Beat this record! How long broody stays with chicks? Pics!

[suebee]

oesdog, Yes!! Keep posting here until all the chicks are completely separated from her. I think it still counts if one or two sleep up on the roosting bar. You got the record as far as I know!! Just amazing! Do you have any other chickens besides her and her babies? She may just be lonely.

Well Lola started free ranging with the adults this morning but now she's back with the babies....so it'll be back and forth thing for a few days I suppose.

 

[oesdog]

Quote:

Yes sure I do - see the picture up above:
Far Left on the Roost Bar - dark green Speckled Sussex ISOBELLA, Next Large Grey Cuckoo Maran GERTY - These two I call the Buzzards !!!!! Next white/black Not sure what? - That is CAROLINE - Then far right on the Roosting bar is MABLE!!!!!! One of Berthas chicks ( She is sure like ISOBELLA?). You can clearly see how BIG she is compared to the grown up girls in this shot!!! This is just before Bertha dragged her off! On the deck level below far Left RIR/PR bird - that is DRUMSTICK she wont go back on the roost as she is sulking after a bad molt and then having to share with the babies!!! She is not happy!!!! Then in the far right corner Bertha and the other three chicks, Infront DUCK ( He looks a lot like GERTY?), then in the middle you can just see a bit of the red of NUGGET ( He has to be DRUMSTICKS KID!!!) at the back BETTY ( Well she is dark I think CAROLINES due to her white wing tips? - and you can just see Bertha is right at the rear counting!!!!! Sad thing is none of the chicks look like they came from BERTHA at all. The chicks are all a x between our girls and a borowed white Leghorn Rooster called Sam. GERTY AND ISOBELLA beat him up but the chicks look a lot like them don;t they????

Then these two: They were bought eggs - the only ones to survive my incubator ignorance!!!

Left is Omlet - baby Cuckoo Maran hatched day 28. She is very tiny and my Roo boy Blue he is a cream Legbar hatched day 27. Has the blue egg gene and is a rare bird so I have to protect him. I am hoping to breed these to bring the blue egg gene into the flock and I am hoping to put him to the Marans to get chicks that lay green eggs too?
( These two tiny ones are only a week younger than Berthas 4 chicks. - She rejected all atempts to give her these two. - they were often ill and the Vet told me to cull Omlet - as you can see she is still here!!!
So I have 11 birds in all - plently of company but the two tiny ones never go with the big hens as they are delicate and small.

They do all go in the yard together to free range but always supervised as Mable attacks the tiny ones and I don;t want them damaged.

Oesdog

 

[dragonjaze]

omg, these are the funniest pictures!! Trying to stifle my laughter while at work just makes it sound like I'm choking...

Can't say these chicks didn't have some quality mothering!!

 

[oesdog]

Everyone sad to tell you it is over!!!!!!!!

Bertha is off the chicks. - She is definately off the chicks I think the photo I got with the captions on must have been her last night of Squishing!!! I went in last night and Berths was on the roost Bar - I didn;t know if she went back down. - Tonight I checked again and she is definately up on the roost bar with - Mable, Betty and Duck all squished up beside her on the bar - little Nugget is now on his own on the platform in the sad corner where she used to push them all to squish!! -

Its over!!! The megga Squish is no more. Just added the dates correctly for you and it is:

Exactly 18 weeks for Duck, Nugget and Mable - Hatch date 1st June 2010
And Exactly 17 weeks and 6 days for the last chick Betty - Hatch date 2nd June 2010

Less than I thought but way longtime for her to brood her chicks.

Oesdog -

 

[Sasa]

Okay, these are ADORABLE!

 

[suebee]

Wow, I completely forgot about this thread. My broody Lola is sitting on eggs now so maybe she'll beat her old record when they hatch!

She's hatched 3 batches since this thread but hasn't stayed with them as long as the ones pictured here.

 

[sumi]

I have 2 broodies here who hatched chicks in February... 24th Feb and 29th Feb. Neither is showing any sign of weaning them babies any time soon. I don't really mind, but surely if your little rooster chick starts "jumping" you it's time?

It's been what, 14 weeks?
The 29th Feb mommy is my 6 year old hen. All the time we had her she only went broody 3 times. Once 2 years ago, when she rejected the chick, then last year when she lost her chicks and then again within 3 weeks of that tragedy. Maybe she mellowed a bit now she's older?

