Barnevelder breeders lets work together and improve the breed - Page 197

It is the only air cell in the egg. Today is day 18 so i guess I will be finding out in a few days... I am a nervous wreck!

I just checked the eggs under my broody hen.
She was setting on 18.
Only 5 were fertile.
3 of tge 5 half air cell on the side :-/.
I gave her 2 eggs that will be harching soon and 2the "duds" just because.
Man thus is tough stuff...

 

 

Having been grossed out seeing this actually happen, I would not have young chicks with the Guineas.  We were up picking up some baby ducklings last year and while visiting, as always happens when you visit us crazy poultry folks, we were wandering around, visiting,  and looking for a hen that had recently set and hatched a clutch.  Well, we found her and just about that time one of the Guineas reached over as she was casually strolling by and grabbed a chick and downed it without the hen even noticing!  I guess we figured out why the clutch numbers for chicks never seemed to match what the owner thought she should have..... and couldn't find bodies or predators or any reason for the missing chicks. 

just saying

k/

I wouldn't trust the Guineas either, but I don't usually have problems with hens or roos. I did have a cockerel that would kill chicks and I culled him. My other roos have been pretty good dads. There is a risk a chick could fall right after hatching since the nest is so high. I would wait until dark and attach a "safety" screen to the front of the nest box. After the eggs are hatched, move the hen to a nest on the floor/ground. Empty box, milk crate, 5 gallon bucket... laid on the side would be fine.

 

1)Make sure the chicks can get in and out of the coop and nest box.

2)Make sure the chicks have access to food and water at "chick height".

3) Make sure the chicks can't slip through the fence in the run because then the Momma hen can't protect them from cats/hawks etc.

 

Hopefully all will go well.

 

Trisha

Got this pic of my only Barnie Roo today, thought it was kind of cool so I thought I would share. He is almost a year now, what do y'all think?  The sun is setting on him so it really brought out his colors!

Here are my 1st Gen BarnieBars :-) the boys are barred the girls are the 3 on the right that are almost all black.  It is cool because on the black part of the boys it is turning green iridescent in color, can't see it in the pic that well, but just noticed it today :-)

 

 

Thanks, but sorry their mine

Hi Rachael,

It's interesting that some of the barniexbarred girls are still showing lacing. I don't know much about barred genetics, but maybe the barred rocks carry the Pg pattern gene? I'll have to look it up:) Your roo looks good, I like his short back and full tail.

 

Trisha

Thanks Trisha!  Hoping to get a Roo out of your eggs and this guy is gone, he has chosen to attack my daughter (5YO) every time she is outside .  He does not attack anyone else but the second he sees her, he is at a full run after her.  I would get rid of him right now but want to keep him for the protection of the hens for now however, they got along fine for a few months prior to me getting him I bet they would do fine now.

It's not worth it to keep an aggressive roo when you have kids. It can take awhile to find a good one, but don't risk your daughter. The roos also can start out nice when younger...then turn mean as they mature (sometimes overnight). But so far both of my roos are still being good to my kids even though they are in full breeding mode. My kids can feed, gather eggs, or even help clean the coop without the roos bothering them.

 

I looked up barred x barnie crosses and I guess your 3 cross girls are just heterozygous Pg/pg. But in the pic it sure looks like there's still some double lacing showing on the shoulders of the pullet in the middle.

 

Trisha

All of the pullets have some sort of lacing except one.  One has a bunch, will try to get a picture of her today.  Yep, when I post my babies on Craigslist, going to put him on it also, maybe a "package deal" :-).  He is actually good with my son (8YO) but just not my daughter.  Nope, not worth it!