BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[bnjrob]

I will try the "privacy curtain" idea ... cut-up feed bag, as I refuse to make ruffled or lace curtains for the hens. They have golf balls, and half end up out on the ground on any given day. Since the ones who ought to go broody are not any of my breeders, I would consider it a good thing, but I can understand how frustrating it can be when your breeding hens want to set instead of lay.

I am also thinking of changing out cockerels in there, to one who has already gone beak-to-beak with Bossy and got her to back down. If it isn't pouring down rain tonight, I have some chicken moving to do.

Ah, nothing like a little chicken-basket-upset after dark. Even more fun in the rain. Not.

 

[dfr1973]

Ah, nothing like a little chicken-basket-upset after dark. Even more fun in the rain. Not.

If it's raining too much, then we'll wait. I plan to upset three tractors, and hubby is discussing upsetting a fourth, plus both sides of the coop will probably reorder the pecking order when the oldest on each side is removed. Fun fun.

 

[gjensen]

This hatchery this and that, that we all do is sometimes misleading. Frankly, much of the time there is no intentional or intelligent selection. It is just simply quantities. Not to mention that most hatcheries only do just that. Hatch. They buy eggs, hatch them, and ship them. Many like ideal drop ship from multiple locations. Some do have and hatch their own. But it is rarely that there is a single breeder for anything at all other than an infusion of this or that along the way.

Scrap cloth curtains of some kind do encourage laying in a particular location. That could also include a hen that may decide to set with less activity. A setting hen does want privacy. She wants to get away from the main flock, and she would rather nest on the ground. A collection of eggs in sight for a length of time is an aid. It is not that they are processing (intelligently) an increasing quantity of eggs. It is the length of time they have been exposed to this sitting "eggs".

So. To encourage setting, leave a qty. of false eggs in a dark secure box on the ground and tucked away in some dark corner (though there should be no truly dark corners). If there is a setter in the crowd, she will set. More often in the spring's lengthening days, and for some, again in the shorter days of fall. Excessively broody birds are all year, and at any time. Especially when you do not want the to be.

Hens are more reliable than pullets.

It does seam that when you want them, they are not to be found. I had decided that I wanted some and could not get a reliable hen to save my life. Then I purchased a Mediterranean breed that every silly little chart said would not (they forgot to ask those in Spain and South America I guess). About 20-25% of the hens do go broody (a very good number) in the spring (mostly) or fall. Those that do set are reliable, and are excellent mothers.

Luanne's Blue Wheaton Ams will go broody reliably, eventually.

 

[hellbender]

This hatchery this and that, that we all do is sometimes misleading. Frankly, much of the time there is no intentional or intelligent selection. It is just simply quantities. Not to mention that most hatcheries only do just that. Hatch. They buy eggs, hatch them, and ship them. Many like ideal drop ship from multiple locations. Some do have and hatch their own. But it is rarely that there is a single breeder for anything at all other than an infusion of this or that along the way.

Scrap cloth curtains of some kind do encourage laying in a particular location. That could also include a hen that may decide to set with less activity. A setting hen does want privacy. She wants to get away from the main flock, and she would rather nest on the ground. A collection of eggs in sight for a length of time is an aid. It is not that they are processing (intelligently) an increasing quantity of eggs. It is the length of time they have been exposed to this sitting "eggs".

So. To encourage setting, leave a qty. of false eggs in a dark secure box on the ground and tucked away in some dark corner (though there should be no truly dark corners). If there is a setter in the crowd, she will set. More often in the spring's lengthening days, and for some, again in the shorter days of fall. Excessively broody birds are all year, and at any time. Especially when you do not want the to be.

Hens are more reliable than pullets.

It does seam that when you want them, they are not to be found. I had decided that I wanted some and could not get a reliable hen to save my life. Then I purchased a Mediterranean breed that every silly little chart said would not (they forgot to ask those in Spain and South America I guess). About 20-25% of the hens do go broody (a very good number) in the spring (mostly) or fall. Those that do set are reliable, and are excellent mothers.

