# First Broody Lady



## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

I have a couple of partridges one of which has started setting (I think ). I was wondering how to know for sure? She still comes out some. I'm fairly new to all this so if you have signs and such, then I can find some fertile eggs. My roos are just now coming into maturity so I don't think my eggs are good enough to hatch.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Partridge partridge or color partridge? Different species can behave differently when broody.

A broody anything will leave the nest about twice a day to eat, drink and defecate and sometimes to do a good dust bath. If day time temps are in the mid to high 90's you might see them off the nest for longer periods or more frequently.

You can break an egg and look for the bullseye. I've never bothered to learn it. It's one of those things that can take practice before you figure it out.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

She's a Partridge Plymouth Rock (we have 2) and she is about 15 or 16 months old. Very pretty but not very friendly. She fluffs and squeals when I disturb her. Its so hot here that she will get off the nest for short periods. Our eggs are not feritle at this time, but Mr Roo is working on it. So no bulls eye yet. I've been scouting around so of our other chicken peep close by and will find some though. Our temps are in the early 100s so I think that's why she gets up more. Any eggs would be fine for short periods.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

How long will a hen stay broody if the eggs are not feritle? She has just started in the last week that I know for sure. It may be another week or so before I can find fertile eggs.. Is it just instinct , how does know if the eggs are fertile? ?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Checking for a bullseye after you crack an egg is the only way to check before incubation. After that, it's by candling.

Some can stay broody for a very long time. I'm trying to break my one Silkie now, she's been down for at least three weeks. I'm going to have to put her in with a young male so he can help break the cycle.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Ok thx! She's diffinitely broody. I just went to check on them and found a egg in a different nest. I put it beside her and she promptly raked it under her. I'm very excited. Now, I just have to find fertile eggs....


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Do it as quickly as possible. They lose a lot of condition being broody and with first time broodies she might give up in the middle of the cycle.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Ok, I may be able to get some in the next day or so. One more newbie question... will a rooster or the other hens try and kill new chicks?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Maybe, maybe not. I never had an issue with raising chicks with the flock, if Mom felt threatened by any other bird she would run them off.

Try not to micro manage the flock dynamic, if she's allowed to take care of business then things will go more smoothly. Be an observer, if you see something that is serious then step in. By serious I mean an actual physical attack of the peeps. 

I would watch my roos with the chicks and found their patience amazing. Peeps would peck at their wattles and the roo would just freeze in position and let them do it. I have an old guy that I used to use to raise chicks for me. 

If she is not separated from the flock there shouldn't be any issues after the peeps hatch.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Thx, Robin! I have only vague memories of having chickens growing up and I don't remember ever treating them special or feeding them different. Dad just let the hens raise them.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The one thing to keep in mind, the peeps should not have layer feed. I'm not even sure that existed until more recent years. The extra calcium for layers is too much for the peeps and for the roos. 

I've always kept my flock on a 20% protein feed without the extra calcium, the girls got that free choice from another dish. My oldest boy is now ten years old. He made that happy birthday this month.

BTW, make sure to keep everyone updated. New peeps are always fun.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Will do! I think my feed is either 16 % or 18% protein. Its Atwoods brand and it seems to be working well. Shells are nice and healthy. I'll have to check about the calcium content. I keep oyster shell around.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

I was wrong, my chicken feed is Nutrena and it is vegetarian. No added calcium, so I keep that in their run. I give them a can or two of scratch with added sunflower seeds daily. They are not interested in free ranging right now due to our extreme temps. They just stay around the waterer and standing in the water pans.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Then you won't have to mess around with having two different feeds. The one thing you might want to have on hand, just in case, is Corrid since the feed is non medicated. That said, I kept it on hand and never had to use it.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

What is the Corrid for?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It's used to combat a coccidiosis over load in young chicks. Cocci are a naturally occurring one cell organism that most times does not cause problems. But if a chick is suffering from an overload can go down hill and die very quickly.

It affects the very young and usually shows up in the peep looking depressed. Wings down, head hanging, puffed up. Sometimes but not always bloody droppings will be seen. Generally if it's caught quickly enough it's possible to save the peep.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I forgot to tell you this. Because of my setup it's hard to use the pans full of water. So, I got one of those cement mixing pans. Birds couldn't tip it over and I didn't have to worry too much about one drowning. Except the bottom was terribly slippery. So, I added sand, several inches of it. 

