Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[A6chickenhome]

Pretty boys...are you able to keep them? Or are they going to be soup.
Lady of McCamley

Thank you, I think they are just adorable! I'm probably gonna keep them. I may sell the best one if he turns out to be show quality. Do you know what the egg color would be if I crossed them with another breed?

 

[StarMeKritten]

One of our eggs finally hatched in the incubator after my broody hen gave up on them on Sunday. I don't have much hope for the two eggs that are still in there. I figured the best course of action would be to attempt to reintroduce them to the (formerly broody) hen so that the poor little chick doesn't have to grow up alone in the brooder. She half-heartedly pecked at the chick a little when I first put her in with her, then sat down and fluffed up her feathers and let the little chick run under and get cozy. So far, so good. I'll be keeping a very close eye on them for the next few days.

 

[bumpercarr]

One of our eggs finally hatched in the incubator after my broody hen gave up on them on Sunday. I don't have much hope for the two eggs that are still in there. I figured the best course of action would be to attempt to reintroduce them to the (formerly broody) hen so that the poor little chick doesn't have to grow up alone in the brooder. She half-heartedly pecked at the chick a little when I first put her in with her, then sat down and fluffed up her feathers and let the little chick run under and get cozy. So far, so good. I'll be keeping a very close eye on them for the next few days.

It is best if the broody will accept the chick....sounds like she is so far.

I have a lone chick that I hatched in the incubator for my granddaughter. It is about 4 weeks old now, still living in the house because it is too cold for me to put it out with the others yet. I'll introduce it slowly, the good thing (and bad too) is that it is a cockerel, so it will go in with the bachelors when I put it out. They tend to ignore the little ones more than the girls do. When there are more than one, I can put them with the girls and they will pick on them for a bit, but they always have each other for company. Since this guy doesn't have anyone else, he can go in with the boys....they will at least leave him alone for the most part.

 

[StarMeKritten]

I really don't want to raise a single chick. I would have to go find some more chicks to keep her company... Thankfully everything seems to be going well with my chick and the hens. Mom has been glued to the nest all day with the little one. They seem to be bonding. I hear occasional happy peeps coming from under her. The chick appears to be an EE/ australorp mix.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I really don't want to raise a single chick. I would have to go find some more chicks to keep her company... Thankfully everything seems to be going well with my chick and the hens. Mom has been glued to the nest all day with the little one. They seem to be bonding. I hear occasional happy peeps coming from under her. The chick appears to be an EE/ australorp mix.

If you do, I recommend finding them very soon, and the same age, or close as you can, as I have not had luck with staggering ages with foster chicks...although others have...but that takes a very special broody who will mother anything at any time. Also the chicks have to be assertive enough to not get pushed aside.

Good luck! So happy she is bonding with this little one.
Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you, I think they are just adorable! I'm probably gonna keep them. I may sell the best one if he turns out to be show quality. Do you know what the egg color would be if I crossed them with another breed?

I was hoping someone who has really good egg genetics would answer...so I will try, and if I am wrong, then hopefully someone will correct me.

As I understand it...brown plus white will generally give brown as brown is dominant. (???)

IF one of the parents has one of the blue genes (and I think there are 2 blue genes)....then blue parent plus brown parent will give you 50% brown and 50% green...more or less.

IF one of the parents has both blue genes....then blue parent plus brown parent will produce 100% green????

IF one of the parents has both blue genes...then blue parent plus white parent will produce shades of blue....100% ???? As blue is dominant (?)

IF one of the parents is a very dark brown layer (like a Marans or Welsummer)...then dark brown parent plus blue parent will give you the Olive Green shades. If you breed that first generation back, you get darker green shades.

That is assuming there are no other genetics hidden as it takes genes for the egg shell which is either white or blue, then genes to produce the tint which supplies the tinting over the base color. Brown tint over blue shell produces green shades. Clear/white tint over blue shell produces blue shades. Brown tint over white shell produces brown and various beige shades. Clear/white tint over white shell produces white shades.

