Recent content by mercuhrio

  1. mercuhrio

    will the rust in the waterer hurt the chickens?

    Yes, it will hurt them. The iron levels in water exposed to rust can far exceed what their bodies can tolerate, especiay in the long run, causing irreversible damage to the liver and the brain. Acute poisoning could be detected if you see diarrhea, especially if the color is red-brown.
  2. mercuhrio

    Deceased young hen, what would be your best guess? [Warning: pics of internal organs]

    I, very unfortunately, just lost my very favorite hen. She was only ten months old and had been showing symptoms for about 45 days. She's from a small backyard flock, half of which is vaccinated against Marek's. She was unvaccinated. It started out as large crop, like in pendulous crop. three...
  3. mercuhrio

    Solid color in hatchery barred Cochins

    But that's the thing, these aren't black either, and for sure not mottled! Or are they black and will still turn from this dark grey to full black?
  4. mercuhrio

    Solid color in hatchery barred Cochins

    I agree that they are beautiful! I was more curious about having some barred birds and not super particular about it, so I'm happy with these nonetheless. 😊 But still wondered... 🙄
  5. mercuhrio

    Solid color in hatchery barred Cochins

    So what do you think went wrong? Shouldn't a hatchery of such scale never fail to send actual barred chicks?
  6. mercuhrio

    Solid color in hatchery barred Cochins

    I got seven of these dark chicks from Welp hatchery as "barred bantam cochins", but 3.5 months in and they all look a very solid dark grey. Will the barring still going to show or should I give up such expectations? Thank you all!
  7. mercuhrio

    Breeding big blue earlobes possible?

    Let's talk about that! I wonder if the white face is some sort of the earlobes color spilling all over. It seems plausible that a simple cross with a silkie could result in blue earlobes in the Spanish, since iridescent ear seems to be a dominant trait. What do you think?
  8. mercuhrio

    Breeding big blue earlobes possible?

    I'm fascinated with the idea of crossing silkies with a breed with large white earlobes, such as lá fleche or Minorca, and trying to obtain large blue earlobes. Or perhaps an WFBS silkie cross, where the entire white on the face would be replaced by iridescent blue! 😃 I thought of this as a...
  9. mercuhrio

    Crop bra designs?

    It's my second bantam Cochin with this condition. I wonder if that breed is particularly prone to it.
  10. mercuhrio

    Large scabs/crusts with fatty tissue/secretion on chicken skin

    He's the only rooster and all hens are smaller in size and submissive to him, definitely not an aggression issue. The feather cysts suggestion makes sense. The recurrence and amount suggests this rooster is prone to this problem? Today I cleaned an area of about three square inches, and I can...
  11. mercuhrio

    Large scabs/crusts with fatty tissue/secretion on chicken skin

    Anyone please help me figure out what this is (see pics below)? I'm sure it's not uncommon, but it's hard to steer the search results away from more common conditions. I had removed this kind of "scab" from this rooster when he was 3 mo, and I thought it was just some skin inflammation as result...
  12. mercuhrio

    Sexing baby bantam cochins: any color influence?

    Again, are we both talking bantam cochins? I don't use feather sexing for any other breed.
  13. mercuhrio

    Sexing baby bantam cochins: any color influence?

    Thanks for the reply, but are we both talking bantam cochins? This method is VERY specific for them and I believe it won't work even for LF cochins or bantam brahmas. I've sexes two dozens bantam c. in the past by this method and it was right on every single time. But I'll be happy to post a...
  14. mercuhrio

    Sexing baby bantam cochins: any color influence?

    Has anyone come across with different feather development in different color patterns of the same breed? I recently got many day old bantam cochin chicks from a hatchery (they are all between 7 and 8 days old right now). They are partridge, birchen, red and barred. This is not my first time...
  15. mercuhrio

    Bantam Cochin weight

    I want to keep my bantam cochin flock at the correct size. My hens are healthy and under 28oz. However I got this gorgeous rooster who is very much "show quality" except that he weights 42oz, instead of 30oz. He comes from a reliable breeder, but something went off a little. What are the odds of...
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