California - Northern

[lawatt]

looked at their teeny wings this morning -- one (with the darker dot on its head) has nice even-looking wing feathers with a clear white-and-grey pattern, the grey is a lot darker than the chick but doesn't look *black* to me -- and the other only has rather ragged feathers still, and the pattern isn't white grey OR black, it's more beige/tan/cream, quite similar to its overall coloring.

this one also is the only chick of the six with an untidy back end -- the vent is still working fine (i've seen it in action), but there's bits that have dried on to the feathers, & i've been able to clean some off but not all -- will give the chick a rest & then try again before i have to head out to campus today... and sure-fire ways of dissolving poop off of down? i don't want to torment the poor thing...

thanks!!
laura

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

To get the poo off, use lots of warm water. Don't pull it off. Sometimes it is connected to and intestine. That is very bad for the chick.

Pick up small grit for baby chicks. Also plain yogurt(let them eat some off of a spoon) and scrambles eggs. Pasty butt usually goes away in a couple of days. It is caused by stress. You can ignore it if the vent is working like you said, but it could get worse so it is best to wash it off. They die from pasty butt.

Ron

thanks -- i'll give the chick a more thorough cleaning, and try them on some yogurt, when i get home this afternoon (they are also getting ACV in their water). that one basque is the smallest of the six, and her wing feathers look the most raggedy/incomplete so far, so i want to keep an eye on him/her & make sure the others don't give it a hard time...

ugh, why must classes be starting this week?

 

[zooweemama]

So which rooster are you keeping?

Why not get BR's? They are great layers of jumbo sized eggs, and you can use them to make sex links. If you are keeping a BO rooster, crossed to a BR would make black sex links. (sexable at hatch - white dot is a male, no white dot is female) I believe the Marans would make sex links too with a BR hen. The hen must be the barred bird, not the reverse, for sex links to work.

Since sex links are hybrids, they crank out lots of eggs.

Here's the info on sex links:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information/0_50

Very interesting! I am keeping a BO roo AND a BCM roo because I know I want to breed my BOs. I am undecided with the BCMs yet but don't want to get rid of all the BCM roos just in case. I am def reading this info. I admit I am incredibly intrigued.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes, a marans rooster over a barred hen will also make black sex links. Here's the result from the calculator:

EER co+co+ db+db+ pg+pg+ ml+ml+ Cha+Cha+ Mhmh+ di+di+ Ig+Ig+ cb+cb+ i+i+ bl+bl+ Lav+Lav+ C+C+ Mo+Mo+ Bb+ Ss+ Choc+Choc+
Gender = Male, Ratio = 1/2 = 50%, minimum of animals to breed: 2
black unicolor barred
Continue with this Male | Select for later crossings
EER co+co+ db+db+ pg+pg+ ml+ml+ Cha+Cha+ Mhmh+ di+di+ Ig+Ig+ cb+cb+ i+i+ bl+bl+ Lav+Lav+ C+C+ Mo+Mo+ b+- s+- Choc+-
Gender = Female, Ratio = 1/2 = 50%, minimum of animals to breed: 2
black unicolor
Continue with this Female | Select for later crossings

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Yes helpful. I just jotted this down in my notebook (is that sad or what- I have a notebook for this lol!). Ok so I will scratch Cream Legbars off my list (bummer hehe maybe later down the road I will buy a pullet or 2 just for fun though). Basques are left on the list and I went ahead and added Leghorns - I do understand that hatchery LH will lay better, but I really cannot get over preferring heritage breeds if I can obtain them. I can't help it! LOL

Amy Beth,

I started keeping a notebook too, for important info that I'll never be able to go back and find!

I know what you mean about the heritage breeds, but if you just want to get up and running with some consistent egg layers, maybe consider hatchery girls until you get your breeding program going. Pros: they're inexpensive, they are usually sexed, tend not to be broody. Cons: all the reasons you want quality heritage birds!

Of 10 hatchery chicks, I got one cockerel (those sneaky EEs!) and haven't had any real health issues. Pullets are mostly calm and friendly, forage well, and laying lots of eggs, and a very minimal investment on my part.

Just food for thought.

~Lynda

 

[ronott1]

Quote: I like my Hatchery Barred Rocks(BRs). They are big and do eat a lot. The Partridge Rocks are littler, but have the good qualities of the BRs. The PRs might be a bit friendlier. My wife won't let me get rid of the BRs LOL.

