Skills For The Modern Homestead - #5 & #7 - Broody Hens and Hatching Chicks

The first skill we tackled was chosen for us by the fact we already own chickens and 2 of them became broody mid December.  

A website I use for my information is Fresh Eggs Daily.  I suggest using that for information rather than my blog post; I am very amateur at this yet!  This is just a record of what we did.

To recognise a broody was actually rather easy!  They just didn't get off the nest...at all...!  To care for them was fairly easy too.  I gently picked them up off the nest every morning and took them to the food and water, filled their nest with small amounts of dried herbs (mint, lemon balm and calendula) to deter pests and make it smell nice.  

Our first clutch of baby chicks were hatched in a friends incubator.  We have 4 little cuties and they have been such fun to watch them grow and explore the world.  I feel a bit sorry for them not having a feathered mummy to protect them but they seem pretty tough and so curious about everything!  I am their mummy for now.

Glass pebbles in the water bowl to prevent smaller chicks from drowning.

Chick Crumble for young chicks

Out for a walk with me

Tucked away safely for the night

 Our second clutch of chicks were hatched by our hen Mary Poppins.  She laid one of these eggs and I left her with some others laid that same day from our other hens.  She proved to be a very stubborn lady and is a wonderful protective mother.

She started her nest in the roosting house where the eggs are laid daily.

The recommendation is to not move a broody hen once she is sitting on eggs,

so I left her where she was until her chicks hatched.

Then I moved her to a quieter spot where her sisters would not bother her.

She has 4 adorable babies, the softest things I have ever felt!

 Our third clutch of chicks belong to Susannah.  She is a gentle, quiet lady.  She has 4 little chicks.

Susannah also decided the egg laying corner was a perfect spot to be broody.
This time I blocked her in with a cardboard box and a net curtain
to stop the others laying their eggs with her.
I moved her to a more private location once her eggs had hatched.

The incubator babies are now 8 weeks old and we can tell that there are 2 hens and 2 roosters.  They are so lovely and come running when they see me!  <love>  It was on the homesteading skills plan to kill, pluck, and cook the roosters...but they are much to adorable to do that to them!  So I have found them a home each close by so I can visit them periodically.

Mary Poppins has integrated her chicks into the flock.  I wondered if there would be some fighting involved, but no... 

Susannah has also moved her chicks into the night area with the rest of the flock without any fuss.  

It is so fascinating to watch how they manage their babies.

Incubator Babies - 9 weeks

Mary Poppins with her 2 surviving babies - 5 weeks

Susannah with her 4 babies - 4 weeks

~Lorna

Skills For The Modern Homestead

Recently, I came across some websites listing "Skills For The Modern Homestead".  After reading through a few I decided to compile a list to suit our family, and have come up with 113 skills I would like us to try.  

Here is my list.  I will update this post as we accomplish a skill with a blog post link to what we did.  

