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Author Topic: Broody Brains  (Read 8881 times)

Offline The15thMember

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Broody Brains
« on: March 22, 2022, 10:19:49 pm »
My sisters have a hen which they are letting go broody.  It is the first time we've tried letting a hen raise her own chicks.  They named this hen "The Brains" when she was a chick, because my youngest sister had 3 chicks she was playing with and she told us, "This one is the leader, this one is the brains, and this one is the mascot."  :cheesy:  "The leader" and "the mascot" got other names eventually, but The Brains just stuck.  The girls put her in a pen by herself in the garage because the other hens were bothering her and gave her 9 eggs from their best hens, although The Brains destroyed 2 of them.  She is happily caring for the remaining 7, so we are assuming she just didn't like something about those 2.  The eggs are due to hatch on 4/4.   
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Offline gww

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2022, 10:42:07 pm »
I used to let the chickens raise their own but now when I get one setting, I just go to the store and buy a couple of chicks and put them under her.  One time I put 17 chicks under one mom cause it was cheaper then having just two or three chicks shipped.  Don't get as many roosters this way.  Mostly if they sit early spring our tractor store will have chicks that can be bought.  I only give them anything at all to ease their misery cause hens can be bull headed enough to effect their own heath.
Cheers
gww

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2022, 10:55:55 pm »
I used to let the chickens raise their own but now when I get one setting, I just go to the store and buy a couple of chicks and put them under her.  One time I put 17 chicks under one mom cause it was cheaper then having just two or three chicks shipped.  Don't get as many roosters this way.  Mostly if they sit early spring our tractor store will have chicks that can be bought.  I only give them anything at all to ease their misery cause hens can be bull headed enough to effect their own heath.
Cheers
gww
That's a good idea!  Skips the waiting too.   :happy:
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline gww

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2022, 11:13:28 pm »
I usually block my chicken in for about a day after giving her the older chicks so she can get them in line and train them where the warm spot is under her.  Most are pretty rough but chicks learn really fast.  They need a safe place to get water also.  The next day they are on their own to do as they may and they always do good.
Cheers
gww

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2022, 09:59:41 am »
Most of our free range hens are sitting on a nest. One, Partridge, just hatched 9 out of 9 eggs on the 18 of March.  They are all still all alive. Pretty amazing considering there are 2 hawks right here all the time and we have lots of foxes and coyotes and raccoons.
The hawks have learned not to mess with the mother hens, they will go into full attack mode and put them on their back if the hawks are not careful. I have seen the hens fly straight into one as he was diving in to grab a chick and he ended on his back being attacked by the he hen.
Most of the hens have some jungle foul in them. They are fighters and that is why they survive and raise a lot of chicks.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2022, 02:08:19 pm »
Most of our free range hens are sitting on a nest. One, Partridge, just hatched 9 out of 9 eggs on the 18 of March.  They are all still all alive. Pretty amazing considering there are 2 hawks right here all the time and we have lots of foxes and coyotes and raccoons.
The hawks have learned not to mess with the mother hens, they will go into full attack mode and put them on their back if the hawks are not careful. I have seen the hens fly straight into one as he was diving in to grab a chick and he ended on his back being attacked by the he hen.
Most of the hens have some jungle foul in them. They are fighters and that is why they survive and raise a lot of chicks.
Jim Altmiller
I told my sisters that story and they loved it!  Hawks are their nemesis! 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2022, 07:53:27 am »
We started out buying chicks that were shipped through the mail and then latter replacements we bought 10-16 week old hens from Amish people.  They were just starting to lay.  At 6 bucks a hen this was a much better deal.  We lived in the city and were not allowed to have roosters.
Having a dog that won't attack the chickens will keep the hawks away.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2022, 10:49:31 am »
Having a dog that won't attack the chickens will keep the hawks away.
We actually have 2 livestock guardian dogs, and we haven't had any hawk trouble since they have been full grown.  But the kids have never forgiven the hawks for the couple of chicken they killed before we got the dogs.  :shocked: :cheesy:
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

salvo

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2022, 01:33:40 pm »
Hi Folks, 15,

I just read this whole thread with a smile. :happy:

I see no mention in this thread of you having a rooster. Perhaps you have mentioned it in another post. Perhaps I missed it.

Sal

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2022, 02:06:12 pm »
Hi Folks, 15,

I just read this whole thread with a smile. :happy:

I see no mention in this thread of you having a rooster. Perhaps you have mentioned it in another post. Perhaps I missed it.

