Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Harvey Ussery <huboxwood@earthlink.net>]

> Now that's a concept, Harvey - no incubators. In your experience is that
> better for the chicks? One more area where rising cost of electricity may
> slow down production of chicks commercially. Or if folks are off-grid they
> look for ways to cut down the kilowatts. Hmm?
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net

Better for the chicks, are you kidding me?! Better in every possible 
way. Read any advice on brooding chicks artificially, and you will be 
told to avoid drafts and keep temp at 95 degrees. Well, my first batch 
of chicks this spring went direct from the nest to the pasture with the 
mama hen. First couple of days, daytime temp's were 45-50 degrees, with 
20-25 mph winds. Water froze in the waterers overnight. No prob--didn't 
lose a single one--mama knows just what to do.

I hatch using natural mothers mainly because I like more natural 
methods, and because I love seeing the mother hens taking care of their 
young. But yes, it is very much in my mind that there will come a time 
when use of lots of electricity to incubate/brood artificially will not 
be so casual a thing. So I work to preserve and enhance the broody 
instinct in a portion of my overall flock. (The trait has been bred out 
of many modern hens.)

My article on working with broody hens starts at

http://themodernhomestead.us/poultry/broodies_find.html

I recently wrote an update for Backyard Poultry, their June-July issue.

~Harvey
--
Harvey in northern Va
www.themodernhomestead.us