Thank you! I have my own thread with pics of all my hens in and stories that aren't broody related if you'd like to seeJohnn I love your stories and photos of your hens. So pleased Coco has recovered so well from her rat trap ordeal.

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Thank you! I have my own thread with pics of all my hens in and stories that aren't broody related if you'd like to seeJohnn I love your stories and photos of your hens. So pleased Coco has recovered so well from her rat trap ordeal.
I'm glad you found her such a good companion! It is great that he is so good with her... some roosters just can melt your heart when you see them taking care of 'their girls'!
Thank you, fisherladyIt is great to see folks stopping back in... broodies not required!![]()
We have 3 broodies due to hatch Thursday or Friday, and another hen waiting for eggs, which we should be able to give her tomorrow. We have had 25 or 26 broodies this year... honestly would have to set down with our 'chicken calendar' to get an accurate count. Ours hatch in the coop with the flock, get a couple of days of 'special treatment' if they want it, then they are free to mix and mingle. Right now I can't even keep half of the hens and chicks straight as to who belongs to who, since the hens tend to share their chicks and chick raising duties and often they are all in groups. Even at night it isn't unusual to find Janeway (a top broody) with her chicks and others in a nest while the other broody goes up to the roost for the night.... in the morning the 2nd hen comes down, gathers up her own chicks and heads out for the day?.?... my DH and I are constantly amazed and amused by the strange antics of the flock.
Thank you, fisherlady![]()
26 broodies sharing the care of their chicks. That's amazing! Keep us posted on the hatch
It wasn't possible for us to build a bigger coop this year, but I am hoping next year we have sufficient space to hatch some lavender Orpington chicks under a broody.
Yes, but if he is a mix, he could have any color of legs. Does he have 5 toes? 5 toes and feathered feet are dominant traits, requiring only one gene to show themselves. Silkies have 5 toes and feathered feet. On the other hand, dark legs and silkie feathering are recessive traits and require 2 genes (one from each parent) to show themselves. That is why most silkie crosses have 5 toes and feathered feet, but don't necessarily look like a silkie in the feathering. I have noticed that most of the silkie mixes that I've seen have some dark on their legs, just not dark like a silkie is....I can't really explain the genetics of that, but I do know it happens.I wasn't expecting such dedication being that he is so young.
Isn't dark legs a dominant trait in silkies? His are yellow.
I don't think dark legs require one, but maybe that is why I see so many with "weird" colored legs, neither dark nor light.Oh, and I thought dark legs required just one gene. Then he could be a silkie mix. I'll check his toes.
This afternoon, I was coming from home and saw my chickens by the fence, looking intently at something. I decided to go see what it was. There was a huge coyote sitting on my lawn some 6 feet from the fence observing the chickens. He ran to the forest when he saw me. I called the chickens to the coop, looking alarmed and they followed me. My chickens aren't afraid of land animals. I hope they got the message and don't linger around at the sight of a coyote again. They hide pretty well when they see a bird of prey, though.
Sorry, totally off topic, but I had to tell.
I think Haru is going broody again.