When can a hen hatch her own eggs?

[jmhappycowboy]

From the looks of the hen in your avatar, she appears to be a game mix hen and she's a really nice looking hen. As for what type of rooster you wouldn't need a game rooster if you only have 1 pen as he would fight with your serama rooster. Yes I really like my birds. I have all the birds a horse the one in my avatar and a little Shih-Tzu dog so am fully classified as animal crazy I guess. LOL
Also if your wanting to keep your Serama's pure which I'm sure you do you will need a seperate pen for them otherwise whatever type rooster you put in that pen could cross with her.
James

 

[airmom1c05]

Babs, I can certainly concur! I personally felt privey to an actual miracle the first time I witnessed an egg being laid! lol! I still just love to be there when one of my hens lays. I'll wait the 45 min. to an hour just to marvel over the whole process. There's nothing like the feeling of a warm damp egg on a cold day. Sheer joy putting it in my pocket and bringing inside. When I bought grocery store eggs, we never ate the whole dozen before they expired. Now, suddenly, I feel it would be a mortal sin to let a single one go to waste! I'm so delighted with Brandy and Penny. Penny's eggs are so little and cute. They taste just fine, it just takes more of them for a good serving of eggs. Owning chickens makes eggs exciting. I can hardly wait for Penny to go broody and hatch some more silky Seramas to enjoy.

James, two roosters are out of the question until Dahlia is old enough to mingle with the adults. Then my pen in the coop would be large enough for the two bantams, and I could get another rooster. The bantams could get out of the pen while the big roo free ranged for a while. The cat carrier could serve as an isolation cage if necessary until I could build or by something larger for that purpose. I plan on putting the Serama hen in the pen in the coop to hatch her eggs so Brandy won't disturb her. Brandy would eat her for a snack if Pocket rooster didn't protect her. Brandy is extrememly jealous of the females, but thank goodness she respects that tiny little gentle rooster. It's actually quite comical. He just grabs a tiny feather then Brandy backs off lifting him off the floor and taking him for a ride. You should just see it. I don't know why she even respects him, but I'm sure thankful she does. I'm also glad he doesn't actually hurt her. She might have a crush on him for all we know! lol! His mate, Penny is quite lady-like and refined. They generally stick together like peas and carrots. Brandy will eat things she doesn't like if I offer it to any other chicken. I thought only dogs did that! What amazes me the most each day is how not only do they all look so different, but their personalities are wide ranged, too. Very entertaining and often photogenic.

 

[babbs]

I just came back inside for a coffee break. I'm still working on making it nice and cozy for my new little babies. Still only one chick, but both Mama and baby are doing fine. I never answered your question about letting her out. She won't come out of her nesting box so I've been feeding and watering her with little tiny containers right in her box. She is quite comfortable in there. It will be even nicer for her tomorrow when it is opened up bigger for her and her chicks. I don't want to take out the devider until more eggs hatch because I don't want the oldest to wonder out and have Mommy get off her eggs that are still trying to hatch. I'm just keeping a very close eye on them. Will stay up for days if I have to. If you need any cheap ( I mean conservative ) ideas just ask and I will try to help or ask my DH what he would do. I will try to take some photos for you of my Barn that cost next to nothing. It is amazing what you can do with things other people don't want or need.

 

[airmom1c05]

Oh, that's great. I don't know how you can bundle up against -10 degrees! Is that Fahrenheit or Celcius? Where I live it's a humid kind of cold that gets in your bones if you know what I mean. 32 degrees is horrible for most Mississippians! We have spring like weather one day and snow storms the next here. (The snow is actually quite rare here and most businesses and schools literally shut down because folks here don't know how to drive in snow; most folks, that is

I know I couldn't sleep if there were baby chicks to observe or hatching chicks. I'm so happy for you!

 

[babbs]

Hey Jm

Just thought I'd add we own a Shih-tzu cross poodle too and when we got him I kinda gave up on a farm dog. But low and behold that dog took to animals like he was bred for it. He helped me herd my pigs into to the barn and into their pen two times. He learned very fast without getting hurt that the horse didn't like playing with him, so he has alot of respect for her now. He has gone inside the outside chicken pen with my husband and thinks he has to herd the chickens too. He also pulls my sleigh with me that I use to clean out my pens. What a great and unexpected farm dog. My only problem with him on a farm is he likes to get into any kind of animal poop and it is real hard to stop him. He's getting better with the horse and pig poop but still chews on any piece of straw that falls out of the chicken pens, inside and out. Any suggestions?

 

[babbs]

Sorry Airmom I am not sure how to convert temperatures but I will find out for you. I'm pretty sure we are much colder here in Northern B.C. Canada and we still have 5 feet of snow in the yard. We either learn to drive in it or die trying, literally. I've almost learned that the hard way a few times. Now I have no problem driving in it but i'm sure sick of it this year. I've been digging out my outside chicken pen for 4 days now and it will probably take me 2 more just to get the gate opened. There is no more room outside to put the snow. It has been warm during the day for a few days now so I'm hoping it will melt soon.

 

[airmom1c05]

Mouthwash! (I couldn't resist.)

My mom's dog eats out of the cat litter box sometimes. It really gets her goat, too. All four of her children laugh till our sides nearly split at how upset that makes her. We are all BAD!!!! But you should just hear her. She put a baby gate in the doorway leading to the pantry where all the cat boxes are (she has 13 indoor cats). The cats can jump over, but now that little Pekingnese has learned to climb the baby gate. Mom is FURIOUS. She loves that little dog more than us, I think! So naturally we think it's funny when she's flabbergasted with it. Cute dog, though.

 

[airmom1c05]

You should build snowchickens! (Forgive me; I'm suddenly in a very silly mood; could be sleep deprivation.) Seriously, every geographic location has it's plusses and minuses. We have fireants and tornadoes. You actually really can fry and egg on pavement in summertime here. Where you live you work harder in winter I imagine, and where I live you get really sick of grasscutting in sweltering heat all summer. Too much of my budgeted money goes toward fireant killer from spring through fall. An ice storm in winter here would make the rest of the world think we were wimps. Everything shuts down. You should see the crowds at the grocery stores here when bad weather is predicted. Southerners would seem quite strange to anyone from up north, I'm sure. Spring and fall are best here, and often we don't get much of either. It's not unusual for it to feel like summer or winter most years. This year we are experiencing what I consider to be a mild winter. It's been more like spring or fall many days, but it's not over yet. By springtime, we could experience an ice storm! Weather is so funny all over the world this past year. I can't imagine having to shovel snow. I've never seen enough of it that needed shoveling in my lifetime in Mississippi! It's a treat for young and old alike to get to stay home from school or work, and if there's enough to build a snowman, it's quite an occasion. Usually it doesn't stick this far south. In the old days when it was not considered unsafe to eat raw eggs, folks made snow icecream with condensed milk, raw eggs, and snow. It was the BEST!!!!!

 

[lurky]

Hey Babbs.....congrats on the chick.....what kind is it...the first one you had the pic of? It was so cute.
I have 7 green bantam and one silkie egg under a hen due any time today or sunday. I have been looking so forward to it....more so after seeing your picture. I hope you post more pics as they hatch

Wendy

 

[babbs]

my first chick is a leghorn. Not sure yet if she was crossed with the barred rock rooster or my supposed leghorn rooster. I think he is a speckled sussex rooster though. He is almost white with blond on the neck and redish brown spots on his back end.