waiting

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waiting

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tai haku

Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

Posted: Fri Jun 26, 15 7:43 am Post subject: waiting

So we have:
9 Silver Laced Wyandotte eggs in a little incubator (since last Saturday)
3 under a friend's broody Orpington bantam
and
2 silver duckwing welsummer hens who've been awol for about 2 and a half weeks and show up very very occasionally behaving in a broody fashion.

We have a nice patch of cover for them to play in which they've gone to ground in and I've not gone in after them as I don't want to disturb them and on our fox-free island they're pretty safe out there.

I was wondering what the likely timing on the arrival of their chicks (if any) was - obviously incubation is 21 days but do they accumulate a clutch of eggs whilst going about their business normally and then only start to sit tight once they're ready or do they start doing weird broody things well before this? If it's the former we should hopefully have chicks sometime in the next week but we've never had this before (and thought we never would with the welsummers!).

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Fri Jun 26, 15 9:36 am Post subject:
People quite often make this mistake. It doesn't matter whether the eggs were laid at the beginning of the clutch being laid down or at the end. All the eggs will remain dormant until the hen starts to sit in earnest. In theory, they should all hatch at the same time but in practice, this could be over a period of a couple of days.

tai haku

Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

Posted: Fri Jun 26, 15 11:59 am Post subject:

Bodger wrote:

People quite often make this mistake. It doesn't matter whether the eggs were laid at the beginning of the clutch being laid down or at the end. All the eggs will remain dormant until the hen starts to sit in earnest. In theory, they should all hatch at the same time but in practice, this could be over a period of a couple of days.

So it sounds like they would've been dropping eggs off in the bush and then going about their business as per normal prior to sitting for 21ish days. That's good news - everything we've read suggests welsummers aren't great broodies so I've been half expecting them to give up part way through but on that basis they must be almost there.....

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Sat Jun 27, 15 2:11 pm Post subject:
Its said that Welsummers don't go broody but I've actually got one that's broody right now.

tai haku

Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 15 10:27 am Post subject:

Bodger wrote:

Its said that Welsummers don't go broody but I've actually got one that's broody right now.

still no sign of the location of our two broody welsummers (both still popping up occasionally to feed/drink then hooning it back into the deep cover). the waiting is agony!

tai haku

Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

Posted: Sat Jul 11, 15 9:49 am Post subject:
both waits ended yesterday by happy coincidence. Wyandottes out of the incubator.... and Marjorie the Welsummer returned from hiding with 11 little ones in tow.

sueshells

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 690
Location: North Bucks

Posted: Sat Jul 11, 15 1:41 pm Post subject:
Wonderful - very well done Marjorie.

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Sat Jul 11, 15 8:42 pm Post subject:
A nice result.

tai haku

Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 472

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 15 6:49 am Post subject:

Bodger wrote:

A nice result.

yep. went 5 of 9 with the wyandottes in the incubator. no word yet on the 3 eggs under our friend's orpington.

another wait now to work out whether the welsummer chicks are pure or whether our big silver laced wyandotte cockerel got in on the act!

Woodburner

Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 2904
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 15 10:25 am Post subject:
Nice timing! Now you can get the broody to raise them all together.

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