BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Beekissed]

This has been the year of the broody, with 10 out of 13 hens going broody this season....just threw the latest one in the broody buster pen. Too late to be brooding. There are four hens in that broody busting pen right now, as they all went broody too late in the season for my liking. Seems like every other day now I find another broody on a nest, refusing to get off. Eggs slowing down to a trickle now but chicks running everywhere. So far I have 22 chicks and 8 more eggs being brooded, with possibly more out in the woods of an unknown number. Can't find that nest at all, nor have I seen that hen for several days so she is either snatched by a pred(she is FAR from dog protection) or sitting that hidden nest like a BOSS.

One pullet this year has distinguished herself among this flock. She brooded out in the woods in April, hatched out the second weekend of May, is still keeping her young in the woods but has finally started coming back to the coop to roost with them at night and has them all on the roost beside her(they are 5 wks old), which is something I really like....a mama that teaches her young to roost early on. In the daytime I never see that family...they are living on forage out there and those youngsters are growing well. She was the pullet I liked the most for the shape of her body...was the one I took to the show. She was also the first of this year's pullets to start laying. I hope most of her young are female....sure could use more just like her.

This is her when the chicks were much smaller, staying far away from the coop and hanging near the honeysuckle thicket. She acts very feral now and doesn't like any humans to get near her or the chicks....if she comes into the coop for supper, she makes the chicks stay in the woods at the edge of the meadow while she snatches a few bites and then scurries back to them. I had to take this pic on zoom as she won't let me get close enough for a good picture.

 

[cyborg]

She is a good lookin mama!

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

This has been the year of the broody, with 10 out of 13 hens going broody this season....just threw the latest one in the broody buster pen. Too late to be brooding. There are four hens in that broody busting pen right now, as they all went broody too late in the season for my liking. Seems like every other day now I find another broody on a nest, refusing to get off. Eggs slowing down to a trickle now but chicks running everywhere. So far I have 22 chicks and 8 more eggs being brooded, with possibly more out in the woods of an unknown number. Can't find that nest at all, nor have I seen that hen for several days so she is either snatched by a pred(she is FAR from dog protection) or sitting that hidden nest like a BOSS.

One pullet this year has distinguished herself among this flock. She brooded out in the woods in April, hatched out the second weekend of May, is still keeping her young in the woods but has finally started coming back to the coop to roost with them at night and has them all on the roost beside her(they are 5 wks old), which is something I really like....a mama that teaches her young to roost early on. In the daytime I never see that family...they are living on forage out there and those youngsters are growing well. She was the pullet I liked the most for the shape of her body...was the one I took to the show. She was also the first of this year's pullets to start laying. I hope most of her young are female....sure could use more just like her.

This is her when the chicks were much smaller, staying far away from the coop and hanging near the honeysuckle thicket. She acts very feral now and doesn't like any humans to get near her or the chicks....if she comes into the coop for supper, she makes the chicks stay in the woods at the edge of the meadow while she snatches a few bites and then scurries back to them. I had to take this pic on zoom as she won't let me get close enough for a good picture.

I love this description. I'm not sure I have the property or other arrangements to support this in my flock, but I certainly aspire to aspects of it. My Speckled Sussex who went broody in the deep brush where I couldn't find her got eaten by a fox.

I have the same issue. It's June and WAY too late (especially in this climate), and I already have had all the chicks I can manage this year. So NOW everyone wants to go broody!!!! The only one who seemed like she might sit tight was the cream legbar hen (but I already had 6 of her babies from the incubator, so I broke her). The others have been less committed. But all are young (my flock is relatively new), so perhaps some will be good broodies next year - I may let some try to sit if they show commitment. I would love to have broody-raised chicks. That's a long term goal for me regardless.

- Ant Farm

Edit to add: Oh, and your birds are SO lovely. And their conformation and her confirmed behavior is SO much better than any judgment in any show could reflect, IMHO...

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Broodyness is definitely something I want to breed out of my egg layers, it's a trait that really knocks down the egg numbers but a few are definitely handy to have. I have a Cornish that has gone broody at least five times this spring. I break her of it and a few weeks later I hear that cluck-cluck and I know we're in for another round. I finally gave up, she's sitting on some eggs along with two other broody hens. I don't need the chicks but I figured since they will be doing all the work, why not? I put ten eggs under her, and as other hens went broody I split the eggs up under the three broodies. So at least they will all hatch at the same time.
@Beekissed that's a lovely photo, the quality of your rocks is amazing. What happens to those feral chicks in the winter, do they go in the coop or do they tough it out in the woods?

