My Bresse starter flock

[BarnyardChaos]

I got some good pics of Baby Abigail this morning, though she wouldn't let me get very close:
Perched on top of the shade tarp, watching the pigs eat, hanging out in front of the coop, and my favorite - I caught her in flight!

 

[Amer]

I got some good pics of Baby Abigail this morning, though she wouldn't let me get very close:
Perched on top of the shade tarp, watching the pigs eat, hanging out in front of the coop, and my favorite - I caught her in flight!

She is like Flat Stanley. She is everywhere.

 

[Mojo1967]

Nice looking flock. I purchased 13 in August. I kept 4 white hens, 1 black hen, 1 white roo and 1 blue roo. The rest where all roos black, white and splash I processed at 14 weeks. Colored were smaller but taste equally as good. I used Arcadian Orchard on you tube finishing except I used reg milk no access to raw. Delicious. I have watched all of Madelyn's videos is she very informative on AB.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Nice looking flock. I purchased 13 in August. I kept 4 white hens, 1 black hen, 1 white roo and 1 blue roo. The rest where all roos black, white and splash I processed at 14 weeks. Colored were smaller but taste equally as good. I used Arcadian Orchard on you tube finishing except I used reg milk no access to raw. Delicious. I have watched all of Madelyn's videos is she very informative on AB.

Thank you - good info!

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I live in Canada in a pretty northern area, and I’m also nervous about their magnificent combs. I bought some bag balm to have on hand when the temp drop, as I read it is more effective than Vaseline?

As far as the cold goes, last year when we had that awful frigid snap for several days over Christmas, something like -20f at night, the only frostbite I dealt with was in a coop that I had "closed up", thinking I was doing right by them. One of my roosters lost his comb entirely. I realized it was because they didn't have enough ventilation. In my hoop coop of bachelors, some rooster with huge combs like sails on a ship, showed absolutely no sign of frostbite. Although I had added extra cover for them to protect them, it ended up blowing off, so they were very open. Their coop was protected from direct wind, but they still dealt with the cold of course. All this to say...make sure when you "close them up" that they have enough ventilation. Look into the pros and cons of adding the heat too. I have stopped adding extra heat after looking into it and have had no problem over the last several winters.

This cold snap is not going well. The low temp last night was -13-F (-25-C), and frostbite is attacking my roosters and their big, beautiful combs. I have some high ventilation well above their heads, no drafts I can find, and heat lamps in place. The heat lamps aren't doing much good at all; it's still only 3-deg-F, -16-C, inside the coop. There is zero condensation on the windows, so I think the humidity remains low inside. Droppings freeze within minutes. Still, we have frostbite. I thought I was doing everything right, but could not bring myself to open vents all the way and turn off the heat.

It's not going to get above 0-F (-18-C) today, and tonight's forecast is about the same as last night. So there's no relief yet.

I'm certain George is going to lose his entire comb - all the tips and halfway into the meat - to frostbite. And parts of his wattles. The only pink left is the bottom half of the meaty area; everything else is purple, black or gray. The two girls are okay, and Baby Abigail doesn't have any comb yet. Poor guy, I feel sorry for him even though he's a dickhead.

My other Bresse rooster, Sam, is in the big coop with my large heritage flock. He's showing some frostbite too, but not so bad as George. The mixed breed roosters there also have large single combs and have frostbite on combs and wattles. All of the hens appear to be okay, even those still in molt.

This might make me re-think the wisdom of keeping any single-comb chickens in our region, including Bresse, where they're prone to frostbite. But it's tough here - we get the worst summer heat (over 100-F, 38-C), and arctic cold like this week. I need a breed that's tolerant to both, and has all the great dual-purpose features I want.

 

[chanceosunshine]

This cold snap is not going well. The low temp last night was -13-F (-25-C), and frostbite is attacking my roosters and their big, beautiful combs. I have some high ventilation well above their heads, no drafts I can find, and heat lamps in place. The heat lamps aren't doing much good at all; it's still only 3-deg-F, -16-C, inside the coop. There is zero condensation on the windows, so I think the humidity remains low inside. Droppings freeze within minutes. Still, we have frostbite. I thought I was doing everything right, but could not bring myself to open vents all the way and turn off the heat.

It's not going to get above 0-F (-18-C) today, and tonight's forecast is about the same as last night. So there's no relief yet.

I'm certain George is going to lose his entire comb - all the tips and halfway into the meat - to frostbite. And parts of his wattles. The only pink left is the bottom half of the meaty area; everything else is purple, black or gray. The two girls are okay, and Baby Abigail doesn't have any comb yet. Poor guy, I feel sorry for him even though he's a dickhead.

