Thursday, January 12

*a clutch of eggs

Over the last few weeks Rebel, one of our Buff Leghorns has become broody.  Broody is when a hen has a strong desire to sit on a clutch of eggs so she can hatch out some baby chicks!  I tried to discourage her, daily over the last week or so. That however, has changed. 

Yep. You guessed it, I gave in to her instincts at this very inopportune time!  I went out to "feed up" on Tuesday morning and found myself making a comfy place for Rebel to call home for her coming babes.  I was counseling myself through the entire process, "do you want to do this right now?", "not really but it looks like Rebel REALLY wants to do it!"  Of course she does, it is all in her name?! You can just imagine how I was going back and forth with myself, do I - don't I? The baby chick lover in me won.   Seriously, it may not be the best timing as far as time of year is concerned but I have to remember that I raised 20 some chickens last January and February. All of them survived and thrived, so I think between me and Rebel we will do a great job at raising her chicks.

We have given Frayja's training crate to her which must be like the Windsor Castle in England in her chicken eyes. She has enough room to raise her chicks when that time comes. Speaking of that, did you know it only takes 17 to 21 days for baby chicks to hatch out?  Guess where I will be living during that range of dates? Yep, you guessed it... in the barn!  I can hardly wait, I do hope I am able to capture some of that to share with you all.

Being broody is a strange state of temperament, at least in my opinion.  Rebel seems to be overly focused on setting on her eggs. By the way, she is not laying on any of her own eggs or her sister's (Ms Trump).  She will be hatching out some Easter Eggers, Barred Rocks, Delaware's, Rhode Island Reds, and or Black Sex Link fertilized by either our Light Brahma rooster (Mr. Baggins) or the Jersey Giant White rooster (Husan).  I have to make sure she is eating and drinking each day. When I go out to feed everyone else, I simply pick her up and put her in front of the water.  She drinks a lot during those times. I also hold a handful of her favorite - cracked corn, for her to eat out of my hand.  Hens who are broody can sometimes become so focused on brooding, that they forget to eat or drink.

Her project due date (range) will be the 28th through the 31st of January.  We are hoping for majority hens so we can increase our egg production in the summer, but if we end up with little roosters were already planning to raise some meat chickens this spring as well - so the roosters will fill the freezer.  


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14 comments:

  1. Great post! Now I'll be waiting also. Tell Rebel the 28th sounds good to me. That's my 46th wedding anniversary.

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    1. Oh, I will do my best to persuade those little chicks to peck their way out on the 28th, and Happy Anniversary, congratulations and thanks for setting the example of what LOVE is.

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  2. This really is not the best time, but it certainly is hard to discourage those girls once they make up their minds they want to sit. Hope you have the best of luck.

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    1. Thanks! I am excited and am hoping now for a continued mild winter in this month of Jan here on the Gulf Coast!

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  3. Lynnie,
    This is so exciting. I will be checking back looking for Rebel's progress. I have raised chicks and have had hens in the past, but we never got to have any hens brood and hatch chicks. That is something I would love to see. Good luck to both of you!

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    1. Thanks Heidi. This will be our first as well. We purchased our chicks from a hatchery last year. Funny thing is, this little Leghorn isn't a broody type.. but she is broody! I will keep you all posted!

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  4. Just found your blog from the link at Farm Chick's... love it! I have had hens set at odd times, too, and they always did a good job.

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    1. Oh good, Mary Ann, this is what I am hoping for. The momma hen will NOT leave her nest. I have to go out and make her get up and eat and drink. She had a pile of poo off the backside the other day.. it was gross and sort of freaked me out that she just refused to get up and go relieve herself. Have you ever had this happen before?

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  5. Just popped over from Farm Chick's to say Hello. How exciting , it'll be a little breathe of Spring in Jan. , look forward to following her progress and seeing those little peepers.

    Farm Blessings

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    1. yes, I love the way you put that.. a breath of spring in January!

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  6. Cant' wait to see those little fuzzy chicks! And, extra meat in the freezer is always a good thing!

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