Broody Hen Thread!

[TXchickenchick]

Can anybody tell me what color these cochin chicks will be when adults?

I do not know my cochins at all, but glancing at feathersite I am thinking probably mottled. They sure are adorable!

 

[alibabba]

Oh wow, they look like little yellow chickies. She has such beautiful coloring I would have thought darker chicks. Dome heads?

I have a Frizzle Polish Tolbunt (has a decent beard, not a good specimen, poor guy too much white, but he's a sweety) with dark EE's and my Duccle's. So can not wait now to see what they look like! They all are dark black or grey or brown, have beards & muffs, and the d'uccle babies have feather legs and 1/2 dome heads, one has a black mohawk. I think ONE of six got frizzle!!! (Hurry up and wait again, arghhhhh!)

He's cute... looks like a doggie. Very nice boy. I wanted to sell him. Kid's wouldn't let me! Everytime I look at his face, I think, the artist formerly known as Prince. LOL

 

[alibabba]

I do not know my cochins at all, but glancing at feathersite I am thinking probably mottled. They sure are adorable!

Yep, I think mine were black from the get go...they are black. They did have white tummies. So no matter what, ADORABLE. Love ours! She really is a joy to look at. Watching that fluff walk away and seeing yellow feet, priceless. She's super into trying to catch bugs too...

 

[alibabba]

Oh my! I woukd probably give my right arm for a frizzle tolbunt polish! That, IMO, is chicken perfection! 'Poor'coloring or not, I bet he is beautiful!

So far, as the babies grow they get a crest but because they dion't have the vaulted skull it doesn't stick up much. Strangely her last ones started out all little yellow puffballs, too. They got a lot more color as their feathers came in. I changed out memory cards but I will see if I have a pic of them on my phone right now.

This is my first little batch, and its a jumble mix with the EE's and the D'Uccles to a lesser degree....so who knows what these little black chicks will look like. hard to find mixes to begin with and then it could all be different. But they will lay light green or cream eggs or all be roosters, that would be my luck.

 

[TXchickenchick]

He's cute... looks like a doggie. Very nice boy. I wanted to sell him. Kid's wouldn't let me! Everytime I look at his face, I think, the artist formerly known as Prince. LOL

Lol how funny! I can see the resemblance! He is so adorable! My buff laced polish is a ratty little specimen. His tail is horrible, his crest doesn't stick up that much, he THINKS the world revolves around him! *sigh* And we love him. He is my 15 y/o son's baby. He named him Till after a prankster from German folklore and it fits. He used to belong to a woman not allowed to have roosters and she told me this incredible list of his preferred snacks and how he liked them prepared and that he preferred being in the house. We have had him about a year and a half and he seems pretty happy outside with his harem being treated like a chicken to me! Lol

 

[svfarm]

First broody hen for me!  My big giant blue splash orpington is sitting on some eggs inside the coop - she's crammed into a pretty small nesting box.  Anything I should do for her to make it better?  She's going to get really hot in there.  It's not too bad this week but for 3 weeks in July in Georgi inside the coop?  Ugh!  

I used plastic milk crates for boxes when I moved my two broodies. There's plenty of air flow and when the chick's hatched they can get in and put with no problem.

The hens have moved the board a little since they like to be in the same box (even though there are 2 others). Right now there are two hens and 11 chicks in one crate.

They also work great for older chicks. I have a pen of 19 six week olds that love them.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Just candled my broody's eggs. Looks like 2 are developing and 3 are clear (no blood ring or anything). I'll check again in a couple days and ditch the clears.

 

[Skink]

I've got a standard cochin who is acting very upset that I took her babies to put in the coop (she's a house chicken.) Her 18 week old babies. She has NEVER stopped mothering them! One of her two "daughters" (she hatched someone else's eggs) is going to lay her first egg any day now by the looks of it, and her other one is rapidly catching up, yet this is their first night not sleeping smooshed under mom and getting called to + fed half the tastiest treats. She's been laying since they were 6 weeks old but never chased them off or started treating them differently. Not even when "dad" quit - he's a tiny rooster who she HATED, but he insisted on sharing brooding duties, even warmed the babies while they still fit under him. I figured I'd just take them when she was done, but at this point it looked like she never would be.

Anyone else have moms that have done extended tours of duty like this?

 

[aart]

I've got a standard cochin who is acting very upset that I took her babies to put in the coop (she's a house chicken.) Her 18 week old babies. She has NEVER stopped mothering them! One of her two "daughters" (she hatched someone else's eggs) is going to lay her first egg any day now by the looks of it, and her other one is rapidly catching up, yet this is their first night not sleeping smooshed under mom and getting called to + fed half the tastiest treats. She's been laying since they were 6 weeks old but never chased them off or started treating them differently. Not even when "dad" quit - he's a tiny rooster who she HATED, but he insisted on sharing brooding duties, even warmed the babies while they still fit under him. I figured I'd just take them when she was done, but at this point it looked like she never would be.

Anyone else have moms that have done extended tours of duty like this?

Mine went 8-9 weeks, which I thought was kind of long, but she was in a chicken coop with other hens and a cock.

 

[Skink]

Mine went 8-9 weeks, which I thought was kind of long, but she was in a chicken coop with other hens and a cock.

My indoor flock is 4 strong, 3 hens and a roo, so she's not alone. That's if you don't count her people! She's the top hen in the bunch. She seems to already be over her drama this morning.. I guess she just needed a push

I probably should have done it a little sooner. I know for when she next clutches I suppose!