Redinator's First Hatch-Along w Bonus Broody: Extended Edition

[TwoCrows]

Oh, I'm wondering if anyone noted the combs on Snickers and Dutch?View attachment 4213954View attachment 4213957

Snickers may still be a pullet, but Dutch is quite cockerel suspicious.

 

[redinator]

Snickers may still be a pullet, but Dutch is quite cockerel suspicious.

Dang it! I told them just the other day they all have to be pullets, lol.

 

[TwoCrows]

Dang it! I told them just the other day they all have to be pullets, lol.

I've had pullets grow big ol combs at a couple weeks old and even redden a bit at a month. You really can't tell until 8+ weeks though.

 

[redinator]

I've had pullets grow big ol combs at a couple weeks old and even redden a bit at a month. You really can't tell until 8+ weeks though.

I wouldn't mind Snickers being male since I'm pretty sure he's a opps chick from the RIR I rehomed just before setting the eggs. It would give me a second semi-related male if it turns out Kettle is producing unhealthy chicks. We'll see how things go.

 

[redinator]

So I took a big step today . . . I brought Daisy into the run with Sweety's brood. I needed to know a few things before I start opening the run again.

1) Do the older birds behave differently around her after the incident?
No, they didn't care that she was there, but the babies aren't use to her being so close, so they stuck to mom.
2) Does she show more interest in these chicks than the others?
Daisy clearly wanted to interact with them but knows these chicks are off-limits and mostly hung out behind my legs and didn't try to go towards them. This could be a worrying sign that she doesn't trust herself with them, but we'll have to see how things go.

I also brought her into the pen with the 9 and 10 week olds and the still penned incubator babies. She sniffed a few of the 9 and 10 week olds and they seemed to wonder where she'd been, and a couple jumped on her back, lol. (They're clearly terrified) She walked over to the penned incubator chicks and gave the ones that came close a good sniff and Cookie gave her a peck on the nose and Daisy backed away.

I think we're back on track and I'll be opening the run tomorrow. I'll have Daisy on leash and let the older chickens loose with the babies for about an hour before sundown. Wish me luck!

 

[ChickenChick46]

So I took a big step today . . . I brought Daisy into the run with Sweety's brood. I needed to know a few things before I start opening the run again.

1) Do the older birds behave differently around her after the incident?
No, they didn't care that she was there, but the babies aren't use to her being so close, so they stuck to mom.
2) Does she show more interest in these chicks than the others?
Daisy clearly wanted to interact with them but knows these chicks are off-limits and mostly hung out behind my legs and didn't try to go towards them. This could be a worrying sign that she doesn't trust herself with them, but we'll have to see how things go.

I also brought her into the pen with the 9 and 10 week olds and the still penned incubator babies. She sniffed a few of the 9 and 10 week olds and they seemed to wonder where she'd been, and a couple jumped on her back, lol. (They're clearly terrified) She walked over to the penned incubator chicks and gave the ones that came close a good sniff and Cookie gave her a peck on the nose and Daisy backed away.

I think we're back on track and I'll be opening the run tomorrow. I'll have Daisy on leash and let the older chickens loose with the babies for about an hour before sundown. Wish me luck!

It sounds like a good plan to me. I figure if you've got dogs and chickens, only you know what will work for your situation. In my case, my dogs and chickens will never mingle. I don't know that my dogs would hurt them, and they've definitely never been aggressive to people, other dogs, or my cats. But they've never really seen birds other than whatever flies down into the yard.

But since you know Daisy can be great with your chickens, I would think that reintroducing her to everyone ASAP is probably the best approach. That way, no one forgets the other and you aren't taking steps backward. Just my thoughts, anyway.

 

[redinator]

It sounds like a good plan to me. I figure if you've got dogs and chickens, only you know what will work for your situation. In my case, my dogs and chickens will never mingle. I don't know that my dogs would hurt them, and they've definitely never been aggressive to people, other dogs, or my cats. But they've never really seen birds other than whatever flies down into the yard.

But since you know Daisy can be great with your chickens, I would think that reintroducing her to everyone ASAP is probably the best approach. That way, no one forgets the other and you aren't taking steps backward. Just my thoughts, anyway.

There's only a few things that make sense as to why she killed the two in the nest box.

One is they simply didn't have my scent on them since I hadn't handled them at that point.

The other thing I realized was they may've still smelled like yolk. I didn't realize that until later after going over the incident and re-reading what I'd wrote just before it happened, some of the chicks were still damp from hatching.

Either way broodies with chicks will be in a run in the future.

I miss having the chickens running around the yard and after letting them loose for so long it doesn't feel right to have them penned up.

Unfortunately with my dad being forgetful I have to know they're 100% safe with her before I can let them loose again, unsupervised.

 

[ChickenChick46]

There's only a few things that make sense as to why she killed the two in the nest box.

One is they simply didn't have my scent on them since I hadn't handled them at that point.

The other thing I realized was they may've still smelled like yolk. I didn't realize that until later after going over the incident and re-reading what I'd wrote just before it happened, some of the chicks were still damp from hatching.

Either way broodies with chicks will be in a run in the future.

I miss having the chickens running around the yard and after letting them loose for so long it doesn't feel right to have them penned up.

Unfortunately with my dad being forgetful I have to know they're 100% safe with her before I can let them loose again, unsupervised.

The yolk thing seems highly plausible to me.

 

[TwoCrows]

I agree with the egg yolk theory, Daisy knows what chickens smell like and these smelled differently? More like food? At least she is being cautious now, hopefully she understands what not to do ever again.

 

[redinator]

I may bring Sweety's chicks indoors for an hour or so tomorrow so that Daisy can meet them properly and hopefully loose a bit of anxiety about them.