I live in the 'city' and we are not supposed to have roosters. Out of my flock, one of my pullets actually was a 'rooster', so my 92 year old neighbor across the street that lives in the county and can have as many chickens as he wants took my rooster. He had no rooster, but wanted one, and he has a flock of white leghorns. It is quiet interesting to see him out there with all the white hens. Anyway, I have a black australorp pullet that has now gone broody. I have no fertilized eggs, so what is a chicken keeper to do? I read up on what to do. Pulled her off the nest, just for her to continue to go back and sit on every chickens unfertilized eggs; pulled her off the empty nest just to have the other hens peck on her because she continued to sit even when she wasn't on the nest.
Then I got an idea. Since my eggs are green and brown, how about getting some of those fertilized white eggs from my neighbor that will take all the chickens he can get. He agreed to give me some of his 'white' eggs. Now she sits on the white eggs and they are due to hatch on Nov. 19th. She is happy & I am happy because if another hen tries to lay in the nest, I can distinguish the difference in the eggs: white vs my brown and green. Fertilized vs unfertilized, if you know what I mean. This is an experiment in progress.
When the eggs are about to hatch, I will move her to a 'private' location where she is seperate from the others, let her hatch & raise her chicks at my neighbor's seperate private location for hens/chicks, and when the chicks are independent enough to be seperated from mom, leave the chicks with my 92 year old neighbor and bring my hen back home. You see, I don't have as much space as he has, and the chicks will have to be in the house here for a few days in a dog kennel in the house, then taken to my neighbor's seperate area where he puts hens and chicks til he feels they are large enough to fend for themselves. I live in the NW and it is going to be freezing when these eggs hatch. We have lights to keep them warm, but I have heard of the other chickens eating the chicks before the mama gets them out of the nest. That won't work out.
Wish me luck.
Then I got an idea. Since my eggs are green and brown, how about getting some of those fertilized white eggs from my neighbor that will take all the chickens he can get. He agreed to give me some of his 'white' eggs. Now she sits on the white eggs and they are due to hatch on Nov. 19th. She is happy & I am happy because if another hen tries to lay in the nest, I can distinguish the difference in the eggs: white vs my brown and green. Fertilized vs unfertilized, if you know what I mean. This is an experiment in progress.
When the eggs are about to hatch, I will move her to a 'private' location where she is seperate from the others, let her hatch & raise her chicks at my neighbor's seperate private location for hens/chicks, and when the chicks are independent enough to be seperated from mom, leave the chicks with my 92 year old neighbor and bring my hen back home. You see, I don't have as much space as he has, and the chicks will have to be in the house here for a few days in a dog kennel in the house, then taken to my neighbor's seperate area where he puts hens and chicks til he feels they are large enough to fend for themselves. I live in the NW and it is going to be freezing when these eggs hatch. We have lights to keep them warm, but I have heard of the other chickens eating the chicks before the mama gets them out of the nest. That won't work out.
Wish me luck.
