Polish Hen's brood 2021

[MClean417]

Saw the pictures over on your thread. Sweet little peepers indeed. My 3.5 week olds try to fly up and out of the brooder box when we open the lid, I tried letting them use the door. Here is a quick video.

 

[MClean417]

6 Weeks, Dust Bath.
First, we open up the door and then take the top off the brooder. Soon as that happens every jumps up on top of murderers row to look over the rest of the coop.

Thats Elwood. He's a Roo judging by the mullet and his basic attitude. 1 out of 7 isn't bad.

Then Momma got them started. Notice, they're not in the dust bath, no, they're doing it in the run in front of the dust bath.

Come on Mom, just a little more time?

And finally, a youtube video

With everyone clean, it was time to meet some of the other hens.

 

[WhoDatChick]

The last couple weeks of April one of my Silver Laced Polish hens, (we call all our silver lace hens Tina though the Thunderdome hairstyle of Tina Turner at the time was really a blonde mix but then our Buffs we call Phyllis and Ms. Diller's hair at the time was mostly white) decided she wanted to sit on eggs. She was polite when we took her off the nest and put her on the ground but after a bit she'd be back up on it. Finally on mothers day with 8 eggs tucked under her we marked them all with pencil and told her to have fun. After a very limited search we had only found a couple of posts saying they had luck with a polish hen hatching the eggs but only one was a good mother and the other just wandered away from the chicks after a day or so. That I can handle as I have raised plenty with no moms at all. So we marked the calendar for the 30th and went through the usual tricks. There was once 11 eggs in her nest, there was a time when she was sitting in the nexting box next to her nest etc. etc. We would remove the extra unmarked eggs and she'd go back on the nest.
View attachment 2704470
We lost some eggs before the 2nd week. One was stepped on or whatever. However, the egg didn't have anything but yoke in it. I candled the other eggs and found one that was also inert. Pitched that one, the rest showed solid masses with air pockets. On the 27th I assembled the brooder box in my large run and moved her egg box and her into it. 3 days later, we had a couple of babies View attachment 2704490 And the next day, anotherView attachment 2704492.
The two older chicks flew the coup, errr, nesting box. I cut the front out so they could get back in. Momma had jumped out of the next, away from her new chick to keep the others warm. That chick didn't look so good. With the new hole in the box and everyone back in he was showing improvement and I put it down to We had just walked in right after it hatched and again after it had done some straining to start moving. In the morning, it was new born next to the old soldiers that were a whole day ahead of it. Mom had rolled two of the other eggs out and the third was stone cold. I pitched the eggs and figured we had three chicks.

It wasn't easy. My wife was texting me at work telling me they were all doing good. Mom was fine until she'd open the brooder lid and pick up a baby, then she'd start chirping and countring the three she had. I was having my eyes dilated scheming. After the yearly exam I drove to the farm store to make sure they had gotten their new load of chicks in then drove home and told my wife, "I don't feel like doing anything thanks to these eye drops. We still need chicken food and more starter food now that we know we have chicks. Lets go get the food, grab some drive through and get back inside" which she agreed to. And my trap was laid. "Oh Look honey, new chicks! They're the same size as ours and they're garunteed pullets or you get free roos! Don't want the kids to be excited about new chicks only to find out mid summer we have chicken soup to eat." OK, but she gets antsy when we mess with her chicks. But I talked her into three and had the attendant come get us the birds. He looked up and said "you know, they're only 95% certain they're pullets?" "Better hedge our bets and get one extra" Got the chicks, got the drive through and went home. Well, now we just wait till roosting time and slip em in. NO! My wife wanted them in the brooder, now. I think she was trying to teach me a lesson. I had put a heating plate out for the chicks to get under in case she decided to give up on motherhood. At this point she's a benefit but, not really necessary. So I opened the brooder, picked up a couple of her chicks, looked at them then put them under the plate THEN dipped the new birds beaks in the waterer and put them in one by one and put them under the plate. All the birds would spend a couple seconds under the plate and then go running out. Now we had a surprised mom who was scratching her head trying to figure out this new chicken math.

We watched for a bit then went and ate. An hour later she was showing them the food.

And at dusk, they were all getting comfy, and snuggling.

Surprisingly, they still fit all underneath her.

