Utah!

[sideWing]

Sidewing and eggsbert--

Yes a Wheaten Marans roo over a Wheaten Ameraucana hen would make a fine OE.

I use my Blue Copper Marans Roo, with any of my blue egg layers, or light green even, and get nice F1 OE chicks.

This Spring to get my OE's I used several EE, Wheaten Ameraucanas, SBEL (My favorite because the chicks have that 1/4 leghorn in them and they lay great), and a black true Ameraucana. The Wheaten Am hens have OE babies that are pretty solid black or blue.

The SBEL's make mostly solid blue babies. Then If I use those F1 OE babies from SBEL hens after they start laying and breed them back to a Marans roo again to get F2 OE babies, they are usually white with specks Like SBELS! Cool! No idea why it works like that. Something to do with White being recessive then popping back up...someone said.

If you have the Wheaten Ameraucana Roo then the marans girls work for OE's, but the babies turn out more Wheaten looking if you like that look better! I got an OE from that mix last year from Mesha, she is beautiful, looks exactly like my blue wheaten AM hens, I can barely tell the difference.

So, I guess OE babies take after their daddy

Mostly...

I will be starting with a Black Copper Marans for sure. I have some EEs to put him over and two of them are half leghorn. Maybe that would make a good cross on the F2s. Then next year I'll get a couple good AM pullets.

 

[the-bird-man]

We have a dog kennel we can put over a window well. It will have a covered top. Would that work?

does the kennel have a solid floor?

 

[lizardandchicks]

no.

 

[bitsyhorse]

So... this last month with all the rain, sogged and mucked up my run... I put grass clippings over it to help give more surface area for myself and the chickens s to walk on.... and now that it has stopped raining, and has heated up... it's just a smelly mess. I'm thinking of tilling it under, but other than moving the coop, and letting the run dry out, does anyone have any other advice? I don't have it set up for sand, it not deep enough. The top is drying, but just under the matted surface, it's just not composting.

Please keep in mind, I am at the very pregnant stage, so whatever needs to be done, I have to enlist my poor husband to endure the stench and heat.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

So... this last month with all the rain, sogged and mucked up my run... I put grass clippings over it to help give more surface area for myself and the chickens s to walk on.... and now that it has stopped raining, and has heated up... it's just a smelly mess. I'm thinking of tilling it under, but other than moving the coop, and letting the run dry out, does anyone have any other advice? I don't have it set up for sand, it not deep enough. The top is drying, but just under the matted surface, it's just not composting.

Please keep in mind, I am at the very pregnant stage, so whatever needs to be done, I have to enlist my poor husband to endure the stench and heat.

Do you have a tiller? I would till it, add a layer of straw, then till it up again. The chickens will take care of the rest.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

My Wheaten's lay green eggs but they are most likely a lower quality version.

If they are the ones you got from Cindy or me a couple seasons ago, they came from the breeder Azriel...they are beautiful birds but eggs are def more green. I had two of those myself. I brought the original parents back from chickenstock for all of us, then we hatched chicks the next season, the pictures she posted of eggs were really blue but the eggs we got from them were more minty green . They laid pretty good though.

 

[bitsyhorse]

Do you have a tiller? I would till it, add a layer of straw, then till it up again. The chickens will take care of the rest.

I do have a tiller, I just have to aquire a bale of straw

 

[Doughie]

If they are the ones you got from Cindy or me a couple seasons ago, they came from the breeder Azriel...they are beautiful birds but eggs are def more green. I had two of those myself.

I brought the original parents back from chickenstock for all of us, then we hatched chicks the next season, the pictures she posted of eggs were really blue but the eggs we got from them were more minty green . They laid pretty good though.

Got them from Bluegems. Azriel? as in "The Angel of Death?" LOL.

They are beautiful birds and I don't mind the green eggs but I hope to someday have a blue egger.

 

[Cynthia12]

I do have a tiller, I just have to aquire a bale of straw

I have one. It's a big one..would 5 bucks be ok for it?

 

[Kristenaty]

When do roos usually show their true colors? I have a barred rock that I am wondering about. Her/his comb is much redder than the other BR and is definitely dominant. I think it is about 5 weeks old. Any good tips to sort out the hens from the roos?