Mango and Cloud gave up being broody after three days. Storm came back into lay after a two week break and has laid five eggs in the last week. At the same time as Storm started laying Sugar went broody after laying six eggs.
We constantly seem to have one girl start as one stops so that we have only three girls laying most of the time. At the moment it’s Dot, Gold and Storm laying. I decided to break Sugar out of it straight away as I didn’t want her sitting in a nest box for a very long time. I gave her a couple of nights in the broody crate and she gave up.
I have been trying to continue giving all the girls time together but some days it has been too wet to spend time in the run. After the main flock taking no notice of the new girls things changed when Sugar went broody. She is always angry with the other girls when she is broody. Hormones! It has caused her to have a few spats with Snow.
At this point I usually put the girls back on their own sides. I am hoping that with time Sugar will calm down again. Snow responds by fighting back with Sugar, which is horrible to see, whereas Red is much more timid and runs away if any of the girls approach her.
Three days ago
Today
Up until now it has been as if there was an invisible barrier in front of the chickens’ patio. Today this was at the point that Sugar and Snow had a spat. In the background you can just see Snow moving away from Sugar. This caused Red to run in the other direction and finally jump up to the patio area. She didn’t get any further because Mango and Cloud were there. I had sprinkled a few sunflower hearts to try to encourage the new girls to go there but Mango and Cloud found them first.
It is slow progress but there is no rush as I want the girls to stay on growers pellets for as long possible before getting to the age when laying is imminent. As Snow is a month older than Red I plan to wait until Snow is ready to start laying/ has started laying before letting them have layers pellets.
I will continue to give them some time mixing until this point but sometimes it doesn’t all come together until they are together full time and going in the chicken shed together at bedtime. It always works out in the end so I am happy to take it slowly.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Snow is a brave little girl to fight back, She may not want to be one of the bottom girls when they all get together.
The new girls are chalk and cheese. Red is really timid but Snow is feisty. I think you might be right, Snow may not be one of the bottom girls. Red will definitely be bottom girl.
I was just about to say that Snow seems a feisty little hen, diminutive in size, but certainly not in spirit. After needing a broody for so long, I now have 6 and the weather has been so bad I haven’t liked to put them in jail, but it is a challenge for the hens wanting to lay. The chicks are looking good, the older ones now 10 weeks and the younger ones 5 weeks. There seems to be roughly a 50/50 ratio of cocks to pullets, so a less than pleasant job lies ahead of me.
I am looking forward, once your new girls are fully integrated, to seeing Red next to Autumn – they are both beauties.
Snow is feisty and Red is a total wimp. It does seem as soon as one is back in lay another is broody but 6 at once is a lot to cope with. The thought of the cockerels is what puts me off ever hatching chicks. I am looking forward to getting them fully integrated. I think Autumn and Red are the most beautiful wyandottes I have ever seen but I may be a bit biased of course!
I once had 3 like Autumn and they were complemented by 3 silver pencilled wyandottes – a stunning sight.
There are some beautiful variations of wyandottes. I like the gold versions best. Gold partridge is pretty too.