I was outside a little bit ago. I found my ten year old rooster hunkered down in the wet sand. He wouldn't touch it when water was standing in it but now that it's just wet he's taken it over.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Lol! That's what mine are doing too. I have a couple of galvanized flat pans that they love to stand in. I change the water daily in them. I have a kiddie pool that I've thought about using but just haven't gotten around to taking it to the run. They love the wet dirt around the waterer and around the 5 gallon buckets that I to fill their pans from. I "accidentally " spill some out in a few places and they love that, too. The hub cleaned under the roost and put new damp sand under it too. Hopefully, we've had out last day in the 100's.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

BTW, I just was given 11 fertile eggs! I'm so excited! We'll see... only 4 of them haven't been in the fridge. The man who gave them to us swears he has hatched eggs after they were cold. They were free so I'm going to see...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm in total agreement, this heat has gotten past tolerable now. With our humidity staying up there it makes even lower temps feel miserable. But I'm not holding my breath that it's over with.

Somewhere I read that the birds can lose a lot of the heat in their bodies by standing in water. At this point all I want to do is keep these old farts alive and will try just about anything to achieve that. 

You probably have the same pans I did. Round about two inches deep? With my old setup those things were wonderful. Like you I oops some water when I was in the pen a couple of times and the birds always find those spots.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Yeah, that's the same pans.. You must be in the same part of the u.s. that I am. We're in SE Oklahoma.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

No, I was in midsouth TN when I was using those. They were like a light bulb going off when I saw them at the store. I bought everyone they had since I had 20 seperate pens. Had to go back to get the rest when they restocked. Bet I messed up their inventory there for a bit.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Lol! ! Probably did! We had friends that moved back here after 20 years in coaching at a school in Franklin and trying to find a place in the music industry.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I grew up up north, made the move to N. Va 30 yrs ago, then the move to the N. Ga mtn, then TN and now here. Those are just the places that I settled in a more permanent way. There were a bunch more states in between that were temporary. Got a good taste for where I wanted to land for good. I think this is it. At least that's what the hubs says.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

That's interesting. I grew up in the Hiil Country of Texas , somehow got to So. Central Ok, met my hubby ,moved for his job a little more south. We landed here 1979 for good.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I liked the adventure of it, new sights, new people, new places. Sort of like people who travel in RV's all over the country. We just settled in for longer periods of time.

I lived down near Fort Hood for three years. My first Winter was amazing because I'd never had one without feet of snow on the ground.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Lol ! I never knew what snow was except for a light dusting maybe sometime in January until I moved here. We loved getting out and have snowball fights. We have an old car hood that hubby hooks on his tractor and as many grand kids as he can get on it around our little pasture. They stay out until their lips are blue!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yes, it can be fun for the kiddos. But the adults? Not so much. 

Believe me, I don't miss it. I've had my fill of shoveling, sitting in traffic tie ups because of wrecks or dealing with it when it came to the horses and birds. It's hotter than blue blazes here right now, I'll whine about it but I'd really rather have that than snow.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

My hubby is a home body. He's all talk but we don't usually manage to get too many places. He's also a big kid himself. Winter is his time of the year because he's hot natured.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I don't know what mine is going to do when he retires. He's worked away from home the past 15 years, he's done a lot of traveling. I'm hoping he's done with it because I know I am.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Ya'll may have to get to know each other again!! My guy stays busy outside most of the time in the woods clearing underbrush or working in the yard . He rarely is inside if the weather is nice. It's been to hot to do much recently. We are right smack in the middle of all the flooding that almost washed us into the Red River this spring and now we're baking. We try to do a large garden each year but it hasn't done well. We enjoy the chickens so much sometimes we just set and watch them. They are quite entertaining..


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It has been a crazy year for weather. Like your hubs if the weather is nice, I'm outside but these past three months have been brutal. I'm starting to suffer from cabin fever now. Mine said it was 107 where he is, add in the humidity and I just can't imagine how awful that felt.

My husband is doing a job down south of Houston, that flooding thing had me glued to the TV because of where he was. I saw something on TV the other day on one of those home improvement shows. A couple buying a house on the Brazos. I wondered if that house was still there since they bought before all of the flooding. I don't remember if Waco got hit or not.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

I'm not sure how far south it went. Houston is naturally humid because it's so close to the coast. I imagine it ahs been brutal. This part of Oklahoma has been in a drought for much of the the last 10 years , but our lakes are all full and over their spillways. My brother lives about 40 miles northeast of here on the river which flooded several houses and came close to getting his.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Houston was nailed with the flooding. The two rivers, the Brazos and right now I'm having a brain fart, are on either side of the city the hubs is in right now. It flooded a good ways south of there. Bay City was far enough from both rivers that it didn't get flooded.

