Mixing heritage breed roosters with Hy-Line hens

[ChookaPete]

I returned home on Day 21 to find that Coriander had quit being broody - she was not making that clucky "tuk, tuk, tuk" sound, she was far away from her nest for more than just a quick drink/meal/poop/dust-bath.

Instead I found Chamomile had become broody! She was self-superglued to her nest, puffed up like a puffer fish, and angrily pecking at my boot! I was wearing Kevlar-capped boots, so I put it to her beak to distract her while I transferred the fertile eggs underneath her.

However I admit I did this in vain - as really I don't think that the eggs will hatch. I think they went cold and that could be why Coriander abandoned them.

I also have a suspicion that they were 'cooking' when I had them in the incubator for the previous two weeks. I recall on the second day of being in the incubator, before I left, that there was very little water left in the base of the unit and I thought I smelled a very mild but distinct boiled egg smell. The temperature was set to 37.7 degrees Celcius, as per the instructions...?


But I did set up a cardboard box filled with chick starter crumbles and a shallow dish to catch water spilling from the water bowl (it gets periodically filled up by a hose on a tap timer). Just in case those eggs do ever hatch.


I will take this opportunity to reconsider how to expand my coop and nursery etc., to try again hatching chicks in the future.

 

[MoonMoon]

I returned home on Day 21 to find that Coriander had quit being broody - she was not making that clucky "tuk, tuk, tuk" sound, she was far away from her nest for more than just a quick drink/meal/poop/dust-bath.

Instead I found Chamomile had become broody! She was self-superglued to her nest, puffed up like a puffer fish, and angrily pecking at my boot! I was wearing Kevlar-capped boots, so I put it to her beak to distract her while I transferred the fertile eggs underneath her.

However I admit I did this in vain - as really I don't think that the eggs will hatch. I think they went cold and that could be why Coriander abandoned them.

I also have a suspicion that they were 'cooking' when I had them in the incubator for the previous two weeks. I recall on the second day of being in the incubator, before I left, that there was very little water left in the base of the unit and I thought I smelled a very mild but distinct boiled egg smell. The temperature was set to 37.7 degrees Celcius, as per the instructions...?


But I did set up a cardboard box filled with chick starter crumbles and a shallow dish to catch water spilling from the water bowl (it gets periodically filled up by a hose on a tap timer). Just in case those eggs do ever hatch.


I will take this opportunity to reconsider how to expand my coop and nursery etc., to try again hatching chicks in the future.

Aw, sad to hear. I can't comment on the rest of the information but hey, at least you tried. I am over here gasping, wide mouth, over your incredibly easily broody chickens, though. They’re all the “wrong” breeds! Lmao how did you make them go broody? I have a Wyandotte and a lot of industrial breed layers and despite the odd, I am over here really hoping at least one goes broody! I would prefer not to buy an expensive incubator and do all of the work myself but nobody is showing any signs! They have till the end of summer(August) to hopefully go broody then again my chickens are still quite young so maybe when they’re nearer the one year old mark? Who know lol

 

[ChookaPete]

Aw, sad to hear. I can't comment on the rest of the information but hey, at least you tried. I am over here gasping, wide mouth, over your incredibly easily broody chickens, though. They’re all the “wrong” breeds! Lmao how did you make them go broody? I have a Wyandotte and a lot of industrial breed layers and despite the odd, I am over here really hoping at least one goes broody! I would prefer not to buy an expensive incubator and do all of the work myself but nobody is showing any signs! They have till the end of summer(August) to hopefully go broody then again my chickens are still quite young so maybe when they’re nearer the one year old mark? Who know lol

Thank you! In some way I am strangely not too sad about the eggs not hatching - however for all I know, as I am away again (I was only home for a day), maybe they were about to hatch the following day, i.e. today?

I wanted to build them a separate "nursery coop" as I had done for Chamomile last year (which broke due to the wind), but I have not had time. So I guess that I'd rather not have chicks at this stage, then have chicks with no proper safety for them during their first few weeks.


