What a Mama!
LORD willin' we will have baby chicks with in the next 10 days. This Buff Orpington has 17 eggs under her. All seems to be going okay right now. No bad smells indicating rotten eggs and she has been faithfully setting.
We chose Buffs this time around because they are said to be a very broody breed. Well, this one sure is!
We haven't decided whether we will let her keep the chicks or take them from her and raise them ourselves. The last time we left chicks with their mama, a snake got to them. Baby chicks left on the ground are a magnet for snakes. So we'll see ;-)
Stay tuned!
Amanda
Oh, I love baby chicks - but 17 of them? Hoowee that momma hen will have her hands full! Just my opinion, but I think if she has to go through all that trouble to hatch some babies, you ought to let her have at least some of them! Thanks for sharing, and good luck!
ReplyDelete17 does sound a bit ridiculous doesn't it? We let her keep the 17 because having past experience with setting hens, we know that some don't hatch, some end up being roosters (we only want hens) and some just don't survive. We thought our odds were better letting her have the 17.
DeleteNow, if they all survive? she will most definitely be allowed to keep a few ;-)
Thanks for visiting!
Amanda
Matthew 6:33
If I have a broody hen, it is safe for her to set on eggs and hatch chicks in the coop box with the rest of the other 4 hens around??
ReplyDeleteWe have always put our broody hens in a separate area. We did that because the broody hen would leave the eggs she was on to get a drink or food and come back to find another hen on her eggs, laying their eggs for the day.
DeleteSo the broody one would just go to another laying box where another hen had laid for the day and start *setting* them. It started getting confusing, so we just separated them.
Hope that helps! Thanks for visiting!
Amanda
Matthew 6:33