California - Northern

[juststruttin]

DeAnn! Look what I've been doing! Each little bantam cochin hen has five chicks. (Three/ten are from the trio!) First-time fertility check 75%! Plus some ordered for more variety... Also the Red Ranger/Sumtaler X girls laid first eggs this week!

Super cute! The hens must be sooo happy to be mommies. The two I kept are still broody. Poor girls would love some babies, but I have denied them. They have been broody for months so I have been taking them off their nest a couple times a day so they don't get too thin. Determined little buggers. I am selling my Sulmtaler flock so perhaps when they are gone I will let the broodies have their pen to do what they do best.

@Chooklet these are your grand babies!! : )

 

[chrissyr]

Thanks for explaining!!
I know what you mean about the thread blowing up if you're gone for a few days. I was gone for a few weeks and didn't even bother trying to catch up. This thread is crazy busy but I love it.

you mentioned zip ties. Not sure if you know but you put them in backwards. Like inside out, if that makes sense. The original way can get WAY too tight. Glad your getting lots of pretty babies!

 

[OR4-hmom]

Looking for ideas here good folks.

1 of the phoenix is dropping her tail, fluffed up and statue standing. There is no bloody stool I can see and they are still in the laundry room. No bad odors have been noticed either.

Yesterday they got extra oyster shell and grit and free ranged on the prime real estate. She is still acting the same and I started them on Corrid just in case.

Any other ideas about what might be going on? I do not feel any eggs so I don't think she's egg-bound but she did start laying recently.

 

[ronott1]

you mentioned zip ties. Not sure if you know but you put them in backwards. Like inside out, if that makes sense. The original way can get WAY too tight. Glad your getting lots of pretty babies!

They fall off if you put them on backwards.

You just need to watch them as they grow and change them often. Once grown, use spiral bands. They stay on for years.

 

[ronott1]

Looking for ideas here good folks.

1 of the phoenix is dropping her tail, fluffed up and statue standing. There is no bloody stool I can see and they are still in the laundry room. No bad odors have been noticed either.

Yesterday they got extra oyster shell and grit and free ranged on the prime real estate. She is still acting the same and I started them on Corrid just in case.

Any other ideas about what might be going on? I do not feel any eggs so I don't think she's egg-bound but she did start laying recently.

coccidihosis or mites.

Treat for both. I got a pm form a BYCr that lost a cockerel to mites last week.

 

[OR4-hmom]

Thanks for the bug suggestion. We dusted them when they came home from county fair and separated them from unknown birds at state but you never know. Now, where are my glasses? I'm not seeing more than normal grooming but easy enough to check!

I found my first creepy crawlies this year during health check at the fair. I handed the bird back and proceeded to dust myself. It didn't help much, I still felt itchy and creepy!

 

[CackleJoy]

Hi Ya'll. I have not been on BYC for awhile so I thought I would stop in and say Hi! Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Hi Deann! I think of you so often. I must take pictures of the Orp pen. This one girl escapes every day and puts herself back at night. I think of you because I know you'd love to see this big girl take flight

Yay! I'm glad you guys think it's a girl because that's the one of the 4 Wyandottes that I have that I want to keep. I was thinking though that the saddle feathers(second picture) and the neck feathers look more pointed than they do on my hens? That's why I was wondering. That, and because one of the four has no comb and hardly any wattles to speak of, so she's definitely a girl and makes the other 3 look VERY boy-ish.

My Wyandotte pullets always had big combs/wattles. In fact I just took a pullet out of the cockerel pen. I had mistaken her for a boy. Then a few weeks later, when I went to load up the boys for auction I discovered that she had not grown any fancy feathers. I was delighted!

It must be the year of the chicken dinner!

I'll say. One batch of EE's, 30 chicks/6 pullets.

It was so strange! Twice I've had to take cockerels to auction this year because there were just too many. The first time I took 21, this time I only took 19. I'm keeping all the Basque though, I'm pretty determined to taste them someday

They are bits of comb that grow out in the wrong place.

Penedesencas have them in the back and are supposed to be there. They have a kings comb.



Brand has it on the back of the comb--see how it sticks out at the back bottom?

Good for him, bad if he was a marans....

Such a nice explanation and description. Thank you!

The breeders have been working hard to get rid of them.

They still pop up sometimes on the basque hens.

Megan's won't have them though.

Good to know The girls are in molt so the eggs are not as regular but I'm still hatching them. Thought you'd like knowing the guy from you is still going strong. He's silly. Scared to death of my dresses when they blow in the wind. We had a predator attack (within 2 wks of losing our dog). Whatever it was left a gross mess. I was out cleaning when the wind kicked my dress around -- Toni got excited and tried flogging me. Since I was already upset I started yelling, pinned him to the wall and carrying him on his back (one hand around the legs and the other around his neck - it was undignified) and threw him into the hen house and shut him in. He was so insulted. Hasn't bothered me since.

