An old Farmer told me this about why I got so many roos this year.....

[CallyB57]

I got 8 roos out of the 10 'straight run' chicks I ordered. Of the 5 pullets I ordered, 4 were pullets and they snuck in 1 roo on me. My Aunt Imogene had 3 boys and her sister had 3 boys and I had 2 boys and was scared I'd have another one, so quit. The 7-year cycle thing makes sense to me...maybe, like the weather, it has something to do with sunspots, or maybe it has to do with the ratio of males to females in a given year, or even the food supply - don't know, but it's an interesting observation the old farmer has made.

 

[CallyB57]

Quote:

 

[HenMamma]

I have lived in my house for almost 2 years. I haven't seen a rabbit in our yard until this spring. Now there are 3... they escaped from my neighbors garage.

 

[Kezzie]

The way it was explained to me was that most hatcheries have 3 boxes- female, male, and undetermined. It is apparently more difficult to vent sex a male so more males end up in the undetermined box. And that is what the hatcheries are selling as "straight run" so you are more likely to get males. It's not really straight run at all.

 

[LavenderAndRoses]

We just started raising chickens a few months ago (in AZ).

Of our 5 bantam cochin eggs we got locally, 4 turned out to be roos (hatched March 2/3).

Interesting discussion though...

 

[pips&peeps]

Quote:
No it doesn't apply for poultry.

I concur. I tried lowering my temp in my incubator for a year or two and just ended up with poor hatches.

 

[dalannex]

Quote:
We actually have our first nesting pair of Red-Tail hawks in the neighborhood this year, cats are not, and have never been, allowed to roam free, and we're still seeing more and more rabbits.

As far as the needle on a string, I've used that for years on various animals (with the needle through a cork) and it DOES work!

I think our society has become very close-minded to things that cannot be scientifically proven, though the old-timers have known about them for many, many years. We, as a society, scoff at them because we think we have "all the answers," when in truth, there's a lot we could learn from them if we would only take the time to listen...

I totally agree with quiltnchick about learning alot from the old timers. Take time to listen. We have always had large numbers of rabbits in out yard, but I usually chalk it up to not having any outside dogs. But the idea is very interesting.

My father-in-law told me that the tops of everygreens would grow back, and I thought he was crazy, few yrs later, they are growing back!! So I guess we can learn from them, even if you still think they are crazy.

 

[SproutGirl]

Quote:
I have a hen who always lays pointy eggs.

 

[Rolsjo]

I think the point is that just because a bit of lore is old doesn't necessarily mean that it is true or accurate. I know I have much to learn from those older and more experienced than myself regarding chickens. I am thrilled that there is a place like BYC where I can read about all things chicken related. However, I want to know that what I am doing is based on fact. Note I said fact, not necessarily science.

 

[chickenguysmom]

Here is another link about the 7 year cycle from a book entitled "Introduction to Wildlife and Fisheries"

http://books.google.com/books?id=V5...=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#PPA70,M1

for all those who are looking for something more concrete. Or see the other two links that I put on earlier today.

It would seem to me that if you are seeing more rabbits this year expect to see more predators in future years (like hawks, foxes and coyotes). Something will move in to take advantage of the excess of rabbits. And when there are no more rabbits they will search for other food sources (read -> CHICKENS!).

Now you may want to ignore the advice of an old farmer but think that one over for a minute and ask yourself when was the last time you saw a rabbit die of old age..

Just MHO