Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[lildinkem]

Speaking of collies and german shepherds, I have a mutt dog something of a mix (I think -- at least she looks like) between the two breeds. I free range my birds and my "mutt" is wonderful about keeping my birds safe; she seems to be naturally inclined to protecting the farm. I found her as a stray with a bunch of puppies- adopted out the puppies, spayed and kept her -- nothing that does not belong on my little farm ventures on the premises:

She does look like a big smart sweet dog. A BYCer and friend in Pendleton IN had that same cross. His boy was good enough to keep the Coyotes off his farm. They woould try to bait his dog to go out into the corn fields with a female Coyote in season, and his boy would not fall for that. Very smart intelligent mix. I see your girl looks very content doing her job. VERY NICE!

 

[Robert Blosl]

The old hen or old male that looks like a youngster it makes no difference. You may luck out in twenty years and get say five females and one male as Mr. Reese did about thirty years ago. I was able to locate one of the females and then I got three of her sons. Then I went after this fountain of youth look. It took me about five years. I pushed and pushed for fast feathering and high egg production to improve feather quaitly on the females back. Then one year BAM it showed up.

I did this with my white rocks and got a hen that looked like a pullet at age five and even when she died at seven years of age she had that look.

I saw a guy coming home tonight who is about sixty years old and if he died his hair brown he would look forty five. His hair is pure white but his shin and his over all body is as lean as he was in high school.

I think when you locate some real sharp attractive true to type birds you need to breed them and spread them out. Mr. Sturgeon once suggested a great mating. If you get such a great female mate her to three males in a season and then toe punch each of her chicks. Then as they grow up to adulthood the ones that look the best from one of the three good males mate them again and get more. Mate the best pullet back to her sire then again and then again. Push these traits to the limits and try to stamp this look onto your flock.

Great discussion pick the brains of your elders. I picked about twenty breeders 20 yrs.' ago before they died. I refused to let them take their secrets to their graves.

 

[suncatcher]

Quote: So true!!!!!!!

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
I need some heritage hen management advice please from people who have done this!
Ok, so today the 3 chicks are 6 weeks old. They have been living inside with March since hatch on Feb. 23. Never a day out. She has been a wonderful mama hen! The last several days when I opened the coop door, March wanted 'out". I thought she just wanted her chicks otuside. So today it was finally calm and warm. I let everyone outside.She showed them around the yard and showed them how to eat Rice Krispies off the ground. I didn't want to chase them to get them back inside so turned off the light in the coop so they would settle down oustide in a big box I provided. Then after dark, I would pick them up and put them inside.
Just went out to do that. March had found her way inside and was enscouned in her nest. Kinda a surprise. The three chicks were curled up just outside the box where I thought they would be. I had turned the light back on in the coop and put them inside, one by one.
Surprise. March didn't seem happy at all to see them . It was like a mama dog weaning her pups. Every time they came to her to cuddle, she pecked them.
Then I got to wondering and went and opened the nest box. Surprise, there are three eggs in it. She has started laying again. What is going on and how do I handle this? I have not studied it. Do I leave the chicks with her? Move them another pen? She is not with a cock, so the eggs aren't fertile. ( BTW, May has decided to go broody too. Boy is she mad when I take her eggs away every day! , May is with Junior the cock).
What's my next step here? I have 2 incubators running. Each has 7 eggs in it. One will hatch in 36 hours. The other in 13 days. I see no movement or hear chirping in the one due in 36 hours. Those eggs were collected in the dead of winter and I worry they got too cold before I got them collected. ( I do have 7 eggs on the turner from May/Junior to start this one going again).
I have 6 weeks before my son's wedding and I wanted all the chicks out of brooder by then.
Thanks so much for your help,
Karen
(Should I turn off the light in March's coop tonight? It's not needed for warmth. Will that keep her from pecking the chicks?)

 

[cgmccary]

Hi,
I need some heritage hen management advice please from people who have done this!
Ok, so today the 3 chicks are 6 weeks old. They have been living inside with March since hatch on Feb. 23. Never a day out. She has been a wonderful mama hen! The last several days when I opened the coop door, March wanted 'out". I thought she just wanted her chicks otuside. So today it was finally calm and warm. I let everyone outside.She showed them around the yard and showed them how to eat Rice Krispies off the ground. I didn't want to chase them to get them back inside so turned off the light in the coop so they would settle down oustide in a big box I provided. Then after dark, I would pick them up and put them inside.
Just went out to do that. March had found her way inside and was enscouned in her nest. Kinda a surprise. The three chicks were curled up just outside the box where I thought they would be. I had turned the light back on in the coop and put them inside, one by one.
Surprise. March didn't seem happy at all to see them . It was like a mama dog weaning her pups. Every time they came to her to cuddle, she pecked them.
Then I got to wondering and went and opened the nest box. Surprise, there are three eggs in it. She has started laying again. What is going on and how do I handle this? I have not studied it. Do I leave the chicks with her? Move them another pen? She is not with a cock, so the eggs aren't fertile. ( BTW, May has decided to go broody too. Boy is she mad when I take her eggs away every day! , May is with Junior the cock).
What's my next step here? I have 2 incubators running. Each has 7 eggs in it. One will hatch in 36 hours. The other in 13 days. I see no movement or hear chirping in the one due in 36 hours. Those eggs were collected in the dead of winter and I worry they got too cold before I got them collected. ( I do have 7 eggs on the turner from May/Junior to start this one going again).
I have 6 weeks before my son's wedding and I wanted all the chicks out of brooder by then.
Thanks so much for your help,
Karen
(Should I turn off the light in March's coop tonight? It's not needed for warmth. Will that keep her from pecking the chicks?)

