Hello everyone! I've been lurking about reading for the last several months.. nothing much to say.. but i'm here... but thought some of you might like to share in our small problem of having seven of our hens that are broody... yes you read correctly.. 7! mostly bantams which is a relief... but they are sitting on 15 to 23 eggs EACH. Anyone care to add up that amount of chicks? First batch due... this week.. if all goes correctly. Not entirely sure where we are going to put them all but i guess we'll see how many live. Last summer i lost the 18 hatched out down to one.. baby.. she survived.. lays a gorgeous bluish egg this year.. Hopefully more of these live but i'm thinking we might not need to start the incubator up after all. hope everyone is doing well.
Seven ladies a sitting...
15 to 23 each??? Oh this is going to be fun reading! You could almost open your own hatchery with that many LOL. I love Broodies...
Hi Grey: As always it's great to hear from you. You could have a very busy future just ahead...LOL...Hay
Greykyttyn, you definitely line up with the chicken OCD syndrome. :D I can't wait to hear all about it! Congrats congrats congrats!
i don't like to take eggs from the broodies... unfortunately.. they like to sit on a LOT of eggs.. and its a catching disease. One sits.. two sits... then half of them try too.. some last a day.. maybe two.. some get a clutch of eggs & take turns... some are in for the whole time & never move. i checked this morning for chicks... one bantam is sitting on 29 eggs.... i took a picture somewhere around here the other day but its on the other computer.. will attempt to post them tonight after DH gets home & can keep up with the kids. They are super excited! Our kitten ( 5 months old) that had her spaying get delayed due to weather both times.. ended up pregnant.. so we have kittens on the way as well. dumb Tom cat is attacking chickens so this is his last batch.. he got ours & the neighbors cat who was also not able to get to the vet due to weather.
LOL 29 eggs, can't wait to see the picture, that must be some kind of world record!
I forgot to upload the pic last night... u can't see all the eggs.. just the ones peeking out.. and they get a bit testy when i move them.. so to avoid bodily harm from the hens i won't touch them again till they hatch. I"ll try to get the pic tonight. no peeps yet. we had a couple cold days tho.. so maybe they are going to be a bit later than usual. last hatch i had was in JULY it was 100... they hatched at 16 days thru 18 days... so maybe i'm overly optimistic. or maybe my DH misjudged the date they started sitting.
Oh, this is going to be fun. Speaking of fun, I need to put some hens with some roosters today perhaps. Yes, this is a perfect time to hatch out babies.
Then in about five months I will be trying to figure out where to put the roosters won't I? Then the poultry show in Amarillo is in September. I would like to go to the one in Oklahoma this December too if I could. Maybe we could all meet in Oklahoma at the poultry show?
keep in mind.. there are 20 hens laying in the same nest boxes.. so 29 eggs was easy to get accumulated under her. Especially since we get 17 to 19 eggs a day. here's the picture....
well silly me.. just dawned on me you can't see any eggs when i take the pic from a distance... I am so scatter brained after getting married.. shesh.. i'll try to get more.. but here's the girls for now.
This is Clove (black hen) and Miss Dirt (yellowish brownish cream hen who appears to have rolled in the dirt.)
This message was edited Mar 23, 2011 7:55 PM
Here's Miss Rosie looking in on the process wondering if she'd like to join in... Miss Lizzy is giving her a very dirty look.. while Esme is attempting to not look at the camera.
Great picture, it cracks me up that they're setting on so many eggs! Oh, and I love your next boxes too!
Is that a barred rock? I saw some for sale today on one of the auctions and was so tempted. They were supposed to be from some famous man, I think in NY. The legs were yellow.
Miss Rosie is a barred cochin. I had Barred Rocks before, mine were the sweetest things ever. I had them trained to sit when i came to them so i could pick them up. They followed you around & ate from your hand as well. Were very good with the kids. BUT i handled mine & spoiled them as chicks... probably more so than you should. Everyone else i know around here with chickens.. has not have good luck with them. Mine were exceptional as far as I was concerned. Laid eggs very well too.. got lots of double yolks, laid all winter thru the fridged temps, no heat lamp & weathered the cold weather beautifully.
