BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Fire Ant Farm]

I just candled the eggs in my homemade incubator. My F2's (1/2 Dark Cornish x 1/2 Cornish Roaster) are doing a fine job. Redmen(1st timer cockerel) and Lavenia(first egg at 132 days)
13 eggs in - 3 yokers (one misshapen, one double, one no excuse) - 76% settled...not that I'm counting my chickens before they've hatched

Way to go kids!

Woo hoo!!!!!

- Ant Farm

 

[RiddleMe]

HI Hellbender,
 From who did you get your large fowl White Chantecler? I'm circling the breed after leaving the Sussex due to storm damage at our poultry yard.
We need  rebuild first but now looking to the future.
 Thanks,
 Karen

Karen, not Hellbender but I got White Chantecler from Gina Neta 2 years ago (via hatching eggs) and have been very happy with them. They lay well, nice big eggs, easily reach cock weights as cockerels, and the cockerels I butchered this year had plenty of meat on them.

 

[3riverschick]

Karen, not Hellbender but I got White Chantecler from Gina Neta 2 years ago (via hatching eggs) and have been very happy with them. They lay well, nice big eggs, easily reach cock weights as cockerels, and the cockerels I butchered this year had plenty of meat on them.

Thanks, Riddleme!!

 

[Beer can]

HI Hellbender,
 From who did you get your large fowl White Chantecler? I'm circling the breed after leaving the Sussex due to storm damage at our poultry yard.
We need  rebuild first but now looking to the future.
 Thanks,
 Karen

Thought I commented on this when you posted it, don't see it, crappy phone...
Anyway, again,
Any reason why your giving up on the sussex??!

 

[cyborg]

OK, this is a little weird. I was doing my daily poop scoop today in the cream legbar coop, and found a little drop of dried blood on the edge of the sand tray that hadn't been there the day before. However, there was zero blood in the poops. I looked up, and against the wall of the coop by the upper roost was all this scattered dried blood (including underside of roof). A little bit of blood in the bits of bedding below but not much. All birds seem healthy, foraging well all day - I examined all three pullets in great detail (to their chagrin), no blood, no hidden injuries under feathers (cockerel does not have long spurs yet either), vent fine, no dried blood that I could see around nose or mouth. Got three nice eggs first thing this AM. The only thing is that Paula was in the coop right before I was scooping, scratching around on the plywood floor and pecking. like she was looking for something. Dumbledore also went up a bit. They never go in there during the day except when laying. Didn't pick Dumbledore up, but got a good look at him, no blood that I could see, and he also seems fine. (He also tends to sit more to the left of this on the roost). So, I guess it's between one of my birds having a really bad bloody nose overnight and shaking her head all over the place (which I should probably go look up), vs. them finding a small frog or baby mouse in the coop (though why it would be up on the roost is beyond me). Anybody seen anything like this? - Ant Farm

Check out their combs and wattles closely.

 

[hellbender]

Apparently 3riverschick has not been checking her PMs. A few weeks back, I sent a couple covering several questions, including the source of my White Chanteclers (as if there were any other colors in my mind). I'm sure the weather and sad loss of her beloved Sussex flock has worked on her memory....It certainly would have traumatized me.

RON

 

[WVduckchick]

My first attempt at hatching quail. 32 eggs (5 had hairline cracks, so I didn't set them)

They are currently in the turner with no heat. Will turn the heat on tomorrow morning, so they will hatch when I can watch!

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Jason tells me the low temp. during this latest cold snap was negative 5*F but has wind chill factors from 15 to 35* F and the NNs are as spry and comfortable as the White Chanteclers. Not that my previous experience with them would have given me any notions to the contrary. The farm had snow depth of 31 inches with 5 feet plus drifts. In that snow and wind, all birds were kept in but were out where he dozed open ground for them and strung a large bail of orchard grass hay.

PS: Congratulations on your new acquisition- can't wait to hear!

This is so frustrating- I'm seeing signs of frostbite on my single combed hens but it's not even cold here, really. Even my Buckeye rooster has a few spots!!!! I keep the chickens clean,clean them out daily, no poop build up, the bedding is dry, 13 chickens in a 5000 square foot 150 year old leaky barn- it's never got below -8 oC --- clearly not enough ventilation! Or I don't know what's going on. It's so humid here, there has been hoarfrost- even the outside air is humid so I'm not sure how ventilation would help- AArggh. I knocked out a window yesterday. Don't know if that will help.

I can't seem to find information that quantifies humidity, temperature and frostbite. I see lots of information with useless words like "More" and "not enough". I"m not sure what more I can do with this set up.
I'm thinking that I will build a lot of individual small coops for my flock, since they will be going out in tractors in the spring, and house them all outdoors year round. I was planning on building winter coops inside that barn but clearly that's a bad idea.

When I look at those frostbite charts I see that exposed skin will freeze at certain temperatures over time, even without windchill. How come the combs on the naked necks aren't freezing in those cold temperatures? Human skin would. ?

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

lpatelski good luck with your hatch

 

[DesertChic]

I was talking about the turkins or how ever they are called, not having feathers around the neck. I am too blind to notice any scratches in pictures. How long have you had naked neck chickens? I am thinking about getting some but I am not sure how they do in the winters here.

Oh...LOL! Sorry about that. *Snicker*

Okay...I've had Turkens (NNs for short) for a little over a year now, hatched two batches so far, and absolutely LOVE the breed. In fact, they've become the primary breed I want to work with. They're exceptionally hardy, friendly, entertaining, great egg layers, some go broody, and outstanding meat quality. I purchased my first batch of NN hatching eggs because I knew they would be durable in the AZ heat. Then I fell in love with the breed and have since made them the focus of creating both a solid meat flock and a solid egg laying flock.

While we don't have severely cold winters here, mine have endured our below freezing temps very well and I've heard they're surprising cold hardy too. If you get some, I doubt you will have any regrets. They really are quite exceptional.