It started with one hen and has increased to five. More than half the nest boxes in the ultimate chicken tractor have been taken up with broody hens and we have decided to leave them alone and see what comes of this madness.

On the next chicken tractor I thought about decreasing the number of nest boxes, but I can see the advantage of the larger number now. It seems the best laying hens are the ones going broody as the amount of eggs has decreased drastically. It could be the broody hens are keeping the other chickens away from the few remaining open nest boxes.

We don’t really need more chickens at this point. We have already increased our numbers this spring, but it is hard to turn down free chicks when the hens do all the work. It is a nice way to increase your flock.

So far we have had 9 chicks hatch. Two of the broody hens are sharing the mothering duty and both have left their nest boxes to care for the chicks on the ground. I moved two chicks from under one of the remaining broody hens to join the growing numbers of chicks on the ground. The other five chicks made the plunge to the ground by themselves.

 

Two chicks have been found dead, one in a nest box and the other on the floor of the coop. I am not sure what was the cause of death. It is a hard life for a chick that strays from its mother.

There are still three broody hens setting on eggs and I think they will succeed in hatching some more chicks. We will probably have 20 chicks when everyone is done. Not a bad way to add to your flock.

 

On another note we have named the Dexter bull calf meatball. He is doing great and has decreased his expeditions outside the paddock. For the most part he stays by his mother who has proven to be very good at her job.