Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[gjensen]

How old are the cockerels? 28 wks?

Jeremy, I prefer male #2. It is my opinion that he has better balance, stands well on his legs, best color, etc. I do not like his tail etc., but overall I prefer him.

I think they could all use their wings picked up, I do not like leghorn combs on NHs, etc. It would be easy to nit pick the finer points, but I am impressed with the initial cross.

What I do like about the third male is that he is very broad, and he looks like he would handle like a rock. I bet he is heavy in the hands. What you cannot pick up from the photos is the fleshing. These birds flesh out well. They have something to them, and they are certainly not all feather. They are heavier than they look.

I am looking forward to where you go with the next generation.

 

[Robert Blosl]

That looks like a Reese NH. Thanks for posting bob

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Morning all.....need some advise on "broodies"

I have one Columbian Rock and 1 Wyandotte who brooded (within feet of each other) and hatched off last Sunday. I moved them to a separate pen so the chicks could get out into the run with hassle from the big birds. All has been well until this morning....the Columbian hen is attacking/chasing the Wyandotte hen, repeatedly

There are 9 chicks between them so there is plenty of "work" to go around

This run has 2 separate, attached 4x4 coops, and the run is roughly 10x10 (wire covered to protect from aerial problems)

Will they "settle" this problem, or will it continue to be an issue? I'm a bit squeezed for "grow out space" right now due to all the broodies this year, but I guess I could find a way to open another coop

Thoughts? Advise?

Thanks

 

[ronott1]

Morning all.....need some advise on "broodies"

I have one Columbian Rock and 1 Wyandotte who brooded (within feet of each other) and hatched off last Sunday. I moved them to a separate pen so the chicks could get out into the run with hassle from the big birds. All has been well until this morning....the Columbian hen is attacking/chasing the Wyandotte hen, repeatedly

There are 9 chicks between them so there is plenty of "work" to go around

This run has 2 separate, attached 4x4 coops, and the run is roughly 10x10 (wire covered to protect from aerial problems)

Will they "settle" this problem, or will it continue to be an issue? I'm a bit squeezed for "grow out space" right now due to all the broodies this year, but I guess I could find a way to open another coop

Thoughts? Advise?

Thanks

Put the Wyandotte back in with the layers and either let the Rock adopt the chicks or put some of them into a brooder. The Wyantotte is broken from being broody and will start laying eggs again in 3 or 4 weeks.

I have an SG Dorking that I am going to give a couple of Pita Pintas that hatched last night. If she has trouble taking care of them she will break when I remove the chicks. She only hatched a chick last Spring, which she nearly killed. When I moved the chick to the incubator to warm back up, she was already out of the nest and not broody any more.

 

[buffalogal]

I read they have a 13 second memory.

I have a feeling their memory is considerably better than that.

If you've even seen a broody command her peeps to hide while she rushes out to take on an overly inquisitive dog, cat or small child, and then return several minutes later, you know she isn't just randomly wandering around the yard calling for them. She remembered where she left them. And you can teach them tricks and other non natural behaviors, Considering the size of a chicken's brain, it's not the degree of difficulty, but the fact that you can teach them at all that is interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chicken+training&page=&utm_source=opensearch.

I bought a small dog size agility kit to work with one of the dogs, and inspired by those youtube videos, I've begun experimenting with a few very friendly pullets on some of the equipment. (I have a lot of free time and I'm pathetically easy to amuse like that.) So far, hoops and bars are no problem, but when I put down the collapsible tunnel, the cats crawl in, stretch out, and take over the space, so I'll have to work on that.

 

[Pathfinders]

Morning all.....need some advise on "broodies"

I have one Columbian Rock and 1 Wyandotte who brooded (within feet of each other) and hatched off last Sunday. I moved them to a separate pen so the chicks could get out into the run with hassle from the big birds. All has been well until this morning....the Columbian hen is attacking/chasing the Wyandotte hen, repeatedly

There are 9 chicks between them so there is plenty of "work" to go around

This run has 2 separate, attached 4x4 coops, and the run is roughly 10x10 (wire covered to protect from aerial problems)

Will they "settle" this problem, or will it continue to be an issue? I'm a bit squeezed for "grow out space" right now due to all the broodies this year, but I guess I could find a way to open another coop

Thoughts? Advise?

Thanks

I don't think 9 chicks is too many for one hen to mother at all. I agree with Ronott1, put the Wyandotte back in the layer pen and let the Rock be the mamma.

 

[har]

Scott you need to do that at night other wise the hen might reject the other hens chicks.

 

[ronott1]

Scott you need to do that at night other wise the hen might reject the other hens chicks.

Yes, that is very important.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Morning all.....need some advise on "broodies"

I have one Columbian Rock and 1 Wyandotte who brooded (within feet of each other) and hatched off last Sunday. I moved them to a separate pen so the chicks could get out into the run with hassle from the big birds. All has been well until this morning....the Columbian hen is attacking/chasing the Wyandotte hen, repeatedly

There are 9 chicks between them so there is plenty of "work" to go around

This run has 2 separate, attached 4x4 coops, and the run is roughly 10x10 (wire covered to protect from aerial problems)

Will they "settle" this problem, or will it continue to be an issue? I'm a bit squeezed for "grow out space" right now due to all the broodies this year, but I guess I could find a way to open another coop

Thoughts? Advise?

Thanks

I guess I'm going to go against popular opinion. That Wyandotte brooded just as long as the other hen and if you are trying to maintain a level of broodiness in your coops or in your Wyandotte flock, I'd separate them with their respective chicks. I know space is at a premium, I think it is probably that way everywhere this time in the grow out season. If I break a broody early in her trance thats one thing, but once she hatches out chicks and proves to be a good mother to them, I'll let her keep them.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I just jumped over to facebook and this was right up front. If it will kill a dog, it will likely kill our birds too.

FYI:


FB friends, we got the biopsy report back and with great sorrow I must share this....Our darling girl died from the toxin in this plant that I have on my deck. It is called heliotrope and is highly toxic, causes total liver destruction. The pathologist said our angel had the worst liver damage he's ever seen. Goldie would nibble at the leaves of this plant every so often and we had no clue it was toxic. (It can come in white or purple.) Please share with any dog owners you know to hopefully prevent their dog from becoming a statistic like Goldie. We are even more heartbroken now knowing her death was preventable. Please share her story so that something positive may come of it and create awareness of toxic plants. Our own vet had no idea this was a toxic plant!!