My other Bresse rooster, Sam, is in the big coop with my large heritage flock. He's showing some frostbite too, but not so bad as George. The mixed breed roosters there also have large single combs and have frostbite on combs and wattles. All of the hens appear to be okay, even those still in molt.

This might make me re-think the wisdom of keeping any single-comb chickens in our region, including Bresse, where they're prone to frostbite. But it's tough here - we get the worst summer heat (over 100-F, 38-C), and arctic cold like this week. I need a breed that's tolerant to both, and has all the great dual-purpose features I want.

I'm so sorry, I really feel for you. It's so hard when you've done all you can do. Keep your eye on George. When my rooster lost his comb he got really sick. His eyes swelled shut and he was so lethargic. I gave him baby aspirin, and used Vetericyn on his comb.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...to-know-about-injury-care-and-recovery.78168/

I sure do understand your rethinking your breeds and it's a good reminder for me as well.

Keep us posted on how they fair. I'm really sorry for the struggles.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I'm so sorry, I really feel for you. It's so hard when you've done all you can do. Keep your eye on George. When my rooster lost his comb he got really sick. His eyes swelled shut and he was so lethargic. I gave him baby aspirin, and used Vetericyn on his comb.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...to-know-about-injury-care-and-recovery.78168/

I sure do understand your rethinking your breeds and it's a good reminder for me as well.

Keep us posted on how they fair. I'm really sorry for the struggles.

If he doesn't show signs of recovering nicely, then I'll probably just go ahead and cull him. I'd planned to do so anyway (he's very aggressive), as soon as it warms some and I can collect a few eggs for the incubator. His replacement currently lives with the main flock.

Thanks for sharing the info. I'll keep a watch on all of them and treat as you suggested.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

George is recovering a bit better than I expected. He will lose all the tips of his comb but the meaty part looks okay, and about half of his wattles. I relented to the need for a better heat source, realizing that the heat lamp wasn't doing enough and George was suffering. So I bought a small greenhouse heater (thank you FedEx for delivering in the snow and ice on a country road!), and put it inside a wire dog kennel secured to a patio block. It did the trick. It has a gentle fan that blows across the heavy-duty coils, for gentle warmth. The fan helped to keep moisture low, and the little coop warmed to about 40-deg-F even while it was still below 0-F outside.

Warmer weather returned and the little flock is now enjoying their run and some sunshine again. George is as feisty as ever and doing fine. The girls got busy laying eggs again, so I've collected a dozen eggs over 6 days from 2 hens. I fired up the incubator and set those eggs today. Fingers crossed!

 

[chanceosunshine]

George is recovering a bit better than I expected. He will lose all the tips of his comb but the meaty part looks okay, and about half of his wattles. I relented to the need for a better heat source, realizing that the heat lamp wasn't doing enough and George was suffering. So I bought a small greenhouse heater (thank you FedEx for delivering in the snow and ice on a country road!), and put it inside a wire dog kennel secured to a patio block. It did the trick. It has a gentle fan that blows across the heavy-duty coils, for gentle warmth. The fan helped to keep moisture low, and the little coop warmed to about 40-deg-F even while it was still below 0-F outside.

Warmer weather returned and the little flock is now enjoying their run and some sunshine again. George is as feisty as ever and doing fine. The girls got busy laying eggs again, so I've collected a dozen eggs over 6 days from 2 hens. I fired up the incubator and set those eggs today. Fingers crossed!

I'm glad that George is doing better, even if he is destined for the soup pot. Hate to think of him suffering.
Keep us posted on the eggs!

 

[BarnyardChaos]

The eggs collected in January were not fertilized, except one. (I tossed it.) George seemed to be trying to do his job, but I think the girls weren't interested yet. So I decided to wait until warmer weather. And it's successful, mostly - I again set 12 eggs on April 1st, of which 9 are fertile and developing. Hatch is due this weekend! I'll post more later ....

George has indeed lost all of the tips of his formerly magnificent comb to January's frostbite. All turned black and about half have fallen off so far. The meaty part is fine, as are his wattles.

George's aggressiveness has not escalated any, and we've worked out a system so I can manage him. For now. The key, I've found, is to FREEZE as soon as I notice he's about to charge. He stops in his tracks and stares at me, maybe turns sideways and pecks at the ground while watching me. I stay frozen in place. After several seconds, he loses interest and moves away - and I can continue unmolested with whatever I was doing. If he's already charging, too late - but I just put my foot out and he slams his breast onto the rubber sole of my boot. No harm done to either of us, but he prances away all puffed up and proud like he's just fought off Godzilla.

Baby Abigail is doing just great. Her pullet eggs are almost full-size now. Of the three hens, I'm getting a solid 2-3 eggs per day.

More update with photos to follow, as soon as these eggs hatch!