Yes, you folks pretty much made up for no rain in one fell swoop. Maybe this marks the end of the extremes and you'll be seeing more normal weather after this. I went through the drought in TN, talk about a wasteland. We had two grass fires while we lived there. Both started by others.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

I checked my broody hen and added more eggs which haven't been in the fridge. I guess the other girls wanted her nest box because she had 20 eggs under her. I gave her the new eggs but there was no more room. I picke her up and took the ones that I knew had been in the icebox plus 3 new ones that the girls had layed. She got back on the nest and I will only check when she gets up to feed and water. Should I separate her from the rest of the flock?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Mark the eggs you want her to keep with a permanent marker, that way you will know which ones were added by the others. 

I wouldn't separate her yet. Maybe fence her off. What you should probably do is candle the eggs she's on to see if they're developing. Wait for seven days, then using a small maglight and in a dark room, see if there are veins developing. Remove any that don't have them. I've done that at night when the lights are out in the coop. Or I've gathered them all up and taken them in to a dark room.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

I marked them with pencil because was a little concerned about the chemical in a marker. We have to cull about 4 roos in the morning. That will free up my brooder pen. Lil mom can go in there, I guess. I think I have a strong enough LED flash light to candle with.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

There have been many discussions about using the marker. But someone here said they had been using them for years without a problem. Pencil will rub off. Even crayon disappears after a bit. I tried food coloring but that was unsatisfactory. 

If you can see a way of leaving her with the flock you will avoid having to try and reintroduce her later.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

I don't mind using the marker, I just hadn't thought to ask anyone. She's actually fine where she is. Since its been so hot , shes been getting out to eat and drink 2-3 x a day. I have been checking the cluthch when she gets up and taking the extras out. That way she's not stressed too much.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

Does a broody hen continue to lay during the time she is setting?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

No. That part of her system shuts down while the broody hormones are in control.


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## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

I just posted on pinkmartins post above this one about the broody EEs. I have a couple of partridges one of which has become broody. Our eggs haven't been exposed to a rooster so they weren't fertile. I had 2 different people give us fertile eggs so i got them ubder her 8/19 & 8/11. The partridges are from the same batch and look and act identical twins . I call them the " Bobbsie Twins. After a week the sister got broody, too. Now they are sharing the nest and the eggs! Hopefuly, we'll have chicks around 8/31 and 9/1.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Alrighty now, this is grampsjim other (better ) half. I finally managed to get the name I wanted to formthe forum. Whew! No more changing for me!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I wondered why you were using a moniker that sounded more male than female. Is he the one that signed up or did you do an oops?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I think he probably was, but I don't remember. I took it over because I was hunting a more friendly place than BYC. I'm enjoying kind of getting to " know " regulars
that post here and getting info that I can actually use. I've kind of been just "winging it" since we started ( late in life, I might add) the raising chickens thing. In the last 1 1/2 years, we've learned from the ground up pretty much feeling our way at raising, doctoring, culling and protecting our l"adies". We are really having a lot of enjoyment from them.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And that's what counts, the enjoyment from both sides. Humans and chickens. 

For me, they're like fish in an aquarium, just one more. Then talking and reading it seems that's so true of everybody that has chickens. One more . . .


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Oh , my girls are pretty spoiled....but yes, just one more, esp, when they are just given to me. I have a couple of banties that I would never have bought just because we have room for the standard sized chickens, but they seem to be fitting right in. The roos that were given to us are in the freezer now because we only need one, and we raised him from a day old chick. Plus with small grand kids I don't want them ( or me) to be afraid of any aggression.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok, I am back from a few days of visiting with family in the Texas hill country. Every one did well with my son's gracious help. ( He's not too much of a farm boy.)
I never did see anything with my attemps to candle ,but as I sadly (& happily) discovered that there is indeed life in the broody girls eggs. One had been stepped on and squished. There was a rather flattened chick inside. I took protective measures and separated the broodys and their eggs. The other chickens were trying to lay in the brood nest so I guess that's what happened.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I don't think are many people that work as hard as farmers.

