Landrace/adaptive breeding discussion

[LaurenRitz]

I'm hoping my spring broody decides to set in March. No sign of it yet. If she sets early I can give her these incubator babies when they hatch.

She usually sets March or April. I have had no problem grafting chicks for her after as little as a week of setting, and she has never rejected a chick.

At some point I want to try giving her chicks when she's not broody, see how she does.

 

[Mrs. K]

toward peacomb or small single comb. One of my young girls doesn't appear to have a comb as such, just a tiny lump of red. We'll see how she does. I suspect she'll struggle during the summer.

Will a lack of combs hurt in high heat? I always loose the tips of combs in cold weather, added some roosters with smaller combs, late last summer had pullets hatch and none of them have much for waddles or combs.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

My 2 cents on combs and heat...

The red junglefowl cock only keeps a large comb during the breeding season. Outside of the breeding season, their combs shrinks significantly. Hens have no real comb to speak of. They're birds of the tropics.

Also consider that many oriental gamefowl from the tropics lack waddles and have either pea combs or no comb.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I had heard that the comb helps dissipate heat, but if tropical birds' combs are non functional except during breeding season, I guess that answers the question.

Thanks. That particular pullet is being watched for other reasons, but a lack of comb is now off the list.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I have 4 hens with bitties on the ground:
#2

#3

#4

#5

 

[LaurenRitz]

Beautiful.

I have my Ranger crosses ((JGxRIR)xRanger) in the brooder outside. They're 5 weeks old tomorrow. The BAx (same father) are in the indoor brooder. I also set 12 MaransX but only one hatched and the Marans hasn't been laying since.

I'll be putting the youngest cockerel in the pen with his brothers tonght. At least one of the pullets is scared to death of him and the others are avoiding him. I left him out because of the pea comb, but that needs to change.

I'm hoping for pullets from the BAx group because she's my only current reliable broody.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

View attachment 4063451

The first 2025 hen-hatched biddies are on the ground. 15 total. Another hen just went set and a third may be. She’s biting me as if she is but she may just be being mean as she lays. I’ll know this evening. View attachment 4063455View attachment 4063456

That first batch wiped out. Several cold mornings in a row where the hen left them unattended for a few minutes at a time did them in.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

#6

 

[Wild Iris]

There are other threads about this topic, but I wanted to ask here since most of you are dealing with more game-type or free-ranging chickens.

My game hen (rescued in January, no clue as to history) has just gone broody. The past 2-3 nights she hasn't roosted in her tree like normal and she only appears maybe once a day for about 30 minutes. Today I followed her and found her nest under the lawn mower by the shed, near the garden & not far from the chicken yard.
1) Can I add eggs to her nest from other hens today or tomorrow so that she hatches a variety?
2) If so, do I have to wait until she leaves the nest to add them?
3) Should I try to move her & her eggs to a protected crate for the brooding period, or would that likely distress her too much? She is safe from weather where she is. She would be vulnerable to snakes. She *might* be vulnerable to raccoons, etc., but it's very close to the house and we have a big dog (who doesn't harm the chickens), so it's likely the larger predators will stay away.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

There are other threads about this topic, but I wanted to ask here since most of you are dealing with more game-type or free-ranging chickens.

My game hen (rescued in January, no clue as to history) has just gone broody. The past 2-3 nights she hasn't roosted in her tree like normal and she only appears maybe once a day for about 30 minutes. Today I followed her and found her nest under the lawn mower by the shed, near the garden & not far from the chicken yard.
1) Can I add eggs to her nest from other hens today or tomorrow so that she hatches a variety?
2) If so, do I have to wait until she leaves the nest to add them?
3) Should I try to move her & her eggs to a protected crate for the brooding period, or would that likely distress her too much? She is safe from weather where she is. She would be vulnerable to snakes. She *might* be vulnerable to raccoons, etc., but it's very close to the house and we have a big dog (who doesn't harm the chickens), so it's likely the larger predators will stay away.
Thanks for the advice!

1) and 2): yes, you can add eggs and she will accept them. But they will not be as advanced in incubation as her original eggs and you run the risk of them not hatching together. I don’t add eggs more than 2 days from when the hen goes broody. Its usually best to add eggs at night, but I’ve never had a hen reject eggs I’ve added during the day.

3): Don’t move her off the nest. It can confuse her and make her abandon the nest.