Broody Spring

After a very mild winter with no losses other than the grass in the run, spring came on suddenly with 90 degree temperatures in March.  Clucky responded with immediate broodiness, and as soon as I was sure of her I set her on some eggs in the broody suite.  Within the week, Flicka had followed suit.  I spilt the eggs and set up both hens in the adjacent nest boxes.  A couple of days later I came home from work to find Clucky pacing frantically inside the broody run and all the eggs under Flicka.  Flicka had actually stolen Clucky’s eggs!  The nest boxes are right next to each other, but there is a wall between them.  She must have carried them under her wings.  I have never heard of such a thing!  At any rate, Flicka had laid her claim, and Clucky had broken so I returned her to the main flock.

Puppis and Flicka

In mid-April, Dan, Ann, Colter and Puppis hatched.  Dan and Ann are Sussex-Orpington mixes, Colter is Zen’s and Puppis is Bucky’s.  Flicka mothered them for exactly 6 weeks before returning to the roost at night, and the chicks are now posted for sale on Craig’s List.

Colter and Ann

Goldi went broody early on in Flicka’s incubation.  I wasn’t about to disrupt Flicka again, so I let Goldi hang.  Once Flicka and chicks went out to the main enclosure, I moved Goldi into the suite.  The evening I did this, Clucky went back to broodiness and this time the two broodies are getting along well.  The next batch of chicks is due on June 20.

I had reduced the run to one length of fence over the winter, and decided to run it into the woods this year to spare my lawn.  We mowed a path and I spent a morning in freezing rain placing the fence, only to realize the next day that the small cherry grove within it was highly toxic.  I found out that 2 ounces of wilted leaves can kill a horse, so I thought an experimental taste might do in a chicken.  I then spent another morning moving the fence back to the yard.

RIP Bucky

After I did this, I released the chickens from the compound and noticed Bucky was sneezing constantly.  This did not bode well and I tried to catch her to separate her from the others.  She wouldn’t be caught so I decided to get her off the roost that night.  By that afternoon, she had stopped sneezing and I never heard it again.  About two weeks later I came home to find her dead under the roost.  It’s a mystery--she seemed well, was bright-eyed, shiny-feathered, and her crop was full.  The picture above was taken about a month before she died.  She had been a sickly chick and was pretty low on the pecking order, but her death came as a shock.

After a month or so of chickens scratching outside my window and dealing with my burgeoning allergies, I decided to move the fence again to the woods on the opposite side of the coop which are largely cherry-free.  This was done in the heat on Memorial Day weekend and it was hard work to clear a path through the now-lush undergrowth.  I’m still leery of predators trying to brave the fence in its new location, but so far, so good.

Dan