INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[JanetMarie]

I kept four of my Dominique girls with my buff Orpington mixed cockerel, who grew up together. He has always been calm and never went through the juvenile cockerel stage. As seen, none of the girls have missing feathers from their backs.

If noone goes broody, I'll put some eggs in the incubator from this group. I don't need anymore chickens, but this type of mix was planned, and want to see if they turn out how I expect. The chicks will be sex-linked.

 

[racinchickins]

Can the duck keepers clear something up for me?

I've seen conflicting suggestions on feed for ducklings. Some say that an 18% starter or all-flock is fine, (so long as it's unmedicated), but I've seen others that say you need to get down to 14-16%

Anyone care to weigh in?

I raised 5 muscovies inside and used duck/waterfowl starter until they went outside. One of the five ended up with angel wing.

My mama muscovies raised 20+ babies outside. The only food available from my feeders was All Flock from Rural King. They were free range, so lots of supplemental food out on the range. No health issues at all from them.

If I have to raise any inside again, I'll probably grind up all flock instead of using a special starter.

 

[racinchickins]

I had a request for a photo of my Rose Comb Red Dorking Roo. Here he is.

 

[Finnie]

I had a request for a photo of my Rose Comb Red Dorking Roo. Here he is.

Thanks Racinchickins, he does look nice.

 

[tmarsh83]

I'm using an 18% non medicated starter crumble for now, and will for a few more weeks.

Then I'm planning to make a mash of the 18% all-flock pellets I use for everybody else until they're big enough to handle the pellets.

I don't expect issues.

 

[wheezy50]

I kept four of my Dominique girls with my buff Orpington mixed cockerel, who grew up together. He has always been calm and never went through the juvenile cockerel stage. As seen, none of the girls have missing feathers from their backs. If noone goes broody, I'll put some eggs in the incubator from this group. I don't need anymore chickens, but this type of mix was planned, and want to see if they turn out how I expect. The chicks will be sex-linked.

I'm curious how this goes! Sounds like a fun project. I'm trying to learn a little more myself about genetics/barred feather/sex linked traits. I thought you had to use the barred roo over other hens to get the sex linked chicks, but maybe it works with hens as well. Anyway, good luck

 

[flyladyrocks]

Thanks, bottom isn't wider, just pulled to the side. Feeling like our roo was easier and more of a clear cut fix. We'll keep tabs on her and let you know how she does - how often should I trim? I'm thinking it was about once a week at first. Is that correct?

Hey@flyladyrocks, I'd take the most off the top beak with a file, and only file the bottom if it is wider than the upper beak. The upper should be just slightly wider than the lower. Fixing damage is the same no matter what the cause. Same principles. Keep me posted.

 

[Faraday40]

I kept four of my Dominique girls with my buff Orpington mixed cockerel, who grew up together. He has always been calm and never went through the juvenile cockerel stage. As seen, none of the girls have missing feathers from their backs.

If noone goes broody, I'll put some eggs in the incubator from this group. I don't need anymore chickens, but this type of mix was planned, and want to see if they turn out how I expect. The chicks will be sex-linked.

I only have one Dom hen (Bubbles) and she's a dream! She's very people friendly, never skittish, & extremely smart. She doesn't get picked on & fits right into the middle of the flock. She's a decent layer too. She's not a big, cuddly lap chicken like my giant orps, but she's very curious & social. She enjoys playing with the kids, doing "tricks," and coming into the house for a visit.

We used Bubbles x our black orp to hatch sex-links last year. There were a few fertility issues in the beginning, so make sure your orp's backside is trimmed. Otherwise, it's a good combo. The people who bought the females adore their pullets' personalities. The males were given away to anyone who could legally take them.

 

[Indyshent]

I'm curious how this goes! Sounds like a fun project. I'm trying to learn a little more myself about genetics/barred feather/sex linked traits. I thought you had to use the barred roo over other hens to get the sex linked chicks, but maybe it works with hens as well. Anyway, good luck

Nope Recessive rooster over dominant hen gives sex links. Red/buff/gold is recessive. Barred and silver are dominant. Red over barred gives black sex links (black hens, barred roos), and red roos over silver hens gives red hens and silver roos (both with bleed as hens will have light tail feathers and roos will have gold shoulders)

 

[flyladyrocks]

Dd and are are teaching a 10 week series for homeschoolers on raising chicks starting this Wed. I have tons of info to share, but I'd love to hear nuggets of wisdom you all feel are critical facts to share. This weeks topic is choosing chicks and setting up the brooder.