Do you have a broody duck? Thinking of hatching out some ducklings? In our experience trying to hatch ducklings has been an emotional roller coaster with very mixed results and a story line to rival any daytime soap opera, full of death, heartbreak, betrayal and custody battles. We have hatched several clutches of eggs with […]
Dealing with broody hens
Occasionally one of our hens goes broody, even though we use breeds that are not supposed to, and for that reason, I don’t trust them to follow through. I would love to let them hatch some chicks, but I don’t want to have to look after those chicks or waste the eggs if the hens […]
Hot Button Chicken Raising Topics
Homesteading can mean different things to different people. One school of thought is doing things the “old-fashioned” way and getting back to our roots. The other school of thought is living simply in a modern way. Many people’s viewpoint falls somewhere in the middle. No way is right or wrong. Today I’m going to highlight […]
How to Prepare to Hatch: Broody Hens, Incubators & Eggs
Today we are going to talk about selecting the right broody hen and getting an incubator setup properly, as well as how to care for your eggs up to the day you set them. . Whether it’s the hen won’t leave the nest or you get growled at every time you walk by, some sign […]
How To Sneak Chicks Under a Broody Hen
There are many situations when you might want to sneak day-old baby chicks under a broody hen: to shorten her broody period, so raise chicks of a different breed (or species), or to replace eggs that aren’t hatching. I talk about how I snuck ten day-old baby chicks under a mama hen who was sitting […]
Managing Broody Hens
Broody hens can be a godsend when you want to try hatching chicks, but what about when you don’t have a rooster so your chickens’ eggs aren’t fertile or you don’t want or need any new flock members? Here are some tips to help you break a broody.
