Red Partridge Orpington informational hatch thread

[aart]

This is too much chicken drama and I'm trying to figure out what to do. Advice would be appreciated!

I would immediately remove the male broody chicks, put them in the inside brooder.
Maybe put all the chicks that will be leaving in the inside brooder, leave the rest with mama broody....ok , read back, option 3?

 

[K0k0shka]

Notes took while reading your thread:
‘I’m so sorry to hear about your little partridge.
Omg I hope your broody stays on the nest! That would be amazing!
Day 20? Babies wanted out!
Come on #8 You can do it! Great Job on assisting! You did an amazing job!
Awwwwe I’m so glad your broody chicks hatched! Im so happy for you and mama!
What!? Your partridges are SOOO prett! Hoping for some hens!
!!! I almost didn’t read the “almost” in the sentence “I almost lost one of the broody’ s chicks” and I was so scared! Im so glad you caught it!
Are the yellow hens your last years lemon cuckoos by chance? If So, my have they grown! They are so pretty!
I love seeing your chicks adventures!
Im praying you get the partridge color you’re looking for!
Ive had many chicks like blinky. I don’t know why this happens thought! I’m glad he’s looking better!
Come on chicks! Be girls! How hard can it be?
Wow! That glow up on your partridge rooster! He looked so cool.
Enjoy your time with them! It just makes it more specia!
Ugh I want a Barnvelder sooo bad!
Im sorry about the aggression I can’t help with that stuff, never had a broody I hope someone can help though!
However I can help with this...
My guesses and I would like to think educated guesses
Pooh- Pullet
Lemonade-Rooster.
Blinky- Rooster
The Pretty One- Pullet
The Baby- Pullet
Thank you for posting this thread! I love watching your threads and reading them! They are always like a book- filled with highs and lows and plot twists!

Wow! So detailed... so engaged... Impressive! This reply made my day! Thank you so much! I’m glad to hear that my ramblings are being enjoyed. I’m loving the experience, with all its twists and turns. These threads will be a nice memory to go back to and reread, and relive the “baby days” of my chicks

I’m also glad to hear you think the Pretty One is a pullet. I’m getting more and more confident about it myself. If I end up with 3 girls after all, that would be awesome! And a lot more than what I originally thought. I posted pictures of my partridge cockerel from last year (same breeder) in another thread and the more experienced folks said that his colors didn’t come in as they should for the breed. Probably because this breeder’s line is still under development. So I shouldn’t have been so discouraged by the black wings on these chicks... Turns out they weren’t as reliable as they should’ve been.

 

[K0k0shka]

I would immediately remove the male broody chicks, put them in the inside brooder.
Maybe put all the chicks that will be leaving in the inside brooder, leave the rest with mama broody....ok , read back, option 3?

I’m leaning towards option 3 as well. If I put the male broody chicks inside with my males, they’ll pluck them bare, and will scream my ears off for having lost their mom and their freedom to a cardboard box... I just need a bit more confirmation on The Pretty One before I feel confident enough to pack up my boys and drive them to their new home with the broody’s boys.

What do you think about the 4-week photos from yesterday? Any guesses? Here are some head shots from this morning, for comb comparisons:

Pooh:

Lemonade:

Blinky:

The Baby:

The Pretty One:

 

[aart]

If I put the male broody chicks inside with my males, they’ll pluck them bare,

Maybe.....or the brooder males will reign in their territory?

 

[K0k0shka]

Maybe.....or the brooder males will reign in their territory?

I want to get everybody out of the brooder soon. They have ripped it to sh** and it doesn’t have a lot of life left in it. I keep taping it back up, but they peel the tape off and keep ripping at the cardboard...

What do you think about The Pretty One?

 

[FeatherTay]

I want to get everybody out of the brooder soon. They have ripped it to sh** and it doesn’t have a lot of life left in it. I keep taping it back up, but they peel the tape off and keep ripping at the cardboard...

What do you think about The Pretty One?
View attachment 2672508

Pullet!

 

[aart]

What do you think about The Pretty One?

Well, it comb seems kinda big, but it's not real red.

 

[K0k0shka]

@Caitiemc88 do you have any recent pictures of the cousins? My dark chick (The Pretty One) is confusing me with its prominent black feathers, but I remember one of yours was very dark, too, but ended up a pullet after all? Is it still looking like a pullet?

 

[K0k0shka]

Ugh, one thing I didn't quite think through in my rush to get rid of the boys ASAP is that mine aren't fully feathered yet. They've been sleeping outside of the MHP at night for a couple nights now (we're going through a heat wave and the central air is down, so mid 70s in the house), but it's still going to be in the 60s at night outside... Lemonade has quite a bit of feathering, but Blinky still has fuzz on his back, chest, belly and neck. Too soon to throw them outside without heat, right? My friend will try to integrate them with her broody, who only has 1 chick that's slightly younger, but I don't know how she'll react and if she'll go as far as tucking the new chicks under her. Likewise, if I put my females outside for longer stretches, even though my broody is very receptive, I don't know if they'll know to go under her for heat, as all they know is the MHP... Do chicks this old and raised artificially still have the instinct to go under an actual hen?

 

[aart]

Do chicks this old and raised artificially still have the instinct to go under an actual hen?

Maybe since they had an MHP, at least more so than if they had been under a lamp.
But the mama might not accept them.
Might try a huddle box for few days before moving them.