August Hatch-A-Long

[Compost King]

This big guy is a Dorking x Red Ranger rooster. I want to make my own line of Delaware where SOP means standard of Production. If I cross him with a Delaware Hen the males will have the barring version of a columbian pattern like the Delaware do. The Females will have the regular (or incomplete) columbian markings. He is also a "yellow columbian" because his mother was red. He will shoot Red/Buff Genetics and half of his white columbian kids will have red leakage. I am half guessing here because I need to hatch the eggs and raise the birds to be certain but I have played around on the Genetics calculator (Color pattern genetics) and so far its been fairly accurate with predicting the out comes of my Dorking x Red Ranger project.

 

[jolenesdad]

End of the Silkie hatch stats:

18 b/s and buff Silkie eggs
9 eggs made it to lock down

5 blue/splash
4 buff​

5 chicks hatched-1 later died.

4 b/s
1 buff (r.i.p.) ​

Ironically, after the recent talk about hatching upright and people’s worries about missing a malpositioned chick’s pip... This set of eggs was laid down as normal, and I had 2 that pipped wrong. Sadly, on the underside of the egg. One died, the other I helped hatch and eventually died. I think, had the eggs been upright, the chick might have had a chance at hatching with access to air.

Nothing from the Seramas yet.

The hatch gave us 4 pretty blues. One is still gooey, but doing okay, I think. A couple of pics of the first two..

View attachment 1874501 View attachment 1874502

And...I ran into this big guy moseying along on our driveway when I left to do errands earlier. View attachment 1874503

Sorry for the ones that didn’t make it! Always a learning experience. Thanks for sharing along the way.

Also, your driveway is gorgeous and peaceful and I wouldn’t know WHAT to do if a bear crossed my path.

View attachment 1874500
This big guy is a Dorking x Red Ranger rooster. I want to make my own line of Delaware where SOP means stand or Production. If I cross him with a Delaware Hen the males will have the barring version of a columbian pattern like the Delaware do. The Females will have the regular (or incomplete) columbian markings. He is also a "yellow columbian" because his mother was red. He will shoot Red/Buff Genetics and half of his white columbian kids will have red leakage. I am half guessing here because I need to hatch the eggs and raise the birds to be certain but I have played around on the Genetics calculator (Color pattern genetics) and so far its been fairly accurate with predicting the out comes of my Dorking x Red Ranger project.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I serama egg has been pipped! and my Serama hen went broody... again. She has only been laying for a month since her last Broody spell. Last time she hatched one cockerel who is the brother of all my other females so he was close to useless to me. Gave him away with the rest of his brothers I hatched out.
Her first Daughter started laying and 2 other daughters who are 3 week younger are about to start laying, so maybe I will still get in a few more hatches before they stop laying for winter.
I chick pipping now means I need to finish cleaning the brooder. I was so exhausted from cleaning the outdoor brooders in the heat that I took a shower and napped this afternoon. After I finish cleaning the brooder I have to do nursery work all night long. Naps are fine but now I have to pay the penalty and work all night by flashlight.

Wow, you are wearing me out just reading about your plans! Hope you have a productive night and are able to get some sleep!!!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

End of the Silkie hatch stats:

18 b/s and buff Silkie eggs
9 eggs made it to lock down

5 blue/splash
4 buff​

5 chicks hatched-1 later died.

4 b/s
1 buff (r.i.p.) ​

Ironically, after the recent talk about hatching upright and people’s worries about missing a malpositioned chick’s pip... This set of eggs was laid down as normal, and I had 2 that pipped wrong. Sadly, on the underside of the egg. One died, the other I helped hatch and eventually died. I think, had the eggs been upright, the chick might have had a chance at hatching with access to air.

Nothing from the Seramas yet.

The hatch gave us 4 pretty blues. One is still gooey, but doing okay, I think. A couple of pics of the first two..

View attachment 1874501 View attachment 1874502

And...I ran into this big guy moseying along on our driveway when I left to do errands earlier. View attachment 1874503

Your silkie babies are GORGEOUS!!! I love silkies!!! The second one looks like it is dusted in... snow???