My experience with Barred Rocks has been that they are very friendly with people but domineering with younger chickens. They are among my favorites.
Oh, so not birds I should put in with my silkies. I'd be mad at them. Still, I sure like them, especially their history. They are very pretty.
I must have it bad because I'm considering buying other breeds besides silkies now. There is a gorgeous little bantam cochin I want. There is a pullet with him, but not as pretty as he is. http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=470465 Isn't he just a doll?
I really like the colors!
Oh wow! He is beautiful.. they both are! I don't blame you for wanting him/them.
Love the pictures... and that sure is a pretty cochin Greykyttyn.. So good to hear from ya! :)
Oh my Your Chickens are beautiful! Please give us a good photo on your nesting arrangement, it looks really nice from what I can see, would love to get the same idea going for my girls!
if your talking about my nesting box....mine is just an antique nesting box... came out of grandma's hen house.. or mom's... bought in the 70's i think. U can still get them but they aren't too cheap. Its 4 holes across & 3 tall. They actually only use 4 of the 12 spots to nest in. here is a link to a similar one.. mine just has circular tin on the front of it to make the nest entrance smaller...
http://lazybfarm.wordpress.com/2010/10/15/metal-nesting-boxes/
I'll look for a better pic of mine.. but the DH wasn't as good at cleaning as I am and its in dire need of a good house cleaning... if the weather would cooperate.. everytime i think we can take off the plastic & clean it good.. the temps drop again or its pouring down rain.
I love the look and the idea of a smaller entrance to the nesting area.
I wonder if you could make one out of stacked plastic milk crates on their sides ( connected together with wire, wire ties or screws ) and make a cover for the front by sawing circular holes in a sheet of plywood?
sounds very do-able Caj!
It would be easy to clean.
sounds very doable.. I'd considered nailing individual milk crates to the walls of the new coop for nests.. just never got around too it.
so far NO chickies... so idk. i check every nest 3 times a day.. not a peep or zip. the one nest should be over due this week.. I guess they will come in thier own time but i'm tired of waiting! i want cute lil fuzzy butts running around.
2 FLUFFY BALLS of cheeping
sorry for the short msg... trying to msg while working & almost caught! my Dh checked this morning... noticed broken egg shells.. but didn't bother to tell me... just told my mom.. who just told me.. so i went to look & there they were.. two tiny fluffy yellow balls of cheeping! appears to be 2 more zipped... was trying not to disturb them much so couldn't really check much. will check more often now bc i know that they will get off before all the eggs hatch & i want to try to save the other eggs.
Hooray!!!
Oh I love those pictures, They are great.
Congrats!
That's great.
another one is pecking its way out... i could have sworn there was one about 3 pm that was further out of the shell.. but i can't for the life of me find it.. no egg, no chick. so idk.. they might have rolled the poor guy over & he's stuck.. but there's another one who should be out by morning. they are spread awfully far apart... Does anyone have any ideas on watching and if they get off the nest moving the eggs to the incubator (already set up & temp is level) and see what happens? i hate to have them die simply bc mommy gets impatient.
I was thinking the same thing Grey.. If the moms get up with the chicks, then I doubt you'd be loosing much if you at least try, right? I mean, it's better than leaving them with no chance..?
ok so we ended up with eggs in teh bator.. rescued 1 hatched chick, one half hatched chick.. 3 more hatched.. 1 feed store chick to teach them how to behave... bc i didnt have time last night to teach them to eat.. figured they are followers... let them follow one who knows better than i... 1 more piping at the moment...
more story later.. DH wants his computer back! ttys!
