Poultry catch up

Photo: (click on image to enlarge) Young Gold Duckwing Welsummer cockerel - next year's second line.
( his legs are yellow !! )

The last couple of weeks have seen quite a few changes amongst the poultry.

Despite trying various different tactics the Indian Game cockerel remained infertile or at least disinterested. He was young and fit and would chase the girls around the paddock for as long as they would run but as soon as they stopped he walked away. So he is no longer with us.

Next year in his place as head of the table bird flock we will have a Barnevelder cockerel. I have the pick of 5 from this year's hatch but have already marked out the one I think the best.

I am also going to replace the mix of heavy breed layers but am keeping the Marans, Speckled Sussex and Indian Game as they have been star broodies this year. The other layers have already been sold and have gone to a very good home. I will make the numbers up with half a dozen Barnevelder pullets.

All of this year's Exchequer Leghorn pullets have sold and I am still getting enquires for them. Today I set another clutch of eggs under a broody Speckled Sussex. This will probably be my last hatch of the year.

The Gold Duckwing Welsummers have been amazing, they have been laying daily and the egg size and colour is very good. In the past week or so two have gone broody but it is not a breed I would use to sit, especially as this year I have been overwhelmed with broody hens.

The cockerel I kept back from last year is looking good and I have two nice looking pullets amongst the Partridge Welsummer eggs I hatched, so hopefully the makings of a quality second line.


All the rest of the chicks are thriving and as each batch grow and more hatch they are moved along the line of different size runs.

The turkey eggs hatched last Friday 12 out of 13 being shared amongst two hens ..but more about that later along with photos.

The old gander, thankfully, has settled down and seems reasonably happy pottering about with the sheep and hens. He is in full moult and looks a little dishevelled but otherwise none the worse for his ordeal.

The end to geese keeping ?

Either Friday night or early Saturday morning, 5 weeks after her eggs were stolen, the culprit be it fox, badger or dog returned and killed the goose on her nest along with the two eggs which were due to hatch in less than a week.

Poor Henry is now on his own, lonely and in shock but unharmed. His future undecided. He is old at least 25+ years and has started to show his age. I am reluctant to find him a new mate, yet he can't live alone. For now he is in the paddock with the ewes, lambs and chickens. Hopefully he will settle, not be too lonely and will live out his days naturally, but it is sad to hear him calling for his mate and attempting to fly over the paddock gate to return to the orchard.

The breeding season continues...

...at a pace. The first chicks to hatch are now 8+ weeks old and free ranging a large area. I am always nervous when first letting them out, wondering if it will be the last I see of them as they take flight over the fence into the neighbouring countryside or failing that a sparrowhawk will spot an easy lunch.

As always though they slowly make their way out of the confines of their run, at first staying close to the fence perimeter for safety but soon exploring their new world with increasing excitement and confidence. These even found their own way back to their house to roost for the night.

The older hens continue to go broody, two more over the weekend. As things stand at present I have the three broody hens whose eggs are due to hatch in the next few days, a broody who has been installed into the poultry shed and who will receive a clutch of Welsummer eggs tonight, another hen threatening grievous bodily harm to anyone human or otherwise who dares to approach her and a Welsummer hen who hasn't quite yet decided.

Typically the two hens I am hoping/willing to go broody have so far ignored my pleadings. Maybe it is the mention of turkey eggs.

The poor goose who had her eggs stolen and who went off lay for a while after, has now decided to sit on just two eggs. I do hope they hatch.

Broody Hens

Photo: Indian Game cross broody hen on Sussex eggs

Mix a traditional heavy breed hen with an Indian Game cockerel, add a little warm weather and you have the perfect recipe for a broody hen and I have plenty.
No sooner do I remove one from the nestbox - to allow those who are still in lay to do so in peace rather than being harranged on entering the pop hole, then another takes up position in the still warm nest of straw in the hope of rearing a brood of her own.

