Broody Welsh Harlequins ?

[gottsegnet]

Everything is so dry here. The pastures around us and our grass looks like it's August with everything drying out and turning brown already. And it feels like it even. We've been hitting 90s since early in May and it's rained once since then. Normally we're worried about flooding this time of year, not drought!

 

[larkflying]

Oh, wow! We get the 90's here maybe twice a summer on a normal year. A hot summer is when we have no rain for a week and 90's for more than a couple days. Maybe I will try to think positive things about our rain.

 

[gottsegnet]

We normally don't start getting these temperatures until July and still don't start drying out this bad until August. But I walk outside and it is like walking on straw. I still have plenty of grass in my pasture, but I'm afraid when the cattle are through their rotation, I'm going to have to put them in the barn and feed them hay because the grass just isn't growing.

My poultry free range and we haven't had to mow in three weeks. I'm starting to think I may have to pen them because there isn't going to be enough grass for the geese and the scratching is going to tear up the dying grass too much.

It feels like Dust Bowl weather out there.

 

[larkflying]

That is scary hot weather then . . . so early too! I feel for you having to put them all in the barn during the summer -- that is a lot of extra work, not to mention, money for hay and feed . . . Hopefully the weather will change for you and you'll get some unexpected rains! I'd send you some of ours if I could . . .

 

[Lazy L]

Hi,

I have two geese sitting on eggs, a third goose building a nest and laying MORE eggs, 1 enormous grumpy broody Black Giant hen sitting on about 30 eggs in the chicken house, and a nutty silkie that just hatched out two chicks . . . and yet my Welsh Harlequins ducks show no sign of broodiness . . . Sigh. Should I keep an eye out for some Muscovy hens, or just put eggs under my broody chickens the next time they decide to be broody? I felt bad inflicting messy little ducklings on a hen, especially the tiny silkie, but I suppose I could take them away and put them in a brooder instead of letting her raise them.

One of the reasons that I got Welsh Harlequins was so they could raise their own replacements, (and since I found out they are such great egg layers, I'd love a lot more) but I'd forgot that with chickens the higher the egg count, often means the broody instinct has been bred out of them?

Maybe the ducks are just late bloomers. One would think that all of the nests of eggs and grumpy female poultry would have given them a heads up though . . .