How sad about the peep but now you know you probably have some developing eggs.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Or carpenters. My dad put 10 to 16 hour days in most of my life. My kids all took a different direction in their lives but all have a strong work and family ethic because of what we modeled for them. I have computer geeks, a cosmetologist , and an educator. They are pretty much all musically inclined. Needles to say I'm a proud mom myself.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Howdy! Where in the Hill Country did you go? My baby sister is right outside of New Braunfels with a bunch of cousins and aunts etc. And then I have more distant kin around Castel, Llano, Junction and Mason.  I adore that area.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Here is a photo of Bode's peak, north of Castel and West of Llano... Place of an old family homestead.

Love the red dirt there.... Over by New Braunfels the roads are all caliche and whitish gray.


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## pinkmartin (Aug 11, 2015)

My grandparents both worked full time, and had the farm besides. My dad also had a job and worked on the farm. I spent more time on tractors than playing barbies. Its hard work, but more rewarding than anything else I've ever done. There's something about seeing a big empty field turn into lush green crops and that turn into feed for your livestock... For your cows to have healthy calves that grow up and sell for profit. It's a good life. Even in bad years,it's worth every drop of sweat.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Alaskan , I was just a few miles from those places. Fredricksburg is one of our favorite places to vacation. I grew up Rocksprings. We loved swimming ,camping on the Llano. We spent many happy hours on it. My dad built a lot of the nicer homes in Rocksprings, Campwood, and in that area all the while raising all 5 of us. He raised cows , chickens and we all hunted deer.
Loved the picture, it's so familiar. I married an Okie though and moved away over 40 years ago, so of couse everything has changed. I have one brother who still lives there. San Angelo and San Antonio is where many of my cousins live. My brother just retired from the sheriff's office as a deputy for over 30 years. He still knows the area and people well.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Pinkmartin, I know what you're saying! I spent a lot of happy hours on horseback, milking, a cow, helping skin out a deer, and a lot of other country folk stuff. The country that I grew up in is rugged and the grass is sparse unless irrigated. The ranchers in the area raised Angora goats for the Mohair and meat, as well as cattle. They were a hard working people with good work ethics.


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## pinkmartin (Aug 11, 2015)

I've lived in the city a few times. You can take the girl outta country but you can't take the country outta the girl.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Will the mama hen help the chick break out of the shell ?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Usually there is no need for the hen to assist. The thing to watch for though, is sometimes new broodies get confused on this whole hatching thing and will attack chicks. If she's not growling when they start to hatch, things should be OK.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok, thx! I'll be watching. Hopefully the grand event will start tomorrow and Monday. I set the eggs 8/10 & 8/11.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

YESSS!! We have a chick! I'll post a picture as soon as Miss Hen will let me get close enough. Unfortunately, there 6 eggs dated 8/10 that rhe chicks were fully formed but 5 didn't live. I think that because there were 2 hens in the nest that they must have gotten stepped on, I hope that all. I took the hen with the false brood off and out of the nest and pen. There are still 6 eggs dated 8/11 to go. I hope they fair better.
If I were to buy a few chicks from our farm store is there a way that I could get the new mama to take them and raise them?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Do you really want more chicks or are you doing this for her? She will be perfectly content to raise the single if that's all she ends up with.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Probably a little of both. There are still 6 eggs yet to hatch though, so we're waiting on the outcome of them. We should know by tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest. We were planning on more spring chicks to buy a few more, but the fall chicks are here now. Just wanted a few more for the grands to watch grow.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Now I'm a chickie g'ma!! While we lost several just due to being squished, these 2 seem to be healthy and mama is very protective. There are still 4 or 5 eggs to hatch yet. I won't be getting more if we have these 2 or maybe a couple more that stay alive.


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## pinkmartin (Aug 11, 2015)

Yay! Congrats!!!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Now everyone gets to watch peeps grow up, including the Grands.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

That pretty much all I wanted. We have 18 including the rooster. We'll see what gender these little peeps are before we get any more. Since I took the sister hen away, mom is more settled and protective. I'm hoping the sister wasn't actually killing the newly hatching chicks. Is that a possibility and should I either keep them separated or cull the bad girl?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Was the sister broody? She might be trying to steal the chicks. 

