The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[chicken pickin]

At 4 weeks old I'm getting excited!

Very lovely chicks!

 

[Beekissed]

I'm finding out none of my free ranged flock like to be confined. The hens in the breeding pens are pacing the fence line most of the day, looking for a way out. When they have another chicken in with them, this is moderately less but still happening. They do not like to be confined and do not like being away from the rest of the flock. I'm hoping this doesn't affect how they lay. Last year it did and the hen I was trying to breed stopped laying after a few days of being confined and resumed laying when I let her out with the rest of the flock, so I had to guess at which eggs were whose when I incubated.

I've got a few old ex-battery hens not laying that I'm using as companion chickens, as they are used to confinement and seem more content there anyway.

Anyone else have this problem when you separate your birds into breeding situations?

 

[my sunwolf]

I'm finding out none of my free ranged flock like to be confined. The hens in the breeding pens are pacing the fence line most of the day, looking for a way out. When they have another chicken in with them, this is moderately less but still happening. They do not like to be confined and do not like being away from the rest of the flock. I'm hoping this doesn't affect how they lay. Last year it did and the hen I was trying to breed stopped laying after a few days of being confined and resumed laying when I let her out with the rest of the flock, so I had to guess at which eggs were whose when I incubated.

I've got a few old ex-battery hens not laying that I'm using as companion chickens, as they are used to confinement and seem more content there anyway.

Anyone else have this problem when you separate your birds into breeding situations?

We've had similar problems. I've actually had a few times where the hens were so stressed out being in confinement, especially with the roosters but without them as well, that they would just quit laying. So much for breeding! So I'm curious as to how others have dealt with this situation.

 

[uphilljill]

Mine stopped laying the first time I put them in the breeding pens as well. Some will start up again after they get used to their new space. Mine didn't. I have a small flock (2 breeding trios and 4 laying hens) so I just switched 'em up. I put the laying hens in the breeding pen (because it wasn't the end of the world if they stopped laying), let one breeding trio free range, and moved the other trio to a coop with a much bigger run. I can still mark eggs by family, and all breeders are laying happily now. Also, I don't keep the rooster confined with the hens full-time. He just visits with them 2-3 days/week...just enough to get the job done.

 

[Beekissed]

Right now I'm using companion hens~old, non laying (or rarely laying and with distinctive eggs) hens~ to keep the breeders more calm and that seems to be helping...no one has stopped laying just yet, so that's all good. So far my two pure WR breedings are yielding fertilized eggs of good size and shell quality, uniform in shape. I've started to collect for the first pen and have three collected from that one already, will start collecting from the second pen tomorrow.

The male was moved to the third pen tonight for his last official, concentrated breeding...this one is only half WR, a daughter from his fall breeding, but I'm just as excited about what will come from this match up as I am from the pure WR breeding sessions. She's one of my favorites in the flock right now, with a good body, good personality, good laying, good head, early maturity and great foraging skills...the best in the flock at present time. She has almost 7 fingers abdominal capacity and three fingers width between her pelvic bones, a nice receptive looking vent. She's a real honey!

 

[chicken pickin]

I drove to have a meet up with Jill (uphilljill) yesterday. She was very kind to drive and meet me to bring me some BPR eggs. It was a long drive but nice and it was very nice meeting Jill who was so generous with her time and eggs.

I set 26 Barred Plymouth Rock eggs, 19eggs are Roy K over Freds Ps and Hs and 7 eggs Are Roy K over Roy Ps, I couldnt be happier. So now the countdown to hatch day begins. I hope you all don't mind me popping in on occasion to ask probably many questions and also opinions as the soon to be chicks mature.



Thanks again Jill! I will keep you updated.

 

[gjensen]

I'm finding out none of my free ranged flock like to be confined. The hens in the breeding pens are pacing the fence line most of the day, looking for a way out. When they have another chicken in with them, this is moderately less but still happening. They do not like to be confined and do not like being away from the rest of the flock. I'm hoping this doesn't affect how they lay. Last year it did and the hen I was trying to breed stopped laying after a few days of being confined and resumed laying when I let her out with the rest of the flock, so I had to guess at which eggs were whose when I incubated.

I've got a few old ex-battery hens not laying that I'm using as companion chickens, as they are used to confinement and seem more content there anyway.

Anyone else have this problem when you separate your birds into breeding situations?

Mine do this. Especially my Catalanas. They do resume laying after the shock, which requires patience on my part. I do not collect eggs from them for a week or two depending on circumstances, and they are laying well by then. I collect eggs from them for 2-4wks depending on what I am doing.

My breeder pens are isolated from the rest of the flock, so after a week, I alternately let one pen out per day.

 

[Fentress]

Mine do this. Especially my Catalanas. They do resume laying after the shock, which requires patience on my part. I do not collect eggs from them for a week or two depending on circumstances, and they are laying well by then. I collect eggs from them for 2-4wks depending on what I am doing.

My breeder pens are isolated from the rest of the flock, so after a week, I alternately let one pen out per day.

My breeding pasture is about 400 square feet. In my first attempt at this, at dusk, the K that I relocated simply flew over the 42 inch e-net in order to get back to the flock. I felt pretty stupid for not having invisioned that happening. So, I put them in the new coop for 48 hours and then when they came out they were OK and accepted their new home. He was a subordinate K as well, so that may have helped. He probably liked having his own girls. No problems with laying. The flock is my second breeding pen, but I have to admit, telling the eggs apart is more difficult than I had imagined. But this can be rectified in time. Interesting to know that in more confined spaces people are having problems with free range chickens. I have been having some problems with relocating broodies, but that I think is a different issue?

 

[Beekissed]

I'm having a horrible time keeping these wild free rangers inside the breeding runs/pens. I've had several escapes and I'm left scratching my head as to how in the world they got out. I've made adjustments to see if this or that is the point of egress but to no avail. Tomorrow is my last attempt, as I am just not going to spend scads of money and effort to build hog tight Ft. Knox style pens just so chickens can breed one another. Tomorrow I shore them up and put the respective birds back in their respective pens and hope they will stay and lay like they should.

If that fails, I'm going to a flock breeding situation and just scrap line breeding altogether. Yeah, I'll always be wondering just who turned out that really great hen or K but I'll just have to wing it....free rangers are just not content to be penned. They are miserable every second of every day they are in there and I can't say that I blame them....the grass is green and insect life growing plentiful, life is good out on range...not so good in a boring, barren pen.

Also had a major set back on another front, as I was storing eggs in a box inside the shed until I got enough to load the incubator. I felt like they would do better on humidity loss during the wait if they were outside. Long story short, my mother forgot this after I told her about it and left the shed door open the other day....the dog walked in and ate 4 of the eggs from my #1 pen.

My theory has always been, when raising chickens~and all aspects thereof~becomes inordinately difficult for some reason or due to some method I'm attempting, then it's time to stop that and go back to when it was simple and not stressful or difficult. Flock breeding more suits my style and easy breezy methods, whereas line breeding is just not working out. Didn't work out well in the fall and it's not working out well during the spring. Time to reshuffle the cards and find a better hand.

 

[Beekissed]

Made changes tonight that penned up two inferior WR hens to a secure pen that they cannot get out of...they will not have access to the insecure runs. This insures their eggs won't be gathered for hatching. The breeding hens and male have been returned to the coop, with a broody sitting on some temporary eggs until I get a full clutch saved from my breeders to put under her.

I feel much better now and I'm sure they do too....well...all except those two hens penned up for a short time. Should only take a matter of days to get enough eggs, then they can be turned loose.