Nothing Like a Cozy Broodhouse
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 09:39AM There is nothing like a cozy broodhouse on a chilly, rainy day! After a couple of months of our broodhouse being empty I am happy to have little babies occupying it again. Our last meat chickens left the broodhouse in early September and since we don't raise chickens in the winter the house has been void of fuzzy babies for what seemed like forever. I forgot how much I miss visiting the broodhouse and seeing day-old chicks all huddled under a warm light.
For the past month we have been collecting fertile eggs from our Black Austrolorp laying hens. We moved about 80 of them from the Eggmobiles so that we could ensure that the ratio of hens to roosters was correct and to ensure that all of their eggs were fertilized and purebred. Although we do have some stray chickens that have broken away from the Eggmobiles and sat on clutches of eggs in the woods to hatch out some adorable little chicken mutts, we wanted to make sure the large amount that we purposefully hatched were a pure breed in order to keep the true breed going. Each week we have put a couple of hundred eggs into the incubator and the first ones have hatched perfectly and are now residing in the broodhouse. We are hatching a total of 1,000 new layer chicks and it feels great to feel independent from the hatcheries. By hatching our own we ensure that the offspring are strong and well adapted to our particular environment because they come from chickens that have thrived on our farm. And we also ensure that every chick hatched - both male and female - are allowed a great life of bug hunting and dirt baths.
During the hatch days we check the incubator frequently and whenever there are any chicks that have ;)
completely dried off we carry them to the broodhouse. There they have a stall with wood shavings on the floor, a light with four red heat bulbs warming the air to 95 degrees, and some fresh water and food. We give each and every chick a drink of water to make sure they know where it is and then place them under the heat lamp. They usually spend a few hours sleeping after their hard day of breaking through their shell, but before you know it they are refreshed and running around looking for food.
One of the great things about the farm is that there are many little places of solace. For me, the first few days of a new batch of chicks in the broodhouse is like Heaven. Today it is cold and rainy, but I am looking forward to trecking up to the broodhouse where I know it is warm and dry. I'll spend some time just sitting on the floor with the cute little babies watching them play and listening to their wonderful peeping which is like a lullaby. You can't beat it!
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Reader Comments (11)
Do you guys do deep litter in your brood house? We are brooding our first winter babies in two weeks and it seems so much more dubious during the winter. We use deep litter throughout our coop, but this is our first deep litter and chicks combo.
That is great news! Congratulations on your success!
I love the way you describe your experiences. It reminds me of last winter sitting in the Brood house and watching the chicks. It is an AMAZING and relaxing experience! I would go there to unwind and think. Enjoy them whenever you can. The days go by so quickly.
Tim, is that cedar shaving on the broiod house floor? It may just be the red from the lamp making the wood shavings appear that way in the picture. Just checking, seems like I read somewhere in the past cedar chips not good for brood liter. Anyone else ever heard that?
This site is such a breath of fresh air! The Mrs, our three teenaged boys and myself moved from the crime and chaos of Southern California to a small town in Southern Nevada 8-years ago. What started out as a simple remark ("We buy so much milk we may as well just buy the damned cow"), has turned into 6-acres of milk cows, calves, chickens, a GIANT vegetable garden, milk, cream, cheese, butter, and ice cream coming out my ears. Thousands of canning jars and unnumbered trips to food banks and senior centers dropping off fruits, veggies, and canned goodies and I've never worked so hard in my entire life. My "retirement" consists of 60-hour weeks and my only regret is that I wished I had another 10-20 acres of sand and had been able to do this 20-years ago. It has been the most rewarding 8-years of my life. If I, as a decrepit 60-year old can learn about animal husbandry and gardening, ANYONE can. Thank you, Tim & Liz for your unmeasured hours spent keeping us up on your life, challenges and rewards - the work is hard enough as is - but allowing us a peek after your day is done is truly remarkable and a REAL gift. Thank you again.
Tim,
I have been debating whether it is more cost effective to hatch chicks for laying hens or to buy them. My main concern is what to do with th males. It won't be cost effective to raise them to butcher weight.
You are going to have 450-500 males and I was wondering what your plan on doing?
Thanks for sharing your ideas..
Jim
Jim,
We raise the males along with the females. The males of course won't be productive for us from an egg-laying capacity, but will serve our interests by A) sanitizing the pasture behind the cows and B) becoming stewing great stewing birds with much larger carcasses than the hens.
Will, no we don't use cedar shaving, just pine.
That's true self sustaining. I agree with raising your own chicks from your own flock. Their is no shipping young birds and no chance of disease being brought to your farm. If they are hatched there then they will be less stressed and grow better and be healthier. Their are many reasons to raise your own chicks. If you can do it without outside help or interference then do it, I say.
A newbie question: what do you mean when you say the roosters will "sanitize the pasture"?
Dee,
I found the answer to the "sanitize the pasture" question, which I had also. It's actually on the main website. http://www.naturesharmonyfarm.com/free-range-pastured-eggs/ It's really quite logical.