You will see obvious signs that the chicks were intentionally killed. I rescued hatching chicks from a new broody, she had killed one and scalped another.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Well she kind of acted like it, but then it didn't seem to bother her for me to pick her up. She never growled like the other one did. The mom is now up and out with the 2 chicks. There was one more hatchling that didn't make it and 2-3 more eggs. I'm wondering if she's done and we need to count our loses, clean the nest and move on. If we do get a couple more chicks, how do I get mom to take them?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You don't. Some will steal every chick within hearing distance, others will attack any chicks that are not the ones they are currently raising. 

If she's left the nest the likelihood of any more hatchin is nil unless you have another broody or incubator.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok, I kind of figured as much. At least we have a start. We've learned a lot! Thx!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Enjoy the peeps, it won't be long before another of the girls decides they want some chicks of their own. 

This might be a good time to look at your setup and see how it can be modified to address a hen on a nest. A way to partition it off leaving her enough room to the leave the nest but keeping the others away from her.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

I really like the poop shelves that I put in my coop. Under one I have a removable wire front.. To make a cage 2x8.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Well now, just went to check on the gang and found 2 more chicks ,one hatching, and one more egg to go. Then I realized that ants were everywhere! So rather hurriedly we got the brooder set up and moved mom, babies and egg to the garage. I'm not sure that the hatchling is viable but mom hasn't rejected it and the eggs. So now we'll wait some more. 
Now I need one more peice of instruction. If I put the nesting box where I had it and the chicks fall out ( rather than on the ground) can the mom get it back to the nest?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

How far is the drop? If the chicks have to hop over a two inch lip, that is fine.. One foot is too tall.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Oh yeah, its 12 to 18 inches off the ground. I just don't know how to keep the ants off. Now, one of the newest hatchlings look to havenhad a bowel prolapse. Is there anything one can do or is it lost ,too?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

We have a tractor dump cart that may work. We'll turn it upright and put the nest in it. Mom can easily get in and out but the chicks should be safe until they get a bit bigger.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

As to the prolapse.. Depends....

I have had some with a really bad looking navel, maybe as big as a pea red bulge that then became a scab and finally fell off and no problems.

If it is actual guts that have come out.. Sometimes they can be washed off, and gently put back in, I have heard of success stories, but I just cull those.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Thx! I'll watch for a little while. I'll let mother nature run its course.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Good luck to the little chicks!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Thx! I may have done a no-no, but after watching a chick struggle all day to get out of its shell, I picked it up and realized how cold it was. It had worked its way out from under the mom so I took it inside and helped it. I don't think it would have ever gotten its shell off it was so tangled. I held it a little while to warm it. Mama took it right back and tucked it in. I hope it survives...


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Nanny, I would have done the same.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Thx! This has been a rather stressful day from chicken stand point and my own appointments. I'm headed for the sack, early day in the am. Have a great night all!!I'll post tomorrow on the chick status.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Not a no no. You did the exact right thing. But you'll have to watch during the day, Mom may get up with peeps and leave the new hatch behind. 

When I was still raising them I had warming stations set up. If peeps got too cool they left Mom to go warm up under the light.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Thx Robin! I have them ( mom, too) in a brooder box. No heat lamp because it's so hot here. If all is well when I get off work , I'll move back to the nesting box down at the coop. Gramps rigged it to be up off the ground and put a barrier to keep chicks in and mom can get in and out easily.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Chicks also need to get out so they can learn to eat and drink and do chicken things.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

I dunno... I am happy with them being restrained/confined until a week old, or there abouts.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

At a week old they need to have access to food and water. Not sure how she has her nest set up but then do need that access. And if she leaves when it's too cool, how do the peeps warm up? 

I had the setup to do what I did with mine. There were separate pens in my coop, I could keep Moms with young peeps up by keeping the pop door closed. But they had the whole pen, with food and water and a warming station set up.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Ah... I meant to put a feeder and waterer right up close to the nest for the first week... No roaming about until then.

I didn't mean they shouldn't get any food or water during that time.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It's all in setup, isn't it? If I kept peeps confined to nest areas there was no room to roam. I don't mean roaming out in the pens but more than a couple of feet. If Mom left the nest to do other things then how do peeps warm up if she doesn't return?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Exactly why I like to keep them in a very small space for at least the first week...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

More information, my small space was a 4X4 pen. What would yours be?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

I have had them in different set-ups.... 

A 2x4 area, which worked very well for about three weeks.

