B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[RareBreedFancier]

I have a broody Dorking hen!!!

Unfortunately I haven't got everyone sorted into breeding pens yet so it will be pot luck with who the father is. I had the ladies separate till the boys staged a jail break and joined them.

Now I just need to decide what I'm going to put under her. Try for pure Dorkings or just go with a mix and hope she has better luck hatching pullets than me!

How many do you think she'd cover? I was thinking a dozen but I've heard of them sitting on huge numbers. I don't want to overload her, it's her first setting and I want to make sure she has a good hatch.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

It will be somewhere between 12 and 16. You only want what she can cover completely in a single layer. If you try to do more you'll have an aweful result. One thing you can do is set a few extra eggs in the incubator when you place the eggs under her--maybe 14. After a week, candle the eggs under her and replace any infertile eggs with fertile eggs from the incubator.
Now, a hen can cover more chicks than she can eggs. 20 chicks isn't a bad number for most Dorking hens. So, you can hatch extra chicks out in the incubator and then slip the newborn, dry and rested chicks underneath the mother on evening two of the hatch. It will work out swell.

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Hmmmmm now I'm tempted to fire the 'bator up, exactly what I wasn't supposed to be doing mid winter!

What do ya' know, I just happen to have 2 dozen fresh eggs, all less than a week old... DH is going to kill me!

 

[TOL Chick]

Quote:
You are just BEGGING me to drive that far - aren't you???

Let me think about it, and talk with Linds, one more road trip for GOOD Dorkings may be in our future!

LOL, you are funny... They need a great home so I won't discourage you.

Ok - consider them spoken for - Linds and I will come get them!

We just need to figure out schedules and such - I'll email you with possible dates...

 

[Urbanfarmerkc]

Quote:
LOL, you are funny... They need a great home so I won't discourage you.

Ok - consider them spoken for - Linds and I will come get them!

We just need to figure out schedules and such - I'll email you with possible dates...

Too late, I gave them to a local school who is wanting to work with rare breeds.

We finalized this just today... Sorry guys!

Dave

 

[TOL Chick]

Quote:
Ok - consider them spoken for - Linds and I will come get them!

We just need to figure out schedules and such - I'll email you with possible dates...

Too late, I gave them to a local school who is wanting to work with rare breeds.

We finalized this just today... Sorry guys!

Dave

Ok - at least they found a good home! Please let me know if anything changes

 

[capayvalleychick]

Speaking of broodies, several of my hens waited for 100 degree weather to all go broody at once.

Here is my roo from Superior Farms

Here are his broody hens. They are out of Lucky.

Here is Lucky, bred by Jeanne Fingar of Black Diamond Guest Ranch in Montana

Here are his broodies, a combination of SGD strains:

Kim

 

[TOL Chick]

Quote:
Kim - They are LOVELY! I

Lucky - what a handsome guy I think I've seen your videos out on You Tube

We have eggs from Jeanne in the bator right now - VERY excited about them!

good luck with your BROODIES!

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hi Capavalleychick! There is a way to separate them into separate brrody coops if you're actually planning to hatch out eggs. It would help you insure a better, more organized hatch.

Cheers,

Joseph

 

[capayvalleychick]

Thanks for the compliment.

When I look at them, I tend to just see their faults.

I do have a video of them on Youtube.

Previous attempts at relocating broodies have resulted in them giving up, so I'm afraid to try it. Advice would be welcome!

I really do need better structures for breeding, brooding etc. I have a great set up for my free ranging chickens but not for anything else.

I did an experiment this year, letting the Buckeyes reproduce in the mobile pasture coop with no intervention from me. Result was poor hatch rate and over half the chicks didn't survive, but those that did must be some tough chicks!

Kim