Anyone Can Raise Chickens
(Page 5 of 6)
December 2008/January 2009
By Harvey Ussery
Chicken broodies usually tolerate a move to a different nest. Females of other domestic fowl (ducks, geese, guineas and turkeys) cannot be moved after onset of broodiness without “breaking them up” (disrupting the broody mind-set). Plan ahead for such hatches, and let the broody female continue with her work where she has chosen to “set,” simply adding some sort of partition to prevent disturbance.
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The number of eggs to set depends on the size of the hen. The hen should completely cover the clutch, because it is her body heat that supports the growth of the embryos.
Monitor unobtrusively every day, making sure the hen has feed and water. Do not be concerned about feed intake; some hens eat little while brooding. Hens may like to leave the nest for a brief outing.
The literature will tell you incubation is 21 days for chicken eggs (up to 36 days for other species). But mark a “be ready” date of 20 days on your calendar. I have found that, under natural mothers, eggs are as likely to hatch in 20 days as in 21.
Hatch-out of the entire clutch takes place over about 16 hours. In practice, this usually means you can leave unhatched eggs under the hen overnight for a final chance to hatch. Beyond that point, they are unlikely to do so.
The New Family
This is the point at which you realize what a smart move you’ve made, giving the task of starting new chicks to the real expert, a mama chicken. My preference is to move the hen with her clutch directly to the pasture. The hard-working hen forages the best possible natural foods for her babies.
If you return the mother hen and her brood to the main flock, give them a compromise feed that all the chickens can safely eat — not layer mash. You can supplement the laying hens’ extra mineral needs with crushed oyster shell, which the little ones will ignore for now. To provide for the higher protein needs of the chicks, feed protein-dense feeds inside a small “creep feeder” shelter — one allowing access to the growing chicks while excluding the larger adults. You don’t need to worry about the safety of the vulnerable chicks with the older, sometimes contentious, adult members of the flock — they all know mama will properly kick butt if any are foolish enough to mess with her babies.
Choose Heritage Breeds for Your Flock
I strongly recommend that you not add the latest “superhybrids” to your backyard flock simply because that is what is available at the local farm cooperative. Choose one of the fascinating older breeds, many of which will exhibit better foraging skills and greater immunity to disease. This also will help with the task of preservation of traditional and historic breeds. Some are in danger of being lost forever. You can learn more about traditional and rare poultry breeds, and get in touch with preservation breeders, via these two organizations:
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