BDutch's bantam flock & natural breeding projects #5 🪺 🪺 and #6

[BDutch]

Because I am restarting with a new project. I asked to change the old title :

Natural breeding project no5: started with Janice, Pearl and 11 hatching eggs ​

to something less specific.

BDutch bantam flock & natural breeding projects #5 and #6 ​

Thought it might be nice to tell some people who followed this thread last year.
@ManueB, @BigBlueHen53 , @Ladies-Eight @fuzzi @MaryJanet @RoyalChick
@Sequel @NanaK @fluffycrow @Shadrach @Perris.
I hope all the others I missed to mention will understand that there are too many to recall.

My flock free ranging today.

Kraai being broody and sitting on 4 fake eggs.

 

[BDutch]

Made a mistake yesterday.

After one growling she looks happy again. Black had no extra eggs today.

It should have been : “In Pearls nest were no extra new-laid eggs.”

Black and Pearl are both black Dutch. So easy to mix up. They are not 100% genetic black. Both are of the same father and mother (pure Dutch but mixed color). Dad was pyle/red schouldered white partridge. Mother was a lavender Dutch.
Only the rust color on their shoulders is distinctive. Pearl has more rust color than Black. Their characters are also different. Black is more bossy, comes to get a pet more often and is less shy.

Last year these two were a broody team. I’m not sure what Blacks intentions are now. Today Black had taken over Janices nest again. Strange, because she doesn’t lay every 24 hours.

Its obvious that Pearl and Janice are broody. And I don’t want a third broody thats for sure.

Black (left) and Pearl.
Janice was ‘patiently’ waiting at the entrance.

 

[BDutch]

If any readers are interested in colour mixes. This is a great website named Chicken calculator (or chicken jungle) to figure out what you can expect:
http://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm
The site in multilanguage. It’s an old site but stil works fine.

PS
There is another site that has a real good explanation on how chicken genetics work:
https://www.chickenfans.com/chicken-breeding-genetics/

 

[BDutch]

Black is definitely broody too. I tried to brake her for a few days/nights. But it didn’t work. Yesterday I gave up to expel her from the nest-boxes.
I was in doubt wether to close of the coop/small run ( the broodies part) from the extension coop and large run, or leave her to do what she wants.

Expel her definitely means closing the ‘gate’ . The ‘gate’ is the opening on the left in the 2 photos with the pop door. This involves more time to feed / clean out poop and the broodies can’t stretch their legs properly if I’m not at home to be in control. Because I have busy working days next week and our neighbour takes care of the chickens after that for 6 days I decided to leave the flock to do as they prefer.

Black (the bossy new broody) is in one nest. Pearl and Janice in the other. All quiet and friendly.
I noticed this has an advantage too. Pearl was taking her time to dustbath and free ranged longer than usual before she returned to the nest.

Took this pic on Friday evening of the cherry tree after closing the chickens in. It was just a few minutes before a storm with lightning and hail. The cherry is blossoming beautifully this year.

 

[BDutch]

Pff, the first days were a bit nerve wrecking. But today it went great.

The chicks stayed in the nestboxes and the portal upstairs til after breakfast. At some point the chicks went down the board-ladder and stayed to play and scratch with the mama’s in the soil all day. At 6 pm, way before dark, they were all upstairs again. Maybe the went up early because it was getting cold by then.

I put food and water in both places.
The other 3 chickens could free range all morning.

 

[BDutch]

The mama’s and chicks seem to have a routine.
After sunrise they stay upstairs in the sleeping area (2 nest boxes and a hallway/platform with food and water).
Around 10 they go downstairs and stay there until around 5 o'clock. The mama’s scratch for food. The chicks eat what the mama’s find + they eat pellets with water. After eating and walking around they take a break and warm up again under mothers wings. This is repeated several time a day. At the end of the day they return to the bedroom area. And hang around until it’s time to sleep.

Upstairs ^

Downstairs ^

 

[BDutch]

There was a cold wind today. The mama’s and chicks did return to the coop/small run a couple of times and went to ‘bed’ early.

 

[BDutch]

Good luck with the cleaning!
What is a lice detection control roll? Sounds useful.

Thanks.
You can buy lice detection cilinders with cartons for red mite in the shops here.
https://www.allestegenbloedluis.nl/...MI1qbH-LPK_wIVjOZ3Ch02pgo9EAQYAiABEgIAOfD_BwE
google translated the text for you:

Spoiler: "Red mite detection rolls"

With these control tubes you can easily check whether you have an infestation in your home.

You can keep an eye on the presence of red mite by hanging the control tubes under the perches (by means of tie-wraps, for example). The lice are hidden in holes and cracks every day, so also in these tubes. This way you do not have to check the pen and your animals in the dark, but you can carry out this check daily.

We recommend that you always hang up tubes, even if you are not infected. By checking a toe of the tubes, you can detect an infestation very early and your chance of success in control is greatly increased.


To use
In the loft


Package contents
5 tubes and 15 cartons

I make them myself. With the packinging of biscuits that easily break.
I make a roll of pieces white corrugated cardboard from cookie packaging.
I cut the paper about 2 “ wide, 4 “ long, roll it and put an elastic band around them. I can roll it out and use it again and again.
This was a tip on the Dutch chickenforum.

 

[BDutch]

Yes these Sulmtaler have a very different appearance from the Dutch or the bantam RIR. Sulmtaler are bigger than the Dutch and about the same size as Katrientje (RIR).

Fyi, Dutch doesn't mean Deutch. We say Hollandse kriel, meaning bantam from the Pays Bas. I think the English got the languages German (Deutch) and Dutch (Netherlands) mixed up somewhere in history.

Tonight I candled 5 of the 6 eggs. I think 3 were not alive and 2 were alive. I have numbered them:
1 not
2 yes
3 not
4 couldnt get hold of it easily and I didn’t want to disturb Kraai any longer.
5 yes
6 not/doubt

Katrientje is definitely broody and wants to sit on the eggs too. I her locked up in the second run again. If she is as persistent as last year, it is going to take me weeks to ‘unbroody’ her. One of the reasons why I bought hatchery eggs of these RIR a couple of years ago was because this breed isn't the broody kind of chicken. .

Katrientje is looking for an opportunity to ‘dive’ into the Kraai’s nest.

Black: “Do you have some yummie treats?”

 

[BDutch]

The broodies look happy with their task. But I wasn’t very happy today. Janice had a little poop on one of the eggs.

Collected a new laid egg in both nests. And two in nestbox nr 3.