Sal
We actually have two roosters, Ronald, who is a golden-laced Wyandotte, and The Blessing (another one with a "the" name leftover from being a chick), who is a golden-laced Wyandotte/Rhode Island Red cross.  We have enough hens and the roosters' temperaments are such that they coexist fairly peacefully in the same pen.  They squabble occasionally, but it never turns into anything serious.     
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #10 on: April 01, 2022, 08:50:59 am »
But the kids have never forgiven the hawks for the couple of chicken they killed before we got the dogs.  :shocked: :cheesy:
Birds of prey are nothing compared to a fox.  A fox doesn't give up until they are dead or the hen house is cleaned out.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #11 on: April 01, 2022, 02:29:18 pm »
Birds of prey are nothing compared to a fox.  A fox doesn't give up until they are dead or the hen house is cleaned out.
We have foxes around here, but we've never had too much trouble with them.  Now that we have the dogs, we don't have to worry about foxes anymore either. 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #12 on: April 02, 2022, 08:49:24 am »
We just had another hen hatch bout 16 of 18 eggs, like the other one and his is her first clutch. The chicks were all kinds of different colors. The following morning she only had 7 black ones. We have no idea what took out all of the light colored ones.
The other hen, Partridge, still has 9 chicks. I find this pretty amazing considering this is her first clutch. Day before yesterday I walked out in the pasture and there was a hawk and 2 crows sitting in the trees above Partridge. There wasn?t a single chick with her. I chased the birds away and went looking for the chicks. Partridge was acting like she didn?t have any chicks. The roosters were even trying to mate her, something they would not try when she has chicks. I found all 9 chicks buried under pine straw. Each chick was under a different patch of straw next to the pond. It took a few minutes to find all of them, but they were all there. She quickly collected them up and went back to feeding.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #13 on: April 02, 2022, 09:46:50 am »
Fox, Coon, Coyote, Wiesel, and the old Nasty Possums, are just some that will reek havoc a chicken population, don?t forget chicken snakes, they will not only eat eggs but baby chicks as well, even the common house cat will decimate a baby chicken population, Hawks and Owls as well.  Another great enemy is the bobcat. They will come back night after night hitting fast, and gone. (Sometimes in broad open daylight as the rest will do as well, but most of these seem to prefer the safety of darkness excluding hawks of course).

As you say Reagan a good yard dog will cut down losses tremendously. At one time we had a German Shepard that proved to be a real family friend as well as a friend to the chicken flock. He would put a bobcat up a tree as good as any coon dog after a coon. With (Boots) around the chicken flock was in good paws.

Phillip



« Last Edit: April 02, 2022, 12:20:04 pm by Ben Framed »
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14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #14 on: April 02, 2022, 02:44:30 pm »
don?t forget chicken snakes, they will not only eat eggs but baby chicks as well
We have a lot of black rat snakes around and one will occasionally get an egg or a chick.  Any snakes caught red-handed are killed to prevent further incidents with that snake.  In our experience, once they figure out there is an easy meal available, they just keep coming back.  But any snakes who mind their own business are left alone and welcomed, as they really help control rodents. 

We just had another hen hatch bout 16 of 18 eggs, like the other one and his is her first clutch. The chicks were all kinds of different colors. The following morning she only had 7 black ones. We have no idea what took out all of the light colored ones.
The other hen, Partridge, still has 9 chicks. I find this pretty amazing considering this is her first clutch. Day before yesterday I walked out in the pasture and there was a hawk and 2 crows sitting in the trees above Partridge. There wasn?t a single chick with her. I chased the birds away and went looking for the chicks. Partridge was acting like she didn?t have any chicks. The roosters were even trying to mate her, something they would not try when she has chicks. I found all 9 chicks buried under pine straw. Each chick was under a different patch of straw next to the pond. It took a few minutes to find all of them, but they were all there. She quickly collected them up and went back to feeding.
Jim Altmiller
Weird.  I wonder if the light-colored chicks weren't as camouflaged against a predator as the dark-colored ones.     
« Last Edit: April 02, 2022, 03:09:14 pm by The15thMember »
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #15 on: April 02, 2022, 06:07:53 pm »
It is really strange that one type only survived.
Here are some pictures of Partridge.




Here is one of the Gray hen.

Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #16 on: April 02, 2022, 06:15:00 pm »
It is really strange that one type only survived.
Here are some pictures of Partridge.




Here is one of the Gray hen.

Jim Altmiller
They are so cute!  I showed them to my sisters.  We've got only 2 days until Brains's eggs are due to hatch! 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline gww

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #17 on: April 02, 2022, 10:20:14 pm »
Egg hatching is always an exciting time for me.
Cheers
gww

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #18 on: April 04, 2022, 11:33:23 am »
The eggs are peeping this morning!  :grin:
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Broody Brains
« Reply #19 on: April 04, 2022, 01:47:03 pm »
It might have been more than eggs peeping this morning, because just like that there are two fluffy yellow chicks in the nest with her!!  :cheesy:  They keep peeking out from under her wing.  I'll post some pictures when we have them.  :grin: 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.