Then there is even a tint in the bloom in some hens...the bloom is the antimicrobial coating added at the last to ward off germs...that can change things even further and produce "purplish" eggs or "grey" eggs.

Okay...please if I am wrong someone correct me as I want to get this down in my head too...but that is what I have gleaned thus far.

Lady of McCamley

EDITED TO ADD: I found this article that explains things in pretty easy language and appears to be in depth and accurate, and endorsed by the Chicken Chick:
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/gms1-genetics-of-egg-color/

EDITED FURTHER TO ADD: If you keep working through the mini-series on egg genetics, section 3, Scratch Cradle shows a photo of almost hot pink Croad Langshan eggs as the 'ideal" color for Croads, but the left photo of the brown tints with some pinkish tan, from my research, appears to be the reality...Croads have been exaggerated lately as having a purple egg (which I would LOVE to have), but that is not normal for them...they are actually a brown egg layer, originally a dark brown layer that was instrumental in developing Marans. Some are breeding for purple eggs with Croads, but think plum not the hot pink shown in the photo (which appears to have been removed from the uk site). Some Croads appear to have a tint in the bloom when applied over a brown egg gives a purplish/plum hue. Some mutts and EE's will do that too. I would absolutely LOVE to get a purple egg layer, hence my trying to understand egg genetics.

 

[bumpercarr]

I was hoping someone who has really good egg genetics would answer...so I will try, and if I am wrong, then hopefully someone will correct me.

As I understand it...brown plus white will generally give brown as brown is dominant. (???)

IF one of the parents has one of the blue genes (and I think there are 2 blue genes)....then blue parent plus brown parent will give you 50% brown and 50% green...more or less.

IF one of the parents has both blue genes....then blue parent plus brown parent will produce 100% green????

IF one of the parents has both blue genes...then blue parent plus white parent will produce shades of blue....100% ???? As blue is dominant (?)

IF one of the parents is a very dark brown layer (like a Marans or Welsummer)...then dark brown parent plus blue parent will give you the Olive Green shades. If you breed that first generation back, you get darker green shades.

That is assuming there are no other genetics hidden as it takes genes for the egg shell which is either white or blue, then genes to produce the tint which supplies the tinting over the base color. Brown tint over blue shell produces green shades. Clear/white tint over blue shell produces blue shades. Brown tint over white shell produces brown and various beige shades. Clear/white tint over white shell produces white shades.

Then there is even a tint in the bloom in some hens...the bloom is the antimicrobial coating added at the last to ward off germs...that can change things even further and produce "purplish" eggs or "grey" eggs.

Okay...please if I am wrong someone correct me as I want to get this down in my head too...but that is what I have gleaned thus far.

Lady of McCamley

EDITED TO ADD: I found this article that explains things in pretty easy language and appears to be in depth and accurate, and endorsed by the Chicken Chick:
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/gms1-genetics-of-egg-color/

EDITED FURTHER TO ADD: If you keep working through the mini-series on egg genetics, section 3, Scratch Cradle shows a photo of almost hot pink Croad Langshan eggs as the 'ideal" color for Croads, but the left photo of the brown tints with some pinkish tan, from my research, appears to be the reality...Croads have been exaggerated lately as having a purple egg (which I would LOVE to have), but that is not normal for them...they are actually a brown egg layer, originally a dark brown layer that was instrumental in developing Marans. Some are breeding for purple eggs with Croads, but think plum not the hot pink shown in the photo (which appears to have been removed from the uk site). Some Croads appear to have a tint in the bloom when applied over a brown egg gives a purplish/plum hue. Some mutts and EE's will do that too. I would absolutely LOVE to get a purple egg layer, hence my trying to understand egg genetics.