Some hens do wean as early as about 6 weeks old (and chicks are fine to be on their own and they will continue as a cohesive unit staying together and all) & if she is pecking at them, she is ready to move on-- so you need to separate them and give the clutch their own space. A hen laying again does not necessarily correspond with the same time she weans them. I have had hens who would start laying when their chicks were 2-4 weeks old -- funny watching the chicks wait on mama to lay her egg -- some standing outside the laying box & others will run in and out & under her while she is laying.

 

[3riverschick]

Some hens do wean as early as about 6 weeks old (and chicks are fine to be on their own and they will continue as a cohesive unit staying together and all) & if she is pecking at them, she is ready to move on-- so you need to separate them and give the clutch their own space. A hen laying again does not necessarily correspond with the same time she weans them. I have had hens who would start laying when their chicks were 2-4 weeks old -- funny watching the chicks wait on mama to lay her egg -- some standing outside the laying box & others will run in and out & under her while she is laying.

Oh great, sigh. I thought I had 2 more weeks and the grow out pen isn't ready yet. How urgent is this to separate them tonight? Will she kill them? I guess I could put her in the big brooder for several days. The chicks like her, she has just decided to move on. Should I turn off the light in their coop tonight so they all go to sleep?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

Oh great, sigh. I thought I had 2 more weeks and the grow out pen isn't ready yet. How urgent is this to separate them tonight? Will she kill them? I guess I could put her in the big brooder for several days. The chicks like her, she has just decided to move on. Should I turn off the light in their coop tonight so they all go to sleep?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[cgmccary]

Oh great, sigh. I thought I had 2 more weeks and the grow out pen isn't ready yet. How urgent is this to separate them tonight? Will she kill them? I guess I could put her in the big brooder for several days. The chicks like her, she has just decided to move on. Should I turn off the light in their coop tonight so they all go to sleep?
Thanks,
Karen

She won't kill them or anything but instead steadily over the next week, she will peck them more and more and gradually start chasing them away from her. That is when I know it is time to pull the mother hen out. Most Buckeye hens wean at about 6 weeks while I will have Game hens that will stay with them for 3+ months (and Buckeye chicks outgrow their game hen mothers within that time). Your hen is probably OK for a few days while you set up her separate quarters -- just check in and make sure all is well tomorrow.

As long as the weather in Ligonier is not way below freezing (what state?), then they don't need their light -- they should be feathered well. You know how they chirp loudly when their light is first turned out?

Chris

 

[3riverschick]

She won't kill them or anything but instead steadily over the next week, she will peck them more and more and gradually start chasing them away from her. That is when I know it is time to pull the mother hen out. Most Buckeye hens wean at about 6 weeks while I will have Game hens that will stay with them for 3+ months (and Buckeye chicks outgrow their game hen mothers within that time). Your hen is probably OK for a few days while you set up her separate quarters -- just check in and make sure all is well tomorrow.

As long as the weather in Ligonier is not way below freezing (what state?), then they don't need their light -- they should be feathered well. You know how they chirp loudly when their light is first turned out?

Chris

Hi Chris,
Oh Thank you, for responding so quickly. I have been quite worried. Ok, I can do
this over the next few days. Off goes the light. It is not below freezing here in western PA.
Just hit Spring yesterday. It's 48 outside right now.
Thanks!
Karen
We turn off the light from inside the house. Oh, I don't want to hear them, I might relent and turn it back on again, smile.)

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Hi,
I need some heritage hen management advice please from people who have done this!
Ok, so today the 3 chicks are 6 weeks old. They have been living inside with March since hatch on Feb. 23. Never a day out. She has been a wonderful mama hen! The last several days when I opened the coop door, March wanted 'out". I thought she just wanted her chicks otuside. So today it was finally calm and warm. I let everyone outside.She showed them around the yard and showed them how to eat Rice Krispies off the ground. I didn't want to chase them to get them back inside so turned off the light in the coop so they would settle down oustide in a big box I provided. Then after dark, I would pick them up and put them inside.
Just went out to do that. March had found her way inside and was enscouned in her nest. Kinda a surprise. The three chicks were curled up just outside the box where I thought they would be. I had turned the light back on in the coop and put them inside, one by one.
Surprise. March didn't seem happy at all to see them . It was like a mama dog weaning her pups. Every time they came to her to cuddle, she pecked them.
Then I got to wondering and went and opened the nest box. Surprise, there are three eggs in it. She has started laying again. What is going on and how do I handle this? I have not studied it. Do I leave the chicks with her? Move them another pen? She is not with a cock, so the eggs aren't fertile. ( BTW, May has decided to go broody too. Boy is she mad when I take her eggs away every day! , May is with Junior the cock).
What's my next step here? I have 2 incubators running. Each has 7 eggs in it. One will hatch in 36 hours. The other in 13 days. I see no movement or hear chirping in the one due in 36 hours. Those eggs were collected in the dead of winter and I worry they got too cold before I got them collected. ( I do have 7 eggs on the turner from May/Junior to start this one going again).
I have 6 weeks before my son's wedding and I wanted all the chicks out of brooder by then.
Thanks so much for your help,
Karen
(Should I turn off the light in March's coop tonight? It's not needed for warmth. Will that keep her from pecking the chicks?)

Take the eggs away from her. You might be able to stretch another week out of her with the chicks if the eggs are gone. 6 weeks is pretty young for those chicks to be fending for themselves at this time of year. But they will help to keep each other warm. I had 3 Marans chicks early last fall. Mama finished with them after 5 weeks. It was a struggle for the chicks for the first several weeks but they managed.