I also have a bigger tractor, that I kept trying to use this summer.. But I kept failing at coordinating my broodies with my chicks... It is bigger, but I am not sure by how much. It is maybe 3x4.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I have a chick waterer and feeder with babies in my grow out pen. I've only got them up for a couple of days. I have my newest and last chick on my chest until it dries completely. I hope by dusk to transfer it back to the mom. So far we've ended up with 4 living chicks. The one I'm holding now is getting very active and vocal. Ihad to help it out of the shell, too. I left for work before 6am and the egg looked no different when I got home around 3. 
We cleaned the grow out pen and put DE down to make the ants move on. Once the mom has been bathing and buried it all, I'll put them all down.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That's what I was trying to get at. From this side it sounds as though the peeps were confined to the nest while Mom was able to go off and do stuff. That's also if I didn't miss mention of the size back when.

Congrats on the this latest one hatching.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Yes she's been in and out. Do you think it safe to put them back on the ground since every one is dry ( because of the ants) ?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Your ant issues.... Horrid.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Put sevin dust around the perimeter if they are not going outdoors. Or spray permethrin or permectrin heavily on anything they won't be touching. That should take care of them for a while.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

nannypattyrn said:


> Yes she's been in and out. Do you think it safe to put them back on the ground since every one is dry ( because of the ants) ?


They will need a nest to warm up in, and food and water, both close. I like the 2x4 area I use, I probably wouldn't put them in an area larger than 2x8.

But yes, make sure the ants are knocked back. The chicks are pretty slow for the first couple of days.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Yes they are! We have fire ants too that just seem to come out of no where. I hate to spray with my new peeps. The one I have on my chest it dry now ,active, and very vocal.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

End result of our 21 days hatching adventure! We let them out in the big pen for a few minutes. They watched mom dust bathe and she showed them how to find little morsels of something. I put them back with mom in the grow out pen and put a barricade up when I saw the little stinks go right through the chicken wire. They wouldn't last long out in the world! The other girls were curious but mom made sure they didn't get close.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Mom's will get all wound up if peeps get too far away and they see it. They'll call them back.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Even if they go through the fence?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yep, some of them get down right upset when they see their young peeps outside.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Very nice! 

Cute little chicks, 4 total?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok, I'll be braver tomorrow. Yes, Alaskan 4 total. I learned a lot of what not to dos and a lot of what to do. We set a dozen eggs but lost all but 4 before I figured out what was wrong. The eggs were free and I don't know what breed they are but it's been a grand adventure!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok if the wing comparison is acurate, I have 3 pullets and 1 roo. I let mom and chicks out and they ranged all around. Only one of the big girls showed any aggression and I'm not really sure that it was inrtended to hurt. Just a pecking order thing.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

So nice when the flock decides to be reasonable!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I let mom hen and chicks out today and they've been all around the yard. Mom calls them back frequently and shows them little morsels of food or little bugs. How do I introduce them to the big coop? The nests are too high for them to get in for the night. I could set one down on the ground for them at night.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

If they are out free ranging with the others then they are already aware of them. And Mom will keep them safe from the others if they get too close.

I would wait until she tells you she's ready to return to the main coop. And she will. When she heads there then you'll know that she's decided her peeps are big enough to make the move.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I'm such a quick study (not)! I finally realized that I have never signed in to my CF on my phone and that's why I haven't been able to post from it! I mostly use my tablet and I guess I just figured they would be the same. Now I don't have to carry my tablet and phone with me.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Went to the feed store for supplies and if gramps hadn't been with me, I would've come back with a few astralorp chicks to see if mama hen would raise along with her little brood...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It could well have been a good thing he was with you. She's been raising this group long enough that she might have been very displeased at the interloping chicks.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I was wondering if it was too late, so I'm glad I didn't then. If I want more, I'll wait until spring.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I just look.........


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Nap and bath time!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)




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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Oh well disregard pls. I'm not sure what I'm doing to make side way pix. I tried to get them off to no avail.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

One week old today. Picture coming.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I hope this is right side up!


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Cute little chicks! Great warm color.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

8,9,&10 days old. Their wings are almost fully feathered. Mom is still very protective but maybe not as touchy.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Awww. Love mom's coloring! Will the chicks be like that?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

No, they're adopted!  Mom is a Plymouth Rock partridge and the chicks are either red sex link or RIR. I wont be sure until they get older.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Partridge color is very pretty!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Thx! She's been a better mama than I ever thought she would be.
I actually call her and her sister the "twins" they are pretty much identical!


