Post by token on Oct 24, 2016 20:34:26 GMT 10
A lot of preppers want to get their hands on broody hens and for good reasons. Natural is best, but be aware, your going to need a lot of broody hens to keep up with a meat demand come the end of the world, so, incubators are a good choice.
Firstly, remember, your going to need to get a breed which has the broody instinct as many dont.
Second, test your hen to see if she actually is broody. Sometimes hens will sit a day or so and will then abandon the nest, so be sure to see that they arent moving. Even isolate them into their own nest away from other birds to be left alone.
Thirdly, you will get the odd hen that will go broody without having a rooster service her, but generally they know when they are fertile because the rooster has been treading them, thats when they will go broody, so no point getting some fertile eggs from a neighbour and putting them under a hen not serviced by the rooster, it will be a game of luck if so.
A rooster can service up to 15 girls, so do the math and ensure youve got enough roosters to make sure your girls are all going to be giving fertile eggs.
Fourthly, after the rooster has been in a week or so, crack the eggs you get and check if their is that all familiar bullseye in the yoke.
After your getting good fertility rates in eggs, mark the eggs with a greyled pencil as to the date and store them in a carton on the bench (not in the fridge) and point down.
Do not keep eggs more than 10 days until setting them under a broody hen.
Fifthly, before setting the eggs under the broody hen, warm the eggs up by putting them next to your body. Some broody hens will reject the eggs because they are cold.
Six, put some food and water near the hen so that she can feed and drink well.
Seven, ensure if you use fake eggs to encourage chooks to lay that you remove them. I had a broody hen jump up off her nest for a quick bite to eat and drink and then got in the wrong nest, with 3 fake eggs and started incubating them. They seem to get lost sometimes, so ensure as well that you take away any other eggs in nests daily.
By marking the eggs you set under the broody hen, when she gets off, or when you have time to check without disturbing her too much, you can know the new eggs she has laid there because they dont have your mark of date on them, set them aside according and make sure you mark in your farm diary the dates you set the eggs under her so that if she gets off them and doesnt go back, checking daily will ensure you can get them under another hen, or into an incubator for the remainder of time so you dont lose stock.
Just a few thoughts, for others with experience or knowledge in this area, throw up your thoughts and experiences, love to read them.
Firstly, remember, your going to need to get a breed which has the broody instinct as many dont.
Second, test your hen to see if she actually is broody. Sometimes hens will sit a day or so and will then abandon the nest, so be sure to see that they arent moving. Even isolate them into their own nest away from other birds to be left alone.
Thirdly, you will get the odd hen that will go broody without having a rooster service her, but generally they know when they are fertile because the rooster has been treading them, thats when they will go broody, so no point getting some fertile eggs from a neighbour and putting them under a hen not serviced by the rooster, it will be a game of luck if so.
A rooster can service up to 15 girls, so do the math and ensure youve got enough roosters to make sure your girls are all going to be giving fertile eggs.
Fourthly, after the rooster has been in a week or so, crack the eggs you get and check if their is that all familiar bullseye in the yoke.
After your getting good fertility rates in eggs, mark the eggs with a greyled pencil as to the date and store them in a carton on the bench (not in the fridge) and point down.
Do not keep eggs more than 10 days until setting them under a broody hen.
Fifthly, before setting the eggs under the broody hen, warm the eggs up by putting them next to your body. Some broody hens will reject the eggs because they are cold.
Six, put some food and water near the hen so that she can feed and drink well.
Seven, ensure if you use fake eggs to encourage chooks to lay that you remove them. I had a broody hen jump up off her nest for a quick bite to eat and drink and then got in the wrong nest, with 3 fake eggs and started incubating them. They seem to get lost sometimes, so ensure as well that you take away any other eggs in nests daily.
By marking the eggs you set under the broody hen, when she gets off, or when you have time to check without disturbing her too much, you can know the new eggs she has laid there because they dont have your mark of date on them, set them aside according and make sure you mark in your farm diary the dates you set the eggs under her so that if she gets off them and doesnt go back, checking daily will ensure you can get them under another hen, or into an incubator for the remainder of time so you dont lose stock.
Just a few thoughts, for others with experience or knowledge in this area, throw up your thoughts and experiences, love to read them.
