Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[rebrascora]

Quote: Yes I love that too but unfortunately I was in danger of ending up with a rather dull and uniform flock of barred mutts with moustaches or white mutts with moustaches.... I seem to have some rather dominant genes!
I was keen to have a pretty, multi-coloured flock that laid multi-coloured eggs, so I'm hatching a few legbars, exchequer leghorns and welsummers.... Tasha has been given the leghorns mostly because the leghorn cockerel, Horace, was killed by a dog recently and so, it was a now or never situation and I do find the exchequers pretty and good egg layers when they aren't in shock from dog attacks!.

Anyway, good luck with your sneaky broody and her clutch.

Regards

Barbara

 

[Gardenlady2]

Update: All 9 hatched!!! I can't believe it!!! Went out first thing this morning and saw two little heads, then 3, then 4, and then broody hopped out of the nest to reveal all 9!!!
I came inside and did a few chores, and then looked out the window. She had them all out of the coop under a chair that's next to the coop. I ran outside & she was showing them how to eat!!!!

 

[AmericanMom]

Update: All 9 hatched!!! I can't believe it!!! Went out first thing this morning and saw two little heads, then 3, then 4, and then broody hopped out of the nest to reveal all 9!!!
I came inside and did a few chores, and then looked out the window. She had them all out of the coop under a chair that's next to the coop. I ran outside & she was showing them how to eat!!!!

Very cool!!! Congrats on having such a good broody! you will get hours of enjoyment out of watching her with them

 

[bumpercarr]

Yes I love that too but unfortunately I was in danger of ending up with a rather dull and uniform flock of barred mutts with moustaches or white mutts with moustaches.... I seem to have some rather dominant genes!
I was keen to have a pretty, multi-coloured flock that laid multi-coloured eggs, so I'm hatching a few legbars, exchequer leghorns and welsummers.... Tasha has been given the leghorns mostly because the leghorn cockerel, Horace, was killed by a dog recently and so, it was a now or never situation and I do find the exchequers pretty and good egg layers when they aren't in shock from dog attacks!.

Anyway, good luck with your sneaky broody and her clutch.

Regards

Barbara

Yes, barring is dominant. If you have a barred (or cuckoo, same dominance) cock bird, you are bound to end up with a bunch of either barred or white birds. In my old flock, all of the barred and white cocks were for eating, not for breeding. That kept the colors coming in. Now, I have all partridge or penciled birds....

Genetics are pretty complicated, there is a chicken calculator that can help your figure out what your particular combinations will give you.

 

[rebrascora]

@ Gardenlady2

Whoo Hoo!! Full house! Well done that broody (and of course the cockerel that fertilised all those eggs!) And congratulations to you too!.
There are now hours of fun to be had watching them interact.

My broody was teaching her chicks how to dust bath this morning. I have a shallow plastic container in the hen house filled with sawdust and a sprinkling of DE for them to dust bath in as well as their many natural dust bath areas outside. Most of the chicks were standing on the ramp into the brooder (just like it was a grandstand) looking down into the container watching her bathe but one of them got in with her. Of course she was so carried away, scratching and fluffing and wriggling that I half expected the chick to come flying though the air. The sides on the container are gently sloped though, so it kept sliding back down underneath her..... it kind of reminded me of being in a wild dry jacuzzi.... or maybe more like a washing machine, getting swirled round and tipped up and over. The chick was fine, but it was funny to watch.
I have a sneaky feeling that the male legbar chick is going to get pastie butt. He's much more vocal than the others and looks a bit bloated and tucked up, so I'm going to give them some natural yoghurt and hope that does the trick before I have to start bathing a sore, gungy bottom.

Auntie Henrietta, my RIR, was there at lunchtime time again, sticking her beak in, metaphorically. She doesn't interfere as such but just comes over to eat with them. I'm not entirely sure if she is thinking of stealing them or if she is just curious. I think it's actually beneficial though, in that she is top of the pecking order and if she accepts the chicks, then all the other hens should. Frances appears a bit intimidated, but holds her ground and Henrietta doesn't push it and after a while you can see Frances relax a bit.

There is so much subtle interaction going on all the time when you have the opportunity to sit and watch it, it's just totally fascinating.

Just one week to go for my final brood of my first year.

@ bumpercar

Yes, I am now aware of the barring gene being dominant... they get it from Harry, the legbar cockerel. I didn't realise the white was from him too. I assumed the white was from their mother. I had already decided that the male birds would be reared for meat anyway, and with them being unattractive and hard to tell apart, that certainly makes it easier. I am hoping the pullets will lay blue eggs and that will be their redeeming feature, but it depends on whether Harry is homozygous or heterozygous.... what will be will be and I think I would rather be surprised than know what to expect with cross breeding at the moment.

 

[Gardenlady2]

My rooster pecked several times at one of the chicks. I think he actually picked it up and dropped it. Now it can't walk!!! One of its legs doesn't work. I think it's injured at the hip but I can't tell. I'm so upset and don't know what to do :-(

 

[Mskayladog]

I have a broody austrolope, I'm getting fertile eggs Sunday from a local lady, will the hens broodiness last long enough to hatch the eggs or so they only sit 21 days and get up if the eggs have not hatched.

 

[rebrascora]

Oh No!

Gosh, the highs and lows of chicken keeping are hard to believe! There's me dancing a jig at you getting a full house hatch and now I'm so sad that one of them is injured.
I would bring them in to a safe area for a few days. I was a little surprised that your broody had taken them out so quickly. Mine has only started taking hers out after a week and they are still loitering in the doorway.... they come out a few yards and then go back. There's one thing for sure they will all know where the hen house is, she's making that lesson a top priority.

Do you think the leg is broken or dislocated? I don't envy you trying to deal with that. A break is probably best because you should be able to splint it, but a dislocation makes me feel a bit squeamish for some reason. I really hope it is just a temporary injury and it improves with some rest. Hope someone else with experience of dealing with such injuries will chip in with some sound advice.

Good luck with it.

Barbara

 

[bumpercarr]

My rooster pecked several times at one of the chicks. I think he actually picked it up and dropped it. Now it can't walk!!! One of its legs doesn't work. I think it's injured at the hip but I can't tell. I'm so upset and don't know what to do :-(

Usually it means that the Achilles tendon slipped. You can google it for treatments, I had it once and wasn't successful in treating it. I started the treatment late though, it needs to be started as early as possible for the best results. Probably came from the chick trying to get away.

Also, make sure that your feed for breeding is appropriate. Sometimes a slipped Achilles tendon is more likely with parents that didn't have the correct nutrition, and sometimes it just happens.

If it were my flock, two things would happen. The cock bird would no longer be welcome in the flock (chicken stew) and the hen that let this happen wouldn't raise any more chicks. That is just my opinion though.

 

[bumpercarr]

I have a broody austrolope, I'm getting fertile eggs Sunday from a local lady, will the hens broodiness last long enough to hatch the eggs or so they only sit 21 days and get up if the eggs have not hatched.

If they are truly broody, they can sit until they get some chicks from their efforts...even months. Just need to watch them for signs of dehydration and loss of vitality as they are not eating properly when they are sitting and tend to lose weight, etc. You can offset this by giving them some extra high protein treats: meal worms, yogurt, fruits and vegetables, whatever your girl likes best. I usually put the treats in a small dish (a mayonnaise jar lid for example) in front of her.