California - Northern

[PetRock]

Hatched yesterday with help... Both were malpositioned with foot over head and one was trying to pip 180 degrees from the air cell.





This picture shows where the duckling had pipped internally, but the whole is one I made.




This picture shows the air cell (marked by pen) and the hole I made for it.



-Kathy

What cute babies!!!

 

[chrissyr]

The vaccine protects against mareks Cancer when they are two years old.

So they may still get all the symptoms, even death? Just not the cancer at 2 years? I'm wondering if a hatchery chick would be a better option. I vaccinate, but I did hear the hatcheries vaccinate in the egg so it may do a better job. And there is a vaccine that we can't get for mareks that's better? Do the hatcheries have this one?

WOW! I just candled the 41 Runner Duck eggs I set for the Easter HAL and 40 of them are developing!!!! There is also growth in about 9 of the 12 meat bird eggs and some of the guinea eggs AND...there are 3 hatchlings under the broody hen this morning. 6 More eggs to go under her. She is a first time broody FBC Marans.

Yay!!

Yeah I call them 'late bloomers' LOL I have had a few cock like that. But the feathers seem to be adequate.. plus it used to be striping since it was first generation lemons with buffs so only the cocks had stripes at the time. And yes it helped me realize that the feather patter wasn't just my imagination. Now I can't go by stripes since I no longer have non-bar gened hens. I should put them all in a box and take a pic then label them on photoshop. Then do it again at each stage get close up of cocks. I have 2 cages so I plan to sort them.


Yes it would be great. You can just tell you clients it 'should' be a cock and hen and if they get a mistake you offer to trade out... if they pick up. But like I mentioned it depends on if you have any left, or sell with a 'possible risk of being wrong' At least you tried though. Feed stores don't guarantee sex.



My new baby. love that brooder. Got it from the Cash farm. I had to get smart yesterday when moving the Turkey down into a cage. The water trough had a leak in one of the seems. So I stuffed plumbers putty in the crack and works like a charm! Should be safe as long as a long necked bird doesn't stick their head all the way in that deep trough to eat it, but I highly doubt that will be an issue. The ducks will go on the bottom. I just need to get my folding cage back so I can put them out on the lawn for turn out. I put a piece of plywood on top to keep the cats out.

So cute!

Cockerel


Pullet (this was a frizzled chicks, hence the funny wing feathers coming in)

Hi Deb,
How old are these chicks here? I've noticed my pullets feather out more evenly. Boys look a little raspy, but this helps tons!

 

[tommysgirl]

I have a FB page for local chicken people and there is a "liker" who is looking for Dutch Bantams for her son's 4-H project. @debs_flock or anyone else?? Deb if you have some maybe we can get me a couple of SPRs at the same time what with you down sizing and all

 

[debs_flock]

Very cute, I love ducklings. I have some call duck eggs due to hatch next week.

Quote:
I'm just guessing, but probably around a week old. Those little epaulette shoulder patches of feathers in my experience indicate a cockerel.

I have a FB page for local chicken people and there is a "liker" who is looking for Dutch Bantams for her son's 4-H project. @debs_flock or anyone else?? Deb if you have some maybe we can get me a couple of SPRs at the same time what with you down sizing and all

That would definitely be doable. For sure I'm thinning out the girls in the SPR pen (way too many) and I'm considering getting rid of that breed/variety altogether. I'd really like to get my numbers down to no more than ten breeds/varieties. I have sixteen well built coop/pen combos and the rest of my pens are thrown together grow outs. I think ten would be a solid number and give me space for multiple pens of individual breeds.

Oops, didn't mean to imply I have Dutch, I don't.

 

[sewandgrow]

I tried the feather dusters one time. I bought several at the dollar store, tied them together, and suspended them in the brooder. The chicks seem to love them. We were gone from home for a few hours and came home to one dead chick. It was a big, fluffy one. I pulled the feather dusters out just in case they were giving off some kind of bad fumes. No more chicks died once they were removed. The chick's death might have been totally unrelated to the feather dusters but I'm not willing to try it again. The feathers were dyed and maybe I need to find some natural feather feather dusters not cheap made in China with who knows what is in them feather dusters.

I wonder if we could construct our own feather dusters with saved feathers from processing?

LOL, I've always been one of those buy high, sell low people. I can't bring myself to ask prices that other people ask. Speaking of which, I just set about ten more tolbunt polish eggs tonight! LOL And I'm getting ready to set up breeding pens for the Jubilee, Chocolate and Crele Orpingtons.....................anyone need cheap chicks? LOL


I ALWAYS think of the old Mervyn's advertisement................open, open, open, when I press my nose to the incubator window.

Did ............somebody say Crele???? ~~I would give up a breed for those................LOL

Wow Laura, that is unusual. Campines are my absolute best layers. A huge egg from nearly every girl, nearly every day. They are the first to start in the spring, the last to quit in the winter and take the shortest break for molting.

If I was keeping a flock of just layers, they would be my go to birds.

Very interesting................ I didn't think of them as good layers but then I have never had them.

 

[casportpony]

Here are two people that have done extensive research on Marek's:

• Seminolewind - https://www.backyardchickens.com/u/3891/seminolewind
• Nambroth - https://www.backyardchickens.com/u/85615/nambroth

-Kathy

 

[lawatt]

Post a couple of pictures of her when you get a chance.

I'm working at home today, so went out and got some -- her egg-laying sister is in her nest box right now, so no comparison photos -- but the layer has dark brown eyes & a comb that's smaller and half-flops over (and also has better barring) -- as you can see, the non-layer has a larger, very straight comb and red eyes:


with Franklin the cockerel, who has a squirrely tail and an annoyingly high voice, but is otherwise okay.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Very nice looking, are they Campine? If so, mine also had a different voice.

-Kathy

 

[lawatt]

Very nice looking, are they Campine? If so, mine also had a different voice.

-Kathy

yes, silver campines -- Franklin is VERY loud but crows at a much higher pitch than my marans or isbar cockerels -- rather annoying, especially if you're right nearby. ouch!

 

[CackleJoy]

Quote: You are so brave!

And opening them would make a person grieve for sure! I had a bunch die a while back. I couldn't open them.