INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Pollitos6]

Hello all,
So yesterday I candle the eggs (5) that my broody Luna is sitting on. This will be week 2 for two of the eggs and week 1 for the other three. This is what I found:
I was able to see veins and something moving inside on a couple eggs. The rest I have doubts, i was able to see the air sack but that's it, so I gave her all the eggs back. I also found a crack egg under her (this was one of the two week old egg). The crack was pretty big (half of the egg with a big opening. I was able to see a little blood and something inside not moving ( like a chick was developing inside). This really broke my heart . This is my first time ever letting one of my hens hatch eggs, and this is her first time sitting on eggs.The only thing that I can think of is that my hen stepped on the egg by accident? I really hope she did not intentionally broke the eggs. My hen seems to be devoted on sittings on those eggs and she is a sweetheart. Has anyone had this happening before? Should I get me an incubator and remove the eggs?
Also, if after the chicks hatch there are still some eggs that needs more time to hatch, would the hen keep sitting on the eggs or when she sees the baby chicks she will be out of the broodiness.


Thanks

 

[Faraday40]

Hello all,
So yesterday I candle the eggs (5) that my broody Luna is sitting on. This will be week 2 for two of the eggs and week 1 for the other three. This is what I found:
I was able to see veins and something moving inside on a couple eggs. The rest I have doubts, i was able to see the air sack but that's it, so I gave her all the eggs back. I also found a crack egg under her (this was one of the two week old egg). The crack was pretty big (half of the egg with a big opening. I was able to see a little blood and something inside not moving ( like a chick was developing inside). This really broke my heart . This is my first time ever letting one of my hens hatch eggs, and this is her first time sitting on eggs.The only thing that I can think of is that my hen stepped on the egg by accident? I really hope she did not intentionally broke the eggs. My hen seems to be devoted on sittings on those eggs and she is a sweetheart. Has anyone had this happening before? Should I get me an incubator and remove the eggs?
Also, if after the chicks hatch there are still some eggs that needs more time to hatch, would the hen keep sitting on the eggs or when she sees the baby chicks she will be out of the broodiness.


Thanks

Don't worry too much about it. Broody hens are often better incubators than one you could buy. Your hen is not experienced so the accidental crushed egg was a learning experience. (Yes, I think it was an accident. The only times I had a hen crack eggs was on accident or when she sensed the egg was not developing, so she kicked it out or ate it.)

When hatching time comes, the hen will know. She will stay put and also 'talk' to her eggs to encourage them. Mine suddenly go quiet when I'm near, so you may not catch her in the act. The hen stays on the nest for a while - usually about 24 hours up to 2-3 days - waiting for the eggs to hatch. She talks and bonds with her babies and they learn her voice. Sometimes she may even peck at chick to get it to stay under her because it's not time to leave the nest yet. If you're worried about it taking too long and the chicks not eating/drinking, you could always put some chick feed in water - in something shallow like a lid. Both hen & chicks will eat it. When the broody decides all the eggs are done, she'll stand up and call her chicks to follow.

If your hen is in with the flock, you may want to look around the coop/run for any chick hazards. Sometimes they will go into small spaces and could trap themselves.

 

[Pollitos6]

Don't worry too much about it. Broody hens are often better incubators than one you could buy. Your hen is not experienced so the accidental crushed egg was a learning experience. (Yes, I think it was an accident. The only times I had a hen crack eggs was on accident or when she sensed the egg was not developing, so she kicked it out or ate it.)

When hatching time comes, the hen will know. She will stay put and also 'talk' to her eggs to encourage them. Mine suddenly go quiet when I'm near, so you may not catch her in the act. The hen stays on the nest for a while - usually about 24 hours up to 2-3 days - waiting for the eggs to hatch. She talks and bonds with her babies and they learn her voice. Sometimes she may even peck at chick to get it to stay under her because it's not time to leave the nest yet. If you're worried about it taking too long and the chicks not eating/drinking, you could always put some chick feed in water - in something shallow like a lid. Both hen & chicks will eat it. When the broody decides all the eggs are done, she'll stand up and call her chicks to follow.

If your hen is in with the flock, you may want to look around the coop/run for any chick hazards. Sometimes they will go into small spaces and could trap themselves.

