I really hate this myth! Cats DO NOT steal a baby's breath! They will however lick milk from a baby's face. This myth has evolved from paranoid people who don't like cats looking for excuses to make others get rid of their beloved pets. We have always had cats. My brother & I both survived. I have 6 children & never once had a problem with a cat hurting a baby.
Ok...I'm getting off my soap box now. I just hate when myths are spread because people don't think to check facts first.
I tend to soapbox as well. The myths, old wives' tales and misinformation are annoying. I've had cats a couple times in my life and I think they're amazing animals so I'm not completely in the anti-cat camp. On the flip side, as an invasive species, I don't think they belong outdoors for their safety and the safety of all the small native animals.
I REALLY don't understand people that dump cats they no longer want or those that feed feral cats.
The last of my mixed Faverolles eggs just hatched !! none of them had 5 toes but I did notice this one has feathered feet for sure.
still have 12 other misc. eggs to hatch out, most have pipped. There are 19 little fuzzbuts in the hatcher right now.
I wonder how dominant the 5 toe gene is. I know someone who raises Black Penedesencas and gets a lot of 5 toed birds (a real no-no). He is known for mixing breeds but I can't imagine what he could have crossed to get 5 toes on a big black bird.
for a while I have thought about building a coop for just my roos. how does that work for you? or, do you let them free range in day and lock up at night?
I don't want my hens to be mating 24/7 so I want to separate the roos to give them a break.
Well, they'll only be mating 14/7 or thereabouts but I understand your point. Keeping them separate and offering occasional conjugal visits works well to keep them from overbreeding. Also, adding more hens helps.
As far as cooping the roosters/cockerels together, it is highly dependent on the breed. With some breeds, there is no way to house roosters together. I've had mixed success with mixed flocks. As long as there are no pullets/hens in the same building/pen it can work OK. Most of my birds know each other as I move them around occasionally and sometimes free range them together. I also have only one breed of roosters now so they are on a more even plane as far as aggressiveness.
I pull all the hens out of the building and move the roosters in at night and put them on various roosts. I let them out early in the morning. There's some chest bumping and pecking the first couple days but is more pecking order than anything. Pecking order among roosters is just a little more tense than with hens.
Ok thanks!
So lets say my breeder has 3 hens and 1 roo. say my jap, Cadbury, was made by hen #1 and the roo. lets say a chick I JUST hatched was made by hen #3 and the roo.
Could Cadbury and the chick that just hatched breed once older (and not have defects) if they had the same dad but different mom?
sooooo old. ROFL
That would be half sibling so can be OK. When doing line breeding and inbreeding it is very important to select birds with as few flaws as possible.
As for your crossbeak issue, it is often genetic so you may not want to use that one and be careful about using the hen it came from.