Nice summary. Only thing that I would add is that blue eggs are throughout the egg, not a coating like the brown eggs. Therefore, if a hen has the dominant O (blue gene) and the brown coating gene (which is not an egg gene, the egg gene is o - white) then she will probably lay green eggs, which is the color that you get when brown coats the blue egg. One thing to be aware of when breeding for egg color is that a hen can lay a blue egg and have either the OO or the Oo gene. If she if bred to a male that also has to Oo gene instead of the OO gene, then 50% of her offspring will lay blue and 50% will lay white (or brown if they have the brown coating gene).

If you are considering playing around with genetics, it is important to get familiar with the Punnet Square and how to use it. You can learn a lot from the punnet square, you can even assign your own genes (be careful, make sure you know whether it is dominant or not) and play around to see what you get. You can also do a "backwards" punnet square and determine what genes your parent birds are carrying (however, you can't tell which one has which genes, just what the combinations of the parents may be). It is a great way to figure out how to move forward with your breeding program. Don't like that comb, you can change it (although it will take some work).

Anyway, read up on everything that you can find, it helps a lot. Hope this is a little clearer than mud.

 

[StarMeKritten]

If you do, I recommend finding them very soon, and the same age, or close as you can, as I have not had luck with staggering ages with foster chicks...although others have...but that takes a very special broody who will mother anything at any time. Also the chicks have to be assertive enough to not get pushed aside.

Good luck! So happy she is bonding with this little one.
Lady of McCamley

As long as the chick does well with the hens, I'm not going to get any more chicks. If I have to move her to the brooder instead, I'll need to find her some friends.

My silkie cochin hen seems happy with the chick since she had been sitting for 4 weeks before giving up a few days ago. The second hen, a cochin, is definitely special. She is quite the mom and she and the silkie mix share well.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Nice summary. Only thing that I would add is that blue eggs are throughout the egg, not a coating like the brown eggs. Therefore, if a hen has the dominant O (blue gene) and the brown coating gene (which is not an egg gene, the egg gene is o - white) then she will probably lay green eggs, which is the color that you get when brown coats the blue egg. One thing to be aware of when breeding for egg color is that a hen can lay a blue egg and have either the OO or the Oo gene. If she if bred to a male that also has to Oo gene instead of the OO gene, then 50% of her offspring will lay blue and 50% will lay white (or brown if they have the brown coating gene).

If you are considering playing around with genetics, it is important to get familiar with the Punnet Square and how to use it. You can learn a lot from the punnet square, you can even assign your own genes (be careful, make sure you know whether it is dominant or not) and play around to see what you get. You can also do a "backwards" punnet square and determine what genes your parent birds are carrying (however, you can't tell which one has which genes, just what the combinations of the parents may be). It is a great way to figure out how to move forward with your breeding program. Don't like that comb, you can change it (although it will take some work).

Anyway, read up on everything that you can find, it helps a lot. Hope this is a little clearer than mud.

Thank you for the clarifications...Yes...exactly...sorry if I didn't make that clear...blue or white is the shell color...brown is a tint added further in the egg tract that applied over white gives brown eggs...over blue gives green eggs...and then of course there is the antimicrobial bloom that can also have a tint to further distinguish the coloring...for that elusive but for some desirable purple egg...my goal.

Yes...those Punnett squares...I remember them from Biology and will have to sit down and play with them.

That article link finally cleared in my head the meaning of the little letter and big letter....recessive/dominant.


and yes...the 2 genes for shell base color...then the genes for whether or not there is a brown tint applied (I think I read as many as 13 can play into that)...then I assume genes for any tint in the bloom....and which parent is recessive or dominant carrier of what.

And then....there are the FEATHER COLOR GENETICS.

Thank you for your confirmation and clarification. Slowly, slowly, this stuff is seeping into my head.

Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

As long as the chick does well with the hens, I'm not going to get any more chicks. If I have to move her to the brooder instead, I'll need to find her some friends.

My silkie cochin hen seems happy with the chick since she had been sitting for 4 weeks before giving up a few days ago. The second hen, a cochin, is definitely special. She is quite the mom and she and the silkie mix share well.

Sounds like a great plan....and a well loved chick.

Lady of McCamley