➡I accidentally bought Balut eggs: 2 live ducks! Now a Chat Thread!

[littleprairieheartsfarm]

Aren’t Minorcas the ones that have the big bright white earlobes and like a black head? Or am I thinking of a dif kind of chicken? I’m on my phone and can’t look them up at the moment. If they are what I’m thinking of, they are really neat looking.

Yes that is the one you are thinking of. They are neat looking.

 

[ShrekDawg]

My Amber isn't a bully at all. She's always been a curious sort. Was one of the first to explore or check something out. Not a cuddler but had gotten to where she would jump up in my lap and preen herself. Wouldn't really stay for very long. Now if I am cleaning out either of the coops, she is right there with me trying to help, which is not really all that helpful. She scratches and kicks shavings all over the place. If Luna is over on the chickens side and gets close to her, she will towards her to run her off but just enough to get Luna out of the way. Otherwise if one of the older girls comes around she will run out of their way. She's never been confrontational. Maybe I just got lucky.

It could be the strains are better where she came from. I just know the Ideal stock.

That could be a possibility. I got her from TSC. So she came from Hoover's.

I think our Legbars came from Hoover’s and they are sweethearts.

Hmm, I may have to check out Hoover haha

Too bad you don't sell white eggs. My largest eggs came from my Minorca hens. The girls laid jumbo white eggs. They were also my smallest hens. Minorcas are a flighty bird, but get along well with others. They laid well until 5 years old. My only Minorca hen left is now 8 years old and rarely lays an egg. The reason I still have her is because she adopts stray chicks to mother.

They sound awesome

When I get some more chicks I think that I want to get a dark brown egg layer, a few color layers and a white/creamy layer. Just to round out my other light brown, tan, beige, nude (probably considered tinted maybe? Is almost pinkish) colored layers. To have a varied colored carton. I think that is what I’m going to personally aim for.

I want a varied egg basket but I don’t really like Marans so dark brown is kinda out, might get Welsummer but idk, and idk if I should get leghorns or not. They’re kinda flighty and not that pretty and I can only have so many hens haha plus white eggs get dirty faster.

I want white layers, but we’ve been told by several customers that they will only eat the brown eggs. We’ve tried to explain that there is literally no difference in the eggs but they won’t listen.

I love the look of Minorcas, and I’ve heard the same that they lay XL eggs which would be awesome.

That stinks.

There are a lot of breeds that I’d like to own but I have issues with them. I’d love a Salmon Faverolle. But it lays small eggs and only a few times a week. I don’t want small eggs. I’d love a Polish. Would love, love, love a Polish! But all I see are straight run with the breed. I don’t want to risk the extra cockerels. Soooo, nope. It’s just a personal preference is all. I thought about a female silkie to go along with Bowie. That’s a maybe but I worry that the boys might take a liking to her too much since she’s more their size. This is just my inexperience talking in this regard. There are a few more but I keep running in to only straight runs or something. So it’s just prioritizing I guess. So I will work for productivity and egg color and go from there.

Those are good goals I think.

I want some more dark brown layers too. I’m liking the “midnight majesty marans” mostly for their price..FBCM tends to be more expensive and harder to come by.

Never heard of those and yeah, FBCM seem harder to find but also hatchery probably aren’t worth the price, for rare breeds I think I’d rather pay a breeder.

What is FBCM. I am assuming the “cm” is copper maran but I don’t know what the fb part is. Nm... French black copper maran?

Yup

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Yes sorry I forgot it’s not universally known

It’s all good. I’m just a newbie lol.

 

[littleprairieheartsfarm]

It’s all good. I’m just a newbie lol.

You are learning fast though! It took me forever to figure out the shorthand names for chickens

 

[Tesumph]

The news man said north of I-10.

We got freezing rain and sleet, but no snow.

 

[Tesumph]

Had a girl have a seizure next to me in class today. She had prepped me on the first day of the course that it might happen, so I knew how to handle her and who to call for her emergency contact. Quite the experience

Good on you for helping! Did anyone call an ambulance, or just her emergency contact? I had to let my professors know that I’m seizure prone, and asked them in the unlikely event to call my husband and NOT 911 lol.
I’m more scared of that ambulance bill than I am of falling and cracking my head open..

Was it Tess?

LOL. On that note, I’ve been seizure free for just about 4 months now.

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Can you post pictures? I’m not seeing this. Are you building a box over the tray?


Congratulations. That is so exciting!

I'll try to pop over there and take a pic for you. Essentially it's a flap that goes over the shallow end of the paint tray. The eggs roll down, under the flap where the girls can't get to them.

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Nutty did it!!!! He hatched quailies!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/quail-hatch-along.1276785/page-243#post-20895994

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Thank you everyone for the feedback and insights! I’ll look at some of the hatcheries and the best production hens that they have produced. Then I’ll tally the amount of them and see which hatchery is best suited.

Egg size and laying ability is our most important concern as of right now so that seems more like the most feasible option. Then once we get our personal flock established we can move towards longevity and size.

What about Isa browns or "brown leghorns "?