Our Buff Orpingtons are 7-months-old and already we've got a baby chick. When we realized one of them had gone broody, we were surprised to say the least. Especially so late in the year. So we didn't mark the calendar to count the 21 incubation days for hatching chicks. About the time we figured she was setting on all duds, Dan said he'd give her another week. The very next day she presented with one baby chick!
The problem was that the dominant hen is pretty mean and she set out to kill it. That meant a scramble on our part to catch the remaining hens and move them to the big chicken coop. We'd recently thinned the flock to winter numbers and Rooster Shooster was a bit mopey with so few hens left.
We shut the Buffs by themselves in the coop for the rest of the day and Dan let them out in the evening. Amazingly there were no territorial challenges and no fighting. Everyone seems to be getting along fairly well.
Of our Buff rooster, he didn't make the cut.
He was very handsome and attentive to his ladies, but he was too aggressive and came after both Dan and me. We won't keep aggressive animals so he had to go.
Mama Buff is an excellent mother and seems perfectly fine with just her and Baby Chick in the chicken tractor yard. Eventually, we'll move them in with the other chickens.
25 comments:
Amazing that a pullet would go broody and become a great mother! I know you wanted a breed that would raise chicks; you obviously chose well. Was the singleton sired by the Buff rooster?
Michelle, yes, it's his. She had a clutch of 10 eggs! But of course, chickens love to lay in somebody else's nest, and we don't know how long that was happening. We were just amazed that she hatched any.
Did the rooster make a nice roast or stew? That late chick is just darling. I love buffs. Take care, Kris in Ohio
Wow, that's something! What a great surprise. Your girls are beautiful.
Oh, how wonderful. Such a sweet surprise.
Kris, he will. :) He's in the freezer at the moment.
We've tried a lot of breeds over the years and have always found Buff Orpingtons to be the best setters and mothers. This batch did not disappoint!
Daisy, they are beautiful birds. And laying beautiful eggs!
Laurie, it was an amazing surprise. And she's doing a good job of keeping Baby Chick warm. Our nights are quite chilly nowadays, but Baby is doing fine.
The buff chick is so cute. That’s surprising that a pullet would go broody and this late in the year. RHill, TX
RHill, I thought so too. Learned something new!
Cute! Do you have other roosters to make more chicks? Do they need to be the same breed?
Anonymous, good questions. We do have another rooster, a Speckled Sussex. I really like that breed, but they were never successful at brooding and mothering. Buffs are the best for that. But our Sussex rooster is the most excellent rooster we've ever had. Not sure what chicks would pick up as cross-breeds, in terms of traits. We'll have to wait and see.
Aww, that is a happy picture for the weekend.
Having suffered through one aggressive rooster growing up, I am a little standoffish as a whole.
TB, of all the roosters we've had over the years, this is the second one that made moves on us. Just not a good trait. Our current rooster is amazingly watchful, deferential his ladies, and respectful of the humans. He's the best we've ever had.
Your comment about the rooster took me back. My grandmother had chickens. Just a mixed lot. This was the days of the dyed chicks sold at Easter. We'd always get some, and of course they were always roosters. Granny would always take them. They'd do fine long as they weren't aggressive, but first attack, and we'd have chicken and dumplings the next Sunday.
Amanda, good to hear from you. Gosh, I remember when they sold dyed Easter chicks. We never had one though.
Hard to imagine there weren't a lot rooster fights going on at your Granny's. We've had a share of them in the past and finally decided to keep just one. It doesn't seem to depend a lot on personality though, and it's funny how much their personalities can vary.
Even chickens have drama in their lives!
I wonder if the aggressive roosters would have cleaned up their act if they knew what the consequences would be 😬 Have you ever had any luck with teaching the animals to change their behaviour or is it pretty much hard-wired on? Thanks!
Ed, the drama is never ending. :)
Anonymous, ha! I wonder!
My experience is that behaviors that have to do with their social structure and hierarchy are pretty much hard-wired. The opinions of the humans are irrelevant. This is also true of things like breeding instincts and dominance toward food. So chickens who are used to getting out of their yard to hunt and scratch elsewhere can't be trained to stay put. They have to be deterred by making escape impossible.
There is an element of personality in all that, as in some individual animals are more easy-going than others and some are more determined to get their own way (stubborn). Some are confident while others are skittish. But none of my experiments in changing their behavior have been really successful.
My opinion is that successful animal handling requires understanding their species and breed behaviors and developing a routine that works with them. That I have fairly well behaved goats, for example, is because they agree to cooperate. Through experience I've learned the nature of goats, so whatever I do has to work with that. Routine is everything and as long as I stick to a routine they're happy with, they cooperate. Change even a small part of the routine and all is chaos until they get used to the change.
This is interesting— thanks! It’s funny how they need a definite routine but also freedom to follow their instincts. It’s great that you have worked out the balance!
That is very exciting to find a baby, especially this time of year. Aggressive hens are no fun and the roosters - well that is the reason we have never had one. Luckily, you don't need a rooster to get eggs. I hope winter holds off long enough for you, for the chick to feather up, just to help her through the winter.
Nina, I have to say it's usually the males that are most aggressive, but that one hen really had it out for poor baby chick. Being with the other chickens and ducks has tempered her aggressive tendencies.
So far we've had a beautifully mild November, except for one freeze that did the garden in. I'm trying to enjoy it for as long as it lasts!
The Baby Buff is adorable, Leigh. The Buff Orpingtons are a beautiful color. I'm glad that you got rid of the aggressive rooster. They are bad news. I've been attacked by a vicious rooster, so I'm leery of mean roosters and hens. Thanks for sharing!
Fundy, I know what you mean. It's amazing, actually, how much variation there can be in rooster personalities.
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