What did you do with your flock today?

[FBMcrazy8]

Well, went out this evening to collect eggs, and Ginger is squawking at me on the nesting box. Miss Broodypants was promptly removed to the broody jail, where she will remain until Saturday evening. I'll fill her feed and water tomorrow morning. I won't ever let her set any eggs, because Welsummers are notoriously bad moms.

So far I have only had my 2 Cochins, and one Cuckoo Maran go broody. I don’t have the welsummers, but I have heard of that. I’m gonna have problems I think my Cemani girls. A girl I know said hers just pile on top of each other. So when one broods they all brood. Reminded me of silkies the way she described it. I didn’t think Cemani’s would do that but I also had another person with them say the same thing. Just nuts!

 

[ChicksnMore]

I've got to ask again if it isn't in a message I have. He is crossed with Aseel.Big and mean enough to eat a fox for breakfast. I hope that I read that right. Things got changed at the last minute so that could be wrong. Come spring both Indio Gigante and 3 different color patterns of Aseels are on my list to add.

Fascinating birds! They look like if they lost their feathers they'd look just like little dinosaurs

 

[ChicksnMore]

He is! But the silver gray is his girlfriend’s booty

I thought that was allllll him! Those ladies are just lovely too

 

[Smokerbill]

I was listening to my cockerel today. Made me wonder if the makers of the Jurassic Park movies used rooster sounds for the sounds of the raptors...

 

[Shetland lover]

Mine have been laying soft shells here and there since the heat got hotter, even with available calcium. Is it hot where you're at?

I was also afraid i had an egg pecker.. well someone did try after a few soft eggs, but i grab the eggs quickly so they don't get time to practice. I'm assuming the culprit is my chicken-cat, Esmaralda!! (She likes to walk between your feet and trip you).
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Chicken-cat? I have 3 of those! 2 have lost foot feathers due to their propensity to walk under my feet and trip me up

 

[PopoMyers]

Yeah, mine is also maxxed out for chickens at the moment.

I have had 1 out of 3 Welsummers be bad moms... And she wasn't really a bad mom as much as a bad co-mom. 2 wellies were sitting at the same time, but one's brood hatched a week before the other's. Bad co-mom wellie was the later batch. She got jealous that momma #1 already had chicks and tried to steal her nest. Given how chickens work, I should have seen this coming, but I didn't. After I got all the drama worked out, I ended up just giving all the chicks to momma #1.

... I find it hard to blame the chicken in that circumstance, as I have the bigger brain and should have known better.

I have had a different Welsummer co-mom at the same time as some other hens, but they all set to brood in the same 3 day span, so no one got jealous.

Anyway, whenever it is that you have room for more chickens, I hope it works out for you (regardless of whom you let brood)

Thank you for sharing your adventures . I have two that go broody whenever the notion hits. Maybe next year I'll let one of them hatch a few. The only thing I don't like is the odds of getting boys. I will have all barnyard mixes if that happens.

 

[Shetland lover]

Today I could give Bianca some kisses. Look at her face. Look at how much she enjoys them.

I definitely need to be reunited with this flock full time!

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Awww! She loves you

 

[PopoMyers]

Just checked and found two more eggs, so seven in total today. And all with nice, solid shells too. One looks like it started moving faster as it went through the shell gland. The small end is dark tan, and it's much lighter on the fat end of the egg. Still solid, though.

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That would be a paint booth issue, the step after the shell is made. Beautiful eggs! Looks like your calcium treatment solved the soft eggs issue. Good job!

 

[PopoMyers]

It hasn't been hot here, compared to the rest of the world. There have been a few days with highs in the low 90s, but mostly 70s and 80s for highs. And down in the low 50s at night which cools things down.

The chicken run is underneath an insulated metal roof, with the open side facing north. They have good protection from the heat of the sun.

We're gonna heat up this Sunday! Lasting for a week or more. Time to break out the AC.

 

[Shetland lover]

Just checked and found two more eggs, so seven in total today. And all with nice, solid shells too. One looks like it started moving faster as it went through the shell gland. The small end is dark tan, and it's much lighter on the fat end of the egg. Still solid, though.

View attachment 3606286

That's just the pullet running out of spray paint, nothing to be concerned about.
The pigment on brown eggs is the last thing deposited before it's laid. If you notice, when you crack a brown egg the inside of the shell is white. ALL eggs start off as white, no matter what colour they are when they come out (the exception is some blue eggs where the shell is blue throughout).