I appreciate your reply, this makes me feel better. My broody hen is in her own coop by herself. I actually put her there because the rooster was mating too much with her and she lost feathers in the back of her head and was bleeding. When I found out I immediately pulled her out of the flock, cured her wounds and put her in this private 6x4 coop.
Thanks

 

[chickiebaby1]

Is there a safe rooster/hen ratio out there. I have 6 silky roosters and 7 silky hens plus 2 bantam cochin hens, 2 LF Faverolles and 2 LF polish. I am aiming to put them all together and was just wondering how the boys would get along. Most of the time my silky roos are pretty mellow and they do free range some . Does this sound like it would work to you? I just don't want any of them to get hurt.

 

[Finnie]

Is there a safe rooster/hen ratio out there. I have 6 silky roosters and 7 silky hens plus 2 bantam cochin hens, 2 LF Faverolles and 2 LF polish. I am aiming to put them all together and was just wondering how the boys would get along. Most of the time my silky roos are pretty mellow and they do free range some . Does this sound like it would work to you? I just don't want any of them to get hurt.

I would try to aim for 5 hens per rooster. If your boys have all grown up together, they should be ok. But do expect some jockeying for position once they are put in with females. And be prepared to separate some or all of them if they don’t seem capable of working it out amongst themselves.
So to answer your question, no, you don’t have enough hens for that many males. You could put two of your roosters with the hens and either rehome the others or keep them penned separately. Or, my favorite approach, buy more hens!

 

[Finnie]

Speaking of buying more hens, I have two new ones. I didn’t quite buy them though. I traded all 7 of my Spitzhaubens for them, plus money.
I had a pair of Spitzhaubens on Craigslist, because I had decided to work with fewer breeds, and needed to downsize my rooster population. The idea was to sell off my least favorite ones first, and once they were gone, then sell my favorites. Maybe keep my favorite females.

Well this guy called from Ohio. Turns out he’s been breeding Spitzhaubens for 40 years along with a partner down in Alabama. Most of his stock got sent to the partner, partner died, partner’s son worked with them a few years and then fell off the map. So now this guy finds himself with very little left to work with. He got excited when he saw my ad, and he asked if I had any others I could sell him.
So of course I told him he could buy my better ones too. Then as we got to talking about chickens, he mentioned that he’s also been breeding Araucanas since he was in his twenties, as well. He and his friend went down to Chile and brought back original land race Araucanas and have kept that flock going for over 40 years. (He also breeds all kinds of rare pheasants, but that’s a different story.)

So we made a deal, all my Spitzes (including my favorite ones, because those will help improve his flock more than the rest) for whatever price I named, and he would give me two blue egg laying Auracana pullets, for whatever price he named.

So, finally to the photos. Here are Salsa and Cumin. Salsa is the darker redder one, Cumin is the, well, cumin-colored one.

Lol, he kept telling me that if I end up loving the Araucanas , I could get a rooster from him in the future. I do like them so far. Maybe some day.
I wonder how many true Araucanas there are here in Indiana . Would be nice to meet other owners. (I do know that @pginsber used to have that pretty Araucana rooster.)

 

[racinchickins]

Speaking of buying more hens, I have two new ones. I didn’t quite buy them though. I traded all 7 of my Spitzhaubens for them, plus money.
I had a pair of Spitzhaubens on Craigslist, because I had decided to work with fewer breeds, and needed to downsize my rooster population. The idea was to sell off my least favorite ones first, and once they were gone, then sell my favorites. Maybe keep my favorite females.

Well this guy called from Ohio. Turns out he’s been breeding Spitzhaubens for 40 years along with a partner down in Alabama. Most of his stock got sent to the partner, partner died, partner’s son worked with them a few years and then fell off the map. So now this guy finds himself with very little left to work with. He got excited when he saw my ad, and he asked if I had any others I could sell him.
So of course I told him he could buy my better ones too. Then as we got to talking about chickens, he mentioned that he’s also been breeding Araucanas since he was in his twenties, as well. He and his friend went down to Chile and brought back original land race Araucanas and have kept that flock going for over 40 years. (He also breeds all kinds of rare pheasants, but that’s a different story.)

So we made a deal, all my Spitzes (including my favorite ones, because those will help improve his flock more than the rest) for whatever price I named, and he would give me two blue egg laying Auracana pullets, for whatever price he named.