To answer your question about how my chickens went broody - well...
I think it just comes from not collecting the eggs each day during the hot parts of the year (and it was VERY hot at home, well over 30 degrees Celcius, and some days almost 50 degrees Celcius), for at least a few days in a row.

That is how Clover went broody - her eggs were not being collected each day, it was warm...so she went into broody mode.

After I successfully broke Clover out of her second bout of broodiness, I decided to lock the front gate to keep my chickens (and home) secure - and not give them key for anyone to check on them as I felt I could not trust anyone to look after my chickens properly, or even shut the gate properly.

This of course allowed the eggs to build up while I was away - and what do you know? Coriander went broody!

I took the opportunity for her to be a real mama by having her sit on the eggs from the incubator, but as already stated, that did not work. I don't blame Coriander but suspect something did not go right with the incubator. Gosh that incubator cost me nearly $500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had to go away again and collected most of the eggs - but as Chamomile was laying at the time, I could not check hers. So she may have already gone broody too, or had laid a clutch of eggs. But anyway, in that week away she definitely was broody and as of yesterday confirmed to be broody.



Oh yes! - they have to be at least over six months old to go broody:

• Clover was about six months old the first time she went broody, in fact she went broody after laying her first clutch!
• Coriander was a hen, one year and three months old when she went broody
• Chamomile started laying early at five months old, has laid a lot of (rather small) eggs, then at over nine months old she went broody.

 

[MoonMoon]

Thank you! In some way I am strangely not too sad about the eggs not hatching - however for all I know, as I am away again (I was only home for a day), maybe they were about to hatch the following day, i.e. today?

I wanted to build them a separate "nursery coop" as I had done for Chamomile last year (which broke due to the wind), but I have not had time. So I guess that I'd rather not have chicks at this stage, then have chicks with no proper safety for them during their first few weeks.


To answer your question about how my chickens went broody - well...
I think it just comes from not collecting the eggs each day during the hot parts of the year (and it was VERY hot at home, well over 30 degrees Celcius, and some days almost 50 degrees Celcius), for at least a few days in a row.

That is how Clover went broody - her eggs were not being collected each day, it was warm...so she went into broody mode.

After I successfully broke Clover out of her second bout of broodiness, I decided to lock the front gate to keep my chickens (and home) secure - and not give them key for anyone to check on them as I felt I could not trust anyone to look after my chickens properly, or even shut the gate properly.

This of course allowed the eggs to build up while I was away - and what do you know? Coriander went broody!

I took the opportunity for her to be a real mama by having her sit on the eggs from the incubator, but as already stated, that did not work. I don't blame Coriander but suspect something did not go right with the incubator. Gosh that incubator cost me nearly $500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had to go away again and collected most of the eggs - but as Chamomile was laying at the time, I could not check hers. So she may have already gone broody too, or had laid a clutch of eggs. But anyway, in that week away she definitely was broody and as of yesterday confirmed to be broody.



Oh yes! - they have to be at least over six months old to go broody:

• Clover was about six months old the first time she went broody, in fact she went broody after laying her first clutch!
• Coriander was a hen, one year and three months old when she went broody
• Chamomile started laying early at five months old, has laid a lot of (rather small) eggs, then at over nine months old she went broody.

Oh that’s warm it’s still usually in the negative(celcius) here, so I get nobody going broody, even though daily, they lays enough eggs for a clutch(right now about 12-14 eggs a day, for 18 hens) everyone is about 10 months old already(estimated, though) so I am really hoping that at least one goes broody this year. I believe the Wyandotte can and she would really fit as a mom: Thick feathers, round, big, friendly...but not very dominant and hefty...(not as well fed as the other hens anyway)

Anyway, WHAT INCUBATOR COSTED 500$?!? I was thinking spending 60€ was too much just to incubate a few eggs even though I know nothing would be cheaper. I am eyeing a chinese round incubator, capacity 30 eggs while hearing chinese’s may make people think low quality, I trust the Wonegg brand and also, this specific model is pretty modern(2024’s) and has good rating so I trust it. I’m hunting for the price of 45-50€, it on sale, but actually saving 5-10€ wasn’t that big of a deal, I am also planning to be away for several months so all I really worry is just the chickens’ survival.

