California - Northern

[chiqita]

Chiqita do you mean putting her in at night and taking her out in the morning until the egg sack drops off?
True dat!


That is what I thought. Thanks!
This is good to hear.

I didn't have enough spring hatchers ( just an rsl and a bantam) so I had to get eggs from a friend throughout Nov and Dec. Now most molts are over and I have a couple of my early July girls laying so hopefully we are over the drought. But for next year and to the end of time... I plan to have at least 6 LF winter/spring hatchers to lay for me through the winter.

A bit late, but yes, give her time when momma is still to bond so she knows her and obeys alter.

 

[capayvalleychick]

I'm also curious on how/if others move roosters thru a breeding pen. I'm trying to figure out potential problems with rotating 2 roos between my layer and soon-to-be-built breeding pen.

I have a row of 8 breeding pens. I put a hen in each pen. Last year, I moved the male from pen to pen, each day. I had some fertility problems, doing it like that. I was told to give the cock a rest and tease him a bit. So, I would put him in a pen where he could see the hens, but not touch them. Every other day, I would take him out and let him breed a hen, then put him right back in his own pen. That improved the fertility.

 

[capayvalleychick]

DH and I spent the 20-22 over in Fort Bragg for my b-day.

Happy very belated birthday!

 

[caychris]

I have a row of 8 breeding pens. I put a hen in each pen. Last year, I moved the male from pen to pen, each day. I had some fertility problems, doing it like that. I was told to give the cock a rest and tease him a bit. So, I would put him in a pen where he could see the hens, but not touch them. Every other day, I would take him out and let him breed a hen, then put him right back in his own pen. That improved the fertility.

So you had a pen for each hen. Was this so you could more accurately determine parentage? The pens I usually see have hens together.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Kim - are you showing at the PPBA show this year?

 

[capayvalleychick]

So you had a pen for each hen. Was this so you could more accurately determine parentage? The pens I usually see have hens together.

Yes. I need to know what each bird produces. That way, I can (hopefully) eliminate defects and improve upon the good traits. It also helps me to know how well each hen is laying.

 

[caychris]

Yes. I need to know what each bird produces. That way, I can (hopefully) eliminate defects and improve upon the good traits. It also helps me to know how well each hen is laying.

How do they react to being isolated like that. I assume that they can see each other but not interact.

I would think that you could mate them together for a few days then isolate them for laying for a week afterward. Or is that how you were doing it or just moving the boy down the row.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Kim - are you showing at the PPBA show this year?

If I have some birds that are good enough. My best Del pullets decided to molt. All the Dels have been wallowing in the mud. They actually dig down to get to it!
I'm going to go through the Dorks and see if I have something. I keep seeing possibilities, then I notice all the defects.

 

[capayvalleychick]

How do they react to being isolated like that. I assume that they can see each other but not interact.

I would think that you could mate them together for a few days then isolate them for laying for a week afterward. Or is that how you were doing it or just moving the boy down the row.

It actually gives me an opportunity to get the males used to being handled. The difficult part is that once the male has been separated from the bachelor pen, I can't put him back with the group of males or they will fight.
You could mate them in a group flock, then separate. I separate the hens into pens first, then put the male in for breeding. Individual mating helps when there has been fertility problems.

 

[1zooman12]

Hi Folks,
About those whiskers, birdies do not produce hair in any form. What we are seeing are actually the same chemical construction as the feather. And, some of you guessed it, the feather is a modified scale, a direct descendant from those of the dinosaur. Yep, what we bird people have are simply direct descendants from the Jurassic. The original scales are to be found in evidence on bird legs. And by the same token the paleontologists of late have been turning up more than a few types of dinosaurs who sported feathers! That kind of blurs the distinction between dinosaurs and birds, if any there ever were. As for the dinosaur bit, anyone owning, for example, a Rhode Island Red cock can hear echoes of the dinosaur legacy by merely paying attention to the panoply of sounds emanating from that self important strutter. The repertoire is amazing - one never gets tired of hearing it unless maybe she is an adjacent hen.
Happy New Year ALL!
Neal, the Zooman