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  1. Tstraub

    Wrath's Marans

    I predict white leghorn in your future for a Zombie project. I don’t know how you do it. I have way less birds here and I’m trying to thin things out for winter. I do love the looks of an Ayam Cemani it’s on my wish list but I gotta focus on the birds already in the yard.
  2. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    All 13 put themselves to bed tonight at sunset and I closed the automatic door manually. I’ll leave the automatic door in manual mode for the next couple of days then turn it on light sensor mode once I’m comfortable letting them do it without me watching.
  3. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    It’s mostly finished. I still need to rework the ramp, it’s a bit slippery and flimsy but it was scrap material so I tried it for now. The tarp needs to be tidied up a bit but it needs to come back off to wrap the whole thing in hardware cloth. I had the birds pretty scared as I was sawing and...
  4. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    I finished the coop section of the breeding pin on Friday and locked the chicks into it so they could establish it as home. Tomorrow starts my weekend so weather permitting I’ll get the run portion added and cut a hole to mount a run chicken door. That should make this flock easier to manage...
  5. Tstraub

    Heating plate too high? Too low?

    I’ve never used those plates before but that looks right to me. The angle allows the chicks to choose how close they want to be to it. When I hatch chicks I have food, water and grit in the brooder before the chicks go in. Food and grit are scattered around the floor so they can’t take more...
  6. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    Just some unorganized updates. Yesterday I kicked the chicks out of the house. I’m working on more permanent housing but the chick n tractor is going to have to do for now. They were a bit upset at sunset but eventually they did settle down to sleep. I’m pretty sure I have a new layer...
  7. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    I’m not sure who laid this little pullet egg but I sure hope she continues to lay these speckles.
  8. Tstraub

    Wrath's Marans

    Somehow I stopped getting notifications and got way behind on your thread. I’m so sorry to hear you lost Doro last week.
  9. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    New layer today! She is an unnamed pullet from my April hatch. We hadn’t bothered giving her a name yet because I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep her or find her a new home before winter. Chicken math has gotten away from me and I need to do some subtraction for everyone’s overall health. I...
  10. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    Everybody got some over ripe cucumbers and past its prime corn on the cob from our garden today
  11. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    I haven’t named any of them at this point. I only have 3 blue hens Blue, Smoky, and Olive. I don’t think I set any eggs from Smoky because she was broody at the time I set eggs. Unless I happened to get one of her last ones before she went off lay. Olive has clean slate colored legs. This guy...
  12. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    The chicks will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. I’m seeing color coming in on several of them. I was hoping to get them outside this week but the forecast says lows in the 40s so maybe one more week. I did get a dog kennel to house them. I still need to build a weather proof coop and do a bunch of...
  13. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    The chicks are 2 weeks old today. The fuzzy down has been mostly replaced with feathers. No more signs of feathers picking since I moved the offending chick outside to let Smoky care for it. The Bresse look correct for their breed to me. The blue color is coming in to their legs and feet...
  14. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    I think I’m going to look into something closer to 18% for everyday feed. When I butchered a couple of my unproductive hens last week I noticed that they had a lot more fat on them than I realized. It’s hard to see what a bird looks like with all the feathers. Maybe the fact that they were so...
  15. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    I think the biggest trigger is the change. They see less daylight and lower quality feed so they prepare for a famine type of thing. The production industry does an actual fast no feed and sometimes they even restrict water and light to make them molt as fast as possible This is more humane the...
  16. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    Mocha was a loner for a while. She was broody raised so she was afraid of me. all of her hatch mates were male. When I separated the cockerels she didn’t fit in with the younger group or the older group. Once she started laying she found a spot in the pecking order.
  17. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    Last year at molt season my flock all made it through eventually but I feel like I could have managed things better. A lot of them were mostly naked when the snow started falling in December so this year I’m going to try to help them get through it easier. I have noticed that a couple of the...
  18. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    Yea I was rooting for her as well. she wasn’t even going to get a name since these are my meat flock the plan was no emotional attachment. only keep the strongest and move the flock forward. Sometimes it’s hard to separate the feelings from the goals.
  19. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    Good news and bad news today. I’ll start with the good, Smoky’s ninth chick(the bully) seems to have settled into the family. It went inside at sunset without any trouble and followed the group out when I opened the door this morning. I don’t see any evidence that it’s causing any problems I...
  20. Tstraub

    Straub’s search for colored eggs

    Just when I thought everything was going well I have a feather picker on my hands Ugg. I painted the injury blue with hen healer cream and brought the bully outside and asked Smoky if she would keep an eye them. I believe she agreed now I’m sitting by the brooder and watching for additional...
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