Luanne's Blue Wheaton Ams will go broody reliably, eventually.

Perhaps we should do as a gal proposed on another thread....let chicks and egg be sold or exchanged ONLY at sanctioned APA shows.

 

[dfr1973]

Scrap cloth curtains of some kind do encourage laying in a particular location. That could also include a hen that may decide to set with less activity. A setting hen does want privacy. She wants to get away from the main flock, and she would rather nest on the ground. A collection of eggs in sight for a length of time is an aid. It is not that they are processing (intelligently) an increasing quantity of eggs. It is the length of time they have been exposed to this sitting "eggs".

So. To encourage setting, leave a qty. of false eggs in a dark secure box on the ground and tucked away in some dark corner (though there should be no truly dark corners). If there is a setter in the crowd, she will set. More often in the spring's lengthening days, and for some, again in the shorter days of fall. Excessively broody birds are all year, and at any time. Especially when you do not want the to be.

Hens are more reliable than pullets.

It does seam that when you want them, they are not to be found. I had decided that I wanted some and could not get a reliable hen to save my life. Then I purchased a Mediterranean breed that every silly little chart said would not (they forgot to ask those in Spain and South America I guess). About 20-25% of the hens do go broody (a very good number) in the spring (mostly) or fall. Those that do set are reliable, and are excellent mothers.

Luanne's Blue Wheaton Ams will go broody reliably, eventually.

Well, it hit me last night ... they need solid floors on those nestboxes. I feel so silly at times, it was a huge DUH! moment for me. Wire floor - even itty bitty 1/4 inch hardware cloth - is what folks use to try to break broodies. Hubby fixed that this morning, and now Bossy the Wheaten Am is trying to decide which of the four cubbyholes she likes best. In the process, she has kicked out 3 of the 5 golf balls. I need a taller lip for them, it looks like.

The cockerel switch was a failure. While Monty could handle Bossy on her own, Bossy plus the "posse" (Flaca and Funky, in particular) was too much for him. So Rock Star is back in there, saved from the crock pot for another month or two until Monty is old enough to hold his own in there.

George, I am under no illusions about hatchery stock. Their main selection criteria is egg production, plain and simple. If I cannot find someone with buff Wyandottes who answers emails, then I will likely be stuck going the hatchery route, and only Ideal and Stromberg have buff Wyandottes. Such is life. I ought to have a couple good decades still left in me.

Oh, and for the record ... Luanne is insidious, pernicious, sneaky, and devious (all in a good way). That NH capon has been really growing on me, especially since Wyandottes just don't come in orange. She freely admits to giving me that NH on purpose. At the time, she said she wanted me to have one that is dual purpose (I had a couple Dels, one went next door but the other apparently died of fright during caponizing) and she figured I'd end up liking the Hamps. Looks like I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. She says she is happy to oblige/enable me with hatching eggs or chicks come spring, and maybe some juvenile culls over the winter.

 

[bnjrob]

Perhaps we should do as a gal proposed on another thread....let chicks and egg be sold or exchanged ONLY at sanctioned APA shows.

What in the world would possess someone to suggest that? There are some APA show people I wouldn't even buy birds from.

 

[bnjrob]

Well, it hit me last night ... they need solid floors on those nestboxes. I feel so silly at times, it was a huge DUH! moment for me. Wire floor - even itty bitty 1/4 inch hardware cloth - is what folks use to try to break broodies. Hubby fixed that this morning, and now Bossy the Wheaten Am is trying to decide which of the four cubbyholes she likes best. In the process, she has kicked out 3 of the 5 golf balls. I need a taller lip for them, it looks like.

The cockerel switch was a failure. While Monty could handle Bossy on her own, Bossy plus the "posse" (Flaca and Funky, in particular) was too much for him. So Rock Star is back in there, saved from the crock pot for another month or two until Monty is old enough to hold his own in there.

