Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[Beekissed]

A broody hen don't know time...I've had them wait for however long I wanted for eggs or for foster chicks. As long as she is sitting on something she doesn't seem to mind the wait.

 

[NanaKat]

 

I have Cochin and Wyandotte hens that go broody frequently.  In fact  three Wyandotte in the layer room and one Cochin in a breed pen are broody.  I will moved 15 marked  eggs  from a Wyandotte breed pen under the Cochin hen. I can then mark those chicks when they hatch.  Any Cochin eggs laid will be collected to go in the incubator.  I would prefer the breeding hens NOT go broody, but it happens.

With the Wyandotte hens, I will move all three nests into one large pen with a protected coop letting them sit on their golf balls for a few days to settle.  All three will get a clutch of chicks toepunched  from the incubator.  The three hens will group raise the chicks and I will be able to record the growth progress by the toepunches. These are seasoned hens that have successfully raised a clutch before.  I have an older cock bird that I can put with the hens.  He is great with chicks too.  When the chicks are a week or so old, the hens and cock will be able to leave their pen during the day to freerange with the chicks in tow.

In addition, I have several Cochin/Wyandotte cross hens that are part of my incubating team.  I know these are not heritage but they make wonderful mothers and lay eggs thru the winter.

Can you do you track eggs from individual hens? I am single mating.

My hens are not to patient with other hens while they are broody. I cannot raise them together.

Can you let a broody hen wait a week why you gather eggs from another hen? I do like the idea of giving a broody hen eggs from an incubator.

I have tracked individual hens by placing hens in separate pens and rotating the cock bird to them.

Birds that raise chicks together will be the ones who will sit in a nest together. It seems to be influenced by what breed they are. My Australorp hens will not share a nest and will steal chicks when the mother hen is not watching.

Yes, a determined broody hen will sit on a golf ball, a smooth rock, a hard poopball or even an empty nest. She will growl at you and puff up when you approach her nest. Mine will sometimes give a peck, but that is a natural response. I can pet them and slide eggs under or slip chicks under their wings.
Eggs from the incubator have not been exposed to the wealth of bacteria surrounding the broody hen and her nest. Before I incubate, I spray eggs with a 5% mist of Oxine and water. When I move eggs to the hen, I mist them and allow the eggs to dry. The eggs have been candled and may have a few days to 10 days before hatching.

 

[3riverschick]

O. P. Greer Condenses a Large Variety of Practical Suggestions for the Fanciers' Gazette. June 1902 .

Exercise is like an ounce of preventive. It is worth a pound of condition powder.
If you are looking for a "soft snap" stay out of the poultry business,
We never waste the time spent in thinking. Applied thought is the great means of success.
Do not forget to always keep on hand a supply of clean water.
Don't dabble in many varieties. You are too liable to be a failure in all.
If your hen house is near swampy ground, raise plenty of sunflowers.
Examine often for lice.
It is easier to hatch chickens in an incubator than to raise them in a brooder.
Neither the poor hen nor the over fat one will lay many eggs.
Leaves, chaff, grass and hay make good litters for the floor.
Dressed poultry should be packed carefully. Ill-shapen birds do not sell well.
The beauty of your poultry yard is the kind of chicken that walks in it.
Set fresh eggs.
The poultry business is not visionary. but has come to stay.
Thoroughbred stock Is not necessary to profit, but it will pay better In the long run.
Do not sell the good mothers just because they cannot win the first prize. You will need them very much in the spring.
Don't lessen your efforts because some one tells you that you have gone to seed in the poultry business. You have the best outlook for success.
A pleased customer Is a walking advertiser.
The fact that you have pure-bred fowls is often an incentive to greater effort.
Large capital is not necessary in the poultry business.
Those who must buv food and grit for their flock will find it profitable to purchase eggshells from confectioners, bakers and restaurants. Pulverize and mix with other feed.
Hang cabbage, turnips or scraps of meat, on the wall of the hen house just within reach of the fowls. This lias the double advantage of keeping the food clean and giving the fowls exercise.
See that the nest of the setting hen is free from lice, give the young chicks a fair start.
Charred corn or wheat will show its value in brighter combs and a more healthy appearance.
When you improve the quality of the egg you will he able to obtain a good price for it, just as good butter alwavs brings a better price.
No fancier can promise that everv egg will hatch nor that every bird will be a prize-winner.
Now is the time to sell all the male birds which you do not intend to use as breeders. There is a demand for the same and the price is good.
Save eggs from your best layers. The fact that they are good lavers proves that they are in a good condition.
If you have good quarters and early sitters, do not be afraid to raise early birds, for they will be in the best condition for the next year's shows.
Every year shows advance in breeding and judging.
There are many varieties, but every one has its champions.
Every enthusiast will work to better his flock.
The flock of the don't-care breeder will degenerate.
Fancy and utility are often combined. It is not always the best heart that beats beneath a ragged vest.
A good school for the amateur is the show room, if he has a desire to learn; but the beginner who thinks he knows it all is a nuisance.
Pure air is essential to long life and healthy bodies, but nevertheless drafts will often cause disease.
A real live interest in your work will mean much to you.
For best results it will pay to decrease rather than increase the number of birds in each pen.
Lice and filth are accountable for much of the disease in the poultry yard, as they are the cause of a debilitated condition.
Some one says, "Mistakes are and always will be the bane of human life." This will be true of the condition and success of the poultry business.
Do you really know the points of merit and demerit in your flock? If you don't, how can you successfully mate them fer the breeding season?
Advertising pays. The man whose name is continually before the public will receive the most orders.
You will often save much trouble by being very accurate in the description of the fowl which you are pricing to a prospective purchaser.
"Saw wood and say nothing" is a homely slang expression, but the sentiment is worthy.
Every year brings something new. to be at first laughed at and then accepted. An editor in 1896 sneered at a cat show. Now they are not unusual.
Prompt replies to letters will often win over a doubtful purchaser.
============================
ad in Oregon Poultry Journal Vol. 6 , Number 8 , Aug, 1901 Page iii
Greer's Pedigreed Barred Rocks Bred for uility and beauty.
Show Birds that Win - Breeds That Produce Winners .
Poultry artist and judge O.P. Greer , Bourbon, Indiana

