Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Niss]

Fluffy,
I would love to try dorkings! I think they are so cool looking, and I love the history and the name too.
I will be hatching ducklings...I am hoping to find eggs from my main flock which is cuyugas, pekins, and sweeds, with the three drakes being a pekin and two sweeds.

I would also like to get some more chicks, just to replace losses I've had on the road and anticipate from preditors (Stony--about half of the chickens who were sleeping out have decided to move back in to the coop as it's cooled down). My chickens just run free, so I have little control over genetics.

I use to like the clean legged types for obvious reasons, but my two feather footed gals are my broodies. I found myself soo excited when Fluffy Briches hatched out the egg she had layed and it looked just as I imagine she did as a chick (black with the yellow spots I think means she'll be barred and the feathered lags)!

Thinking ahead to next year my real question is weather to let Wiggens, my first broody and an unsuccessful hatcher, have another go if she tries? She has done a fair job as mom--2 of 4 made it to independance and at lest one of the losses seems to have not been her fault. Besides, I've learned too (less less is more when it comes to fussing around with the broodies).

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wishing ya'll the best at dreaming of hatching and which broody will do a good job, it's nice to have a few years under our belts now because we know who does a great job and who doesn't. I have some great broodys and some not so great so will just let nature take it's course again, except my frizzle as I said before is usually the first to start if off and since she is going on 4 I really need to let her try her hand at hatching some frizzles, No telling what colors might come out of her since she is blk and my roos are multicolored. Anyway stony would love to see a pic of you crosses

and Niss you should get lots of ducklings next spring. I Need a barn so I can hatch how many I would like.

My coops are full especially since we still have 3 of our roos from this year. I don't know if I am getting soft or what but I told dh to lets wait till spring before processing these last 3.

other than frizzles I really don't have a prefrence for what birds I'd like to try. I am partial to cochens though.

 

[Niss]

The cochens just seem so maternal with all those fluffy feathers to cover babies!

 

[runsw/scissors]

As for next year? Don't know yet, I'm going to the Oregon swap on Sat so it'll depend on what I get there, I suppose. I would like to get some dark egg layers while I am there... Who hatches what will depend largely on what I have and who goes broody...

I'm on day 17 here with another on day 10. *crosses fingers* I have some chicks this time next week!

Would love to see pictures of all the chicks, they are adorable.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
My plans for next year.... Finish my coop, construction. Its been 100 degrees more often than not at my house this summer so coop work has to happen during the WINDY part of the year..... LOL. Right now I have Guinea Fowl. out of 40 guineas predators killed 35 this summer Before they even had their red wattles. So Now I have six plus one someone gave me. I am hoping to get some eggs from them this spring. I have an incubator for those eggs. Eventually I want a flock of about thirty or more.

But I want some Chickens too. I think I want to start with Sumatras and get my broody hens from them. I want a flock of about 20 or so. I think they will do quite well here If I can keep them coop trained.... LOL. They will be excellent Guinea Mommas.

Then I want Blue egg layers Amauracanas.... I have a source here Woo Hoo. Again about fifteen or twenty.
Then I want Terracotta Egg layers Welsummers....

Heat tolerance and dark or camouflage colors are my physical requirements for chickens up here in the desert. As well as Wileyness And very good fliers for the free rangers. Because of my predators though It will be hard to let the egg layers out. So they will have a HUGE 50 x 50 ish run area covered by aviary netting and the coop space will be generous so the coop birds will have enrichment Things to hop on places where they can explore High spots for food as well as low spots.... I am also hoping to grow some treats in caged rows so they can have greens.... without destroying the plants. Kale, millet, peas, All can be grown with grey water.

FWIW I have eighteen acres and each of my neighbors have twenty or more.....

 

[heatherkh]

Next year, more reliable, egg-layin' barnyard mutts (White Leghorn hens and roo, Mutt EE hen, BA hens) for us. I might grab some fertile eggs from the farm where I volunteer should one of our hens go broody in the spring/summer - just for a little more genetic diversity. In that case the roo is RIR, and the hens are RIRs, Americaunas and BAs. I'm not that into specific breeds at this point - sure a dark brown egg would be fun, and I love the looks of some breeds (lavender orps, dorkings, etc.), but not enough to seek them out specifically. More than anything else, we just want a self sustaining flock. And I cannot WAIT to hatch more chicks - they grow up so darn fast!!

 

[Jloeffler]

Quote:
okay where are they?

x2

Well, didn't make it into work yesterday to upload pics. Sorry!!

. But I AM the new winner of another round of antibiotics to get rid of my strep!! Yay! A Z-Pack for me. It's sad when the side effects of the medication are worse than the original symptoms... Of course we did catch it early so it would've gotten much worse. So if this doesn't work it's back to the doctors next week.

. My tummy can't take any more antibiotics!

All three chicks are doing great! Mamma keeps tipping over the small bowl of starter crumbles I put in the coop with them and flinging them all over in the bedding. Then she diggs around for it cheeping. Sometimes the chicks help. Is this normal?? Do I need to stop putting feed out for them and just let them go to the communal bowl??

 

[Jloeffler]

Fluff,
I think I'd like to add some wheaten Marans next year. We'll see. I'll have to rehome some of my other LFs as DH said I have enough. I have two Cinnamon Queens who pick fight with other girls and get beat up themselves. I may try to rehome them in order to prevent further injury.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
x2

Well, didn't make it into work yesterday to upload pics. Sorry!!

. But I AM the new winner of another round of antibiotics to get rid of my strep!! Yay! A Z-Pack for me. It's sad when the side effects of the medication are worse than the original symptoms... Of course we did catch it early so it would've gotten much worse. So if this doesn't work it's back to the doctors next week.

. My tummy can't take any more antibiotics!

All three chicks are doing great! Mamma keeps tipping over the small bowl of starter crumbles I put in the coop with them and flinging them all over in the bedding. Then she diggs around for it cheeping. Sometimes the chicks help. Is this normal?? Do I need to stop putting feed out for them and just let them go to the communal bowl??

Yes thats normal mama is teaching them to forage. it's so cute and messy too. I'm sorry you still haven't gotten over strep, thats a bummer, eat some good greek yogurt ot drink butter milk it will help the tummy. Glad to hear chicks are doing great.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am going to try and get some eggs to hatch from someone, because I need a new rooster since my roos are all from the hens I have which means there is no diversity here. Not sure what breed yet, although I have Brahmas and Orpingtons, would be nice if I could get one of those and also worry about my bantams with a LF roo. anybody have and experience with that?