BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
OK, I'm really really sorry about your dad, and am very glad that he set up this thread, as I believe most of us are. How is the thread "down" - what are your specific criteria?

I'm not sure it's appropriate or constructive to attempt to shame people for not communicating in the way you want them to, with the frequency you want them to.

- Ant Farm

 

[hellbender]

I didn't mean to offend anyone. Dad is back in the hospital on a ventilator. I guess the pressure has made me a bit harsh. I'm sorry.

J.

ETA...I will stay off this thread and likely the forum.

 

[ronott1]

I didn't mean to offend anyone. Dad is back in the hospital on a ventilator. I guess the pressure has made me a bit harsh. I'm sorry.

J.

ETA...I will stay off this thread and likely the forum.

When I read the posts earlier, I thought things were going that way with your Dad.

It is all part of the stages of grieving--and that does start before.

God Bless Ron and the whole Family!

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Something horrendous is happening here. If dad were to be strong enough to get on the net, seeing the thread down would bother him. Seeing him further upset would really bother me and add to our difficulty. But as I mentioned, it's not likely dad will ever use the net again.

J.

I'm sorry to hear that, please tell him the thread is doing well, it has helped a lot of people get on the right path to breeding and selecting their chickens, even those who have never contributed but probably read every post. Even if everyone stopped contributing today, there's still the motherlode of great information in the almost ten thousand posts that will inspire new people.

 

[bluejean55girl]

@hellbender ok, you showed your "emotional fangs" .... so what? it is perfectly understandable due to what you and your family is going thru at this time.

this thread is not dead, it's at a slower summer pace. many of us are just starting out and are watching our chicks grow, we still have much to learn.

this thread is valuable to all who need the info that is already contained within...and will be posted in the future also.

your knowledge is valuable... so please do not feel that you have to give this up due to an emotional outburst..

when you are ready, please come back. 9945 posts on one thread is nothing to sneeze at.

sending special guardian angels that multiply as needed for you and your family.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi Jason,
I am so sorry to hear about about Hellbender's turn around. Hang in there. He's a tough cookie. We all miss him. I have been off since I don't have my birds anymore. I still check in often to see what's going on and who is sharing what info. I learn a lot here, smile.
This last week was a stunner in Ligonier and nearby Waterford, where I live in western PA, hard up against the western ridge of the Laurel Ridge of the Alleghenies. Storm came in from the east and did a very rare "stall" on top of the east ridge. Storms for us are always bad when they come over the east ridge instead of moving up the valley from the west. Sigh. This one came in at night and dropped at least 4 inches from 9pm to 830am. All that water cascading down the ridge, sigh. There are 3 branches to Mill Creek what run down the ridge and meet in the valley. It was like reading an old Louis L'Amour novel. Flash Flood. We were lucky, we are on the Middle fork of Mill Creek. The Upper Fork joins the flow just below us. That's where the trouble started because further down the valley the Lower Fork merged in the creek. But the Lower Fork was already at flood stage so the water from the 2 other forks couldn't merge. Just spread out over the yards and fields for about 5o yards. We have a neighbor about 1 mile from our house on the creek below the Upper and Middle but above the Lower Fork. His house sits right on the creek. Old homestead. The wall of his lower level is actually a side of the creek. Nice guy, real nice family. He's the local beehive guy. The hives were on high ground. But when we passed at 8:30 that morning, his house was in the middle of the creek. His normally dry front yard had a standing wave in it, so much water goin thru it. Garage flooded and lower level just unindated. Sigh. Trailer court in Ligonier flooded. Entire football field flooded. Been here 22 years and never seen the like. Tiny baby fawns got separated from their mothers. One was recued from the flooded Loyalhanna Creek downstream from Ligonier. The guy went in up to his shoulders to get it. Police took it. Another rescued from another creek. Sat. on my way to work, the tiniest fawn came down out of a yard and crossed the street in front of me.Too newborn to hop over the guard rail. Other cars stopped and it started running along the guard rail, tiny thing, too tiny and new to hop over it. All spotted, sigh. I think one of the other drivers was going to herd it along the guard rail to the opening which opens down into the woods where a large herd of deer live. We had 17 people rescued out of their homes by the Swift Water Rescue teams. What a clean up mess. Serv Pro is gonna be busy, sigh.
http://www.wpxi.com/weather/live-video-chopper-11-over-flooding-in-westmoreland-county/320060678
Best,
Karen

 

[bramblefir]

We're having a record breaking hot spell right now. It's been in the mid-90's and all of the poultry and waterfowl are doing fine. The birds handling it the worst are the Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers - and the worst they're doing is holding their wings off their sides. I've been reading on the regional Facebook group about all of the chickens dying from the heat though. Oddly, most of these folks are giving their birds freezing food, ice water, etc. I don't do any of that, just lots of shade and clean water, and have never lost a bird.

