Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[ChookieG]

Can you do vent sexing? If you can (and it works!) you will have to give me a lesson!

Thanks @Sussex19! Well I went through a few youtube videos on how to do it.. and I'm also no expert at it.. this is my first time doing so!! Apparently, even the expert sexers get it wrong sometimes! I sexed them with a strong LED headlight and sexing them earlier is better as they start to grow out a lot of fluff round the butt around where the male bit is so it'll be difficult to see the vent when they get older. There's a way of holding them also .. I'll try giving you the link if you're interested....I think I got 5 boys from initial vent-sexing but like I said, the bands fell off so I'm not sure which ones were the banded ones now except for the single black chick... but I'm hoping that's not a boy cos it's got Araucana muffs and beard which is so pretty!!

I'm definitely seeing 5 boys (out of 16) now at 4 weeks of age... and none are the black one... but as the black one's an EE, it'll take a much longer time for any redness on it's comb to show up if he's a boy...the Wyandotte hybrids are easier to sex as they grow so quickly!

I use flat coil legbands, the 5.5 for bantams and 6.4 for standard chicks. They fit for a few weeks as they are expandable but you can get larger sizes, I normally only need them for 4-8 weeks. You can get them on ebay or here https://www.birdbands.com/legrings/coiled.html
Website has coloured and numbered plus they also have a size guide if you're unsure what to go to next

Thanks @AusHen that's great info! I like the expandable coil legbands too but just wasn't sure which size I should get. Do you know how far they stretch out to?

 

[AMM10]

Hello, friends! What’s been up lately?

 

[Sussex19]

Well I went through a few youtube videos on how to do it.. and I'm also no expert at it.. this is my first time doing so!! Apparently, even the expert sexers get it wrong sometimes! I sexed them with a strong LED headlight and sexing them earlier is better as they start to grow out a lot of fluff round the butt around where the male bit is so it'll be difficult to see the vent when they get older. There's a way of holding them also .. I'll try giving you the link if you're interested..

Interesting stuff!
And yes I would be keen to see that video, I tried finding one before and didn't get very far.

 

[Sussex19]

Hello, friends! What’s been up lately?

Not very much, although I am looking at getting some sheep.

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Not very much, although I am looking at getting some sheep.

What breed?

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Hello, friends! What’s been up lately?

I am beginning to sort through my chicks to move some on. Other than that I've just been settle back into my routine after being away for awhile.

 

[AMM10]

Not very much, although I am looking at getting some sheep.

I saw the news about that one radioactive coin being found. I’m very glad it was.

What kind of sheep are you thinking about getting?

 

[AMM10]

I am beginning to sort through my chicks to move some on. Other than that I've just been settle back into my routine after being away for awhile.

Nice! Not much going on here either lately. Just the usual paranoia scheme.

 

[AMM10]

What kinds of breeds are you raising, @Somewhere_In_The_Clouds?

 

[Sussex19]

What breed?

What kind of sheep are you thinking about getting?

I'm looking at some coloured Merinos ewes, and maybe an Aussie White ram.
I love the coloured Merinos, and I would like to learn how to shear sheep, but at the same time would like to use the lambs for meat.
Not quite sure though, but I'll be having a look at someone's flock next week.