After thinking about this post, I realized I was thinking about Dennis Myers. Sorry for the error...
The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site
- Thread starter Robert Blosl
- Start date
It's amazing how quickly they grow and a few more molts. It's also amazing how quickly they destroy the grass in their pens. I have 2 empty pens right now and believe it or not there is some grass growing back in them.
One of my pullets went broody as soon as I shut down the breeding pens. Her sister would climb on top of her and lay her eggs, and they all ended up under the broody. There were 9 when I looked over a week ago. Her first chick hatched last night. Not much is cuter than a chick peeking out from under mom.
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Is broodiness even a trait that you would want to keep in your flock? Sure, it is easier and more effective to hatch eggs under your own birds, but it causes decreased laying and they go off feed and just sit in the box....not really part of my agenda if you ask me. I would just buy some other broody breed and use them to hatch my eggs...not my reds.
Even if she had been broody during the breeding season, it wouldn't have affected the outcome. I'd simply collect the eggs daily, kick her out of the nest, and she'd go about her business until it was time to lay again. I had already reached my quota of "pedigreed" chicks for this year and moved the pullets back into the big coop before this started, so any that hatch now are just extras. If she was in a pen by herself, I'd be happier, but since her sister also laid eggs in the same box, I have no idea of who the mothers are. I probably won't use any of those chicks for anything other than replacing some old layers, unless there happens to be a spectacular specimen or two in the mix. IMO, a hen going broody isn't as bad as a lot of people make it sound unless you desperately need eggs. Just my 2c...
I have a Rose Comb who has been broody for awhile. Every evening when I go collect eggs I take her out of the nest. I have let broody's hatch eggs but not for a few years now. I just don't have the space to accommodate a broody and her clutch. I do have a clutch of newly hatched RC RIW chicks in a small brooder.
I think I'm good now. Everyone has been a great help. Enjoyed all the readings and how my birds tie back to Bob the originator of this site and back to Mohawk. I really wanted to ensure before hatching I was doing the breed justice with good stock. Since I only have the pair do you all suggest I acquire a couple of hens from someone else (like you all) to make sure I don't inbreed. I've always been more of a dog guy where inbreeding is bad. I'm pretty caught up on what is good and bad as far as standards and type of the Breed should be.[/QUOTE]
Yep, as long as your birds are healthy and well enough bred, inbreeding is easier to work with. I have a flock of games when I was young, and we inbred those for 15 years without any problems, and many people go much longer. So don't worry about the inbreeding for now.
If you can find a local breeder with some nice reds, then it might benefit you to pick up a pair, or a few pullets... and to meet another breeder is always good, especially if you are new to the bred. But, as the other's said, you can produce a nice flock with just a pair of birds.
Yep, as long as your birds are healthy and well enough bred, inbreeding is easier to work with. I have a flock of games when I was young, and we inbred those for 15 years without any problems, and many people go much longer. So don't worry about the inbreeding for now.
If you can find a local breeder with some nice reds, then it might benefit you to pick up a pair, or a few pullets... and to meet another breeder is always good, especially if you are new to the bred. But, as the other's said, you can produce a nice flock with just a pair of birds.
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I agree with the other posts.This is just my suggestion. You can successfully breed back (line breed) the father to the daughter and mother to son. I have some breeds where I had 1 male and 2 females to start with and that is what I did. You can always get other birds but you can successfully breed starting with a pair. Good luck and have fun...
For this matter, there is no general rule, just opinions. Mine is, that these are hardy and friendly farm birds that are raised for eggs and meat... and going broody is one of their characteristics. I will not let a hen brood chicks unless it is convenient for me, but I have no interest in removing that trait from my flock. Breeding these birds to the Standard of Perfection, and retaining the traits of a heritage dual purpose bird, prevents these birds from being just another variety of production red. If egg production was my top priority, then I would raise something else.
But, it is your flock. And the joy of being a breeder, is we get to decide what we want to bred for.
I do not try to break a broody but I do all of my hatching in an incubator. When I collect eggs in the evenings and I have a broody, I take her out of the nest whether she want to get off or not and collect the eggs from under her. They usually give up after awhile and some are really stubborn. Every year I have birds that go broody but I hatch out a few hundred chicks every year.
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