Now he just looks and me sideways and crab walks the other direction.

Quick plug if anyone is interested. I am running a 25% special of all hatching egg and chick orders that ends monday at midnight...likely a bit longer as I'm not likely to stay up to midnight to actually change all the prices. Link is in my signature if you are interested. As I have my NPIP testing coming up I am trying to sell almost everything that I've hatched as I won't be able to add them to my NPIP flock until next year if they are under 4 months when I get tested. Trying to get a gap between emptying the barn of grow outs and the next round of chicks so I can do a deep clean and start fall fresh!!! So, if you are looking for chicks, make me an offer!! I also have about 8-10 quantity of 6-8 week old sexed pullets available: orp project colors (I think a red, a mottled with some leakage, a black, and I can't recall the other colors), i have an EE pullet, a rhodebar or olive egg laying rhodebar pullet (escaped early in the grow out so since I don't know what it is for sure saying both), and a few more I can't recall right now. Asking $12 for those sexed pullets. it's a steal compared to what I sell them for normally but I have to reduce my numbers.

I'm also considering finding buyers for a quad of MF leghorns, possibly a quad of salmon faverolles, and possibly a rooster and 4-5 speckled sussex hens. If you are interested in any of those shoot me a PM. I don't want to let them go but I just need more pen space.

I'm also considering abandoning my lavender marans project. I have a pure lavender pen currently. Egg color needs quite a bit of work but you can always breed a good looking lavender to a nice black copper to get the deep rich egg color.

Just thinking out loud and wanting to reduce numbers so I don't have to test so many birds in October.

Aaah!

Why are you thinking out loud? I don't need this temptation!

Thanks for the bug suggestion. We dusted them when they came home from county fair and separated them from unknown birds at state but you never know. Now, where are my glasses? I'm not seeing more than normal grooming but easy enough to check!

I found my first creepy crawlies this year during health check at the fair. I handed the bird back and proceeded to dust myself. It didn't help much, I still felt itchy and creepy!

I feel your pain! I have one pen that keeps getting bugs. Last time I found them it was because a couple landed on me. I had to run and shower. Then of course I had to treat the birds and pen and shower again. I hate it. I'm pretty sure I can get lice from the chicken bugs. Not only will they start living in my hair but they will transform from little black mites into lice. I just know it.

 

[One Chick Two]

People have added the Pen e's to the Marans for egg color and that is a very bad thing to do to a breed. People are having a very difficult time getting the sprigs out of the BCM now. It's the gift that keeps giving. The Marans will have that problem for a long time. It's just irresponsible propagators of chickens who neglect to mention they are selling mixed breed birds. .

Walt

Sprigs from that cross are very persistent.

The Canadians did the same thing to the basque hens by breeding Crele Penedesencas to try to fix the color. Lots of sprigs in them too.

Wow, this board moves fast, lol

Marans are lovely, but, as a whole, there are many issues to work out across the board.

This summer we tried out 5 additional lines just to see if there was anything else we liked or preferred better. We asked in-depth questions before purchases, but still ended up with much culling when those same issues popped up anyway.

Three of the five other tested lines tested expressed sprigs as well. Three lines were split for Wheaten or RW (still waiting until one more line gets older to test them.). With all of the other problems that showed up, there is only one of those lines we'd even try again.

Here's the real problem...
Some breeder's either not being aware, or, not acknowledging the issues in their flock (in denial)... or, just not mentioning faults because they are afraid being upfront with the real problems will affect sales. They want to make money, but, leaving out things doesn't better the breed. Buyers need in on the real issues of their flock so they can make informed decisions on what they can and cannot deal with- and doubling up on faults will help everyone to clean up their problems. Then, working on eliminating issues.

Two of those sellers I mentioned are still selling hatching eggs to buyers, even though they have been apprised that their flock is split for Wheaten. (Explained how to do the test to check, themselves.) One is adamantly in denial, and sells to a tremendous amount of buyers.

 

[Chickmagnet9]

Here's my boy starting from day 2!

Free to loving home ASAP

Purebred Ameraucana Hatched 4-30-14 Beautiful Free to good, safe, loving, healthy home. Must be able to free range and not be caged. He is gentle, feisty, loves the ladies. He also loves his fresh fruit especially, watermelon and papaya. Gets to free range part of the day and is in a very large fenced in area full of shade and shelter when I'm not home. He is not afraid of dogs. I'm going to miss him.

 

[Chickmagnet9]

Thank you, everyone, for welcoming me! Make it a beautiful day.

Chickmagnet9