The alpacas, on the other hand, have needed to be hosed down multiple times each day to help them cool down. They're scheduled to get sheared on the 18th. Plus, we had a surprise cria born and I've been having to feed the little guy because his mother has very little milk.

My geese are so big now that they don't fit on my little kitchen scale. I need to rig something up with a muck tub and the fishing scale so I can weigh them again. The older juveniles are so big that it's a struggle to catch and carry them without being beaten half to death with their wings. The 2 females that came from Ideal are horrible quality and are clearly crossed with Toulouse. Both of those will have to go.


Please ignore the huge thistles in the background (or pretend that they're actually cornstalks). Mr. Bramblefir hasn't had time to cut them down.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
Are those Canadian Thistles in th background? We had a slew of them in the big chicken run. Turned the Light Sussex in their last summer and they mowed them down. Eaten all the seeds too! This Spring, not a single Canadian thistle came up. Really something because they are hard to get rid of!
Best,
Karen

 

[DesertChic]

If I lived in a spot like yours, I wouldn't have any breed but naked necks. sorry.

That's the direction I'm headed, but I was hoping to not have to cull perfectly beautiful birds that just happen to be the family favorites, and instead cross my Biels with my NNs. I've already gotten a few lovely pullets out of the crossing, but I'm bracing myself for the likelihood that all of my Biels will die this summer...especially if it stays this hot. It's 115 today.

This is one of my NN/Biel crosses from the hen that died:

Oh, I'm so sorry. Was she a Biel mix? (I know you weren't sure of their heat hardiness...)

My Naked Necks have certainly done better in the heat - but interestingly, the smaller Cream Legbars (fully feathered) seem to do almost equally well - some days, maybe even better. I'm wondering if it is the body size thing. (Though my NNs aren't THAT big.) My German New Hampshires are doing well so far, and I know other folks have some other fully feathered chickens that do well. Besides the simplistic "number of feathers" thing, what sorts of things go into a breed being heat hardy, structurally (or do we know)?

Gotta say, some folks are having temps now that would kill any bird, Naked Neck or not, so I'm not sure that replacing all our chickens with NNs would solve the problem (no that they aren't great).

- Ant Farm

Would you believe that my bird that's doing the best in the heat is my little Buff Silkie hen? I've yet to see her lift her wings or pant at all. While all of the other birds, including my NNs, look miserable, my little Silkie just plods along through the day as if completely unfazed.

 

[cyborg]

If I lived in a spot like yours, I wouldn't have any breed but naked necks. sorry.

[COLOR=0000FF]That's the direction I'm headed, but I was hoping to not have to cull perfectly beautiful birds that just happen to be the family favorites, and instead cross my Biels with my NNs. I've already gotten a few lovely pullets out of the crossing, but I'm bracing myself for the likelihood that all of my Biels will die this summer...especially if it stays this hot. It's 115 today. [/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]This is one of my NN/Biel crosses from the hen that died:[/COLOR]

Oh, I'm so sorry. Was she a Biel mix? (I know you weren't sure of their heat hardiness...) My Naked Necks have certainly done better in the heat - but interestingly, the smaller Cream Legbars (fully feathered) seem to do almost equally well - some days, maybe even better. I'm wondering if it is the body size thing. (Though my NNs aren't THAT big.) My German New Hampshires are doing well so far, and I know other folks have some other fully feathered chickens that do well. Besides the simplistic "number of feathers" thing, what sorts of things go into a breed being heat hardy, structurally (or do we know)? Gotta say, some folks are having temps now that would kill any bird, Naked Neck or not, so I'm not sure that replacing all our chickens with NNs would solve the problem (no that they aren't great). - Ant Farm

[COLOR=0000FF]Would you believe that my bird that's doing the best in the heat is my little Buff Silkie hen? I've yet to see her lift her wings or pant at all. While all of the other birds, including my NNs, look miserable, my little Silkie just plods along through the day as if completely unfazed. [/COLOR]

I live about 40 miles northwest of Desertchic, and dealing with the same 115 degree temps. All my birds (including 30 CX meaties!) are housed in a covered 30' x 40' chain link run, with shade cloth on the sides. I set up 2 impact sprinklers at the 2 rear (windward) corners and set them each to spray along 2 sides, and over the roof. I'm running the sprinklers from 11AM to 7 PM, so I'm going to have a nasty water bill this month. The shade cloth and the wind combine to give the pen a swamp cooler effect. So far, so good. Also put a small plastic wading pool in each individual pen, and they are being heavily used!