Some I have managed to 'break' by placing them in a small run with fresh water and a little corn, still in view of the other hens but with nowhere to settle comfortably. Others have spent a few days wandering around clucking but have then decided motherhood may not be for them after all. A couple I have allowed to sit, they have successfully raised a brood and have now rejoined the flock.

Yesterday and today I set two more. Both Indian Game cross hens, very determined that motherhood is their role in life. One has been settled in the small ark and run with a clutch of a dozen Sussex eggs, the other in the poultry shed sitting tight on eleven Partridge Welsummer hens, hopefully the beginnings of a new future breeding line of Gold Duckwing Welsummers.

With still more broodies taking up residence in various nestboxes, I need to spend this weekend re arranging the pens. Moving more hens in with the young cockerel and freeing up the pen at home for the young chicks who are fast becoming 'growers'.

Sadly the slim chance of the goose raisng any goslings of her own has been taken away from her. This morning found her nest empty, all five of her carefully hidden eggs missing. The nest was undisturbed and although I can't be sure I do think the guilt rests on the shoulders of a boxer dog from a few houses away who is allowed to roam free, much to the fustration of a neighbouring sheep farmer.

Poultry catch up

So much has happened over the last few weeks ... not all good.

Today I candled the eggs under the broody Indian Game, nine eggs from heavy breed hens using the Indian Game cockerel.


After all the eggs from the first setting were infertile, in the hope of improving fertility I penned the cockerel and four hens in the stable for two weeks before setting this clutch. Today candling showed only one of the nine viable.

I made the very hard decision of calling a halt to the sitting. I have removed all the eggs and shut the broody hen out into the run part of the ark... she is not, understandably, very happy.

Another hard desicion will be 'what next?' re. the cockerel.

I also have another rather angry broody maran, who for the life of her can't understand why I will not let her spend all day in the nestbox terrorizing any hen that dares to enter the house, but see fit to place her in a small run with nowhere comfy to snuggle down.

Talking of broodies I have two more but I am offering these for sale. They are crossbred, very freindly birds who will make excellent sitters and mothers. When not broody they lay almost/if not daily.

The chicks are growing fast and are now 4 1/2 weeks old. Many of the Welsummers are cockerels, the Leghorns appeared to be more evenly divided.

All the hens are laying well, the Welsummers especially and their fertility is high.

It is a good time of year for all the poultry.

The goose has finally come into lay. I will leave her eggs in her nest in the hope she decides to sit, although due to their age goslings are not likely.

Behavioural changes

There have been subtle changes in the behaviour of the geese over the past few weeks, indicative of the start of the breeding season.

Many geese have already started to lay - Valentines day being the traditional day for geese to start laying - but my own pair (kept because of Henry's grand age) are old and for them egg laying starts later each year.

The signs, however are there. Henry, normally quite placid is becoming feisty, not only with strangers but also with me.

At feed time the old gander will stand back and allow the goose to feed first. Very different to a couple of months ago when she often received a sharp peck if she tried to eat along side him.

The gooses' bill and legs are becoming deeper in colour and her keel is dropping. She is also spending the nights and much of her time during the day close to the shelter. Although there is no nest as yet, it must surely only be a matter of days now.

If she lays I will leave the eggs for her to brood but I would be surprised if the eggs are fertile.

Geese - breeding season.

This morning Henry was a little feistier than usual towards me and after refilling their pond he engaged in much head bobbing. A sure sign that spring is on it's way and despite his advancing years Henry is ready to start mating - his partner not so keen. I did noticed at the weekend, however, that her feet and bill are beginning to 'colour up'.

It is early in the year for this pair, mid to late February being their norm. Last year they were extremely late. I put it down to their age but maybe it was more complex than that.

They will be left to do as they please, I am not looking to hatch or indeed expect any goslings from them.

