Silver Duckwing OEGBs - What to Expect?

[LilRedRoo]

Congratulations! I love those little tinted eggs; Ziggy rarely gives us one lately, but any time she does the kids get excited. There's just something about them...

 

[Happy Chooks]

Congratulations! I've never had this breed, but I understand they are great broodies and mothers.

 

[davemonkey]

LilRedRoo, we were told that they typically slow WAY down during the Fall/Winter and pick back up in Spring (seasonal layers). They certainly are neat little eggs. I'm guessing it takes between 2.5 of them to make a normal egg-equivalent (if you eat them), but they are every bit as exciting to see as the jumbos. Maybe it's the "wild" feel of them.

Happy Chooks, we heard the same. This one didn't go broody at the moment, and we did take this one for the fridge, but we plan on letting them hatch out at least a couple clutches once they all settle in.

I was wondering, if I had left that egg in the nest, would she have laid another 4 or 5 and then started to brood? Or do you have to wait for a hen to "go broody" before letting eggs sit out like that (so you don't end up spoiling eggs that could have been breakfast)?? I know some folks have left eggs out in the coops for up to a week before bringing them inside to eat, and all was well.

 

[Happy Chooks]

When a hen goes broody, it won't matter if there are eggs there or not. It's a hormonal change. Leaving them in the nest will likely waste them and risk them getting broken in the nest.

 

[davemonkey]

When a hen goes broody, it won't matter if there are eggs there or not. It's a hormonal change. Leaving them in the nest will likely waste them and risk them getting broken in the nest.

Good to know about it being a hormonal change. I'll keep collecting them in that case until I see one wanting to brood. I can't wait to see what the chicks will be like form these little eggs. They'd have to TINY.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
You will know they are broody when they are on the nest at night, instead of roosting. I give mine 2 consecutive nights on the nest before I will give them eggs to hatch. (or longer, if it takes a while to collect eggs for hatching) Mark the eggs with a sharpie and remove any unmarked eggs daily.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

The way my bantams do it a hen will lay 10-12 eggs in the nest box over a 2 week period that I gather with the other eggs. Then she'll find a secret place under a bush, behind something, or in the big flower out front in which shey'll lay another 10-12 eggs over a period of 2 weeks that she will hatch. Then she raises her chicks for about 3 months and repeats the process all over again.

 

[davemonkey]

The way my bantams do it a hen will lay 10-12 eggs in the nest box over a 2 week period that I gather with the other eggs. Then she'll find a secret place under a bush, behind something, or in the big flower out front in which shey'll lay another 10-12 eggs over a period of 2 weeks that she will hatch. Then she raises her chicks for about 3 months and repeats the process all over again.

That is really neat. So, if I never find eggs that she is hiding, you figure they'll be okay even if I coop all the hens up at night? When your hen broods the "hidden" eggs, does she coop up at night, or does she "disappear" for 3 weeks, only to emerge one day with little ones?

 

[ChickenLegs13]

I simplified my last post to save keystrokes but mine will lay eggs in the nest box like good little hens in the beginning of their cycle, then the nesting urge hits them and they start making a few nests in random places, almost like a "test" nest. 3 eggs under a fallen limb, 2 eggs behind a board leaning against the barn, etc, then get serious and pick a special spot and lay 10-12 eggs that she hatches. Sometimes this special spot is a stupid spot, like the flower pot out front that's in direct sunlight all day when it's 100* and and gets wet when it rains. Sometimes it's a nest box in an empty pen.
Then she'll start getting broody, which takes about 3 days. She'll sit on the nest all morning then go hang with the rest of the chickens all day but she'll be all puffed & walking funny and clucking. She'll roost in the pen with the rest of the chickens that night. The next day she'll sit on the nest most of the day but still roost in the pen. Then the next day she'll start staying on her nest 24/7. During the 3 weeks she's on the nest she doesn't totally dissappear, once or twice during the day I'll see her walking around all puffed up & clucking for about an hour. She'll eat and roll in the dirt with the other chickens then go back to her nest.
While she's on the nest she turns evil. If I mess with her she screams and flys up and bites & flogs me, but I still do egg managment, marking & candling the eggs, throwing the bad ones out etc. When she hatches out I put her & chicks in a broody pen for 2-3 months because if I let them free range the cats eat them.
It's funny because when she walks around all puffed up the rooster thinks she's a new chicken and chases her. She'll run across the yard all puffed up with her wings spread & head hanging low saying "buk buk buk buk" then turn around and fly into the rooster's face and he leaves her alone then.
While she's on the nest and raising her chicks she doesn't lay eggs. She's out of egg production for about 3-4 months. She does this twice a year. Basically this is the way most of my hens operate, both bantams & regular chickens alike.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I found a picture of my spangled OEGB and thought I'd pop in and share (and maybe tempt you with another color).