Deebee123
Hatching
- Nov 6, 2016
- 8
- 0
- 8
I definitely give them a try! They are great birds! Thank you 
Arizona Chickens
- Thread starter paynemom
- Start date
ejcrist
Songster
Gosh, amen to that - being at capacity! I just starting on my breeding/brooding pens but I'll be at least two weeks till they're done. I need to stop cutting these things so close. I'm thinking it'll be ok to hatch up until around the end of March or so before knocking off due to the heat of summer. I'm guessing it's not a good idea to be brooding chicks past about April, is that correct? I'm figuring to start back up again around October and hatch through March. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?
I'll have more space as soon as we cull some of the original layers to make room for the hatchery Naked Necks and Brown Leghorns we got that are about three months old now. After we finish that we'll have a vacant coop, run, and indoor pen. I have a standalone mobile pen we built last year so with that and the new breeding pens we'll have 11, plus two in the multi-coop, plus the cleared out pen w/run the Naked Necks are now in so that makes 14 spaces total. It sounds like a lot but it really ain't when you consider you need to house all the chicks you'll hatch which in our case will be from two quads and a trio. And then I have some Ameraucana's coming too hopefully. I hope I'm not getting in over my head. I think I can hack it though - just gotta stay on top and plan accordingly. My vegetable gardens are probably going to take a back seat this year until I get the breeding stuff figured out.
Do you have separate breeding pens and if so, how many you got? Do you breed single birds or groups? Initially I was thinking about doing clan (spiral) breeding but each of my hens have certain good characteristics that I want to reproduce so now I'm going to do single pairings since I need to keep careful records on both parents - I think that's best for the long haul. I know it takes more space so that's why I'm building the number of pens I said - that's a couple more than I think I'll need. No matter what though, I'm absolutely, positively not going to try to breed any more breeds than three, except for Brown Leghorns, Ameraucana's, Naked Necks, and Marans. After those I'll definitely stop there - promise!
Chicken math...chicken math....how do we love thee? LOLl!
Whether or not to breed during the summer depends a lot upon how you're set up. Should you let hens sit on clutches during the hottest months? Well, I personally don't like the idea but that hasn't stopped my broody hens from deciding otherwise. The bad thing is that they can literally roast to death sitting on those eggs. The good thing is that when the ambient temps are that high, they can and do leave the nest more often to cool down. One of my hens sat through most of the intense heat we continued to have in September to hatch last October. On cooler days, or at least the cooler part of each day, she'd remain fiercely immobile and in her trance. As soon as the ambient temp hit 100* or more she was out in the chicken yard for as long as it took her to cool down and upon returning to the nest would sort of hover above it, guarding the eggs from others while still allowing herself a little extra air circulation.
If you're using an incubator indoors like I often do you also have more flexibility. My hatchlings enjoyed the heat in the day and as long as they had cool water, shade, and a cool place to dust bathe they thrived. But all of that said, I personally try to avoid June through August....no matter what my broody hens say.
My setup is really different from what most people have for housing chickens because when I decided to keep chickens I never had a plan for it to go this far. We were just going to have a few birds for fresh eggs, so we built a 20' x 10' enclosure around a 4' x 5' x 6' coop with nesting boxes and roosts and patted ourselves on the back for creating a nice environment for our little flock. Then we bought another steel, powder-coated enclosure + coop, again over 20' long, for my second flock. Then we fenced in the entire 3/4 acre back yard so I could let the flocks free range and interact...followed by a 12' x 24' cabin that I converted into coops and runs....and then another over-sized coop in the backyard that would house some birds and night and provide more nesting boxes, big enough to the birds to remain in all day, but usually open so they could free-range...and then another "cage" for isolating the extra roosters....You get the idea.
I currently have six pens that I can easily designate as breeding pens or isolation pens, nurseries or grow-out pens...all depending upon what I need and how many birds I have at any given time, plus 2 pens that simply open to the backyard for those not being used in breeding programs. Right now none of them are being used as breeding pens while all of my chicks grow out. I like to let my birds roam about and free-range as much as possible and interact with one another. It's resulted in a really lovely, therapeutic environment for me and allowed me to get a better feel for all of my birds by observing their behaviors towards one another and just in general. I've learned that some birds are real food hogs, others bullies, others exceptionally good at foraging, etc. It's been educational and fun.
As far as choosing breeders, I don't overthink anything. Being able to observe and handle my birds so freely along with collecting mountains of data on them has made it easier for me to select my breeding birds. I know which birds handle the heat the best, which pack on muscle while eating little feed vs those that think the feed dish was the greatest invention ever, etc. Then, when I'm ready to breed, I put my selected birds together and watch how they interact in an enclosed environment for a few days before checking eggs and possibly making changes. I've learned this way that some of my hens will flat out refuse to be mated by a certain cockerel/rooster. No matter how much I like the idea of hatching chicks from that pairing the eggs have never developed. I trust that Mother Nature is smarter than I am and make changes accordingly. Personally, I like groups of at least 3 hens to one rooster and typically breed up to 7 hens to a rooster to cut down on the wear and tear on each hen. I don't like to use cockerels that are so young that they rape rather than court the hens as I seem to get better fertility and hatch rates from a well-behaved boy.
So far I've been really happy with the results I've gotten, with the possible exception that I routinely hatch out far more roosters than hens. I keep records on all of my birds and know everybody's parentage as far as is possible and maintain enough birds to ensure genetic diversity. For me it's got to be about enjoying the process as I work towards my goals, and I'm thrilled at reaching so many of my goals so quickly. I'm hoping that doesn't change now that I've decided to really focus on working towards SOP on at least one of my two focus breeds. I've been conferring with other breeders of the Silver Grey Dorkings and have so far received confirmation that I'm on track with my perceptions of breeders vs culls in my little flock. The NNs will undoubtedly be more challenging for the color issue alone, but I've already created some good body shapes so I'm at least part way there.
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You are so lucky! My birds go broody in the summer, when I would rather not have chicks around. Now is when I want chicks. I would love to have broodys in January!
No...I had to put a Buff Ameraucana in a broody-breaker cage about a week ago. She's back in with the flock now.
no i had 3 BAs all gone broody in December Ha but since they all gave up LOL...just waiting for spring i guess
Silly chicks... I fixed some spaghetti for dinner tonight and I had some noodles left over, so I decided to take a few in to the chicks and feed it to them as a treat. Anyways, they seemed more interested in climbing up on my arms than taking the noodles. The blue chick started it, and then the 2 splashes didn't want to be left out of a spot on my arm, too.
My hens looooovvvvvve noodles....
Banaynaychicken
Songster
I don't know how "good" it is for them.... but mine certainly enjoy them...
It's an old habit, from when I was younger...
my mom gave them all the table scraps that didn't have meat in them.
We were told that eating meat makes them mean....
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