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rachels.haven
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My hissy pitzy goose flock who did NOT keep the weeds at bay this year. Just the hawks (good enough)
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My hissy pitzy goose flock who did NOT keep the weeds at bay this year. Just the hawks (good enough)
Baymule
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I didn’t know that leghorns went broody. I thought they were just heavy layers.
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rachels.haven
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Me too. Apparently they do what they want!
Read the chicken catalog, hen!
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rachels.haven
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August, Buckin' Awesome.
farmerjan
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My Light Brown Leghorns (standard size) that I used to show would go broody.. at least 1 hen a year if not more... Very high strung and flighty the first few days with chicks... had to be very slow and careful with the new chicks until they got their "legs under them" a little better... by 10 days, 2 weeks, they were running everywhere I never discouraged them as I liked them being able to "reproduce themselves" and not need a "nurse momma"...
I always liked the hens to go broody... and when I was raising and showing alot, would constantly be setting them so I didn't have to clean brooders etc....
But NO, chickens of the Mediterranean class are not normally overly broody.....
I always liked the hens to go broody... and when I was raising and showing alot, would constantly be setting them so I didn't have to clean brooders etc....
But NO, chickens of the Mediterranean class are not normally overly broody.....
farmerjan
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P.S. @rachels.haven ... I honestly believe that some of it has to do with them being able to "be chickens" in a nice "quiet non-threatening" type of situation.... although setting is not their best trait... when allowed to just be calm chickens... they tend to want to do some more of what nature has instilled in their little tiny brains... and I am sure that even with your "rough and ready boys" that your animals are used to a calmer presence with the way you treat things...
Ridgetop
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Are your geese Pilgrims?
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rachels.haven
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My goose is a pilgrim. The pilgrim gander would alternate between cuddly and friendly to randomly reaching out and biting people (men's) crotches, so my parents shot him. The back and forth was too much (erm, especially for the menfolk in the house). The gander is the offspring of a pilgrim and a very good tempered african gander. He is the less well tempered brother of the batch. The better behaved one I sent off to live with someone else when they went to war with each other (long story). This guy tries to kill ducks, so we have none, and will occasionally, once in a blue moon toss goslings or chickens. The 3 offpsring are 3/4 pilgrims. I may eventually process the half-rican gander and get a full pilgrim gander. I'm not sure we have any females in the offspring. They seem really masculine with very broad heads so we may have a lot of goose to process. So it should be really straightforward to start a purebred flock and try for a shier gander.
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rachels.haven
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Aw, thanks. I really appreciate that sentiment.
Ridgetop
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Those men can't take a joke!Pilgrims are sex-linked in color. Ganders are white, while females are gray. My friend has br=een breeding Pilgrims for several years and has a really nice line of them now. He is going to give me 5 males and 5 females for our pond. They will help to clear the weeds both in the pond and around the edges. Eventually I would like to set up a solar panel to power an aerator in the pond to help it stay healthy.
DH had a pair of Chinese geese. The female was fairly docile but the male was a terror. He was pretty territorial and didn't like any strangers. He had a particular hatred for one of our friends. She was a heavy woman with bright red hair. When she came to visit it was a contest to see if she could reach the door before he reached her and bit her on the butt.
DH made the mistake of putting them in the small pen where we were keeping the hogs. The hogs killed and ate the hen. The male survived for a while before a coyote got him. This was before we got our LGDs.
