Why can a broody......

[Rooapalooza]

Yeah, and Faverolles are such pretty birds!

Where in Texas do you live? I'm just west of Austin. I have an extremely broody white silkie hen I'm about to sell or give away... she's brooded about seven clutches and is just over a year old . I actually have another silkie who's also pretty broody and is free-range raising quail chicks for me right now! She hasn't lost a single baby and they are extremely happy to have a mom.
Chickens do such a good job with chicks! Even my rooster caters to them: he offers them food, lets them sleep right underneath him on the roost, doesn't peck at them. It's really cute.

 

[NatJ]

How would you,"breed out broodiness"? I really would like that answer.

Only hatch eggs from hens that do not go broody. Or at least from the ones that go broody less often.

I read a book on commercial chicken-raising from about a hundred years ago. Every time they found a broody hen, they would put a legband on her. When selecting hens for breeding, they chose the ones with the fewest legbands.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Are Leghorns in the USA reputed to be non broody then?
It doesn't seem to be a problem in Italy. Maybe it's a cultural vibe type thing.

She's the first broody Leghorn I've had since... somewhere around 35 years ago



On a side note... that sentence made me feel old

 

[DogAndCat36]

Ah, poop. I'll have to email McMurray about putting the Light Brahma in the broody category. They were the only ones available at the time, however. Can Buff Orpingtons go broody easily?

I got a sebright broody, a bantam. If you put fake eggs in the nest it can encourage them to become broody. Make sure to put around 6 or more because they want to sit on clutches, not one egg.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How do we as chicken tenders replicate this in the brooder? Jerk them outside and set them partly on a gravel driveway, partly on the lawn.... have a warm spot to dive under every fifteen minutes and randomly toss them a few feet to replicate being in the wrong spot when momma scratches for them? Then take them inside so it’s not drafty for the night hours?

Im truly trying to figure out why broody’s chicks, adopted or hatched, don’t have the issues a strict brooder batch does.

Change how you approach brooding. I think new keepers are more inclined to coddle chicks when it really isn't necessary.

My first batch was brooded inside, under a heat lamp, frequent cleanouts, etc. - a typical starter's set up. My second batch went directly outside, with a mama heating pad turned off at 4 weeks, and zero cleanouts of the brooder (though I did take them into garage when it rained) - to clean the brooder I simply moved it. Third batch was similar to the second but I turned off the heat sooner and left them out even in rainstorms... I just built up the brooder floor litter higher to keep it from sitting in any puddled water, and it stayed dry enough just like that.

I've had very little issue with pasty butt with the latter batches (usually if they have it, it's from shipping/being at the store, and it clears up immediately). I also don't use medicated feed but only the first batch of chicks developed coccidiosis, which I attribute from being raised inside in a more sterile setting.

 

[3KillerBs]

How would you,"breed out broodiness"? I really would like that answer.

By only hatching eggs from hens that don't go broody or go broody less often.

 

[NatJ]

I use a heat plate in my brooder (I cant say enough good about them). I no longer subscribe to the much used 95-90-85-80... degrees to use for chicks in a brooder. Mine spend most of their time during the day out from under the heat. And this is in a house that stays between temps of 68 winter/71 summer.

I still like a heat lamp, but I also like to do 15-40 chicks at a time (garage or outdoor pen.)

The heat lamp goes near one corner of the brooder, with the brooder being about 4 feet wide and 6 - 8 feet long. That gives them LOTS of space to get away from the heat. I do start with about 100 degrees right under the heat lamp, but after that I go by chick behavior. And the "cool" part of the brooder can be as low as it likes, depending on the season. (If ambient temperature is below about 50 degrees, I like two heat lamps, just in case one goes out. But I put them both at one end of the brooder, so the other end stays cool.)

For bedding, I prefer to raid the compost pile (mostly last fall's dead leaves that haven't gotten around to rotting yet). I don't "clean" the brooder or "change" bedding--just add a bit more on occasion.

Other than that, it's unmedicated chick starter, plain water, and the occasional shovel of dirt. Finely chopped green grass if I'm in the mood to watch them gobble it down.

Pasty butt has never been a big issue--a few chicks per batch get dry poop picked off their butts once or twice.

 

[Pullet Press]

Make sure to put around 6 or more because they want to sit on clutches, not one egg.

My duck wouldn't be broody otherwise!

 

[Mimi13]

I still like a heat lamp, but I also like to do 15-40 chicks at a time (garage or outdoor pen.)

The heat lamp goes near one corner of the brooder, with the brooder being about 4 feet wide and 6 - 8 feet long. That gives them LOTS of space to get away from the heat. I do start with about 100 degrees right under the heat lamp, but after that I go by chick behavior. And the "cool" part of the brooder can be as low as it likes, depending on the season. (If ambient temperature is below about 50 degrees, I like two heat lamps, just in case one goes out. But I put them both at one end of the brooder, so the other end stays cool.)

For bedding, I prefer to raid the compost pile (mostly last fall's dead leaves that haven't gotten around to rotting yet). I don't "clean" the brooder or "change" bedding--just add a bit more on occasion.

Other than that, it's unmedicated chick starter, plain water, and the occasional shovel of dirt. Finely chopped green grass if I'm in the mood to watch them gobble it down.

Pasty butt has never been a big issue--a few chicks per batch get dry poop picked off their butts once or twice.

You have a good sized brooder so the heat lamp isn’t suffocating the chicks. I dare say a lot of people (mainly first timers, including me) use/used a brooder much smaller than yours. There’s not enough room for the chicks to escape the heat.

I always look at the chicks and ducklings every time I go into TSC. Sadly, this last time, the chicks and ducks were panting heavily. There wasn’t enough room to escape the heat. It breaks my heart.

 

[Pullet Press]

Where in Texas do you live? I'm just west of Austin. I have an extremely broody white silkie hen I'm about to sell or give away... she's brooded about seven clutches and is just over a year old . I actually have another silkie who's also pretty broody and is free-range raising quail chicks for me right now! She hasn't lost a single baby and they are extremely happy to have a mom.
Chickens do such a good job with chicks! Even my rooster caters to them: he offers them food, lets them sleep right underneath him on the roost, doesn't peck at them. It's really cute.

Western Texas, south of Wichita Falls (for privacy reasons, that's all I'll say).
Congrats on the broody silkies!
When you mentioned that your rooster even takes care of them, I just smiled. That's really sweet. I've heard that the occasional rooster even broods clutches of eggs sometime. That would really be a sight for sore eyes!