Of the 12 surviving chickens from Nov incubator hatching it looks as if only 3 are going to be roosters….whoohoo! Our usual track record is for the other way around…more roosters than hens. My two hens who are about 15 months old have gone broody a couple of times but haven’t yet hatched anything. Both of them have found noce quiet corners away from everyone else to sit, but for some reason about 1/2 way through just get up and walk away….and quite often only have one or 2 eggs under them. It is unlikely to be lack of fertility from the rooster….the 12 incubatees are proof that he’s ok.

Not sure what the problem is…maybe the goanna has been around again and scared them off, but I don’t think so.

hi Anne, what breed of hens do you have? Some breeds have the broodiness bred out of them so they lay more eggs. Bantams on the other hand will stubbornly sit on nothing for months if the mood takes them!

Of the 6 chicks I have, it looks like they will be 50:50 hens to roosters.

bluegreen said:

hi Anne, what breed of hens do you have? Some breeds have the broodiness bred out of them so they lay more eggs. Bantams on the other hand will stubbornly sit on nothing for months if the mood takes them!

Of the 6 chicks I have, it looks like they will be 50:50 hens to roosters.

Rhode Island Red, a breed I have kept for 20 odd years. I like them because they are a good dual purpose breed, not overly broody but generally good mothers. This is one of the few times that I have had trouble with them setting the eggs.

i have good chickie news too, one of hubbies OEG’s ( one of the few hens to go broodie here) just hatched out 8 wee chickies ( dark legs partridge hen), we have moved them to the chook nursery. Yay! they are soooo small and sooo cute! Doncha just love chickies!
I’d love to know what else every one out there has running around their back yards too, We have Malay game, White silkies, Black and silver silkies, Backyard bruisers, Australian Langshans, OEG’s, Geese and Indian runners, and 5 sheep, 2 galahs, 3 budgies, 2 geriatric cats, and 2 geriatric dogs.

glad to hear you got some chicks after all TM.

At the moment we have 7 bantams – a Light Sussex roo & 4 hens plus 2 pekins. One of the pekins is rearing 6 crossed chicks. I also have a trio of Khaki Campbell ducks. Other pets are 2 galahs, 3 guinea pigs, 3 rats and a blind, geriatric cat. We are also minding #1 daughter’s 2 cockatiels while she is on holiday in Japan with her husband. Oh, and the galahs are hers too but they are renting so can’t keep them where they are. This is in the burbs of Melbourne!

We will be having to throw out ALL the eggs in the ‘bator, as the cursed ‘bator has bacterial contamination, probibly from the last time it was used b4 us was for pheasants. Anyhoo, the small birds ( Silkies and OEG’s) are brooding their wn, and at least we will have them. I think we will be keeping some silkie hens from the latest batch of hicks to become living brooders, as this time has been expensive and heart breaking.
We are hoping to be able to get our hands on a couple of corination or light sussex hens later on in the year, to bring up the dressed weight sise in our backyardies, and i am looking forward to that. Toni.

Turkeymum said:

as the cursed ‘bator has bacterial contamination, probibly from the last time it was used b4 us

well that makes more sense than curses!

Well we had another silkies eggs begin to hatch today. Yay! My experimental cage, a dominant white gene hen and a dominant black gene roo. there are now egg shells ejected from the nest box, but mum is being cagey about public appearances at present, so i don’t know what i have!!