The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[texasmomma]

I don't think I am going to order hatching eggs online again. I never have any luck with them. But, I really wanted cream legbars from a different breed and I wanted to add some rhodebars. I got 9 eggs and candled today. Today is day 13. And I know I candled a day early, but I have a very busy day tomorrow. It looks like only 3 of the eggs have chicks in them. 2 look like they quit. One never started. The other 3 were clear.

I think these eggs had a particularly tough trip in the mail. The air cells are still a bit wonky and I let them sit for 7 days in an upright position before turning.

Anyone dear DFW has some auto-sexing hatching eggs?

 

[TeaChick]

Here's a picture of the wing feathers of the chick I had hatch out of a white Leghorn egg (roo=WL x GLW).
Anything anyone can tell me about the feathering? Name of color, etc.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yeah, Teachick: I can tell you what you have in that feathering. A beautiful bird!!!

Redridge: I'm excited to hear about your auto-sexing project. I want to do a similar project using rose and pea combed birds, with Dominique as my barred parent. I think my plan is to play with several breeds mixed with the Dom, and see what comes of it.

Who had the Cornish x Rock? (senior moment strikes again) It's a delight to see folks making their own crosses independent of the hatcheries!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Anyway, I recommend Living Downstream to everyone who can read! I have no connection to the author or anything, I just think it's a good book. Here it is on Amazon, if you're interested:

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Downst...ironment/dp/0306818698/ref=pd_bxgy_mov_text_y

Thank you. That does sound interesting

 

[Leahs Mom]

Good morning! Just wanted to pop in here and ask y'all if you have ever heard that infertile eggs stay fresher longer than fertile eggs? I read this in The Homesteading Handbook by Abigail R. Gehring, and I've never heard that before.

Hmm. I've read several books on chicken keeping and I haven't heard that before. I'll have to go back and take a quick skim through and see if any of them mentioned it and I missed it.

 

[delisha]

I have cornish rock meat birds

 

[ki4got]

Here's a picture of the wing feathers of the chick I had hatch out of a white Leghorn egg (roo=WL x GLW).
Anything anyone can tell me about the feathering? Name of color, etc.

uh... nothing predictable. backyard mutt? usually leghorn is dominant white, so the fact this one isn't is curious... but the color will change before he matures. he might end up looking incompletely laced or it could be anything mixed, since white hides all other mutations.

delisha, is that descended from hatchery meaties or making your own? and if so what went into it?

 

[CourtsCacklers]

I need help identifying these tracks. I have seen them around in the snow but not always consistently... There were a lot of rabbit tracks in our dusting of snow last night and then these.... before I just chalked them up to a cat but honestly cats are few and far between in our area.... and I am not sure why a cat would be so interested in my fenced in back yard. Anyhow another thing that I found curious is that I would imagine that the stride and such would be different for a cat. These actually had some prints from each leg very close together and at times right on top of one another. Could this be a weasel?





In these next photos the prints are right next to / on top of one another.... that doesn't seem like a trait of a cat....









Any help is greatly appreciated....

 

[Leahs Mom]

Does it look like anything here? How large are they?




Canids (Canine Mammals) http://www3.ag.purdue.edu/entm/wildlifehotline/pages/TrackID.aspx

Coyote Tracks
front paw: 2.5 x 2 in.
hind paw: 2.25 x 1.75 in.

Dog Tracks
front paw: 2.5 x 4 in.
hind paw: 2 x 2.5 in.

Red Fox Tracks
front paw: 2.25 x 2.1 in.
hind paw: 2 x 1.75 in.
Felids (Feline Mammals)

Bobcat Tracks
front and hind paw:
1.9 x 1.75 in.

Cat Tracks
front and hind paw:
1.1 x 1.1 in.

Mountain Lion Tracks
front paw: 3 x 3.5 in.
hind paw: 3 x 3 in.
Mustelids (Weasel-like Mammals)

American Badger Tracks
front and hind paw:
2 in. x 2 in.

Black-Footed Ferret Tracks
front paw: 1.75 x 1.33 in.
hind paw: 1.75 x .75 in

Long-Tailed Weasel Tracks
front and hind paw:
1.75 x .75 in.

Mink Tracks
front and hind paw: .
9 x 1.4 in.

River Otter Tracks
front and hind paw*:
1.6 x 1.6 in
*images not to scale!

Skunk Tracks
front paw: .75 x .75 in.
hind paw: 1.5 x 1 in.
Rodentia (Rodent-like Mammals)

Beaver Tracks
length: 3.25 - 3.5 in.
width: 2.5 in.

Woodchuck Tracks
length: 2.2 in.

Mouse Tracks
front paw length: .08 in.
hind paw length: .1 in.

Muskrat Tracks
front paw length: 1.5 in.
hind paw length: 3.25 in.

Norway Rat Tracks
length: .25 in.
hind track shown in
resting position

Fox Squirrel Tracks
front paw: 1.0 x .75 in.
hind paw: 1.25 x 1 in.

Gray Squirrel Tracks
front paw: .75 x .5 in.
hind paw: 1.25 x .6 in.

Flying Squirrel Tracks
front paw: .5 x .3 in.
hind paw: 1 x .5 in.

Shrew Tracks
front paw length: .25 in.
hind paw length: .5 in.

Pine Vole
front paw length: .1 in.
hind paw length: .2 in.

Furbearers

Opossum Tracks
image of front paws
front paw: 2 x 2 in.

Raccoon Tracks
front paw length: 2.25 in.
hind paw length: 3.1 in.
Ungulates (Hoofed Mammals)

White-tailed Deer Tracks
length: 2.25 to 3 in.​

Birds

Bald Eagle Tracks
length: 6 in.

Canada Goose Tracks
length: 4 in.

Crow Tracks
length: 2.5 to 3 in.

Duck Tracks
length: 3.25 in.

Great Blue Heron Tracks
length: 6.5 in.

Herring Gull Tracks
length: 3 in.

Wild Turkey Tracks
length: 4 in.

Reptiles/Amphibians

Bullfrog Tracks

Snapping Turtle Tracks

 

[CourtsCacklers]

yes... they are similar to the weasel tracks.... maybe the size of a nickel or so.... similar to a regular cat's print but the fact that they some of them were very close together and on top of the other... I didn't know if that was a trait of a specific animal?