Show off your Peas!

[frenchblackcopper]

Ks,,each pen is different and it depends on color and age. My lowest number of hens per pen is 3 (Taupe,White,Peach) and the most is 6 hens with my Purple male. But he will be 6 yrs old this year and covers hens pretty well. Opals and BSSP pens has 4 hens but Bronze has 5 hens, My India Blue pen has 3 males (if you count Thang) with only 9 hens.

P.S. Since I really don't sell hatching eggs the pens with a higher number of hens and more clear eggs don't bother me.

 

[MinxFox]

If you believe, it works. I say it is around 90% for us. One of DWs friends is a skeptic, she wanted three Royal Palm hens last year so when she came over DW ringed the five-week-old chicks for her. Well, the friend said that she read on line that the movement had to go the 'other' way and argued that she got males. For quite a while, DW lost her belief and doubted herself and could not do it accurately, when the friend reported that she got all three hens DWs mojo came back. It really is a belief in yourself just like witching for water, once you see that you can do it, it works.

If you want to try it, take any metal object like a washer and tie a string about eight inches to it. Now go find your dog or any animal you know of what sex it is. Hold the washer above it, over its heart is best and watch the movement. Try to hold the string as steady as possible, it will start moving on its own either back and forth or in a circular motion. Note what movement you have and what sex the animal is, that is 'your' movement for that sex. It does not matter what other peoples movement is, if back and forth is female, then that is what works for you, someone else may be circular, it does not matter.

I think this is worth trying. So it works on young chicks? I have never heard of this trick so that might be one reason why not many know about it or believe it. Also, I know there has been a lot of amazing knowledge lost over the years about different tricks and cures, etc so I am keeping an open mind and I just HAVE to try this!

 

[zazouse]

Winners have been announced in the peafowl photo contest

Congratulations to Dylansmom and Minxfox on their winning entries very beautiful photos indeed

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/962488/peafowl-photo-contest/40

 

[DylansMom]

Winners have been announced in the peafowl photo contest

Congratulations to Dylansmom and Minxfox on their winning entries very beautiful photos indeed

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/962488/peafowl-photo-contest/40

Congrats to Zaz as well!

 

[ellymayRans]

Well wonderful surprise this morning! I didn't gather eggs yesterday because well...I was lazy! TBH
I couldn't believe my eyes..behind a cat box I have in the coop for picky ground laying chickens they have also made the corner behind it a nesting spot...well when I peeked back there to gather there was this huge egg!

Here I have been watching them every chance I get and walking the woods to make sure I don't miss a nest and well at least one of them layed in the coop!

This spot is so small it cracks me up to picture her cramming back there to lay an egg!

@zazouse you were spot on...I do believe it was almost exactly 2 weeks since I first saw my pair in action!

Marking the date.

Now what do I do!?!? Lol!

Gather and mark them. For how long can I gather before setting or should I just use all 3 incubators and set them immediately and just have staggered hatches?

 

[zazouse]

Well wonderful surprise this morning! I didn't gather eggs yesterday because well...I was lazy! TBH
I couldn't believe my eyes..behind a cat box I have in the coop for picky ground laying chickens they have also made the corner behind it a nesting spot...well when I peeked back there to gather there was this huge egg!

Here I have been watching them every chance I get and walking the woods to make sure I don't miss a nest and well at least one of them layed in the coop!

This spot is so small it cracks me up to picture her cramming back there to lay an egg!


@zazouse you were spot on...I do believe it was almost exactly 2 weeks since I first saw my pair in action!

Marking the date.

Now what do I do!?!? Lol!

Gather and mark them. For how long can I gather before setting or should I just use all 3 incubators and set them immediately and just have staggered hatches?

Did you leave a decoy egg where this one is laid? she will not lay there again if the eggs is gone but you can fool her with a decoy, i pull mine every day and replace them with some decoy eggs i made and it works, but then agian i am on an egg hunt around here for 5 to 6 months straight because they are not in a pen.

Congratulations

 

[ellymayRans]

Did you leave a decoy egg where this one is laid? she will not lay there again if the  eggs is gone but you can fool her with a decoy, i pull mine every day and replace them with some decoy eggs i made and it works, but then agian i am on an egg hunt around here for 5 to 6 months straight because they are not in a pen.

Congratulations 

I did not because she layed it on top of the chickens eggs..so I left those there. I have read so many talk about hunting them and I figured that's what I would have to do as mine free range also but she chose to lay in the coop.

They only lay every other day, correct?

 

[Kedreeva]

@zazouse you were spot on...I do believe it was almost exactly 2 weeks since I first saw my pair in action!

Marking the date.

Now what do I do!?!? Lol!

Gather and mark them. For how long can I gather before setting or should I just use all 3 incubators and set them immediately and just have staggered hatches?

Supposedly they can be good for 2+ weeks to set, but I think most people agree viability starts to drop after 10 days. We started setting them at a 1 week stagger, so we put eggs in every Friday morning. the only reason we didn't set fresh every day is so that we don't have to constantly introduce new chicks to a group every other day.

 

[ellymayRans]

Supposedly they can be good for 2+ weeks to set, but I think most people agree viability starts to drop after 10 days. We started setting them at a 1 week stagger, so we put eggs in every Friday morning. the only reason we didn't set fresh every day is so that we don't have to constantly introduce new chicks to a group every other day.

Well I went ahead and put it in my basement and will see if she continues to lay in that spot. I will likely go ahead and set what I have by Friday. Then any new after that will go in the following week. It had a couple little streaks of blood on it which assuming is due to it being her first egg..?

I'm also only assuming this was my IB hen as I haven't seen the BS being mated and she has never been a fan of the coop like my IB. She does go in there during the day and sun or dust bathe in the bedding for some reason on occasion but I'm more inclined to believe that the IB would lay in the coop before the BS hen.

Thanks for the quick responses!

 

[zazouse]

Blood streak is normal not to worry, keep your eyes open if you do not find an egg in that spot within 2 or 3 days she may have set up a nest in another area and that first nest is her decoy nest, they will cover their eggs up also so you might have to move any debree that they can use like leaves or hay , one of my hens covered hers up with pine needles lufa sponges i threw in the multch pile, wan't expecting that and she had me fooled for a few days till i got to digging around in there LOL