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Post by linda29 on Jan 24, 2012 11:14:11 GMT 8
Hi Everyone, A couple of my girls are still going clucky They sit in the boxes all day in this stinking heat, panting their hearts out. I go in 4 times a day and take then out of the laying boxes as there is a rucus of noise and protests from the other flock wanting to lay . I know some would say let them have babies. But I am all babied out with my last lot hatching 2 days ago, another batch that are 4 weeks, then there is the 11 weeks olds in another pen! and it is going to be too hot in another months time. Argg! I have been told baby chicks dont cop0e well with the heat of Feb and March. Is anyone else facing this late cluckiness situation. I have sin binned them twice then after a week she has a relap. The joys of being a chicken lover Cheers linda
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Post by chooky on Jan 24, 2012 11:43:05 GMT 8
I have 4 sitting on eggs, golf balls, small rocks and even plain wood shavings. Despite the heat, they insist on sitting. This time round, debrooding them is almost pointless as they return to sitting after a week or two. The only thing to do is to give them a small number of eggs and then make sure they get off the nest to drink.
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Post by annieyokie on Jan 24, 2012 12:57:33 GMT 8
I have late broodies and did last year .I just let them hatch a few last year and had no problems with mums and chicks . I have more problems when it rains like last week (with cocci in the soils ) but in the dry heat they were fine . Someone the other day told me she puts ice blocks under them .They kick them out and she replaces them but with 40s coming up I doubt that will work to debrood.
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Post by quambie on Jan 24, 2012 14:50:20 GMT 8
HI linda, Chooky and annieyokie interesting one this , the last 5 weeks I have had broodys all over the place. I have two choices let them have eggs and hatch them or keep on having broody hens . I stuck eggs under each of them as the begin to sit. I have the last 6 I hope sitting on clusters of eggs only 6 each I have 5 with young ones from 5 weeks to three days old just cant help myself I love to see them wandering all over the farm, teaching the young ones what to do and where to look for food. I was out with the cultivator today I looked behind me and I have a line of them scratching in the newly dug over soil hoping for a quick feed, but this time of year its not that easy I have light Sussex , Walsummers,RIR ,Buff Sussex and Araucana`s all with there off spring and another dozen of so meat birds I am lucky with the heat, I have a full on sprinkler system for them first thing in the morning I let them have it for 20 minuets and again about 2 pm, this seems to keep the pens cool. There all sheltered under trees as well and I have not lost one yet Lucky me, do not want to speak too soon as the hot is on its way Trev
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Post by linda29 on Jan 24, 2012 17:10:38 GMT 8
Ok it looks like i am going to surrender to these broody girls Although there is no free pens it looks like they will have to go in the shed. I will do only 2 eggs each. Mother nature is wonerful. Cheers Linda
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Post by quambie on Jan 26, 2012 9:27:47 GMT 8
Go for it linda I have found that I can leave the broodys in the pen with the other girls so far there fine when they hatch out they seem to get the others moving Broody or not strange to watch anyway that is what they would do in the wild and the moms do look after there off spring verry well good luck Trev
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Post by linda29 on Jan 27, 2012 12:04:44 GMT 8
Thanks Trev I have never hatched chicks with a broody in with all the other chooks and rooster before as I was always worried that they might get attacked by some jealous hens or the roo. Cheers Linda
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Post by quambie on Jan 27, 2012 12:24:21 GMT 8
HI linda I mat be just plain lucky with it I did watch the first couple of hatchings but now I just let them get on with it the only trouble is one or two of the other hens will hang on for two and a half weeks and try to take over the nest and call the chicks there own I do watch for this and put a stop to it the first hen did most of the work she should be mom sneaky little B`s Trev
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kitty
New Member
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Post by kitty on Jan 28, 2012 17:28:43 GMT 8
Trev I have a couple of hens that go broody and I let them hatch out eggs. The first time I let them sit in the nest box in the coop with all the other hens, no problem that time but the next couple of times the broody would continually change sides of the nest box leaving the original eggs and sit on the new laid eggs. In the end I took all the eggs away and then took the broody and put her in another coop so she was on her own, then put new fertile eggs under her. Have done this 3 times now with good results on the whole.
I have toyed with the idea of getting an incubator but in the end would prefer to let them hatch naturally, the hens are great mothers, very protective and they teach the chicks everything.
Not only are they good mothers but i don't have to worry about them overly either.
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Post by quambie on Jan 29, 2012 11:04:10 GMT 8
HI Kitty yes they do it just as you say, ;D ;D because the broody usually takes the main nesting box that all of them like to lay in, and it gets crowded at times. What I do is to lift up the broody hen each day as I collect the eggs, I keep any stray eggs out of there way so she has only one choice. Even if she is off the nest for a while, I find that one of the other hens go and sit or lay on top of them so the eggs keep warm. I have just had a hatching yesterday I left 6 eggs under an Araucana hen the others laid each day in there on top she has just hatched 5 out of the 6 eggs. The other hens are helping to feed and look after them, may be its because I have done this for a long time the hens get used to it, I do not loose to many like this and the temperature was well in the 40`s .Its a strange world the other thing I have found is that the chicks seem to grow faster with the hens than out of the incubator without hen contact. As soon as the chicks are hatched I put up a bit of Iron to separate the others for a day so the mother and chicks can bond a bit better " got to love them " Trev
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Post by annieyokie on Jan 29, 2012 15:10:05 GMT 8
:-/Interesting Trev ,my incubator chicks grow stronger and faster than my hen chicks .I only use ceramic heat so natural light .
Iv lost far more chicks with hens ???than my incubator -cot-brooder chicks . I think twice always before putting eggs under hens as Im afraid of having losses . Yesterday found a dead 3 day old and the mum squashed 2 of the eggs as they were hatching ... :'(thats 3 out of 6 gone . Great mum normally ,I wonder if she was restless from the heat.
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kitty
New Member
Posts: 37
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Post by kitty on Jan 29, 2012 19:46:22 GMT 8
I too have had a much better result from hatching with hens than I have with an incubator. Have found no difference in growth of chicks from either method myself though.
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Post by cannakid on Jan 29, 2012 20:27:08 GMT 8
I got my first lot in 4 years from a broody normally the eggs explode from the heat I got them split up as they hatched over 5 days so I stuck 4 eggs under another broody dispite been the same eggs and hatched later the second hens chicks are growing at a faster rate.
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Post by quambie on Jan 30, 2012 14:33:11 GMT 8
I should get the bator going again. I need to see what happens now,between the both of them. I should mark down the growth rate from both kinds bator and hen it could be interesting. I still use starter crumbs for both of them,they only seem to eat this lot after they have gone all over the place looking for food just to fill them up for the night I suppose. where the bator chicks have no choice that's all they have to eat, Its great getting all this feed back on the way others breed and hatch. The trouble with moving is I have everything packed just in-case this place sells , to do any experiments at all first I have to find the bits i need to do it with that could be a problem I have boxes everywhere Trev
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Post by chooky on Jan 30, 2012 17:21:28 GMT 8
I have a broody with 2 3 week old chicks in the main pen with 5 roosters and over 20 hens, pullets and cockerels. The chicks are doing great even in the heat. The top rooster would let the chicks come up to him and even hide under him. Very interesting to watch.
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