[little blue]

Well, what do you all think?
Do I save up for an incubator ready for the spring, or invest in a breed that goes broody like a silkie?
Ours are mostly warrens, the cockerel is a black silkie, theres also one hamburg hen who's nearly 6 months old.  And japanese quail
So I'd probably have to buy in eggs to make enough to hatch, I just want to have a go at breeding some chooks!
Will a hen hatch and care for quail?
Can I safely put a brood box in the shed with the others, or will it need to be totally separate?

Am going now, to re-read katie thears book on breeding & incubating!!
Thanks
 

[jameslindsay]

I don't see why a hen wouldn't care for quail as hens make excellent mothers for ducklings. I bought an incubator and have to say it is a brilliant experience. So far none of the chooks have shown any signs of broodiness either. Good luck.

[Hardfeather]

It's not a good idea to brood quail under broodies. Even bantams can be too heavy footed for tiny quail chicks. Some gamekeepers brood partridges under bantams, and even they have a high mortality rate if the hens are clumsy.

Silkies are good broodies, but their feathers can sometimes cause problems for some chicks as they are too soft and fluffy. You would be better with crossberds, such as Silkie x Sussex, as their feathers are not so fine and the crossbred bird can cover more eggs than can a Silkie.

You have to be careful, too, if you are brooding and rearing some breeds, such as game breeds as the broodies will transfer a lot of their behavioural characteristics onto their foster chicks. I would definitely never use soft feather broodies to hatch/brood a breed like Oxford Gamefowl which are required to be very game as part of their breed standard and, in my opinion, need the influence of an Oxford Game hen to achieve this.

It wouldn't matter so much with Carlisle, Indian, or Modern Game as most of the gameness has already been lost in those breeds.

Broodies are more labour intensive than incubators, but there is something very satisfying about doing the rounds of the broodies in the morning, taking them off to feed and cleanse themselves, then putting them back on their nests. The old way was to tie the hen by a leg noose on a peg, which gave her a chance to pick at the grass and her wheat on a circle of about 2 ft diameter, for about twenty minutes. Water was also given at this point, before the hen was shut away till the next morning.

A line of broody boxes were to be found in most old gamekeeper's gardens, so that any eggs brought in from wild partridge and pheasant nests, which were vulnerable to vermin, could be saved.

I don't have an incubator, and any time I've borrowed one I've not had much luck. Broodies, on the other hand, if well managed, will hatch consistently well if their boxes are placed in a shady, moist place away from disturbance.

[doganjo]

What do you mean by gameness, Aengusog.  That means taste to me, as a shooting gundog owner, but I suspect you mean temperament if the broody can influence this.  Am I right?

[Hardfeather]

What do you mean by gameness, Aengusog.  That means taste to me, as a shooting gundog owner, but I suspect you mean temperament if the broody can influence this.  Am I right?

Gameyness (probably a non-word  ) pertains to taste.

When I say 'gameness', I am referring to the fighting instinct/spirit of a true gamefowl, something which is very rare these days. Gamefowl chicks which are reared under non-game hens have, no doubt, inherited the gene for gameness (if it is present) from their parents, but they must also see first hand what it is to live as a gamefowl, in order to be truly game. Gamehens are very violent in defence of their chicks, so much so that they are too dangerous for young children, pets, and the unitiated.

Most people would instantly think of fighting cocks as being the epitome of gameness, and they are, but the hens, as mothers of the next generation are equally, if not more, important.

[MiriMaran]

I have never uased an incubator, but would imagine it is fun watching the chicks chipping their way out of the egg.

I always use broodies.  When a hen goes broody I put some golf balls under to encourage her.  When she is definitely sitting tight and flat I then move her to a little ark that we have and put eggs under her once I know she has stayed broody after the move.  With a broody you miss seeing the chicks hatching, but there is such pleasure in watching a mother hen clucking around her brood and the little chicks looking out from under her - beautiful.

I suppose you could buy a couple of hens that are of a type that go broody easily.  The ones I have had go broody this year are White Leghorns, Black Rocks (V aggressive!) and Speckledies.  None of my Warrens have ever gone broody and no hens went broody 'til the end of July so I had to wait very patiently this summer, but we have had 2 broods this summer.  I suppose if we had more than one chick ark we could have had more.  Personally I prefer doing it natures way, but I can see the attraction of incubators.  Good luck whatever you decide to do.

