Well, some of my now 14 broodies have begun to hatch their chicks.
Broody #1 is a 2 year old Cuckoo Marans, her first hatch ever. She abandoned her chicks after hatch. I was able to save 2.
Broody #2 is a repeat broody, white marans. She managed to have 3 live chicks, but it looked like she smushed about 5 others. They are free ranging wherever they want to. She is not a very good mother.
Broody #3 is a first time BCM's. She hatched 5 chicks and is a great mom. She is with the flock, but takes the chicks to a chicken tractor at night.
Broody #4 is a white marans. She is a repeat mother and the best one I have so far. She hatched 9 chicks in my feed room and has since moved them in with the flock. She free ranges with them and takes them in the woods to scratch and peck.
Broody #5 is a BCM's. She may be a repeat from last year. She has hatched 5 chicks also in the feed room, but so far is not convinced to move them.
Broody #6 is poop board broody. She has 2 chicks up on the poop board with her and is insisting on continuing to sit on the eggs she has left. I have given them food and water up there, but wondering if she plans for them to stay there until they are grown. They are with the main flock in the hen house.
Broody # 7 is a blue copper marans in the marans pen. They are not being nice to her at all and yesterday, she must of hatched a first chick and the others ate it. I don't have anywhere to move her to and besides she is under the pen. This one is concerning...as is ...
Broody #8. She is sitting in a built in egg box in the main hen house and clearly has rotten eggs under her. I am just going to have to intervene on this one whenever the deluge stops. She still has a bunch of eggs under her, but it stinks bad. Not looking forward to this.
Broodys #9 and 10 are in the feed room. #9 is due any day. #10 has a week or more.
Broody # 11 is under the poop board in the marans pen. She is a black copper marans and fiercer than #7. I hope she will defend her chicks when they hatch.
Broodys #12 is an awesome mother. She is a little EE. I don't think she has moved since she started this. Her name is Survivor because she has used up at least 7 lives already. She was rejected by her mother and left for dead last year, but now she is being the mother she didn't have.
Broodys #13 and #14 are SFH's. #13 had been sitting about 3 days in the covered cat box when #14 decided that looked like a good thing to do. So they are squeezed in the cat box together sitting on no telling how many eggs. There should be a bunch of little SFH's under these ladies because I am getting no eggs from that group currently.
27 chicks from broodys so far and I'm not 1/2 way done.
Of my 4 years with chickens I have only ever had one broody... You have 13 how cool! Hoping one of my 7 decides to go broody and hatch some little ones this summer..
