Re: Urgent advice please


"Mary Fisher" <mary.fisher@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:445a097d$0$912$4c56ba96@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ginny" <glvl88REMOVETHIS@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:44599c79$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If she's still sitting tight there may be hope yet. I know most hens have
as excellent sense in knowing if the egg is off/not going to hatch and
kick it out or leave the nest. My silkies are the worst for having no
sense and have sat through trying to hatch rotten eggs.

She's kicked out two.

Hope yours hatch soon. What sort are you hoping to hatch?

W x B Croad Langshan banties.

In the absence of any advice I kept the broody in her Eglu with a long run
attached. The other bantie wasn't happy being left out and communicated with
the broody through the walls. She slept and laid in her own coop.I let out
the broody every morning for about 15 minutes to scratch in the garden.
Occasionally I saw her, briefly, eating grain I left in the run feeder , and
drinking water.

We expected the eggs to hatch last Tuesday to Thursday. We had to go away on
Friday and decided to leave the broody on her (by then) three eggs. A son
came each morning and evening to open and close them.

He rang on Monday while we were on our way back in stair rods on the A1 and
said that that morning the broody rushed out of the coop like a bat out of
hell and he heard a 'commotion' in the Eglu so had a peek and saw three
chicks. He was thrilled and so were we! But he regards the chicks as his.
Hrumph!

A pic is on the sci.agriculture.poultry site: Mary's Chickens page 2 CCC02s
(Chirpy Chirpy CheepCheep)

They're all doing well, Zen is a great foster mother and the chicks are
hardy and healthy.

Today I was planting out some seedlings and found a LARGE worm. I put it
into the still-closed run for the mother. It was picked up by a chick who
ran away with it, pursued by Mum and the others. Eventually Mum got it and
there was a tug of war, part was detached and another chick got it, Mum
didn't know which chick to chase ...

We haven't laughed so much for ages.

I suppose many of you have experienced this but it's a First for us and
we're thrilled :-)

Mary

Mary




.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: fertility
    ... out and she was off the nest and the eggs were cold. ... Was I premature in presuming the chicks dead? ... Now I have an understandably unhappy broody hen. ... In which case she was not "off the nest" she was taking a rest. ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)
  • Re: When to remove from brooder
    ... chook-house, but RELYING on chooks to go broody and stay broody when you want them to, as opposed to all other times, would be a bit risky. ... Depends of course on how many chicks you need and how vital the replacement birds are. ... Doesn't really matter to me except that at one stage I ended up with a large number of geriatrics down to 5 large eggs per year & the rest of the year grousing about whose turn it was with the walking frame. ... One mainly-frizzle rooster with a fairly gentle voice and a courtly attitude to the ladies, one bigger, noisier, brasher fellow who is one day going to be liberated at the freedom colony of roosters that lives near a small town nearby - some people complain, other people take visitors to see them because they're interesting and anarchic and take them food, and they seem to do rather well for dropouts - and two pullets. ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)
  • Chickens was Re: Do ducks sit on eggs
    ... > Linda Hardy wrote: ... > Don't forget you are in charge of this - Going broody does not mean more ... > ducklings unless you leave her with the eggs. ... two hens which now have chicks seemed to help one another by taking it in ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)
  • Re: Need more advice raising chicks
    ... encourage any of our hens to go broody for some time. ... She is sitting on three eggs and two golf ... Assuming we want to raise chicks and we want her to have several more ... If she's broody, she has already stopped. ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)
  • Re: blotchy shells
    ... Poor shells would certainly not give a great hatch but should not ... I would expect shells that are simply weak to develop chicks that go mostly ... choice to accept them as fit to set and as eggs you would want to perpetuate ... Chirpy claims to hatch them with good results. ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)