Bear! OMG!!!! I agree that your driveway is so nice. We have a seriously rutted gravel driveway that looks just awful and sucks to drive my van on... Anyway, congratulations on the adorable chicks!!!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I put a waterer within stretching distance of where she sits on the eggs. I have put a few ice cubes in it as well. I try not to move my broody hens too much.
I worry about all of my girls in the heat but so far I haven't lost a broody and it's equally as hot in Georgia as it is in Texas.
@Mixed flock enthusiast set up a nice little fan for hers too if I remember correctly and I think she put a frozen jug in front of it to cool the breeze.

Yes, I was very worried about my broody chickens in 100+ weather, so I got a small portable USB rechargeable fan from Amazon. I set it on the low setting to blow on the top half of the hen, then set a frozen quart jug in front of it. Just a tiny breeze over a frozen jug really cools things down! I recharge at night... For my guineas, I put a frozen jug near them on hot days. They kind of freak so I haven’t tried the fan but - 105 F tomorrow!!! So I think I may try the fan. I have this crazy plan for my planned New Guinea coop!!! I want to have planters (with plants) with a big pipe that runs through the planter. The guineas can nest in the pipe surrounded by the cooling earth of the planter... Amyine ever tried that???

 

[Bookworm0124]

I want to try Delawares from a good hatchery that keeps up the meat quality and rapid meat development. I have one from ideal Poultry who isn't much meatier than a leghorn. I will likely work towards that after I move. I reached the peak for the amount of chicken breeds I can have. Although I can have a hen or 2 of any breed... no more roosters. I ran out of Rooster containment pens.

I'm getting there. Cannot wait until we move. I can fit maybe three more chickens in my big coop... Possibly with one more rooster. I currently have 9 hens to 1 rooster for my egg birds. I'm trying to convince my daughter to sell two hens to make room for a welsummer and maran hen because well... Why not? And I'd love to see what my Olive egger Roo over a welsummer hen would produce as far as egg color.
I do have a small prefab coop I'm intending to use as my breeder pen for whatever breed I choose to keep for meat purposes.

 

[Bookworm0124]

When I called freedom ranger hatchery they said the New Hampshire line they have is the meatiest heritage breed. I think that’s the most meaty hatchery line of anything.

There’s a guy Henry Knoll that is a geneticist who used to own a hatchery specializing in meat birds. Moyers actually bought it, but he maintains a line of egg laying Delawares now and meat New Hampshire’s, and they “say” they’re so meaty if you want the hens to lay you have to regiment their feed. Those lines are available only through Freedom ranger hatchery.

I actually spoke to Deer Run Farm and they took over one of the only known lines of Delawares, the Whitmore line. They flock breed and have APA certified flocks. I talked to them this week and they said that they are breeding “with the standard in mind” but really pushing for a more utility bird. The sweet girl that runs their chicken operation says the Delawares are her favorite breed.

The deer run farm is getting 6 pound (live weight) cockerels at 18 weeks. Those Delawares I’m trying 25 of in September from DawnRidge Farm are supposed to be around 5 pounds at 12/13 weeks.

As far as I can tell those are the utility lines that exist and I just found our Dawn Ridge farm came from the whitmore line.

There was a line called ChickCharney but the entire line was sold and they are not selling yet. They’re more standard bred but still pretty utility.

There is a line called the Bonham line that was recreated by a woman on ByC from heritage barred rock and New Hampshire’s and there’s a several thousand page thread on it. Ill get a link if anyone is interested. Those are supposed to be the closest to APA standard however they take 30 weeks to reach maturity. I have two of them and they are finally growing at 14 weeks but they’re the most resourceful free ranging birds I’ve ever had.

Does Dawn ridge have a website? That's an impressive size in 12 weeks

 

[jolenesdad]

Does Dawn ridge have a website? That's an impressive size in 12 weeks

http://www.dawnridgefarm.com/about-us/

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1408540456051490&ref=content_filter

 

[Compost King]

2 Seramas hatched over night, a few pips on the naked necks. I woke up late and trying to chug my coffee and get out and liberate the birds from confinement before the sun hits their coops

 

[aliciaplus3]

Woke up this morning to 1 more duck and 2 more chicks ready to go into the brooder. I have purposely lost track of how many just in case my DH asks how many?