Poultry talk

Although I still have one broody sitting on a clutch of eggs, the season is coming to an end. Several of the birds have gone into moult, a few have just a little feather loss, others like the Speckled Sussex and Dorking stand with a pile of feathers surrounding them, loosing more each time they shake. The Ixworth appears to have completed her moult and is looking very smart, crisp and white.
The geese are also moulting, their feathers covering the orchard.

The growers are.... well growing. The cockerels especially are looking fine with their adult feathering coming through.

All the birds are enjoying the start of Autumn with windfall apples and plums plentiful. Everyday when I change the geese' water there is a collection of plum stones at the bottom of the pond. Watching them 'apple bob' never fails to make me smile.

This morning I watched and wondered why all the hens were gathered under the churchyard hedge, until I noticed a pigeon flying out from the elder bush scattering berries everywhere. The hens fought over every last one.

Time has also come for some hard decision making, which birds of the flock to keep and who to replace.

Calling time

This morning we called time on the sitting goose. She has been sitting for over a month and even allowing more time for the extra two eggs there should have been some sign of hatching by now. The deciding factor was finding a couple of small pieces of broken egg shell on the floor of the house yesterday. At first we couldn't be sure if it was the result of a gosling hatching or an egg breaking. There was no sound of peeping but neither was there the overpowering, unmistakable smell of a rotten egg.

Mid morning it all became clear, the goose left the nest for her daily wander, not a good sign in itself and in the nest we could see there were now only four eggs. Due to the lack of 'aroma' the broken egg was obviously clear.

So this morning we chased the gander from the orchard into a separate area, removed the goose from the nest and candled the eggs. Three were clear, the other appeared to have died in the very early stages of developing. I guess at 30+ the gander is just too old .

We removed the nest, brushed out the house and then let the pair back into the orchard. The poor goose went straight into the house but after the initial 5 minutes of shouting accepted her loss and is now wandering around the orchard, grazing and bathing quite peacefully.

In a couple of days when she is settled I'll scrub the house out and add new bedding but for now it has been left empty to discourage her from returning.

Hopefully now she will spend her days feeding and bathing in order to regain her condition. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she soon doesn't go into moult. The gander already has, littering the orchard with his white feathers.

No goslings - yet

If we are lucky enough to have any goslings this year, they are due around now. I had figured they were due to hatch close to the 23 June. However there are no signs of anything happening just yet.

This morning whilst both the goose and gander were some distance from the nest my son took the opportunity to have a peek. The first we have managed since she started to sit. Rather than the three eggs I thought she had there were five, so hatching could be a few more days off. The eggs were still warm and before leaving the nest she had covered them in a thick layer of soft down.

I was going to investigate further at the weekend but will now give her a little longer. If she fails to leave the nest for her daily break in the following few days, the signs are good.

Goose sitting

After starting to lay 3 months later than previous years, the goose has now decided to sit, on only 3 possibly 4 eggs ! I know this year, after cutting back on our goose numbers, we had agreed to let the geese 'do their own thing', rather than collect eggs for incubating... but 3 she could have made a little more effort !

In fairness she probably knows exactly what she is doing, as she was late in the season coming into lay and the eggs will take at least a month to incubate, if she is to hatch and rear any young successfully they will need the summer months to thrive.

So in 30 days time we may just have one or two, maybe more goslings following their parents around the orchard.

...and finally !!!

....the goose has laid !!

Over three months later than previous years our goose has finally laid.

Last year I drastically reduced the number of geese I had, keeping only old Henry Hissalot and his mate. I didn't have the heart to rehome Henry, he is at least 30 years old and we are his 4th or 5th owners.



I had put the lack of eggs down to the age of the pair, as one of their daughters, now rehomed with friends, has been laying prolifically for months.

Although disappointed in the lack of eggs I wasn't too concerned as I had already decided I wasn't going to hatch any young this year.

Now I shall just leave them to it, if she decides to lay a clutch and sit, fine but I won't intervene at all......goslings would be quite nice though.