from my hens, I had just hatched 8 of mine the week before. 15 of Guys hatched, 2 fully formed but did not pip. 1 hatched on day 23. 5 of my 6 hatched, one not fertile. Out of the 8 in the first batch 6 are cockerels. Will grow out for 16 weeks and process. BLCM's at 16 weeks taste really good, but very expensive for feed. Big birds eat a lot. Tom ps Maybe pics tomorrow camera on the blink

Excellent Tom glad they did well

 

[pennyJo1960]

I look forward to my girls doing the job for me grew up on a farm no incubators rhode island reds big white leghorns they hatched replacements so that is my comfort zone and do not seem to have the incubator touch

 

[Old Man Tom]

I hatch my eggs in an incubator to track each hen and cock breeding pair. To breed to SOP I have to know which egg came from who to reproduce that bird or not! I mark each egg and hatch in separate containers. I only hatch my darkest eggs! This is very time consuming and must be a labor of LOVE. A lot of the Marans being produced are not an SOP bird. Maintaining egg color is a high priority for me. I only have Black Copper Marans. TOM

 

[Old Man Tom]

COULEE CITY CHICS

 

[pennyJo1960]

Then you are much more serious than I am about my birds I do like a
a varied egg basket, I have one customer that like banty eggs to pickle so I
have 4 Silky funny little birds all with more toes than they should have

 

[Old Man Tom]

Then you are much more serious than I am about my birds I do like a
a varied egg basket, I have one customer that like banty eggs to pickle so I
have 4 Silky funny little birds all with more toes than they should have

I don't want to turn my Brown eggs Blue! TOM