Which Heritage Breeds can actually breed?

[ranchhand]

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Frankly, I couldn't tell if the question was about breeding or brooding either. But I do know that any hen sitting on eggs for over a month needs to be broody broke and let recuperate before starting again. And I'm still not sure how many hens are sitting.

 

[big medicine]

When you sometimes have two hens per nest box, is the second hen in there laying a new egg ? If the rest of the flock has access to the broody's nest they will continue to add to her clutch. After a while she will have more eggs than she can effectively cover, the ones on the edge will cool and die. Eventually most or all the eggs will get a rotation on the edge, resulting in no or a greatly reduced hatch. Is this a possibility ?

 

[aveca]

Liked the part about not wanting monsanto seeds. LOL..I dont like monsantos they are dominating global food market and bullying american farmers out of biz.

Too bad you flock isnt working out as well as you might like.. I think the australorps rooster was dominating the sussex , and they do have an alpha beta thing going on sounds like..now that australorps rooster is gone he will after a while get more dominant and should start breeding.

We had 2 australorps roosters last year. same thng happened to us,, got rid of dominant rooster and this year the other one taking over and settled into his job..often breeders will set up breeding pens small hut like a dog house keep the rooster in that where he isnt a nusiance.. then when your ready to make chicks, put your good hens in with him and a nest box.. I get punched by the rooster when I get too close to his girls..I dont exist to him as long as Im away from his hens...I went to grab a hatching egg out of his box yesterday,usually I block him with a stick, he kind of knows the drill and is good about it. more than one hen laying egg at a time and one rolled out of the box.. , thought good hes way out at the other end of the pen, can get that egg quick, no stick, honest to God that chicken came in out of nowhere like a bolt of lightning , slammed my hand and broke the hatching egg.

But they think your trying to hurt his girls somehow and I understand that. some are more agressive than others. Dont think it gets better with the smaller ones, they actually get worse, I swear the smaller the chicken the worse the rooster. Thats why they call somebody real scrappy, a banty rooster.

 

[tnchickenut]

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Ain't that the truth!! I had a sebright that went through a spell when the girls started laying and I had to go in and get the eggs... he literally latched on to me and wouldn't stop flogging!! I laughed because it was fall and I was wearing a hoodie... I never felt a thing... but he thought he was giving me a "talkin' to". lol Now, if that was one of the Dels... I would have been bleeding hoodie or not.