getting chicks the natural way

I don't have electricity, so I cannot even consider an incubator or raising chicks under a lamp. Had to do it the old way.

Last summer, with only one rooster, although some chickens tried to brood, not a single egg hatched.

This year, I thought I can only keep my fingers crossed. I asked around, but nobody had any Arctic landrace chickens for sale. Then, suddenly, one hen got glued to a nesting box. Then another. I had to quickly add nesting boxes, as I had five hens out of 18 brooding at the same time!

Then little chicks started appearing. First they'd stay in the nesting box. The second day the momma hen would lead them around the covered run, cuck-cucking and showing how to peck and drink.

About half of the eggs never hatched. Some chicks were lethargic and died. But now I have 15 chicks belonging to four hens and one is still brooding.

The egg production from the flock has been miserable. Hens lay eggs in front of the brooders, who then roll them under themselves and won't let me pick them. The accumulating eggs make a string around the brooder and get warmed a bit but not enough. And at some stage the brooder rolls them out!  Then I pick it, thinking the eggs are fresh, only to find an embryo in my frying pan.

On the other hand, momma hen takes care of everything. She spends the first weeks doing nothing else, walking around with her chicks, digging food for them, teaching them how to hop on a perch. The chicks sleep and rest under her wings. She keeps other hens and me away from her little ones. The rooster sometimes gets to have a look at the chicks.

I have chicks of different ages in the run together with several roosters and thr rest of the flock without the slightest problems. Maybe we should let nature take it's course more often?

I feel you know this, getting chicks the natural way, the way we did it was to have a rooster and let the hens have some eggs to hatch.

I rally can`t answer your question because I never worried about that.

The difference might be that I live in sunny Texas and don't worry about temperature.

I also never counted eggs or chicks to the best of my memory.  Then again that might have been my daughters job.

I am sure someone with more recent experience will answer the question.

Hi Kaarina,
I definitely think we should us the natural way more often. I was able to hatch out about 10-12 chicks a couple years back. Most of the eggs either didn't hatch or didn't make it. But I learned a lot. And it was my first year doing it that way.

I know I have seen something similar in a thread you were in, so I know you know this, but just for anyone else reading this. I would suggest marking the eggs that you want the hen to hatch with a pencil mark of some kind. Then daily remove any eggs without that mark, Less chance of getting that half-formed chick in the skillet.

Thanks, Matthew!
The hens clearly didn't want to be disturbed. Even collecting eggs from other nest boxes made them wary. You know how chickens raise their head when alert, looking almost like a swan 😄. They'd peck my hand if I even put it close.

So I tried to interfere as little as possible. Taking eggs from under the hen for inspection or marking was out of the question! I sneaked into the nesting room (it is a separate room with seven nests and a couple of perches) quietly, moving slowly and got out quickly.

It was so clear they wanted to be left alone.

Hi Kaarina,
I agree they want to be left alone. I ended up moving all the rest of the chickens to a separate pen so new eggs didn't keep appearing.

In the meantime and after a few good pecks on the hand, I started using a headlamp with a red light, after dark. The chickens were in sleepy state, and the red light did not disturb them. This let me check the eggs, even candle them a couple times for the kids to see, and remove any eggs that were not fertile or had been laid after she started sitting.

Where I live, it's fairly easy to get used dog crates for free or cheap. I transfer my broodies into 'protective custody' with their own feeders and waterers made out of upcycled plastic jars. That at least takes care of the extra egg adding issue.

If you don't want to have to move them (yes, they get a little ticked in the short term, but usually settle down within 24 hours), I would put it on my ToDo list to build larger, deeper nest boxes, with some sort of frame work to slide a mesh door into so that you can add feed and water and keep the other birds out.

Think of it in evolutionary terms - the wild ancestors would have found a secluded safe spot to lay and set their eggs - not a group spot. Somehow we need to accomplish what the chickens used to do their own way.

This is not a guarantee, as I've got a girl due now and I'm not seeing any pipping. I think she pooped all over them, or let them get cold, but I'm giving her an extra couple of days in case she "guarded" them while decorating her crate to her liking. My total amateur industrial chicken hatched 3 live out of 4 eggs earlier this year, setting in a crate.

When I have hens (chicken or duck!) sitting on a nest, and eggs nearby, that I want to collect, I use a butterfly net to reach in for them. In fact, even when the ducks aren't nesting, because of the way our duck tractor is built, the butterfly net is the easiest way to get to them, without crawling in, on hands and knees.🤣

Carla Burke wrote:When I have hens (chicken or duck!) sitting on a nest, and eggs nearby, that I want to collect, I use a butterfly net to reach in for them. In fact, even when the ducks aren't nesting, because of the way our duck tractor is built, the butterfly net is the easiest way to get to them, without crawling in, on hands and knees.

My friend got a couple of giant serving spoons from a charity shop and taped them to sticks to do what you're doing with the butterfly net - in case someone can't easily get a net for the job!

Kaarina Kreus wrote:I don't have electricity, so I cannot even consider an incubator or raising chicks under a lamp. Had to do it the old way.

Last summer, with only one rooster, although some chickens tried to brood, not a single egg hatched.

This year, I thought I can only keep my fingers crossed. I asked around, but nobody had any Arctic landrace chickens for sale. Then, suddenly, one hen got glued to a nesting box. Then another. I had to quickly add nesting boxes, as I had five hens out of 18 brooding at the same time!

Then little chicks started appearing. First they'd stay in the nesting box. The second day the momma hen would lead them around the covered run, cuck-cucking and showing how to peck and drink.

About half of the eggs never hatched. Some chicks were lethargic and died. But now I have 15 chicks belonging to four hens and one is still brooding.

The egg production from the flock has been miserable. Hens lay eggs in front of the brooders, who then roll them under themselves and won't let me pick them. The accumulating eggs make a string around the brooder and get warmed a bit but not enough. And at some stage the brooder rolls them out!  Then I pick it, thinking the eggs are fresh, only to find an embryo in my frying pan.

On the other hand, momma hen takes care of everything. She spends the first weeks doing nothing else, walking around with her chicks, digging food for them, teaching them how to hop on a perch. The chicks sleep and rest under her wings. She keeps other hens and me away from her little ones. The rooster sometimes gets to have a look at the chicks.

I have chicks of different ages in the run together with several roosters and thr rest of the flock without the slightest problems. Maybe we should let nature take its course more often?

My chickens and yours read the same books! I tossed some of the nest because they’d been there over a month. Tossed the eggs and they’re back at it! I had one hatch one chick a month or so ago. The rest are just perpetually setting and I’m barely getting any eggs! My mother in law needed eggs and I was too embarrassed to say I didn’t have any so I bought pasture eggs at the store and ripped the label to make it look like a reused carton!