Natural breeding thread

[No Coop No Problem]

I have heard of a particular case where the hen had hatched pure aseel chicks, and two aseel x australorp mixes. One day the keeper didn’t feed them in time, and the hen had killed the two mixes. Somehow she could tell them apart, and chose to kill them instead of the weak ones in the brood.

The first time my Asil hatched anything was a few years ago during a nightmare brooding situation. I had an egg dump undiscovered underneath my house in a very hard to access area. There was a ton of eggs in a single pile and an Orpington had decided to go broody on this giant pile of eggs

Chicks began to hatch over time and the Orpington would completely ignore them. Eventually they would start to scream and run around, from hunger, dehydration, or something and the Orpington would just continue to ignore them. I took the hen off the pile after several days of hoping she would care for them eventually, then put her in broody jail and gathered the neglected babies to take care of them myself

Then my Asil sits on the giant pile of eggs. Eventually after some time passed she emerged with 24 babies. All mixed chicks of countless different colors. She was truly heroic in raising them and only ever expressed kindness and protection of the young

According to them, when/if aseel mothers sense that their chicks have been left without food for too long (presumably a day or more, although that would depend on each mum), they kill the weakest chicks and feed them to the rest.

There are many different strains and types of Asil. Maybe other ones are more heartless and calculating than the one I'm personally familiar with

Not sure what kind she is. I just have games as broodies and to mix their blood with my production chickens to make tougher free-rangers

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I don't suppose anyone has experience w/ Turkeys? I have 4 eggs in the box right now, figure one of my girls might sit their box once the clutch size gets to mid teens. [or I can hope, they just started laying last week]

 

[casportpony]

I don't suppose anyone has experience w/ Turkeys? I have 4 eggs in the box right now, figure one of my girls might sit their box once the clutch size gets to mid teens. [or I can hope, they just started laying last week]

I have a little experience with broody turkeys. I usually have to collect their egg because they make nests in places that predators can get them.

 

[CraziChknLady]

I did integration after separation, but next time I'm gonna try and just let the broody do it all in the main coop with a little privacy during the day. I will update once I've had a go at this.

Sounds wonderful! Let me know how that goes.

 

[CraziChknLady]

The first time my Asil hatched anything was a few years ago during a nightmare brooding situation. I had an egg dump undiscovered underneath my house in a very hard to access area. There was a ton of eggs in a single pile and an Orpington had decided to go broody on this giant pile of eggs

Chicks began to hatch over time and the Orpington would completely ignore them. Eventually they would start to scream and run around, from hunger, dehydration, or something and the Orpington would just continue to ignore them. I took the hen off the pile after several days of hoping she would care for them eventually, then put her in broody jail and gathered the neglected babies to take care of them myself

Then my Asil sits on the giant pile of eggs. Eventually after some time passed she emerged with 24 babies. All mixed chicks of countless different colors. She was truly heroic in raising them and only ever expressed kindness and protection of the young

There are many different strains and types of Asil. Maybe other ones are more heartless and calculating than the one I'm personally familiar with

Not sure what kind she is. I just have games as broodies and to mix their blood with my production chickens to make tougher free-rangers

Wow! I best that was quite the surprise hatch! Especially with two clutches. I'm actually looking to do a similar breeding project myself with tougher free rangers as you put it. I've got my eyes set on leige fighters. Eventually, in a couple of years when I can afford them. There's several I would like to cross them with like a Buckeye or Jersey Giant, but I like the colors of the brown, gold, black, or speckled chickens which seem to blend in better in my area. Maybe some Black Copper Marans. I also especially like the roundness of the Orpington, a more full chicken, but I'm not sure if a heftier frame would work well with free ranging.

 

[dannichols525]

This bird sitting on eggs in the shower. She is way too valuable to be free range. I do have females sitting on eggs free range style.

Three of five eggs hatched.

 

[RcoM]

So last time I let her hatch in the coop and once she brought them out, licked the others out at daybreak til dusk. They got to free range all day instead

 

[CraziChknLady]

So last time I let her hatch in the coop and once she brought them out, licked the others out at daybreak til dusk. They got to free range all day inst!

So last time I let her hatch in the coop and once she brought them out, licked the others out at daybreak til dusk. They got to free range all day instead

That is awesome and so beneficial for them! I wish I could do that. Unfortunately in the past I have had chicks attacked by other hens, or worse predators, hawks, crows, bobcats, etc. My mom once witnessed one of my mama hens with chicks, 1 crow distracted mama hen while others went behind her and picked off the babies.... Nothing my mom could do when she got into the pen. That is why I now keep them in rabbit hutch for a week or two, then a smaller hutch (like the avituvan ones) with dog panels around it for a few more weeks, then they go in my producer's pride defender coop with the better run.

 

[Perris]

That is awesome and so beneficial for them! I wish I could do that. Unfortunately in the past I have had chicks attacked by other hens, or worse predators, hawks, crows, bobcats, etc. My mom once witnessed one of my mama hens with chicks, 1 crow distracted mama hen while others went behind her and picked off the babies.... Nothing my mom could do when she got into the pen. That is why I now keep them in rabbit hutch for a week or two, then a smaller hutch (like the avituvan ones) with dog panels around it for a few more weeks, then they go in my producer's pride defender coop with the better run.

your broodies would get better at predator awareness and evasion, and pass on their increased and improving knowledge to their chicks, if you let them range. We have crows amongst other predators and have not lost a chick to them in years, despite being out free ranging as soon as the broody brings them off the nest (typically at 2 days old).

 

[fluffycrow]

The first time my Asil hatched anything was a few years ago during a nightmare brooding situation. I had an egg dump undiscovered underneath my house in a very hard to access area. There was a ton of eggs in a single pile and an Orpington had decided to go broody on this giant pile of eggs

Chicks began to hatch over time and the Orpington would completely ignore them. Eventually they would start to scream and run around, from hunger, dehydration, or something and the Orpington would just continue to ignore them. I took the hen off the pile after several days of hoping she would care for them eventually, then put her in broody jail and gathered the neglected babies to take care of them myself

Then my Asil sits on the giant pile of eggs. Eventually after some time passed she emerged with 24 babies. All mixed chicks of countless different colors. She was truly heroic in raising them and only ever expressed kindness and protection of the young

There are many different strains and types of Asil. Maybe other ones are more heartless and calculating than the one I'm personally familiar with

Not sure what kind she is. I just have games as broodies and to mix their blood with my production chickens to make tougher free-rangers

Very true. I’m not exactly sure what type she is/was, as it’s not my hen, not even a hen of someone I know personally. There is of course a possibility that it is not true.

What I do know from personal experience (with my mixes), and what the keeper I was referencing also emphasises, is that aseel are incredibly devoted mothers and brooders. As mentioned in a previous post of mine, my broody aseel mix pullet (now hen) did not manage to have a successful breeding season, she was incredibly devoted to her clutch, and when those didn’t hatch (and one perished shortly after hatching due to complications), she sat for two more weeks despite my attempts to break her.

If she, or her biological offspring I had artificially hatched earlier in the year go broody this breeding season, I will be very lucky

Your aseel hens sound like wonderfully devoted mothers as well. I do hope my mixes resemble them in some ways