[jameslindsay]

I have 1 Blackrock and she eats out of my hand and comes running when she see's me, guess they are like us, some good and some bad!

[MiriMaran]

My Black Rocks are only agressive when they are broody, which I suppose means they are very protective, but I wouldn't put eggs under them as my children like to go into the chick ark and be with the chicks and a Black Rock Mum would have their eyes out!!!!

[jameslindsay]

Ah, well I guess that's only nature and she is looking after her young. I always think when I hatch from the incubator that having a mother is the best way for the ducklings.

[daniellestocks]

We have some Carlisle OEG Gingers AengusOg and they are MEAN!!! They are amazing broodies too! Great birds! I dont think iv ever come across anything like them before, temperment wise, without an egg or chick in sight they will happily have a go at my passing terriers for the fun of it, an thats just the hens True game birds!!!

[Rosemary]

We've got a broody Black Rock, now with 11 (I broke one)  Copper Marans under her. We've never had much luck with the incubator, so hoping for better with broody.

[Hardfeather]

We have some Carlisle OEG Gingers AengusOg and they are MEAN!!! They are amazing broodies too! Great birds! I dont think iv ever come across anything like them before, temperment wise, without an egg or chick in sight they will happily have a go at my passing terriers for the fun of it, an thats just the hens True game birds!!!

Are you sure they are Carlisle game? I've never heard of Gingers in the Carlisle form.

I had written a screed about this, but for some reason it failed to post, so here is the short version..............I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear that. 

After the demise of cockfighting, some fanciers set about breeding strains of gamefowl for the show pen.

They succeeded in breeding away from a well-balanced, close-heeled, active, fiesty, broad-breasted, natural athlete, with a belligerent nature, to an ill-balanced, sluggish, cowardly, pigeon-chested, wide-stanced lump of a thing with no stomach for a fight of any duration. It didn't take them long to do that. These breeders also became overly fixated on colour, so that the birds quickly became readily identifiable on their plumage if not on their type.

Many of the old colours associated with the genuine Oxford gamefowl became less favoured, ginger being one of them, and the new breeds were represented by fewer colours, such as black red, grey, black, blue (dun), pile, and brown red, with a few crele here and there. Such was the craze to get the colour right that the conformation and constitution of the fowl deteriorated rapidly, along with any remaining gameness.

A few Oxford enthusiasts kept some of the old strains going and, in places such as Ireland, and certain areas of England, America, and Australia, there are still strong strains of fowl which are relatively unchanged from the days of cockfighting. These are now rare breeds, kept by very few people, and quite difficult to get hold of.


I have Oxford gingers here, as well as some other strains of gamefowl derived from Oxford and Irish base stock. I breed them carefully for the original attributes of the breed. All my birds are developed from a few trios of good stock, which I was very lucky to obtain some years ago.

So, danniellestocks, I think you may be luckier than you think. It sounds like you may have Oxford gingers there. It would be interesting to see how they compare to mine.

[daniellestocks]

Well AengusOg they maybe are? Their my father inlaws, he gave me the info, he has known to be wrong tho? 
Hes in the processs of finding a new cockbod, as he got killed , we have two fantastic hens, and desperate to breed from them, as he also said they are quite rare!?
Ill try get a pic and pm you, i think there malting at the mo so looking rarther dull

[harry]

have both...i have found broodies sometimes abanden the nest, i use golf balls under a broody, while the eggs are in the incubator... when they start to break out 2 go under the broody..... a few days later when all is well with the broody i distract the hens site and chuck in all the other hatched chicks..... always works..... i am looking fro large fowl silkies to cross with a buff orpington cockeral... these make huge broodies capable of sitting on 20 eggs....... if you buy a incubator get a good one £100 plus

[northfifeduckling]

You know I don't agree with you, James, about duck mums being better than incubating. They are rubbish at motherhood! For a couple of days they went frantic in their protection instincts but after showing the wee ones the food they let them get on with life, no warmth, protection, etc..Mum just shot off with the adult crowd. Muscovies seem to be the only exception, but all native breed domestic ducklings are probably better off with you!