Colorado

[jime]

Are the Salmon Faverolles roosters really docile and really good protectors of their flock? I thought I heard something of the sort.

This is my first time with Salmon Faverolles but what I read is they are docile, very friendly and the hens very sweet as well.I love the rooster coloration that is one of the reason that I am getting them, plus they are dual purpose.This last is not so much any more but I intend to start with that project.

 

[theOliverofarm]

Pecking order is established now, but is also ever-evolving - one may suddenly get bigger or braver, etc. or you may add or subtract a chick or two, or the angle of the sun changes, almost any silly thing can change it, but it is essentially in place for the time being. Dominant hens are not always mean, just bossy, and they can get a lot less bossy if another one suddenly becomes more confident at some point. My SS pullets were totally afraid of the production Red, then one day one of them realized she was bigger and stopped backing down from her. She remained top hen, but in a far less obvious manner (no feather pulling, etc.).

That is super helpful, thanks! My Brahma is the dominant one and she is so bossy! Bossy describes her perfectly. And, she is so loud. Anytime she gets food, she runs around the yard squawking and making a seen...even if no one is following her. It's quite entertaining.

 

[theOliverofarm]

The babies arrived this morning!! Plus about 15 red star males, for warmth. SO our order of 28 (between the two of us) turned into about 44..... (including a feather-shanked "rare bird'). No dead chicks when we picked them up (we left all the kids home together, when my fried and I picked the chicks up this morning, just in case). We took them to her house first, to divvy them up, and let the kids see them, then grabbed my chicks, my kids, and came home to settle them into the guest bathroom.

All appear very healthy, and active. They all took to food and water immediately, and love their "Mama" (Brinsea brooder). After the first half hour, the "sorting" started (pecking order). Their little personalities are pretty clear already, and several have been named (not the boys... they will be heading to freezer camp eventually... though one is a bully, and the kids named him Malfoy)







The brooder warmer really CAN handle 20 chicks - they are all huddled under there just fine...



Unfortunately, between Online School connectivity issues (we home school through a virtual academy), and new babies.... my girls aren't getting much work done today. But at least my toddler hasn't eaten a chick yet.....

ha! I love the name Malfoy!

 

[cosbackyard]

The next step on my run building is the roof.... I'll be installing some clear suntuf roofing on top of hardware cloth and a standard 2x4 support system for the suntuf panels. Has anyone worked with this material before? Any tips on drilling/installing?

I love those panels. I've heard people say that they yellow and crack. Mine have been in for four years and are as clear as the day I bought them.
I installed mine vertically, so I can't comment on using them on a roof - other than to say you may want to put them in at an angle so snow doesn't build up excessively.

 

[jgurshtein]

I love those panels. I've heard people say that they yellow and crack. Mine have been in for four years and are as clear as the day I bought them.
I installed mine vertically, so I can't comment on using them on a roof - other than to say you may want to put them in at an angle so snow doesn't build up excessively.

When I was researching for roofing I saw that Home Depot sells suntuf panels and another brand that is almost half the cost. But I wanted mine to last, so I went with the suntuf stuff so I hope they'll be nice and clear for a long time!

We do have a slant to our run roof of about a 1ft difference from front to back, so I'm hoping that will be enough to mitigate any snow build up...

Did you try drilling through your panels to secure them in place?

 

[coloradogal]

So very, very bummed. I had 5 silkie babies hatch on Thursday and I put them under the broody hen. They seemed to be doing fine and then today, I go out and 4 of them are dead. They were so beautiful and I'm so bummed. I was going to take the remaining one away but she screamed bloody murder and I didn't have the heart to separate her from her mama. So this next batch will be only silkie eggs and olive eggs. I'll set in another week to give me time to collect.

 

[Mtn Margie]

So very, very bummed. I had 5 silkie babies hatch on Thursday and I put them under the broody hen. They seemed to be doing fine and then today, I go out and 4 of them are dead. They were so beautiful and I'm so bummed. I was going to take the remaining one away but she screamed bloody murder and I didn't have the heart to separate her from her mama. So this next batch will be only silkie eggs and olive eggs. I'll set in another week to give me time to collect.

I'm so sorry. Do you know what happened? Sounds like the hen was pretty upset as well.

 

[Ashdoes]

Where did you get your shipped eggs from? This was my first experience using MyPetChickens for fertile hatching eggs. I must say, after spending $50 on a dozen eggs, that I am highly disappointed with the quality of the eggs. All of the eggs were so porous, I thought I was looking at a piece of pumice. I went ahead and put them into the incubator because I had a batch of copper marans that I got locally. I must say though, that I am not very optimistic about any of them hatching.

I've been putting off ordering Cream Legbar eggs from them, worried about quality. Let us know how those turn out please.

 

[P-Funk]

That's awful. I lost one at 3 days old. At least we didn't have much time to get attached.

 

[coloradogal]

I'm so sorry. Do you know what happened? Sounds like the hen was pretty upset as well.

I do not know for sure but it could be the mama hen was a full size hen and she was just too heavy. She still has, I believe, 9 more out under her. When I moved her to check on the others, the moment I put her back, the babies scrambled under her. I just don't have the heart now to remove her babies. If they should succumb, then at least they knew the love of a mommy hen for a few days of their life. I am still very crestfallen though as they were beautiful babies.

The last 2 weeks I've taken serious hits in my flock. If it were just me, I'd be concerned but it's also both my brothers too. I'm doing a kefir feed tonight and after I buy another humidifier, doing a three day cycle of oxine at night. I worry so much about emerging illness as I've been keeping up with the H9N7 outbreak in China. It isn't here yet but I suspect we'll be the first to know once it does rear its ugly head. I put my flock on lock down as I'm just not use to losing so many baby chicks in such a short period of time.

That said, their poo looks normal and I can't hear anything out of the ordinary in their breathing. I suspect my losses are normal as they do say it isn't uncommon to lose 10% per year from just normal things. But I haven't experienced that high of mortality rate ever so am a bit bummed.