View attachment 2704674​

So far, so cute. So, Polish don't go broody very often. There was limited info on them. I'm not surprised at our hatch rate as we have too many mommas that all have to use the same nest, but she went broody at the right time and we could supplement her hatch rate. Lord knows what mix we have as we're not really breeding true. We've an Orlaff male who generally stays to his orlaff hens. A Lavendar Orp who was kind of the new run till last years brood gave us another one more roo. And last years roo is part polish, part something or a lot of things other. Our first hatch this year came out of an Olive egger egg, the second came from a polish egg and has a cottonball head and the last one came from a smaller brown egg. Our Hens are Orlaff, Americauna, Easter Egger, Silver Lace and Buff polish, Lavander Orp, Black Sexlink, a couple mixed from last year and mostly friendly. One of the Buff Polish used to walk right up and demand to be picked up. Now, she's usually just happy if you give her back a pet while she's doing her chicken business. She doesn't usually mind being picked up and inspected. Long as your hit all the places she might have itches.
Will update with final success rates.

This is so adorable.. I can’t stand it!!!
@BY Bob you might like this!!

 

[BY Bob]

6 Weeks, Dust Bath.
First, we open up the door and then take the top off the brooder. Soon as that happens every jumps up on top of murderers row to look over the rest of the coop. View attachment 2758051

Thats Elwood. He's a Roo judging by the mullet and his basic attitude. 1 out of 7 isn't bad.
View attachment 2758057

Then Momma got them started. Notice, they're not in the dust bath, no, they're doing it in the run in front of the dust bath.
View attachment 2758063
Come on Mom, just a little more time?
View attachment 2758065

And finally, a youtube video

With everyone clean, it was time to meet some of the other hens.

They are so darn cute!

 

[BY Bob]

This is so adorable.. I can’t stand it!!!
@BY Bob you might like this!!

Thanks for trading me. I love it!

I have a polish that is broody right now. She is sitting on ceramic eggs with 3 chicks on order for her to raise.

Here is my Phyllis.

 

[Vickischics]

My cuckoo Polish is sitting on eggs that are hatching now. I'll post pics tomorrow!

Can't wait

 

[Vickischics]

How Egg-citing. Here are a few pics of Beckys(a Silver Lace) 6 week olds that she's raised. I ordered 10 Polish assortment and all but 2 made it. It will be exciting to see who Crows and who doesn't. Lol
3 White crested black
3 Golden Lace
2 Buff
And last but not least Da Mama; Becky.
They just crack me up.
I did trim her headdress to make it easier for her to keep a close eye on all of her babies. She seemed much more relaxed after I did that.
Some how, they can turn a bad day into laughter. So darn cute.

 

[MClean417]

Yessir. I've noticed though that when she feels her chicks are threatened she tucks her hairdress back, almost like she slicked it back with water. Then, two minutes later she's back to a poof head. Todays excitement,,,,
Baby steps.

And then, mom comes along,

And then everybody is in.

Daddy says, he don't mind.

Proud Pappa

Last I looked everybody was up on the pallet, chicks sitting next to mom, most of the rest of the flock sitting there as well. Couple were checking out the chick food in the brooder. Everyone seems cool.

 

[MClean417]

So why would I take my camera with me? Because by not doing so I missed this. I went to check and see if mom and chicks went into the Coop to sleep or chose the brooder. They chose the brooder. On top, with mom's wings all the way stretched out and all those chicks tucked in underneath. It was a sauna under there, which probably felt good at 70degrees. I picked her up and put her in the brooder, along with a couple of chicks, skooted the other 5 off the brooder so that they hopped down and ran in the door with momma where they were all getting up next to her on their little roosts. Shut the door and cuss myself for not taking my phone down.

 

[Vickischics]

So why would I take my camera with me? Because by not doing so I missed this. I went to check and see if mom and chicks went into the Coop to sleep or chose the brooder. They chose the brooder. On top, with mom's wings all the way stretched out and all those chicks tucked in underneath. It was a sauna under there, which probably felt good at 70degrees. I picked her up and put her in the brooder, along with a couple of chicks, skooted the other 5 off the brooder so that they hopped down and ran in the door with momma where they were all getting up next to her on their little roosts. Shut the door and cuss myself for not taking my phone down.

It Happens!!!
But, you'll get another chance tomorrow. They will repeat it again. Then they'll catch on But! You'll have the video Ready!! Oh gosh!