- Jun 27, 2011
- 75
- 2
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Hi, all:
It's been a long time since I posted, and a lot has changed. Our blue Silkie, Rachel, passed away in December (we still miss her!) and our little flock now lays regularly. Penny (cinnamon queen) and Dominique (barred rock/dominique cross) both lay hand-grenade-sized eggs 6-7 days a week.
Our buff Silkie, McNugget, was gifting us with 4-5 cute little white eggs a week, but just a few days ago she quit laying. She hangs out in the nest box, growls at the other girls and sort of puffs up her plumage when they get near. She clamps herself down over any eggs she can get, and growls and bites when I take them. We've now given her three wooden training eggs, and she's taken to them with vigor.
We have been wanting to add to our flock, but last fall our experiment with 2 new pullets ended in failure when Nuggie herself wouldn't quit abusing them. We had to re-home them.
We still want to add to our flock, and were thinking since McNugget wants to be a mom, perhaps we should try grafting with day-old hatchery peeps. That ought to eliminate her aggression toward newcomers.
We know she has to be broody for a while, so we can be sure she wants young ones. How long do we need to wait to be sure? The other thing is, how do I care for her while she's in her "broody test period"? I've been physically removing her from the nest box and blocking her from it until she has eaten and taken a drink. Will that be sufficient? Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
PulletSurpriseWinner
It's been a long time since I posted, and a lot has changed. Our blue Silkie, Rachel, passed away in December (we still miss her!) and our little flock now lays regularly. Penny (cinnamon queen) and Dominique (barred rock/dominique cross) both lay hand-grenade-sized eggs 6-7 days a week.
Our buff Silkie, McNugget, was gifting us with 4-5 cute little white eggs a week, but just a few days ago she quit laying. She hangs out in the nest box, growls at the other girls and sort of puffs up her plumage when they get near. She clamps herself down over any eggs she can get, and growls and bites when I take them. We've now given her three wooden training eggs, and she's taken to them with vigor.
We have been wanting to add to our flock, but last fall our experiment with 2 new pullets ended in failure when Nuggie herself wouldn't quit abusing them. We had to re-home them.
We still want to add to our flock, and were thinking since McNugget wants to be a mom, perhaps we should try grafting with day-old hatchery peeps. That ought to eliminate her aggression toward newcomers.
We know she has to be broody for a while, so we can be sure she wants young ones. How long do we need to wait to be sure? The other thing is, how do I care for her while she's in her "broody test period"? I've been physically removing her from the nest box and blocking her from it until she has eaten and taken a drink. Will that be sufficient? Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
PulletSurpriseWinner
