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This doesn't entirely relate to heat but to the waiting period to have the eggs fertilized by the cock bird of your choice. I had always heard the conventional wisdom about eggs being fertile for 2-3 weeks after the removal of a cock bird but recently read a study that indicated that while that...

I can take a guess at this and others can add in their two cents and correct me if I am wrong.... My guess is that grinding grains starts the oxidation process, which reduces their nutritional value. This is the reason I buy only whole corn and other whole grains to throw out as a treat...

The Silkie thread would, I think, have you believe that Silkies are fragile and need special treatment. I have a very mixed flock of turkeys, muscovies, LF, and bantams that include Silkies and Seramas. They all get the exact same treatment and they all thrive. They sleep in the same...

BGMatt, I would lean towards numerous small breeders vs. seeing the breed die out altogether. A breeder who is serious about a particular breed is likely to seek out new blood to infuse along the way so as to avoid inbreeding. I am getting ready to get serious about working with and improving...

That has been my experience as well, as long as there is plenty of space. I think the problems arise in a crowded situation where the older birds jealously guard what little space there is, against the newcomers. My system is similar to Yard Full of Rocks'. My grow-out pen is inside the...

Okay, that makes sense - thank you for taking the time to explain. I couldn't agree more - nutrition is everything. When I started this, I attempted to make it as economical as possible so bought the cheapest feed I could find. My birds did okay on it but somewhere along the line, I figured...

Cochins are as broody as silkies and I understand they are also great moms. I'm yet to find out. I acquired 2 silkies and 3 cochins last fall, planning to have them do my brooding for me this year. I have one broody silkie now but the cochins haven't started yet. (They are young though)...

bnjrob, I'm sorry your first broody hatch didn't go so well. My experience has been the opposite so I would encourage you to try again. I incubated first (always wanted a broody but had to wait 3 years to get one - now I've got several). My first hatch yielded 4 chicks starting with 11 eggs...

Gotcha! This has been a good discussion. I think of "heritage" in the context of a breed versus a particular line of a breed. I.e. a Rhode Island Red is a heritage breed vs. one of the new-fangled breeds that has recently been created. Oh I totally agree and I up the humidity at the end...

I'm not sure of your point....unless you mean what I said about "leaving them alone". I simply meant not opening the incubator and handling them a lot at that point.

Aha. So I was using 3 out of 4 correctly....interesting. Nevertheless, while I may change my use of the term on BYC, among my circle of friends, I might still use the word "rooster" since a) it is more widely understood and b) it doesn't have those connotations that could get me in trouble...

Wynette, Walt will correct me if I'm wrong but I think what he might have been getting at is that there is really no such thing as "lockdown". Hens don't change much about the way they do things in the last 3 days, yet when incubating we treat that time period as though it is something...

Hey Walt, as an Aussie, a "roo" to me is still a Kangaroo That said, please educate me on the correct terminology. I have always used "hen" and "rooster" to differentiate female from male, with "pullet" and "cockerel" indicating they are young birds of those same genders. I think of "Cock"...

I don't plan to show but I still want quality birds - there are many more reasons to have good quality birds, than just for show purposes. In fact, isn't this whole thread all about the reasons to maintain the quality of the heritage breeds?

Chris is exactly right. My coop looks like this: So I know what you're thinking. Metal siding, metal roof - its going to be an oven in there. Right? I live in the midwest. That means we can have 5-6 weeks straight in summer, where the day time temps are 100+ and it doesn't get below 85 at...

You might try it again. It opened up fine for me. I am currently using Chrome but also have Firefox and switch back and forth between them. Sometimes if I have trouble with something in one browser, I try it with the other and it works.

I agree with you - I think my eggs are worth way more than I can get for them. Around here (midwest), store bought eggs are .99c/dozen and sometimes free because they're always doing deals like "buy 1 gallon of milk, get a dozen eggs free". Plus, out in the country where I am, almost everyone...

Hi, this is my introductory post to mark this thread so I will be able to keep up with it from now on. I am the friend of Deerfield Acres referenced several pages ago. Through her diligence in research, I started reading this thread myself a week or so ago. I have to tell you, I read every...