After forty days, the chicks are too big to all sleep under their mother. In the evening they crowd around her, but not for too much longer. She’s done a great job raising them. Another two to three weeks and they will be on their own. It’s fun looking back to see how they grew up.
3 Replies to “40 Days of Love and Care”
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Are you actively selecting for broodiness (or any other traits)? I am — finally — a new backyard chicken raiser and the biggest frustration has been knowing that the birds are unlikely to have a strong instinct to sit on eggs. I have tried to optimize my chances of getting a broody hen but also decided to restrict myself to birds raised locally rather than mail-order chicks. From what I read the odds are not in my favor, especially with such a small number of hens. Domestication can be mutually beneficial, but people seem always to forget responsibility and breed to satisfy whims. I’d like to participate, albeit in a small way, to the solution rather than the problem.
I haven’t been selecting for broodiness. When I started raising chickens, I just happened to have picked some breeds which do go broody. The first hen to go broody for me was a Barred Rock. The Buff Orpingtons I have are pretty good mothers. When getting new breeds, I have skipped over breeds which are known not to go broody. I’ve had Rhode Island Reds, Dominiques, and Americaunas go broody. Right now I have a Black Bresse and Americauna sitting on eggs.
Thanks. I have just seven birds, so small odds: four Swedish Flowers — three hens and one cock — two bantam Welsummers, and one bantam Ameraucana, who is laying now. I have read that bantams of any breed have some likelihood of brooding since they’re not raised for egg production. I will keep my fingers crossed.