tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7023462592097587064.post2582982121204477193..comments2023-04-27T11:22:02.142-04:00Comments on Jordan's Croft: Chicken World NewsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7023462592097587064.post-7352117262308435592011-04-30T21:51:21.368-04:002011-04-30T21:51:21.368-04:00Yes, the things we humans have done to dogs is bey...Yes, the things we humans have done to dogs is beyond rational.<br /><br />For chickens, certain traits are bred out 'broodiness,' meaning the willingness to set and care for eggs and a clutch of chicks - has been bred out of hens since the incubator was invented. <br /><br />Which is why the Moscovy ducks hatch chicken eggs better than the hens. Ducks hatch chicken eggs regularly, but not the other way around. <br /><br />Just to make things even stranger - Mickey Finn - the rooster was raised by Smudge - who also raised his daddy Sony. Mickey's sister - Patty was hatched by a duck and raised by Smudge. I also used Patty as a 'big sister' to a clutch of youngsters hatched late in the season. <br /><br />So, in a way, Patty has been 'trained' as well as bred, to go broody. Which she did - already. Smudge always waited until June to go broody. <br /><br />I've got an incubator full of eggs due to hatch in mid-May. I think I can trick Patty into raising the chicks. It's not hard to trick a chicken - they are the origin of the saying 'dumb cluck' - which ought to tell you something. <br /><br />I'm looking forward into getting some really pretty red hens from those eggs. (Ever heard the saying 'don't count your chickens before their hatched'? You'll never guess where that one came from!)<br /><br />The hobbit chicks didn't do very well in Chicken World - the weather turned cold and rainy. I put them back in the tack room where the temperature is more controlled. <br /><br />I'll give them another week to grow. It is possible that since they are hatchery chicks, they aren't as hardy. Barred Rocks are some hardy birds - scrappy too.K. A. Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07020119815910396933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7023462592097587064.post-23935236595376663362011-04-30T08:54:18.411-04:002011-04-30T08:54:18.411-04:00I like them. And yes, hybrids of any species of an...I like them. And yes, hybrids of any species of animal definitely are heartier than purebreds. It's not that hybrids get more strength but rather that "purebreds" lack natural selection's variety. It's Darwinian, what he called "survival of the fittest." It wasn't about anything going extinct or one species or genus killing off another, it was about variation of traits making a species stronger from one generation to the next and how the introduction of new traits forces the new generation to "adapt" and remain "flexible" to its environment. Flexibility and the ability to adapt are how animals survive. Becoming specialized or "purebred" is how animals develop genetic disorders--like dogs with smushed faces who cannot breath or run like a normal canine because we humans decided to alter a canine skeletal design in an unnatural and non-adaptable way. I find those dogs and cats to be examples of human cruelty to the species overall. We have no right to manipulate lower species into genetic disorders and call it "cute." Yet they actually give awards for "cuteness" of smushed faces on animals gasping for air. It's horrific if you actually step back and look at it from a genetic level.Sarah, The Webbiegrrl Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11293812419635640340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7023462592097587064.post-21497635413128414712011-04-28T18:53:47.566-04:002011-04-28T18:53:47.566-04:00I put the 'hobbit' chickens in Chicken Wor...I put the 'hobbit' chickens in Chicken World with the rest of the chicks. So far they preferred to stay in the warmer part instead of exploring. But that's why I have the big brooder in the first place. <br /><br />I'm looking forward to seeing how they do - they are pretty birds.<br /><br />I shall have to give them 'Hobbit' names. LOLK. A. Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07020119815910396933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7023462592097587064.post-63838711697671099532011-04-27T23:08:18.610-04:002011-04-27T23:08:18.610-04:00Hobbit chickens. Ha! I love it. They are pretty.
...Hobbit chickens. Ha! I love it. They are pretty.<br /><br />Keep us posted on those double crossed chicks. Maybe you'll be on to the perfect chicken to paint.Jean Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02047709505502621618noreply@blogger.com