 

[RedRidge]

A broody hen don't know time...I've had them wait for however long I wanted for eggs or for foster chicks.  As long as she is sitting on something she doesn't seem to mind the wait. 

Yup... I just leave golf balls in each of my nesting boxes. When one spends several days determined to hatch a gold ball I give her a clutch of eggs.

 

[Fentress]

Set up is also my issue. I think a single run for hen and chicks is the best way here too. A 3x3 coop and attached 4x10 run should do for a hen and 8 chicks. Using the coop as brooder and ranging them in the run till culling time at 10 weeks. Whaddayathink? That 1/2 sq. ft. per chick inside and 5 sq. ft. per chick outside. plus 4 sq. ft per hen inside and 10 sq ft, per hen outside. I have a huge dog run outside Only have one senior collie left who uses it. I am thinking of taking a 10 by 24 ft section and dividing it into 4 ( 4x10) breeding pens with room left over to walk between them. How many large fowl chicks do you think can be brooded with the hen when cooped in a 3w x3d x 4h coop?
Thanks,
Karen

If you put them in a pen, I think you would be diminshing some of the benefits derived from a broody. This summer I had a mother hen that set a torrid pace out on the pasture. I was concerned, but the chicks kept up. They are tough little critters. I watched them get kicked, stepped on, etc. They are obviously not indestructible, but the exercise is part of what makes them strong, plus the more natural varied diet.

 

[3riverschick]

If you put them in a pen, I think you would be diminshing some of the benefits derived from a broody. This summer I had a mother hen that set a torrid pace out on the pasture. I was concerned, but the chicks kept up. They are tough little critters. I watched them get kicked, stepped on, etc. They are obviously not indestructible, but the exercise is part of what makes them strong, plus the more natural varied diet.

Well, it's a step better than an incubator and brooder anyway. We have
wandering dogs in our neighborhood so I can't pasture the poultry.
But in Fed. reg, lingo, even my plan is considered free-range..
Best,
Karen

 

[Fentress]

Well, it's a step better than an incubator and brooder anyway. We have
wandering dogs in our neighborhood so I can't pasture the poultry.
But in Fed. reg, lingo, even my plan is considered free-range..
Best,
Karen

I agree. I have about 8,000 square feet protected by electro-net and I move the set up around the property. I wonder what I could get the Fed to classify me as? Might help if I was a major corporation. LOL

 

[BGMatt]

Are we talking 10% for patterned varieties( Columbian, wheaten, or anything along those lines ) or solid colors( excluding blue I would assume)?

Also to get lines that practically produce copies of the parents, how is that achieved? Obviously not adding a bunch of new blood would help but which breeding method? Would I just have to breed the crap out of them( e.g. many generations, not just a ton of chicks ) and keep my genetics close??

There are many methods to achieve that goal, what really matters is knowing your line, knowing what birds produce what, and knowing your standard. I have had very good results in the past with what my mentor called Clan Breeding, and what Bob Blosl always wrote about and called Rotational Line Breeding, as far as maintaining consistency across your flock. Stud/Pair mating is the way to make the most progress the fastest in my experience.

 

[3riverschick]

Birds that raise chicks together will be the ones who will sit in a nest together. It seems to be influenced by what breed they are. My Australorp hens will not share a nest and will steal chicks when the mother hen is not watching.

My foundation trio came here in Dec. 2012. In Jan. the 2 pullets started laying. I went out to the coop
and the 3 were in the box together. The 2 pullets and the cockerel. Guess he didn't want to be left out, smile.
Best,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

I agree. I have about 8,000 square feet protected by electro-net and I move the set up around the property. I wonder what I could get the Fed to classify me as? Might help if I was a major corporation. LOL

Pastured Poultry.