George, I am under no illusions about hatchery stock. Their main selection criteria is egg production, plain and simple. If I cannot find someone with buff Wyandottes who answers emails, then I will likely be stuck going the hatchery route, and only Ideal and Stromberg have buff Wyandottes. Such is life. I ought to have a couple good decades still left in me.

Oh, and for the record ... Luanne is insidious, pernicious, sneaky, and devious (all in a good way). That NH capon has been really growing on me, especially since Wyandottes just don't come in orange. She freely admits to giving me that NH on purpose. At the time, she said she wanted me to have one that is dual purpose (I had a couple Dels, one went next door but the other apparently died of fright during caponizing) and she figured I'd end up liking the Hamps. Looks like I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. She says she is happy to oblige/enable me with hatching eggs or chicks come spring, and maybe some juvenile culls over the winter.

LOL - I hate it when I have those duh moments. Like why didn't I think of that sooner? I have a couple of nestboxes that I just stapled up a 3 inch tall piece of cut feed sack across the opening to help keep the eggs in. Handy when you need to do something fast to keep the eggs from getting knocked out.

Sounds like you have quite the bossy biddy crew. I've got a hen that tries to cock fight every time she comes across a new rooster. She goes after them and makes the cocks bloody her comb up before she'll submit to them and quit picking fights. She is something else. I finally had to put her in a pen with our oldest hens, because they were the only females that wouldn't take any crap from her, and then our best-tempered cock who is gentle with the females and people but still not afraid to keep her in her place.

 

[dfr1973]

Sounds like you have quite the bossy biddy crew. I've got a hen that tries to cock fight every time she comes across a new rooster. She goes after them and makes the cocks bloody her comb up before she'll submit to them and quit picking fights. She is something else. I finally had to put her in a pen with our oldest hens, because they were the only females that wouldn't take any crap from her, and then our best-tempered cock who is gentle with the females and people but still not afraid to keep her in her place.

Bossy certainly earned her name here. Funny thing is, Luanne says she was not like that there. I think there was either an older or more dominant hen or a rooster keeping her in check there, and now without that check she is free to basically rampage. Perhaps your bossy and mine are cousins or something?

 

[hellbender]

Bossy certainly earned her name here. Funny thing is, Luanne says she was not like that there. I think there was either an older or more dominant hen or a rooster keeping her in check there, and now without that check she is free to basically rampage. Perhaps your bossy and mine are cousins or something?

I've spent time in Texas (my favorite after WV, except for the heat). The air In Texas just stirs sheit up, everything from humming birds to bulls...and especially the young bulls and heifers who hang around the outside of bars on the weekend! I used to be one of them (bulls) when based at 'Hood' before deployment.

 

[hellbender]

An admission or perhaps confession.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to have found himself in a situation where a certain breed has been depleted for one reason or another. Early this spring, I realized I had caponized or poulardized too many of our Dark Cornish. I had deemed some of them to be too long of leg or too narrow of heart girth or something else to use in our hybrid-capon production program. virtually none of the birds were suitable, once they had reached maturity. The natural thing to do was panic since my go-to hatchery had stopped breeding/selling Dark Cornish.

I checked around at other hatcheries and nothing suited me. I even contacted several breeders and no one I spoke with or e-mailed had anything for sale. I was too late...except for one place I have sworn I'd not use under any conditions. I swollowed my pride and nearly swollowed my tongue but I ordered 25 pullets from PURELY POULTRY... Yes, your eyes are in focus...Purely Poultry and I have to say, going into 4.5 months, I couldn't be happier with the birds as they mature into very good birds with excellent type and to my mine, conformation. I was able to ascertain the birds were shipped from some hatchery in Ohio but that's as far as I could track it down but that's ok. I have enough Dark Cornish to keep my supplied for quite some time because of the 25 'pullets' that were ordered, 3 of them are cockerels and while I was annoyed with that fact at first...they have become quite welcome.

Don't know if I'd order from a drop-ship clearing house again but I could not be happier with my luck this one time.