Hector's World: Adventures and Mayhem at Mountain View Poultry (or Sequel to The Evolution of Atlas

[speckledhen]

I told Tom to stop all friendliness toward him (as if he is feeling at all friendly toward him right now), to cease petting him or doing anything except pushing him out of the way. He's going to be shunned for awhile. If he flogs Tom again or hits me, he will be punching his ticket to another location; not sure what that will be. I hate that. He's been so good, just does everything a good rooster should do, other than, of course, take new hens. I can give Thea and Jill to Atlas. He can use younger hens.

 

[speckledhen]

Jill's first attempt at motherhood failed. She crushed the chick as it was hatching overnight, in the egg. It zipped and when the shell lost integrity, she had clamped down so hard, she crushed it in the shell. The other one was in the aircell yesterday evening at roost time, but today, no pip and it seems to have shrunk away from it now, not sure the heart is even beating. Today, Day 22 starts about noon. I took the egg and put it under another broody for the day, just in case, but I think it's gone. Seems that whatever has been wrong with Bash made fertility suffer. I rarely have chicks not hatch that get this far with the Brahmas. And so many were not even fertile.

No more attempts for Jill. I've had hens do that the first go-round and go on to be great mothers later, but I don't need her to do it when I have better broodies. If Brandy had not already been broody for weeks, I would have given the eggs to her. She's dependable. Now, I have no fertile eggs that should be hatched at all. Don't need them, but I hate not having anything at all that *could* be hatched other than dwarf-gene or wry-tail gene eggs.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's too bad. I had a big old Cochin hen squish her single chick last year. They don't seem to know what's under their feet sometimes.

 

[speckledhen]

This wasn't her feet, I know that much. She hasn't gotten off her nest one time voluntarily. I recall that my hatchery Buff Orpinton, Nugget, did that the last time she had a chick hatching, the only one under her. She had raised quite a few broods, so she was very experienced. It was like she knew what she was doing. Not long afterward, she passed away. Maybe she knew.

 

[1muttsfan]

One of my big Delaware girls wreaked havoc on her first and only batch of eggs. She was a great mother to the survivors and to the incubator chicks that I added.

 

[speckledhen]

Jill is back with Hector, still clucking, but not sitting in a nest, so maybe she'll snap out of it soon. No more eggs for Jill. I have plenty of proven broodies, including Thea.

 

[speckledhen]

No more misbehaving from Hector. He gets up on the roost and looks at me, waiting for me to come pet him, but I don't. He acts confused. I have no idea what got into him that day. Hopefully, it was a one time thing. I didn't see it and he didn't flog me so I'm not sure what to do about him. Guess I'll have to see if he does something stupid again.

 

[speckledhen]

Extreme GOOBER ALERT! There were several poses in front of the driveway cam. He knows there is something up with those *tree boxes*. Maybe I should contact whoever makes StealthCam and tell them that even my rooster knows it's there. So, they get a flat zero on the stealth part, LOL

 

[getaclue]

He's still gorgeous.

 

[speckledhen]

He's still gorgeous.

He is a handsome dude, without a doubt.

Adding that I'm very fond of him, just wish he'd let other hens come in with him.