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

I'm actually going to try Penedesencas - I just have my hands full right now.

- Ant Farm

It's interesting that there are quite a few hot weather chicken breeds, but no really- cold- weather egg laying breeds. Single combs are everywhere... sigh.

 

[Beekissed]

Broodyness is definitely something I want to breed out of my egg layers, it's a trait that really knocks down the egg numbers but a few are definitely handy to have. I have a Cornish that has gone broody at least five times this spring. I break her of it and a few weeks later I hear that cluck-cluck and I know we're in for another round. I finally gave up, she's sitting on some eggs along with two other broody hens. I don't need the chicks but I figured since they will be doing all the work, why not? I put ten eggs under her, and as other hens went broody I split the eggs up under the three broodies. So at least they will all hatch at the same time.
@Beekissed that's a lovely photo, the quality of your rocks is amazing. What happens to those feral chicks in the winter, do they go in the coop or do they tough it out in the woods?

They are already roosting with wild mama in the coop each night, so I'm guessing they will adapt to coop life soon enough. They all do when the forage starts to get slim and the only good tucker is provided by the Food Bringer.

Here's the whole family....Dada, Mama and kids....



Below is a WR/BA mix bird with her small brood....they are only a couple of weeks old.



And this hen below had established a nest on our front porch behind a stack of firewood, hatched out 14 out of 16(2 were clears) and has been managing this big brood ever since. They are the oldest of the chicks this year by a week but she still hasn't taken them to roost....most likely because she feels the nights are still too cool and she can't cover them there. She was marked for fall cull before this episode but I'm rethinking that now....she was an excellent and smart broody and is a the same as a mother.

It's interesting that there are quite a few hot weather chicken breeds, but no really- cold- weather egg laying breeds. Single combs are everywhere... sigh.

CB, if there is a breed that does well in the cold and continues to lay decent in the winter months, but has a single comb, why not use it? My Rocks and particularly the Black Australorps do VERY well in temps below zero and I don't get frost bite then either, though I think the frost bite issue may be more of a management issue than a comb issue for most people, but it would seem the birds that burn fuel at a nice, slow rate do extremely well in colder climates, be they single comb or not. If the temps are so extreme where you live that you get frostbite no matter what you do, I'd say let that breed self dub and carry on with them if they still do well and lay well for you.

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Jules,
The roosting baby pic should be made into your Christmas card, awesome pic.
Kurt

 

[DesertChic]

It's interesting that there are quite a few hot weather chicken breeds, but no really- cold- weather egg laying breeds. Single combs are everywhere... sigh.

What about the Pavlovskaya, Twentse and Swedish Hedemora? I think all three of those are known for being especially cold hardy and the first two don't have single combs.

 

[DesertChic]

It makes sense that the birds of Mediterranean descent would be heat tolerant. Although I'd be a bit concerned about what will happen to your good meatie body shape. I'm really surprised that nobody in the hot climates has tried Fayoumis or crosses- that's a breed that has many good traits, underutilized IMO. That breed is on my bucket list to try one day, to see how they fare in a more northern climate.

There's actually a breeder of Fayoumis a couple hours north of where I live and I've considered checking out the breed. Egg size, bird size, and personality all matter to me though and I'm just not sure I'd be compatible with this breed.

 

[hellbender]

We finally have a litter of 11 pups....3/4 Caucasian Ovcharka. I know a pup has been promised to one of dad's special friends and also a couple were spoken for by others as well but I can't find who they were. The pups are 2 days old and I think there are 7 or 8 females, two of which will stay here. Three pups have been SOLD to farmers in surrounding states but I'm certain dad told me that three were promised to people on BYC. If you are one of those folks and are still in need of a good protector, please let us know.

The sweet steadfast friend who has been waiting for her pup, please let me know if you are still interested and anyone else who has been in contact with hellbender about these babies, please let me know, either here on the the thread or dad's PM.

Sorry if this post seems disjointed. I'm almost catatonic from being awake for hours on end.

For those who want to know, dad is holding his own and there has been no calls for family to come. Most are here underfoot anyhow...(that's an effort at humor).

J.

ETA: One of dad's favorite pullets hatched out 8 chicks over night. With luck, that will be the last use of her as a brood hen. About half the chicks were by her, 50% DC and 50% Cornish Cross. The others are pure DC. They made me smile, even though the mammy, Angel is a hateful sow...guess that makes her a good mommy.

Dad was never one to post too many pics and neither am I but I promise, barring some national crisis, I will take/post pics of Angel and her chicks when the hateful thing lets them have a bit of free roaming time.