Last year we ended up with 18 extra roosters from all the broody hatches we had. We sent 17 to freezer camp, and Charlotte adopted a Phoenix cockerel. While it was nice having chicken in the freezer and they tasted delicious, these guys were very small and hardly worth the effort. This year I promised Bernie to limit the number of chicks I allowed the broodies to hatch out.
I was doing really well there for a good long while. Within a matter of a few short weeks, I had eight broody hens. I gave the first babies to hatch to a neighbor when the chicks were a couple of days old. Score! Then Charlotte agreed to take two of the broody hens and all the babies they hatched. Double score! From the remaining broodies, we ended up with only four new peeps in the yard.
During all this excitement and broodiness, I noticed I was missing one hen when I tucked them in at night. After a week or so, I figured she was either setting on a nest in the woods or was gone. A few days later, I came up short one more when I tucked them in at night. I figured it was this broody and I pretty much gave up on the first one that went missing – but I did not lose all hope.
This afternoon in was in the goat paddock playing with them and Bernie was sitting at the picnic table in the backyard watching us. I began hearing some faint cheeping. A few minutes later it was noticeably louder.
I hollered over to Bernie, “Did the mamas leave those chicks back here again?” A couple of the mama hens that I let hatch out chicks have started leaving their babies and getting on with life – when the babies are not hot on their heals as they walk away. And when the mamas do manage to escape, those chicks scream bloody murder.
“Um, I don’t think so. These babies are very, very tiny.”
By the time he finished his sentence I had made it out of the goat paddock and was running toward the cheeping I heard.
And there she was. The first hen that came up missing – with four little babies bumbling along behind her.
I filled a feeder and waterer and put it down for them, but mama would immediately lead them away if I got anywhere close.
You’ll have to look very closely, but there are two chicks in this picture:
And there are three in this one:
She has a total of four babies. I was really hoping to catch her and the babies and get them in a brooder, but I had no luck. She did finally lay down for a while with the babies under her.
But she kept a close eye on me the entire time. I am really praying she heads to the coop with the babies tonight. It’s quite a journey for such tiny little chicks, but mama hens expect their babies to hit the ground running, so it’s possible she will lead them to the safety of the coop. I sure hope so. I have no idea where her nest is – if I can find it I will go out at dark and move them all to a brooder.
I don’t like having hens brooding outside the coop, but I accepted that there would be risks involved in allowing my chickens to free range. The consequences of keeping them penned are just more than I am willing to put up with – for my sanity and the sake of my chickens. Even so, I worry every minute that my chickens are roaming in the yard and woods, and I lose sleep over these broodies that have nests in the woods.
I love my chickens. I really do. But I know these chickens will be the death of me.
I’m certain I’ll go with a smile on my face.
Oh, Penny, it’s a losing battle, isn’t it? I have 16 roosters out of the 26 chicks we got! I’m hoping the local locker will butcher them for me this year as I have a bum knee and will have surgery this summer. Don’t really want to do all the butchering this fall. Had hoped for a few less roosters, but oh, well.
I have to keep my chickens enclosed in a big chicken yard due to an abundance of coyotes and hawks.
Blessings!
CottonLady
All I can say is……..she’s beautiful ;0) Have a glass or two of wine w/me and you will agree. I do have to agree w/you, with animals you’ll go with a smile on your face. Love you!
Oh Penny, love you!!
Oh you lucky lady! Send me a few chicks! We put some eggs in our friends incubator and she had fairly good luck until their childrens ferritt got into the baby chicks. Now Ii only have 4 little chicks coming home! Poo!!
I can’t get my hens to sit no how! Any pointers? I have mine free range also because I can’t stand to see them penned up. But not one has brought home any babies for me yet. I keep hoping and hoping. I even got a few banties because I know they enjoy sitting the most and are very good mothers but no luck.
