First Egg Countdown

[Pele]

Hey Ron, I second the thank you to you. You are always answering our questions. I have some for you....

1. If I want to hatch eggs next year, and use a broody hen, and order eggs to hatch....do you have any hints that the hen is broody in time to order and receive eggs in the mail and then put them under the broody hen? I mean, how does that work? (I don't have a rooster or an incubator) And I want a cream legbar and think I will just have to hatch my own.
2. Do you have to put the broody hen and eggs in a seperate place or can they have them in the coop with the rest of the flock? Will the other hens pick on the chicks or does the mother protect them?
3. I have 6 16 week old pullets and 3 10 week old pullets. The older girls gang up on the younger ones all day. At night they will all go into the coop and sleep together. How long does it take for them to re-establish a pecking order and all live in peace????
Thanks

I'm currently going through some broody-fun, so I'm happy to share what I know!

Broodiness comes and goes on it's own at the hen's discretion (as in it happens outta nowhere). They don't have a calendar or anything hanging in the coop, so you don't have to worry about timing closely or anything. Say if your girl beds down and gets all nasty and growly at you for a week, you can order eggs and put them under her and she won't mind the extra time between. It'll be the hatching and peeping that knocks the brood outta her, not the timing.

It is best to seperate the hen from the others, that way you won't have another hen decide to try novelty brooding some eggs (steal them for an hour, lose interest, then leave them to get cold). I've had it happen and it's super annoying. As far as wether you can mix them in with the flock once they hatch, that would depend on your space. I wouldn't recommend it in close confines, but if you are free-ranging and the hen has space to keep her chicks away from the others, it should be just fine.

As far as your issues with intergration with the pullets, you'll probably have issues with bullying and dominance until everyone is the same size. Bigger will always pick on smaller in the chicken world unfortunately.

 

[ronott1]

Quote: 1. That is a tough one. The best way to get a broody is to get a hen or two from broody breeds. Dorkings, Silkies, Cochin and etc. None of my big girls go broody--It's been bread out of most breeds. I have an SG Dorking pullet that will probably go Broody though. If one goes broody, you need to get eggs under her soon, so ordering after the fact is iffy. Some also put chicks under them too. When I have fertile eggs and if the Dorking goes broody, I will put some of them under her. For rare or expensive eggs you will want to use and incubator. Practice with cheap eggs. Did you know that Trader Joes sells fertile eggs and that you can hatch them? There is even a club.

2. It sounds pretty hard to move a Broody. I have read that some people either move them into a pet carrier or build a box around where they are setting. When I was growing up, we had a Barred Rock that hatched chicks one Spring. The Mom protected them. We could not even get closet to them without the Mom trying to peck us. When they were bigger, we moved them into the coup and run. We had to work for quite some time to tame them. They were very wild.

3. I moved two new ones in with the big girls three weeks ago. They are completely integrated now. I moved two Partridge Rocks in with the layers on Saturday. They decided to bunk with the two from three weeks ago and it took until this morning for them to not fight in the morning. The most important thing is to make sure they are close to the same size. The 10 week old pullets may be a bit too small compared to the 16 week pullets. I don't add chickens together until they are 16 to 20 weeks old. The Partridge Rocks are 19 and 20 weeks old. I let them see each other for a while first--separated by a fence. When I put them together, I move them at night to the roost in the coop. It's pretty easy to trick a chicken

.

I hope this helps!

Ron

 

[Flowerbh]

Thanks Pele and Ron! I may have to look into the hatching eggs for sure next Jan/Feb. Sounds fun. Then I will have to see about being able to sex them. I know that cream legbars can be sexed easily. Maybe I will just get a pair and keep them seperate or something like that. Will have to see.

 

[ronott1]

Quote:

I am really looking forward to my SG Dorking Pullet going broody.

Ron

 

[ronott1]

Thanks Pele and Ron! I may have to look into the hatching eggs for sure next Jan/Feb. Sounds fun. Then I will have to see about being able to sex them. I know that cream legbars can be sexed easily. Maybe I will just get a pair and keep them seperate or something like that. Will have to see.

There is a person on the Cream Legbar thread that has a broody Cream Legbar. The line(s) that Greenfire imported are not hatchery stock, so it seems like they will go broody.

Ron

 

[RyeRanch]

There is a person on the Cream Legbar thread that has a broody Cream Legbar. The line(s) that Greenfire imported are not hatchery stock, so it seems like they will go broody.

Ron

It seems the cream legbars go broody fairly often. There is always someone on the cream legbar thread who is reporting a broody hen. I bought legbar eggs from a BYCer who was having a heck of a time getting eggs as she was dealing with 2 broody hen at the same time. I have a your pair of them, so I do not know yet from personal experience, but that seems to be the consensus.

 

[ButchGood]

I have 6 Buff Orps and 6 Australorps at 16 weeks old, 2 days ago. I got my money on the week of July 22nd. They will be 20 weeks old that week. It'll be a little early, but I got faith in them girls.

 

[fivesisters]

We have 16 ladies that came the first week of Feb, I found the first egg today!!

 

[ruthanne]

We have 16 ladies that came the first week of Feb, I found the first egg today!!

Congradulations, I cant wait for my first egg. My pullets are 13 weeks, and still have some time. There comes are starting to grow and turn red. I am watching for the signs. In the mean time I am having fun with them. I bought some Meal Worms today and they ate them so fast. It was amazing to watch.

 

[Flowerbh]

There is a person on the Cream Legbar thread that has a broody Cream Legbar. The line(s) that Greenfire imported are not hatchery stock, so it seems like they will go broody.

Ron

Is the Greenfire line the one to get?