Barbu de Watermael thread?

[carrieK6]

Hello! Pretty new BDW mama here. I ordered chicks lady year, but with my Mom’s cancer & death this past year, I’m just getting around to hatching a few eggs now.
I have 8 roosters and two hens!
I purchased a few more chicks tho, which will arrive in a couple of weeks. Crossing my fingers I get more hens this time.
I have 4 little eggs in my incubator now.
Can you explain the shoulder feathers you posted a couple years ago? This is a way to sex them early? I would love to know how to sex them earlier, if possible.
Also, I’m just kind of playing it by ear, but do find Barbu eggs hatching in the traditional 21 days, or have you experienced a day or so earlier?

 

[lisa69]

Hello! Pretty new BDW mama here. I ordered chicks lady year, but with my Mom’s cancer & death this past year, I’m just getting around to hatching a few eggs now.
I have 8 roosters and two hens!
I purchased a few more chicks tho, which will arrive in a couple of weeks. Crossing my fingers I get more hens this time.
I have 4 little eggs in my incubator now.
Can you explain the shoulder feathers you posted a couple years ago? This is a way to sex them early? I would love to know how to sex them earlier, if possible.
Also, I’m just kind of playing it by ear, but do find Barbu eggs hatching in the traditional 21 days, or have you experienced a day or so earlier?

I don’t know how to sex chicks. You must have read that topic on someone else’s response. My eggs hatch right at 21 days. I keep
The humidity low between 35-50. There are hatching recommendations on the Greenfire website, if you look up this breed.

 

[SarahLadd]

Hello! Pretty new BDW mama here. I ordered chicks lady year, but with my Mom’s cancer & death this past year, I’m just getting around to hatching a few eggs now.
I have 8 roosters and two hens!
I purchased a few more chicks tho, which will arrive in a couple of weeks. Crossing my fingers I get more hens this time.
I have 4 little eggs in my incubator now.
Can you explain the shoulder feathers you posted a couple years ago? This is a way to sex them early? I would love to know how to sex them earlier, if possible.
Also, I’m just kind of playing it by ear, but do find Barbu eggs hatching in the traditional 21 days, or have you experienced a day or so earlier?

Males have gold shoulders and females don't, when they are quail color. You can tell by about 4 weeks old, sometimes 3 if you're really good at identifying the feathers.

My d'anvers and wm hatch at the same time as standard chickens. Every time I hatched bantams I watched for them being early at all and they really don't. They might be among the smallest chickens you can find on earth and the internet likes suggesting small chickens hatch a day or two faster, but I've hatched bantams 5 times now and nope.

 

[SarahLadd]

I have Cinnabar inside for a while, just a random cute picture of her in my hand.

 

[Chicken poppy]

I have Cinnabar inside for a while, just a random cute picture of her in my hand. View attachment 4020598

She’s precious

 

[SarahLadd]

Splish splash indoor bath

At the beginning of 2023 I lost my rooster Agate to sudden heart attack, a few months later Jasper was killed in front of me by a cooper's hawk, in 2024 I lost Aura to her mystery spinning disease, 7 days later Amber died of a heart attack just like Agate. I started with 6 watermael and I am down to 3.

Considering a rooster again. I have a friend in the BdWm club trying to move some very nice half year old blue quail boys. However, I have another friend working on millefleur Wm, I may wait and keep a rooster from hatched eggs she said she would like to give me.