Ours have been penned up for the most part of the day since we planted the garden. I felt pity and let them out for a bit yesterday. They tore up one whole bed, killed the sprouts, and refused to go back to the pen. I was chasing them round and round the yard, nearly in tears, wishing they were the chickens in the oven for dinner. They didn’t even lay a single egg for me today.
Further, it appears that one of our two surviving chicks is a rooster. I’m not in love with chickenry right now.
At.
All.
Sounds like your chickens are talking amongst themselves. I think that hen might have ESP and the upper hand. I hope she does come into the chicken house now that she has saved her babies from being adopted out. That was really nice of Charlotte, what a good friend. Love the bench! The deck looks fabulous. Could you clone Bernie perhaps?
We have 15 Guinea fowl, 2 Cayuga ducks and 24 Delaware that are due to pip in just a couple of days. Cross your fingers for me. The ducks were a free gifty from the lady I got the Guinea eggs from. Not sure the Delawares will hatch, the US Postal service left them in Chicago for a few days (think they lost them) so they were traveling much longer than they should. Time will tell.
8 broody hens? Jeez Louise! I have had 9 hens (originally 10) for over 2 years now and not a single one has ever gone broody. QUIT HOGGIN’ ALL THE DANG BROODY HENS, PENNY!! (kidding, kidding)
I love the story of them all coming back from the woods…what made mama return home just then? Is she hoping you’ll feed them? Is she just wanting to return to the flock? Is it just plain instinct, like fish, to return to where they came from? I have so many questions.
They are just pecious!
I have a question for anyone who might be in the know… is there any reason why my brown egg laying hens would start laying soft shell eggs when my white and green and blue eggs are all just fine? They poor things, they try and lay me some good eggs but end up squishing them instead and making all the other eggs in the nest really yucky! Help!?! ( they eat the same things and are about the same age and yes, they get oyster shells and are free range)
Cotton Lady – Oh no!!! I can’t believe you ended up with so many roosters! Well, I mean I totally CAN believe it – heaven knows I have those kind of odds – but I am SOOO sorry. I wish I could be there to help you send those boys to freezer camp.
Julie – cheers!!! Life sure would be boring without animals in it, wouldn’t it? <3
Charlotte – (((hugs)))
Karry Ann – As best I can tell, all you need to do to get broodies is NOT want them. Ha! Seriously, I have no idea why in the world I get so many broody hens. I honestly thought I had breeds that are not supposed to go broody. I must have misread something……..
Kat – I’m sorry you had such a bad chicken day, but that made me laugh! Our yard has more fencing than Ft. Leavenworth – every single living thing that I hope to keep alive has a fence around it. Chickens can pluck on your ever last nerve, can’t they???
Katey – hahaha! I didn’t think of it that way, but I bet you are right! She didn’t want her babies to be shipped off – that is too funny. I’m crossing my fingers, toes, legs, arms, and eyes for you that everything hatches out for you. Be sure to let me know, ok? Very exciting!
Farmgirl_DK – LOL! I sure do wish I could collect up some of this broodiness and send it on to you! I don’t mind one or two at a time, but this year has already been crazy with these girls. I guess the hens come back because that’s home – and they are “flock” minded and want to integrate their babies back in with the others? The hen that came home has slowly started bringing the chicks up to mingle with the rest of the flock a few times a day. But she’s VERY protective of the babies and jumps on anyone that even glances at them. She’s still not sleeping in the coop though. I haven’t forced her either – even though I worry about them, I really feel I should let her do this on her terms. I hope I don’t regret it……..
Linda – thank you!
Karry Ann – I went through something similar with a couple of my pullets the first year they laid. Everyone else had hard eggs, but theirs’ were soft – and sometimes shell-less. But within the year, they were laying hard shells. I think some just do that. I did start putting down some plain yogurt, egg shells, cheese, and other high calcium snacks for all of them. I don’t know if it really helped, or just made me feel better. Eventually, they began laying hard eggs.