Scott,
Thanks for posting that information. I never knew it was possible to sex them that early. Very useful!
Thanks for posting that information. I never knew it was possible to sex them that early. Very useful!
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the question is now, what to do with the next almost 90 eggs from the free rangers.
I have to agree. Unless you just want lots of birds of whatever breed or mix, then only hatch the ones that are from your breeding pens from known parents. Alternatively, if you only want to hatch out one breed, you can allow them all to free range but get rid of all roosters except those of breeding quality from your chosen breed. Then you know who the sire is for all the eggs, or at least one of several similar sires. Then monitor your hens carefully and only collect the eggs from specific hens that are breeding quality. (If you don't have the time to monitor them, you can put video cameras near the nests and replay the recording every night to tell which hen used which nest. Or you can install trap nests - but free range hens don't tend to use those reliably.)I don't keep offspring from matings that I have no clue as to the parentage. Those sound like breakfast eggs to me.
Quote: actually, i've got about 30 hatched/hatching, plus 20 from the last batch... MOST are pure dorking. the mutts are easy to tell.
if it's wyandotte cross, it's got a rose comb. ee's are fuzz-faced, orps are buff. pure wyandotte has 4 toes and a rose comb. the rest are dorking. so far of the 20 i've taken out of the hatcher, only 4 are buff, 3 have rose comb. i know that 6 or 7 are ee's just because of the blue eggs they came from.
i've got 4 dorking roos, 1 wyandotte 1 ee, over 14 dorking hens, 2 wyandotte and 2 orps... and the bantams are all cochin, so they'd be fuzzy footed too.
oh. and i've already got a waiting list for my dork/ee crosses (nice colorful utility bird that makes a decent dinner too), my 'wyandorks' are the first ones out the door so far, and the 'dorkingtons' are turning out quite colorful too, and should find good homes as dual purpose whatevers. (eggs/meat like the wyandorks)... i don't know. dorkingdotte or wyandork? lol
actually, i've got about 30 hatched/hatching, plus 20 from the last batch... MOST are pure dorking. the mutts are easy to tell.
if it's wyandotte cross, it's got a rose comb. ee's are fuzz-faced, orps are buff. pure wyandotte has 4 toes and a rose comb. the rest are dorking. so far of the 20 i've taken out of the hatcher, only 4 are buff, 3 have rose comb. i know that 6 or 7 are ee's just because of the blue eggs they came from.
i've got 4 dorking roos, 1 wyandotte 1 ee, over 14 dorking hens, 2 wyandotte and 2 orps... and the bantams are all cochin, so they'd be fuzzy footed too.
oh. and i've already got a waiting list for my dork/ee crosses (nice colorful utility bird that makes a decent dinner too), my 'wyandorks' are the first ones out the door so far, and the 'dorkingtons' are turning out quite colorful too, and should find good homes as dual purpose whatevers. (eggs/meat like the wyandorks)... i don't know. dorkingdotte or wyandork? lol
Wyandork....I like that.actually, i've got about 30 hatched/hatching, plus 20 from the last batch... MOST are pure dorking. the mutts are easy to tell.
if it's wyandotte cross, it's got a rose comb. ee's are fuzz-faced, orps are buff. pure wyandotte has 4 toes and a rose comb. the rest are dorking. so far of the 20 i've taken out of the hatcher, only 4 are buff, 3 have rose comb. i know that 6 or 7 are ee's just because of the blue eggs they came from.
i've got 4 dorking roos, 1 wyandotte 1 ee, over 14 dorking hens, 2 wyandotte and 2 orps... and the bantams are all cochin, so they'd be fuzzy footed too.
oh. and i've already got a waiting list for my dork/ee crosses (nice colorful utility bird that makes a decent dinner too), my 'wyandorks' are the first ones out the door so far, and the 'dorkingtons' are turning out quite colorful too, and should find good homes as dual purpose whatevers. (eggs/meat like the wyandorks)... i don't know. dorkingdotte or wyandork? lol
i sell all my chicks for $5 each. but the pure dorks stick around longer than the mutts, just so i can see how they develop.Dorkings were used in creating many of the more modern breeds. Crossing them back probably makes really nice birds for a home flock. what are you getting for the x-bred chicks if I may ask?
I have a Dorkingvelder I need to get rid ofnice bird. but we all have limited space.
My husband is FREAKING OUT at how many chicks I have right now. LOL I see some chicken swaps in my future. but I don't know how to choose what to get rid of yet!
the teenaged ones are eating quite a bit, so I do understand, but until they grow out, I cant get rid of them.
i just typed up a long detailed message, justifying what i'm doing, but you know what? i don't NEED to justify myself to you or anyone else.If folks come to your place and walk away with mutts, they're getting common refuse. What does that serve and how does it benefit them?