 

[oesdog]

Hi guys

NIce to get an update on what everyone is at. - The news about Bertha since this thread.

First off the kids!
The Red Chick who was called nugget, grew really big and was a bit of a lad with the girls, so his name changed to BIG RED. I realised he was infact not Drumsticks chick but deffinately Berthas boy. (He grew more and more Red speckled sussex.) and the other Roo boy Duck who was deffinately Gerty's boy. They ended up sharing a shed together and were good friends but the neighbors complained about the amount of Roo boys. In the end we relented and found them what we thought was a good home on a local farm. However we later discovered that they tired of the roo boys and sadly the lads were discontinued. - I used to keep those two boys seperate from the girls but during the day I would bring them to visit for a short time. Bertha would wait at the gate of the run every day for them and once I had rehomed them she still waited every day for a lot of months. She never forgot them even after they had died. - I felt so bad but the lady at the farm said they would not be killed and she lied. I never told Bertha!!!!!!

The two girls Mayble and Betty are still here. Berths and the girls are always together, so they have maintained that strong bond.
Last year Bertha damaged her leg in an accident and it has taken the best part of a year to fix. She has not gone back to brood since the mammoth 18 week momathon.

*The other two chicks that were hatched at the same time from the incubator and were NOT brooded as Bertha rejected them. In the end these were both Boys though the little one Omlet squated like a girl? Very odd. We called him the He/she bird as he has a girlie bum and a boy tail? They went to live in a rare breed petting farm. - They are still alive and both have their "own" hens. Their runs back onto eachother and they are still good friends. ( Omlet finally crowed a week after we took him to the petting farm!!! He was nearly 8 months old!)

Not a sign of Bertha brooding this year nor any of my other hens. Good luck to you all that have broody girls.

Oes

 

[suebee]

I have 2 broodies here who hatched chicks in February... 24th Feb and 29th Feb. Neither is showing any sign of weaning them babies any time soon. I don't really mind, but surely if your little rooster chick starts "jumping" you it's time?   It's been what, 14 weeks?
The 29th Feb mommy is my 6 year old hen. All the time we had her she only went broody 3 times. Once 2 years ago, when she rejected the chick, then last year when she lost her chicks and then again within 3 weeks of that tragedy. Maybe she mellowed a bit now she's older?

Wow! Since late February really?? That's a record for sure!!

 

[suebee]

Hi guys

NIce to get an update on what everyone is at. - The news about Bertha since this thread. 

First off the kids!
The Red Chick who was called nugget, grew really big and was a bit of a lad with the girls, so his name changed to BIG RED. I realised he was infact not Drumsticks chick but deffinately Berthas boy. (He grew more and more Red speckled sussex.) and the other Roo boy Duck who was deffinately Gerty's boy. They ended up sharing a shed together and were good friends but the neighbors complained about the amount of Roo boys. In the end we relented and found them what we thought was a good home on a local farm. However we later discovered that they tired of the roo boys and sadly the lads were discontinued. - I used to keep those two boys seperate from the girls but during the day I would bring them to visit for a short time. Bertha would wait at the gate of the run every day for them and once I had rehomed them she still waited every day for a lot of months. She never forgot them even after they had died. - I felt so bad but the lady at the farm said they would not be killed and she lied. I never told Bertha!!!!!!
The two girls Mayble and Betty are still here. Berths and the girls are always together, so they have maintained that strong bond.
Last year Bertha damaged her leg in an accident and it has taken the best part of a year to fix. She has not gone back to brood since the mammoth 18 week momathon.

*The other two chicks that were hatched at the same time from the incubator and were NOT brooded as Bertha rejected them. In the end these were both Boys though the little one Omlet squated like a girl? Very odd. We called him the He/she bird as he has a girlie bum and a boy tail? They went to live in a rare breed petting farm. - They are still alive and both have their "own" hens. Their runs back onto eachother and they are still good friends. ( Omlet finally crowed a week after we took him to the petting farm!!! He was nearly 8 months old!)

Not a sign of Bertha brooding this year nor any of my other hens. Good luck to you all that have broody girls.

Oes

Awww, oesdog, what a bittersweet story. I also have an "odd" chicken. I was sure it was a roo but it's acting like a hen. Guess I'll have to wait til it either lays an egg or crows...He/she is over 6 months old...Geez!!!!!!!!!!!