 

[MoonMoon]

Oh that’s warm it’s still usually in the negative(celcius) here, so I get nobody going broody, even though daily, they lays enough eggs for a clutch(right now about 12-14 eggs a day, for 18 hens)

For reference, if I need 30-40°C to trigger hen broodiness, April would actually be around those temps, all the way to May. But I also know daylight is important too, so I’m just hoping for 14+ hours a day. Currently it’s around 10 hours of daylight per day.

 

[ChookaPete]

Oh that’s warm it’s still usually in the negative(celcius) here, so I get nobody going broody, even though daily, they lays enough eggs for a clutch(right now about 12-14 eggs a day, for 18 hens) everyone is about 10 months old already(estimated, though) so I am really hoping that at least one goes broody this year. I believe the Wyandotte can and she would really fit as a mom: Thick feathers, round, big, friendly...but not very dominant and hefty...(not as well fed as the other hens anyway)

Anyway, WHAT INCUBATOR COSTED 500$?!? I was thinking spending 60€ was too much just to incubate a few eggs even though I know nothing would be cheaper. I am eyeing a chinese round incubator, capacity 30 eggs while hearing chinese’s may make people think low quality, I trust the Wonegg brand and also, this specific model is pretty modern(2024’s) and has good rating so I trust it. I’m hunting for the price of 45-50€, it on sale, but actually saving 5-10€ wasn’t that big of a deal, I am also planning to be away for several months so all I really worry is just the chickens’ survival.

The incubator is a River? EggTech 12. I think the price was marked up too much. Even the heritage breeder I spoke to was shocked at the price I paid for the incubator.

 

[ChookaPete]

It's been about a second week, and Chamomile definitely was broody yesterday. However she was roosting on the perch last night, and still on the perch earlier this morning. She might not be broody anymore, but she definitely is MOODY!


Very soon I will be buying three Light Sussex pullets, who hopefully will become good friends with Chamomile.

 

[ChookaPete]

I have the three Light Sussex pullets now. Well I think they are pullets. If they are all female, I will name them. They are roosting with the flock at night, but during the day they stick together. They mostly hang about the small herb garden where I am growing a grapevine, near the entrance to the coop.

The rest of my flock are all hanging about in the front yard, even Chamomile. She makes the odd anxious noise here and there but overall she seems fine.

 

[MoonMoon]

Sorry for posting off-topic on your thread, I am just excited to share to YOU specifically since your post partially inspired me to try for broodies. I left a clutch of 12+ eggs in the corner nest a few days but was forced to gather them in because it was warm for a few weeks(I even planted my potatoes and able to wear sweatshirt. Hopefully my potatoes will survive I thought that was the last frost)
I was hoping to make one of my chickens broody, but rain and cold temp rolled in just as the days goes. So I had took all of the previous days’ eggs in and sell them at job place’s neighborhood and also sold all of my stock up eggs(up to 100 eggs!)
...Then a Golden Comet decided to sit overnight. It’s still too early to tell if she’s committed but an industrial hybrid going broody??? And I didn’t even made everything optimal yet idk why she would even go broody the condition is terrible
Actually this is the first time a chicken sat in a nest over night, or slept in a nest at all. All of the previous hens refused to stay even though they made tuk-tuk sounds and hissy(territoria?) when they were going to lay. Sassy Stripey would even peck me, but this one sounds different. First time got a broody and it ain’t mine! Fun
(yeah she leaves out an egg in middle nest. So I suspect she has a full clutch under her but I haven’t been able to inspect yet)

 

[MoonMoon]

Unfortunately, I already sold all of the eggs I would like her to incubate instead so I’m not sure if I should leave as is or try to swap her clutch whenever I get enough new eggs. I don't know if she want to sit an extra 4 days or more though...may break her broodiness. I wanted leghorns, white eggs only but may leave her as is. This is my first experience after all and it’s not best I accidentally break her fragile motherly instinct like my previous slightly broody blue hen too (it’s a long story)