Ron

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Yes, a marans rooster over a barred hen will also make black sex links. Here's the result from the calculator:

EER co+co+ db+db+ pg+pg+ ml+ml+ Cha+Cha+ Mhmh+ di+di+ Ig+Ig+ cb+cb+ i+i+ bl+bl+ Lav+Lav+ C+C+ Mo+Mo+ Bb+ Ss+ Choc+Choc+
Gender = Male, Ratio = 1/2 = 50%, minimum of animals to breed: 2
black unicolor barred
Continue with this Male | Select for later crossings
EER co+co+ db+db+ pg+pg+ ml+ml+ Cha+Cha+ Mhmh+ di+di+ Ig+Ig+ cb+cb+ i+i+ bl+bl+ Lav+Lav+ C+C+ Mo+Mo+ b+- s+- Choc+-
Gender = Female, Ratio = 1/2 = 50%, minimum of animals to breed: 2
black unicolor
Continue with this Female | Select for later crossings

Iy, yI, yI.......I SO want to understand this! I haven't looked at this type of language since I was breeding horses 16 years ago!

Here's what I'm trying to figure out. So far I have 15 Polish chicks (one more is hatching right now but don't want to count my chickens before they hatch!

I crack me up...no pun intended).
In hens, I have one black, one white splash and two silver laced. In roos I had (sold two) 3 WCBlack and one Black w/gold leakage. My surprise is the red that look like they'll be gold laced and the distinct brown I'm seeing in some of the White Crested black and some that look like White Crested Blue??? Can I get chocolate or blue from any of these combos?
Is this a silver laced? It almost says Splash to me.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Iy, yI, yI.......I SO want to understand this! I haven't looked at this type of language since I was breeding horses 16 years ago!

Here's what I'm trying to figure out. So far I have 15 Polish chicks (one more is hatching right now but don't want to count my chickens before they hatch!

I crack me up...no pun intended).
In hens, I have one black, one white splash and two silver laced. In roos I had (sold two) 3 WCBlack and one Black w/gold leakage. My surprise is the red that look like they'll be gold laced and the distinct brown I'm seeing in some of the White Crested black and some that look like White Crested Blue??? Can I get chocolate or blue from any of these combos?
Is this a silver laced? It almost says Splash to me.

The genetics still look like a cross between Greek and Algebra to me!

Learning slooooowly.

I was just wondering what happened to that little polish chick still needing to mature in the broken open egg. (You posted a pic) Did it survive?

 

[ronott1]

My BC Marans pullets...I feel so mean saying this...not very attractive at all. All the looks went to the roosters. LOL I know they will fill out some and they are going through the ugly feather phase but e-gah man poor things. One of biiiiig BO pullets (20 weeks) has a dark red comb and wattle now. I don't recall them being so dark before? I hope it's not a rooster in hiding!

I have a picture of one from my two. They are 21 weeks old:




For Pullets, I like the look with a bit of copper at the neck and the green sheen to the feathers.

The Rooster is in my Avatar with my Oldest Daughter. The pictures are from Saturday.

Ron

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote: That chick did not survive. Right after that one didn't make it another one was crushed about half as bad but it made it. Then a couple hatched and I found one dead with the egg stuck to it's bottom. I think it took her awhile to stop stepping on them! When I was out there this morning, one had just hatched and mom and chicks crawling all over it and the egg next to it that was trying to hatch. I heard a crunch when she got out of the box and then went back in trying to readjust everything.....I hope it was ready. I can't believe she has stayed committed to the eggs for 5 days after the first ones hatched.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote: Beautiful girls....the chickens and your daughter!

These two remind me of my three black EE's. Two of them are broody and when one of the broodies went out to take a dirt bath I took away her bad eggs (just in time, one exploded like a fire cracker in the bag I put them in to take them in the house to candle!) and gave her good eggs from the other broody. When I came back in I see this black EE sitting on the batch of eggs my layers are laying about 8 feet from her eggs so I pick her up an try to put her back on the other eggs. She seems confused......about that time the real mom comes back all fluffed up and bawlking at the other girl for trying to steal her eggs!

I swooped her up and we got out of the way! I swear, it's "who's on first" around here!