What did you do in the garden today?

[Rick589]

Broodies... Ti's that time of the year. I've got 6 of them right now. All the more reason why I need to be diligent about picking up eggs every day, although I MIGHT let a couple of the girls hatch a chick or two.

Does this onslaught of broodie behavior subside? Does it morph into something else? OR, will she return to some degree of normal? And, one more question: Is this a cyclical/yearly thing?

 

[cj2024]

Every since I installed the roll-away nest box, no more broodies. (Installed because I had Bernadette - the egg destroyer.)

I have four old hens and one of them eats eggs, but I don't know which one. She is hard to find because I may find only one eaten egg a week.

 

[cj2024]

I know this is off topic but I posted this concern on another thread and received a very limited response. My one hen is walking around with her feathers fluffed up and clucking. She did have a wad of dried poop on her which we cleaned, she was not plugged up. She seems to be behaving ok otherwise - eating, laying, running, etc. I have not seen any indication of being infested with mites or other but I could have missed something. I’m concerned and have no idea what is going on. It’s the hen to the right.

She looks like she is protecting chicks, maybe she is practicing.

 

[cj2024]

Does this onslaught of broodie behavior subside? Does it morph into something else? OR, will she return to some degree of normal? And, one more question: Is this a cyclical/yearly thing?

In my area it seems temperature related, they snap out of it after a cold shower and some jail time.

 

[Smokerbill]

I shoveled the remaining rotted woodchips from the pile and topped off the pepper/tomato/bean plot with another layer. I requested a load of free woodchips at chipdrop.com, and I didn't want them to cover up the nice decomposed chips.

 

[Sylvester017]

This- the way I feel about green beans and peas, too much space, too much work for the output.
Sweet corn is hard to come by here, and when you do the quality is hit or miss. When it's in the stores, it's $$$.

Yep, growing backyard vine veggies that sprawl out like melon vines or need stringing up like beans are not worth the yields. Compact plants like peppers, lettuce, chards, root veggies, sunflower seed plants take less room. Tomatoes & cukes are the only larger vines that give decent yields to make the space worthwhile. Corn & pole beans/peas are not worth the yields.

Since our hens need corn my DH picks up a can of organic corn for our 6 hens once a week during winter months.

 

[jerryse]

Broody hens? Back in my parents and granparents day broody hens were put in an outdoor cage and wet down repeatedly like every day until they quit. Hence the saying madder than an old wet hen.

 

[jerryse]

Had to get an EKG today. Good news not in AFIB. Looked at plants and seed racks. To my surprise in the Ferry Morse rack I found golden delicious squash (pumpkin). Used for canned pumpkin by a company in MN. Out of business now. Had a huge following. Everyone uses Dickinson pumpkin in my area for commercial canning.

 

[Rick589]

Broody hens? Back in my parents and granparents day broody hens were put in an outdoor cage and wet down repeatedly like every day until they quit. Hence the saying madder than an old wet hen.

So this broody hen business is a seasonal/temporary thing?

 

[Rick589]

In my area it seems temperature related, they snap out of it after a cold shower and some jail time.

So, if I have a broody hen wouldn't I be seeing her in a nest box on an egg? All four hens laid eggs today but none of them were sitting on them. I'm so over my head