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## pinkmartin (Aug 11, 2015)

Finally had a few mins to catch up on your hatch. Between my daughter's baby, our new chicks, and life in general, I haven't been keeping up on here. 

Your chicks are adorable! And you can't really beat free hatching eggs 

I was so protective of our first chickens when I brought them home as day olds. Isn't it eye opening to see how mama hen raises them? They clearly are not the delicate lil beings they look to be!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I actually think they are more delicate in the brooder situation than with the natural mom. They learn more chickeny stuff quicker.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Two weeks old today.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I love the coloring on their wings.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

My new baby.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Hummmm Not many feathers... It must be pretty young.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

nannypattyrn said:


> My new baby.


AWWWWW!!!!!!! Jack Russell?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Alaskan, yep just a young'un about 3 months going on 4 and if she lives past potty training, she will have "arrived"!!
Seminole, yes a little Jack Russell. Full of life!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

How old do the chicks need to be to flutter a little higher to their nests with mama hen? I really would like to get them off the floor of the coop.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Never mind they just hopped right up into the nest after I put mom in. We put a concrete blk as a step and no problem.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Oh awesome!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

How long do the chicks stay with the mama hen?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Little stinks fluttered up to the roost tonight all but one and mom couldn't talk it into trying. She gave up and went to the nest for the night.


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## Barredrockmom (Jun 27, 2014)

Oh boy. You have your hands full with that puppy. Jacks are crazy people I tell ya. I had one for 14 years and she was adorable. Such personality. Such cute expressions.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Right now it's just the potty training issue. She really does have a big personality.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I had one for six years and then she went in to kidney failure and died. I cried for a year. I saw her ghost. I didn't tell anyone. One time my daughter comes for a visit, and one night she says "Mom, I see Clementine" . So I wasn't the only one. 

I did use crate training. A pee outside got her a 1/2 an hour loose in the house. She caught on real quick.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I'm sorry about your little doggie. We had a red dappled dachshund who lived 8 years and developed paralysis and we had to have her put down. I still miss her!


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## Barredrockmom (Jun 27, 2014)

Rule of thumb with puppies and potty training. Take them out 20 minutes after eating or drinking. Being a tech and not wanting to clean up pee all day long, this was the general rule. And it worked. It also teaches them to go outside. No dog likes to soil their digs.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Thx, Barredrockmom! I think that's a great idea. Fortunately, our weather is still very warm and nice outside so she stays outside with our schnauzer. I let her in when I visualize the acts in the evening then take her out every 30 to 45 min. We're also crate training her as is our other dog
She's doing much better.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

3 weeks old!


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## pinkmartin (Aug 11, 2015)

Awww! They grow so fast!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

How long after mama hen hatches her brood before she starts laying again?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Depends on if you leave her with the chicks. As long as she is being mama, no eggs.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok, then when and how should I separate them?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

I dunno... Depends on you.

I like keeping them together since then the mom will not let any hens beat up on the little chicks. Yeah, rah, less work and stress for me.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok, I'll probably leave them together a few more weeks. I can leave them out here at night just about anytime because our temps are still pretty mild. Mama is still getting in the nest with them. When they can hop up on the roost , they'll be on their own.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

5 weeks old. They are getting further from mom each day.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Here's the picture for the last note.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Oooh! They look like a good size now. Are they all together in the main flock now?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

They have been since they were about a week or so old. The big girls and roo just take them in stride.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Awesome to hear that!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Yea, they're a good size already.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Well mama hen has raised her first batch. She's cut them loose, they're on their own. They had to be shown how to use the roost, buf they were all on it last night. They look like little chickens instead of fuzzy babies. Now if they will just stay away from any hawks or other preds in the area.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

How long after the chicks are grown does it take mom to lay again?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Depends on the hen... It being fall, the chances are low... She probably will not want to start laying again until spring.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

She's been kinda eyeing the nests. I was hoping she might start again since we have a fairly long warm season.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Oh! Yeah, I keep forgetting that most of you are not already pitch dark by 7.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

It is getting dusky here by 730 and completely dark by just before 8. Everyday the dark comes a little sooner.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Up here the change in daylight can be over 5 minutes in one day.

We are down to sunset at 6:30.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Wow! We won't be that early for at least another month or 6 weeks. We usually get our first frost about halloween and then that doesn't last daily until Thanksgiving.


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