Possible breeding program

[LaurenRitz]

I just put 8 KraienkoppeX, 3 MaransX (she laid through the winter), and 5 unknown-but-definitely-pullet eggs in the incubator. The pullets might be the Dorking-Sussex cross or my single surviving game. Probably not any of the older hens because they don't lay eggs that big.

 

[LaurenRitz]

One of the "leftover" eggs from my broody hatched in the incubator. She has a tendency to collect eggs the others have laid, and while you could say "Maybe the other hens are laying in her nest," she also collects all the fake eggs.

The other chicks are a week old.

Baby hatched yesterday morning. I kept her in the incubator until last night and slipped her into the nest.

Well, slipped is a misnomer, since she was screaming the whole time. Made Mama very upset.

This morning they're one happy family, so looks like it worked.

Last time the baby imprinted but she didn't. Still allowed the baby to sleep with the others, no pecking, but she was indifferent to it.

She's an amazing broody. I've given her live chicks as early as 8 days, grafted babies a week after the others hatched, and never had her reject a chick. She raises them to be excellent foragers.

 

[LaurenRitz]

And of course, the egg I almost discarded has also hatched.

She accepted it, and this morning it looks like another one has gone broody. She found a spot in the garage, on a low shelf behind a box and a pile of bricks.

I'll give her a few days to settle, then if she sticks I'll move her to the broody coop. I have a set of eggs in the incubator, and if she sticks she should be timing it nicely to get those chicks.

Or if she’s actually sitting on eggs, I may let her hatch them. I doubt she is, though.

Another bird is dead this morning. Looks like she got pushed off the end of the high roost. I need to replace the short board with a longer one that can butt right up against the wall.

She was one of the older birds that moved herself out of the coop.

 

[LaurenRitz]

Another has moved into the high roost, so that's 8 remaining in the coop.

 

[LaurenRitz]

The eggs have hatched. Not as many as I had hoped, but I got 7. At least 1 is the Range Sussex, but her legs are all wonky. She does have 5 toes, so definitely the Dorking mix. I'm making her a set of hobbles to see if it might be splay leg, although it's nothing like the splay leg I've seen before.

One of the young cockerels disappeared, so there are now 6 boys.

I am thinking it may be time to harvest the Ranger hens. They're seriously obese, and one of these days one of them is going to break a leg. They started hogging the food as chicks, and they never let up. I don't know how to put them on a diet without putting the rest on a diet. As long as food is available, they won't stop eating.

If I harvest them now rather than waiting for them to fall over from a heart attack, at least I'll have plenty of chicken fat.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I put the two Ranger hens in isolation for the moment. When I went in the coop to get the 2nd this morning I didn't need to see to know where she was--I could hear the labored breathing.

I also put most of the chicks in the outdoor brooder. The broody wanted in, badly. Whether to kill them or kiss them is a more open question. Her youngest is 3 weeks old, she may be wanting to trade up.

If she bonds with these chicks I'm not at all sure what I'm going to do. Her oldest two are 5 weeks. They might be able to fend for themselves. The others are 3 and 4 weeks.