The great broody experiment (new pics p 18)

[freemotion]

I have to tell you that the broth from those old roosters is out of this world! Like nothing I've had before.

I boiled it for more than two days and took my trusty potato masher to the bones so I could feed them to my flock. They still wouldn't mash! So I put the entire bowlful onto the compost pile and let them have at it!

 

[Farmfresh]

I have a lot of boys fattening up right now to see me through the winter (all bred from my own Dorkings & Dorking x White Plymouth Rocks). The last hatch was 18 chicks....50% were boys......Mmmmm, delicious....!!



Hattie

Oh Hattie How I wish I could have some of those Dorking X Rocks!! I simply can not find decent Dorkings around these parts.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

I have a lot of boys fattening up right now to see me through the winter (all bred from my own Dorkings & Dorking x White Plymouth Rocks). The last hatch was 18 chicks....50% were boys......Mmmmm, delicious....!!



Hattie

Oh Hattie How I wish I could have some of those Dorking X Rocks!! I simply can not find decent Dorkings around these parts.

Hi Farmfresh,
I get so frustrated being so far away in another country because you would be very welcome to some of my boy chicks. Both the pure Dorkings & the crosses are wonderful birds......very strong & healthy & surprisingly gentle.
They make great fathers too. Caesar, who is my main roo is great with the chicks & the hens.......I have had 28 chicks in total this spring & summer, from 3 hatches. This last large hatch of 18 was shared by two hens but one of them, Cleopatra, got fed up with the chicks & walked out on hers after a few days; So the other hen, Julia, took over the lot......!!!

Even over here it is difficult to get hold of Dorkings......I couldn't buy chickens so I bought in hatching eggs & hatched them under one of my bantams.

I hope you eventually find some.

Hattie

 

[Wifezilla]

If anyone is having trouble getting their hens to go broody, I am going to start selling dirt from my back yard. Apparently it is loaded with broody dust! LOL

Give me a breed of bird that isn't supposed to go broody, put it in my backyard and you will get babies

First the Indian Runner...now my coturnix quail....

 

[Farmfresh]

Even over here it is difficult to get hold of Dorkings......I couldn't buy chickens so I bought in hatching eggs & hatched them under one of my bantams. I hope you eventually find some.

Hattie

When I was a kid a woman I knew used to raise and show some really nice Dorkings. At that time I was concentrating on bantams, but I still fell in love. Since then the birds I have seen are all very low quality. If I ever have proper space to do some breeding I would love to work on improving some of the sad birds I see around. I have suspicions that the birds I have seen are all very inbred.

 

[freemotion]

Hm. Is that where the expression "dork" came from??

New pics of old chicks....the subflock of nine chicks gathers in the evening, waiting for most of the flock to go into the coop before taking their places on the floor by the door. Although dh saw one of the roos on a roost yesterday evening, now that the three Georges are gone.

ETA: These chicks were raised with NO commercial feeds. I ground a little grain and then they switched to whole grains, and mama fed them and taught them how to forage. Even now, they run with the rest of the flock to get the grains I toss morning and evening, but show far less interest in them than the rest of the flock. They eat a few pieces of corn and then quickly wander off to forage. They eat the sprouted barley and oats with a bit more enthusiasm in the morning. I'm willing to bet that if it were not such a drought year, with hardly a bug in sight, they'd eat almost no grain at all.

 

[freemotion]

Well, I was right. This fall we had a bit of rain here and there, and the nine were not so interested in grain anymore and found what they needed in the field.

There ended up being 6 roosters and 3 pullets, so we had 5 of the roosters for dinner. The sixth is doing some more growing and will go into the freezer with the meat chickens in a month or so.

I purchased 15 Americauna pullet chicks and am already down to 10! They are a couple of weeks old and until last night were in a separate pen with a hoophouse within the pasture. Something has been getting them and leaving no evidence, so it must be a hawk. It is leaving the bigger meat chicks alone and taking a smaller pullet every few days.

So a few days ago I put three pullets into the coop with the main flock to see if they would integrate this early. They are shy, but doing ok, and it seems that the older birds offer some protection. Last night I put the remaining seven in with them. Tonight I had to scoop up all ten from a corner of the goats' stall and put the into the coop. I expect I'll have to do that a few times, unless I can manage to be there just at dusk to herd them into the right door and get them trained.

I gleaned some sorghum this week. I got about a five gallon pail, stuffed and packed down, of seed heads. I plan on keeping this for any spring hatchlings if I get any good broody hens to cooperate. This way I can get them started without grinding grains. And I will know if it will be worth it to plant a little sorghum each year for this purpose.