So, finally to the photos. Here are Salsa and Cumin. Salsa is the darker redder one, Cumin is the, well, cumin-colored one.


View attachment 2141979View attachment 2141982
Lol, he kept telling me that if I end up loving the Araucanas , I could get a rooster from him in the future. I do like them so far. Maybe some day.
I wonder how many true Araucanas there are here in Indiana . Would be nice to meet other owners. (I do know that @pginsber used to have that pretty Araucana rooster.)

Those are beautiful hens. I bet those eggs will look awesome in your basket. I know everyone goes crazy for any blue eggs I have. If you ever decide to pursue getting a rooster, let me know. I've been looking for a rooster with blue egg genes for a while with no luck. I'd love to get one with genetics like that!

 

[Finnie]

Those are beautiful hens. I bet those eggs will look awesome in your basket. I know everyone goes crazy for any blue eggs I have. If you ever decide to pursue getting a rooster, let me know. I've been looking for a rooster with blue egg genes for a while with no luck. I'd love to get one with genetics like that!

Patrick, it’s great to see you!

I’m going to be setting the first eggs I get from them this week because the breeder said they have been only with a pure Araucana rooster. If I get any pure Araucana chicks, I will let you know.

At some point, they will be fertilized by my Penedesenca rooster, so then I will be hatching out Olive Eggers. I hope the look of the chicks changes so I will know which is which. I’m not positive, but I believe they will all be rumpless.

I can’t help you with a blue egg rooster yet, but I do have some Olive Egger chicks I’m growing out which are Penedesenca x Buff Ameraucana crosses, and I suspect a few of them are cockerels. But they would only be carrying one blue egg gene, not two, and all the dark brown genes will be interfering with the blue color.

 

[pginsber]

Speaking of buying more hens, I have two new ones. I didn’t quite buy them though. I traded all 7 of my Spitzhaubens for them, plus money.
I had a pair of Spitzhaubens on Craigslist, because I had decided to work with fewer breeds, and needed to downsize my rooster population. The idea was to sell off my least favorite ones first, and once they were gone, then sell my favorites. Maybe keep my favorite females.

Well this guy called from Ohio. Turns out he’s been breeding Spitzhaubens for 40 years along with a partner down in Alabama. Most of his stock got sent to the partner, partner died, partner’s son worked with them a few years and then fell off the map. So now this guy finds himself with very little left to work with. He got excited when he saw my ad, and he asked if I had any others I could sell him.
So of course I told him he could buy my better ones too. Then as we got to talking about chickens, he mentioned that he’s also been breeding Araucanas since he was in his twenties, as well. He and his friend went down to Chile and brought back original land race Araucanas and have kept that flock going for over 40 years. (He also breeds all kinds of rare pheasants, but that’s a different story.)

So we made a deal, all my Spitzes (including my favorite ones, because those will help improve his flock more than the rest) for whatever price I named, and he would give me two blue egg laying Auracana pullets, for whatever price he named.

So, finally to the photos. Here are Salsa and Cumin. Salsa is the darker redder one, Cumin is the, well, cumin-colored one.


View attachment 2141977View attachment 2141979View attachment 2141981View attachment 2141982
Lol, he kept telling me that if I end up loving the Araucanas , I could get a rooster from him in the future. I do like them so far. Maybe some day.
I wonder how many true Araucanas there are here in Indiana . Would be nice to meet other owners. (I do know that @pginsber used to have that pretty Araucana rooster.)

Nice looking birds! Love em!

Our Aracauna’s have turned out to be great birds. Hatching percentage is not great if you’re breeding tufted x tufted with the lethal gene.

We bred a double tufted Aracauna Roo over Norwegian jaerhon and naked neck with good results. Those rumpless naked necks are cuties that lay olive eggs!

Got a partially rumpless roo cross that was WAY more successful with the ladies than his dad.

Bred that Roo cross x cream legbar hen -I realize at this point they’re mutt birds but was trying again for another blue egg layer. 3 females hatched. All 3 females are cute, but the Crested rumpless one is adorbs!

 

[Finnie]

Oh my goodness how cute!
Hm, with my crested Swedish Flower Hens, and my bearded Orloff mixes, I could make bearded crested rumpless chicks! But I don’t think my two Araucanas have tufts, unless they got plucked out. It would be cool to have all that plus tufts.