1.	Milk a goat, cow, or sheep.
2.	Understand the basics of animal breeding.
3.	Assist with foaling, kidding, lambing, and/or calving.
4.	Learn how to tell if your chickens are moulting.
5.	Learn how to identify and manage a broody hen.	Broody hens
6.	Learn how to candle eggs so you can tell if they are fertilized.
7.	Incubate fertilized eggs and hatch your own chicks.	Hatching Chicks
8.	Learn how to make your own chicken feed.
9.	Keep bees and harvest honey.
10.	Trim the feet of your goats and sheep.
11.	Shear a sheep, process the wool and spin it.
12.	Implement natural pest control measures.
13.	Know how to protect your livestock from predators.
14.	Know how to halter-break and train an animal.
15.	Know if you can doctor an animal at home, or if it needs to go to the vet.
16.	Know how to humanely euthanize an animal.
17.	Know how to properly handle, shoot, and clean a gun.
18.	Make your own ammunition, or reload ammunition.
19.	Learn the laws and regulations regarding hunting wild game in your area.
20.	Learn how to hunt wild game–both large and small.
21.	Learn how to make and set traps.
22.	Learn how to humanely kill, gut, and clean an animal.
23.	Know how to butcher an animal and the proper cuts of meat.
24.	Learn how to kill and pluck a chicken.
25.	Learn how to fish, and to clean, fillet, and cook fish.
26.	Make your own fishing lures or spears.
27.	Learn about aquaponics or fish farming.
28.	Learn how to clear pasture and brush.
29.	Master the art of intensive grazing so you can better manage your pastures.
30.	Learn how to cut, bale, and stack hay.
31.	Learn how to build and fix fence.
32.	Learn how to sharpen a knife or axe.
33.	Learn how to safely cut down a tree.
34.	Learn how to harvest, split, and stack firewood.
35.	Know how to drive a manual transmission and/or tractor.
36.	Change a tire and change oil.
37.	Master basic mechanic skills so you can fix your tractors and vehicles.
38.	Learn how to back up a trailer.
39.	Know how to build a fire.
40.	Cook over an open fire or on a wood cook stove.
41.	Cook outside with a Dutch oven.
42.	Make basic yeast dough which can be turned into loaves, rolls, buns, etc.
43.	Make the perfect pie crust.
44.	Make perfect sausage gravy from scratch.
45.	Learn how to cook game meat.
46.	Learn how to render lard or tallow.
47.	Learn how to make butter.
48.	Learn how to cook eggs in a cast iron skillet.
49.	Learn how to make bone broth.
50.	Make your own jellies and jams.
51.	Make cheese – master simple soft cheeses and hard cheeses too.
52.	Know how to dehydrate foods to preserve for later use.
53.	Use a smoker to smoke cheeses, meat, bacon, hams, etc.
54.	Make your own bacon and cured hams.
55.	Use a water bath canner to preserve foods.
56.	Learn how to use lacto-fermentation to preserve foods.
57.	Make your own sauerkraut.
58.	Make sourdough bread and maintain your own starter.
59.	Learn how to make yoghurt.
60.	Make your own vinegar.
61.	Master the art of home brewing.
62.	Grind your own wheat for baking.
63.	Know how to purify water.
64.	Store food in a root cellar or in a cool basement.
65.	Forage for wild edibles in your area.
66.	Learn how to identify edible and poisonous mushrooms.
67.	Repurpose everyday items to save them from the landfill.
68.	Learn how to compost with worms to create nutrient-rich garden food.
69.	Put all food scraps like eggshells, coffee grounds, apple peels to good use.
70.	Compost both kitchen scraps and animal manure.
71.	Tap trees for maple syrup.
72.	Learn how to chop ice.
73.	Grow a vegetable garden in your climate.
74.	Learn how to save seeds.
75.	Learn how to start seeds indoors.
76.	Learn the art of no-till gardening.
77.	Build/use a greenhouse or cold frame to extend your growing season.
78.	Grow a windowsill herb garden.
79.	Understand how to propagate plants through root cuttings.
80.	Know how to properly prune and graft a fruit tree.
81.	Learn how to make herbal extracts, infusions, poultices, and tinctures.
82.	Learn how to use essential oils properly and safely.
83.	Know basic plumbing skills (like unclogging a toilet!)
84.	Master carpentry skills so you can repair buildings or build basic furniture.
85.	Learn how to repair a roof.
86.	Learn how to make and apply whitewash.
87.	Know how to use non-electric lighting.
88.	Learn basic metal working skills and welding.
89.	Heat your home with wood or other sustainable sources.
90.	Use alternative energy sources like solar or wind to power your homestead.
91.	Learn how to install/use a composting toilet
92.	Put together a 72-hour kit for emergencies.
93.	Learn how to tie a variety of basic knots.
94.	Learn how to tan a hide.
95.	Make your own candles.
96.	Make your own paper.
97.	Learn how to weave and how to make baskets.
98.	Make your own cleaning supplies.
99.	Make your own soap.
100.	Make your own skincare items.
101.	Learn how to make natural dyes.
102.	Make your own laundry detergent.
103.	Dry laundry using a drying rack or clothesline.
104.	Sew clothing and fabric items from scratch.
105.	Mend damaged clothes so they don’t have to be thrown away.
106.	Knit, quilt, or crochet.
107.	Learn how to darn a sock.
108.	Live within your means and get out of debt.
109.	Work together with your neighbors to foster a sense of community.
110.	Learn first-aid and CPR.
111.	Know how to clean, dress, stitch a wound in the event of an emergency.
112.	Learn how to prepare for a blizzard.
113.	Learn how to prepare for a wildfire.