Good Save! I hope the others hatch!
oddest thing.. 4 eggs half hatched & the chicks died. I've got at least 2 with Spradle? legs... or just curled toes.. not sure how to decide which it is or how to fix the spradle legs if that's the problem. they are still hatching out in the bator... chicks in coop got back on the other three nests.. can't decide if they will hatch or not.. will have to watch them super close so this doesn't happen again. Kids are LOVING having chickens sitting on the kitchen counter. only place to put them with 7 of us in the house. best place to regulate temps too. Also keeps the kids out of the fridge.. since i told them if they are noisy the chickies will fall over dead from fright. The 18 month old just sits & watches them thru the fish tank. Moving them later this week to our room when the outside temps raise up above 40 again. Its too cold now to put them out there. Kitchen at least stays at 60. I have the most amazing DH EVER! I started screaming orders at him (wind was blowing 45 mph, hard to hear) on what to do, sent him running for the house with items from the garage & i headed for the coop to see who else was alive in the box since the hens had abandoned their eggs & live babies. He scrubbed, disinfected & got ready the fish tank for me just like i asked... then came flying back down to help sort & carry eggs to the bator. We unboxed the bator I'd put up.. got it plugged in & he watched it like an expectant Daddy.. jumping for joy each time they hatched.. even took pictures on his phone of each newborn chick. Without his help i know i would have lost more chicks. The kids still being mostly city kids just aren't helpful yet.. at least the 10 yr old.. he near threw an egg at me that had a half hatched chick sticking out bc the chick wiggled. The 6 yr old would have helped.. but i'm afraid she'd have smoothered the babies trying to get them to the house. but all in all we've got them inside, warm, fed & praying hard they live.
Well.. the sad part is.. the late hatchers usually have leg problems.. that is the bad part about saving unhatched eggs. It's a gamble for sure. I still think you are doing the right thing.. I would have stuck the babiez under the moms... but you have kids learning and that is a great thing for them! I'm so happy for you Grey.. Your life is so much happier now. Bless your heart, you sure deserved it.
these were the first out that was half hatched.. and the second out.. all the rest were fine.. plus the one that had hatched after they got off the nest.. so all within 12 hours of the other two hatching.
I would have stuck them under the mom's BUT.. i found out last summer that Clove does not take babies well... if she doesn't see them hatch she seems to understand they aren't "hers"... and willl either abandon them or kill them. I didn't want to risk it with these. and all my other good broodies are sitting on eggs! blasted girls.. they all had to go broodie at once... well.. except for the silkie.. and she's never shown signs of being a mommy... goes broodie every so often for a day or so.. then gets off the eggs & leaves.
any ideas on what to do about their legs or how to tell what it is?
u know.. the ones with problems are the ones i "helped" out of the shells... bc I'd had 3 already did half out of the shells.. like they had a foot stuck & couldn't' get out. The ones i didn't help that came later.. they are fine. but they hatched within 3 hours of pips. I'd wondered if one of the chickens was prone to it.. or a gene that when i hatched out last year they passed on to the babies.. bc these are... second generation hatches. babies from last year all went broodie this year right off the bat. I'm seriously thinking i need to not hatch eggs this year & just add in more pure breed chicks. I had one bantam i was given.. Nutmeg.. had two crooked feet.. never knew it till she went broodie on me & i got a good look at her feet constantly while taking care of her. a lot of her possible babies were the ones parents last year to the ones this year. only one of hers carried crooked toes.. but not near this bad.
Greykyttyn, you sure have had me on the edge of my chair! I hope all goes well from now on. Sounds like you have a lot of good help, and the kids should really grow from this experience.
lost a baby this morning. One of the ones Clove & Miss Dirt hatched.. its just gone.. no clue where.
Realigned Chick #1's hips because the tendons appeared to be slipped out of place, hobbled its legs.. its walking fine now.
Chick # 2 (banty) is in a hobble & toe splints now... pretty lil pet shop bandaids on it too! its leg was spraddle leg.. out at a 90 degree angle.. its hobbled into place & appears to be walking better.. not perfect but better.
o what we do for our babies... trust me.. realigning the hips was a emotional challenge... the poor chick screamed like i was killing it.
Thanks to "L" for giving me the wonderful link to attempt & carry out that feat.
I've got video of the babies if anyone knows how to post it on here....