5th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2014 Hatch-A-Long

[fosterson]

Ahh, chicken math.

I added 3 new chicks to my batch, but I didn't hatch them. They WERE hatched NYD but it was more by incident than anything. Three adorable little Sicilian Buttercup chicks, and I'm hoping I have a roo and two pullets...from the behavior that's what I'm betting on. Two of them are very retiring and delicately built, and one is forward as anything and thick-legged and very upright stance!

That said, they're still 1/3 the size of my two 3/4 RIRs...those things are MONSTERS.

 

[roostereggs]

Me too! You can brood a lot of chicks in a brooder that size, woo hoo! Love the homemade roost, too, your chicks are very lucky to have you

Thanks, Judi!

Actually, I feel very lucky...and blessed...to have them!! Anytime I am stressed out, I go spend a few hours inside the brooder with them and come out feeling calm.

 

[roostereggs]

Originally I wanted to do banties for the Easter hatch, but now I think I might do Rhodebars instead...some of hers plus some of my own. Thanks for the heads up about reserving...but that means I have to make up my mind NOW!

Oh...but I still want a flock of Aloha chickens...but then I think banties/frizzles would be great...no, some Rhodebars...hmmmm, maybe I should order a 'mystery' batch of eggs...or some OE's would look fabulous in our basket! How in the world will I EVER decide??? Somebody stop me...please decide for me!!!

 

[ronott1]

Oh...but I still want a flock of Aloha chickens...but then I think banties/frizzles would be great...no, some Rhodebars...hmmmm, maybe I should order a 'mystery' batch of eggs...or some OE's would look fabulous in our basket! How in the world will I EVER decide??? Somebody stop me...please decide for me!!!

OEs for sure.

Tough decisions!

 

[fosterson]

Oh...but I still want a flock of Aloha chickens...but then I think banties/frizzles would be great...no, some Rhodebars...hmmmm, maybe I should order a 'mystery' batch of eggs...or some OE's would look fabulous in our basket! How in the world will I EVER decide??? Somebody stop me...please decide for me!!!

I've resolved this by having a project breed to 'work' on (which happens to be Alohas) and a laying flock totally separate. The layer flock gets my 'odd balls' along with my steady layers and I don't have to worry about trying to breed the fun stuff The Alohas are beautiful, but at the moment they're Serious Business around my place.

 

[SilkieSensation]

 


Originally I wanted to do banties for the Easter hatch, but now I think I might do Rhodebars instead...some of hers plus some of my own. Thanks for the heads up about reserving...but that means I have to make up my mind NOW!

Oh...but I still want a flock of Aloha chickens...but then I think banties/frizzles would be great...no, some Rhodebars...hmmmm, maybe I should order a 'mystery' batch of eggs...or some OE's would look fabulous in our basket! How in the world will I EVER decide??? Somebody stop me...please decide for me!!!

I solved that problem. I just got 1 of each chicken I could locate, no 2 the same. They produce a rainbow of feathers & eggs both.

 

[SilkieSensation]

 
Oh...but I still want a flock of Aloha chickens...but then I think banties/frizzles would be great...no, some Rhodebars...hmmmm, maybe I should order a 'mystery' batch of eggs...or some OE's would look fabulous in our basket! How in the world will I EVER decide??? Somebody stop me...please decide for me!!!

I've resolved this by having a project breed to 'work' on (which happens to be Alohas) and a laying flock totally separate. The layer flock gets my 'odd balls' along with my steady layers and I don't have to worry about trying to breed the fun stuff The Alohas are beautiful, but at the moment they're Serious Business around my place. 

What is an Aloha? I may need to add another bird to my collection.

 

[fosterson]

What is an Aloha? I may need to add another bird to my collection.

Alohas are a project strain being bred from the ground up by Sommer, a BYCer in Arizona. She's got a couple of website/blogs about them, plus a group on here They're still in the 'project' stage, but she started back before you could get Swedish Flower Hens in the US, as an All American version of the same. I'm getting chicks and eggs this spring from her to incorporate into my own spotty flock so there's (another) breeder outside the Arizona area and so I don't have a bunch of boring red chickens running around my yard The upside is I'm using Sussex and RIRs in the program to help incorporate size (right now, they're a very small chicken) so the sports/layers will still make decent layers.

 

[Myfourladies]

Hawke has siblings! She seems to like them now that she has gotten use to them.

 

[ronott1]

Hawke has siblings! She seems to like them now that she has gotten use to them.

That is good news!