California-Southern

[Halokirbs]

I am in the Terra Vista area of Rancho. It is nice to see someone else from the RC area here. I was starting to think I was the only one.

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi everyone! I'm on the search for some nice dark welsummer and some heritage rir hatching eggs! Does anyone have some they are willing to sell? I only need about 6 eggs from each of them. Thank you!

Were you aware that hatching the darkest Welsummer or Marans eggs doesn't mean the offspring pullets will lay darker eggs? If you want dark egg layers you want the mother of the darkest eggs or eggs to hatch from HER genetic parents. There are many factors that determine the depth of brown on an egg - time the egg spends in the oviduct, genetics, diet, climate, length of egg-laying cycle, etc. We gave up on getting any dark egg layers as our Cuckoo Marans only layed about #4 on the color chart however she gave off some cute feather-legged Cuckoo chicks. Our Cuckoo never layed the same color egg (about 3 per week avg). Sometimes she had solid light brown eggs, half-light and half-brown eggs, large-speckles eggs, small-speckles eggs, tiny-speckles eggs, half-speckes/half solid brown eggs - a dozen of her eggs all looked like different hens layed them LOL. And she was a lazy forager but ate like a pig for giving only 3 eggs/week. But none were ever "chocolate" so I hope you aren't disappointed in your dark brown egg hatchlings. Here's a pdf online regarding an extensive explanation about egg colors and what causes the different color depths from blues, greens, olives, to darkest browns http://maranschickenclubusa.com/files/eggreview.pdf

 

[carriebain]

Were you aware that hatching the darkest Welsummer or Marans eggs doesn't mean the offspring pullets will lay darker eggs?  If you want dark egg layers you want the mother of the darkest eggs or eggs to hatch from HER genetic parents.  There are many factors that determine the depth of brown on an egg - time the egg spends in the oviduct, genetics, diet, climate, length of egg-laying cycle, etc.  We gave up on getting any dark egg layers as our Cuckoo Marans only layed about #4 on the color chart however she gave off some cute feather-legged Cuckoo chicks.  Our Cuckoo never layed the same color egg (about 3 per week avg).  Sometimes she had solid light brown eggs, half-light and half-brown eggs, large-speckles eggs, small-speckles eggs, tiny-speckles eggs, half-speckes/half solid brown eggs - a dozen of her eggs all looked like different hens layed them LOL. And she was a lazy forager but ate like a pig for giving only 3 eggs/week.  But none were ever "chocolate" so I hope you aren't disappointed in your dark brown egg hatchlings. Here's a pdf online regarding an extensive explanation about egg colors and what causes the different color depths from blues, greens, olives, to darkest browns http://maranschickenclubusa.com/files/eggreview.pdf

Thank you for all that info, I really do appreciate it! I guess I'm more interested in quality birds than egg color, the egg color would just be a bonus!

 

[sol2go]

I am new to the whole BYC thing. What is DE used for?

there is some consideration that DE, even food grade DE, may be more of an irritant to their lungs than it is beneficial for the other uses...

 

[Halokirbs]

What are the purposes or benefits of DE?

 

[Away2me]

there is some consideration that DE, even food grade DE, may be more of an irritant to their lungs than it is beneficial for the other uses...

I'm in the pest control industry. I would NEVER allow DE around my family, my dogs or my birds. It is very abrasive to lung tissue. People over use it and put it in places it shouldn't be used. There are practical purposes for it and where it is better than other types of pest control products, but I wouldn't want it around my birds.

 

[Sylvester017]

Thank you for all that info, I really do appreciate it! I guess I'm more interested in quality birds than egg color, the egg color would just be a bonus!

As an added note - serious breeders like Bev's Marans and Whitemore Farms (Welsummer) are VERY into breeding for darkest eggs and not just APA Standard appearance of their birds. Unfortunately if you are seriously breeding then the egg color is not a bonus - it is a NECESSITY. It is so difficult to breed these dark egg layers and it takes decades to get it right. Do you have that much time?

 

[ozexpat]

I'm in the pest control industry. I would NEVER allow DE around my family, my dogs or my birds. It is very abrasive to lung tissue. People over use it and put it in places it shouldn't be used. There are practical purposes for it and where it is better than other types of pest control products, but I wouldn't want it around my birds. 

Thank you for posting this.

People all too often think that of something is "natural" or "organic" it's safe.

There is nothing natural about DE associated with chickens. Anything that you need to use a mask to apply does not go near my chickens

 

[Sylvester017]

What are the purposes or benefits of DE?

There is absolutely no purpose to DE except as a snake-oil advertisement. A product that says it has so many uses for so many things is nothing more than a snake-oil sideshow. DE is dangerous - read the warnings on the label. I bought high food grade white (not gray or yellow) but pure white DE - very expensive. But I didn't open the bag for 3 months while researching its supposed benefits. There are none except that they made money off of me. I never opened my DE or exposed my lungs, eyes or chicken's respiratory system to the junk. I don't even use lice/mite powders but organic liquid Poultry Protector around my chickens. I don't use cornstarch or even baking soda around them. Chickens have very delicate respiratory issues. It's bad enough watching my Leghorns sneeze everytime they take a dirt bath without adding more dust to their life - LOL.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/05/diatomaceous-earth-de-benefitrisk.html

 

[Camp Julsby]

Anyone in So Cal know anyone that has Blue Colored Olive Egger Chicks or young pullets? I can wait for another clutch to hatch but since I am looking for blue color specifically I would love to find someone with chicks on the ground already. Waiting may not produce blue since in order to get blues you also get Black and Splash. Anyhow thought I'd ask about here too.