Chicken math prevailed!

[MissMarple]

just because you accidentally got a Cornish doesn't mean it needs culled, we had some that free ranged with the laying flock, fed like the laying flock that lived to be about a year and a half old started laying about a year old , we tossed some of the eggs in the incubator as that was an anomalously and sure enough the barred rock rooster got the job done. She didn't put the weight on as fast but she was out free ranging with some nudging with the rest of the flock and was quite happy other than not being able to get up on the perch with the others. she would lay 4-5 eggs a week

True! Chicken Man was just saying something about maybe waiting it out a bit to see if one of them is a roo and possibly trying to raise more. He's perfectly fine either way, I just wasn't prepared for Cornishes from the beginning. I'm changing water so many times a day and cleaning their brooder multiple times a week. They're ridiculously sweet. I would love to let them live a while longer but I'm just not sure. I keep going back and forth.

 

[Futuregreenefarm]

I've been strong. I've been to TSC for feed and not come home with any chicks. I have 5 that were gifted to me that are 17 weeks old and I am new so I am not experienced with intergrating new flock members. However, the mother hen that hatched my backyard mixes has gone broody again in my yard and I haven't pulled the eggs yet. She hatched 12 with my flock (rehomed 7) so she may be succesfull again and I may be learning how to intergrate after all!

 

[MissMarple]

I've been strong. I've been to TSC for feed and not come home with any chicks. I have 5 that were gifted to me that are 17 weeks old and I am new so I am not experienced with intergrating new flock members. However, the mother hen that hatched my backyard mixes has gone broody again in my yard and I haven't pulled the eggs yet. She hatched 12 with my flock (rehomed 7) so she may be succesfull again and I may be learning how to intergrate after all!

Way to go on your strength!!! Chicken math gets me every time!

 

[slippednfell]

I love the buffs! Super sweet but I am taking a break from them since they have been so succeptible to predators. I think they greet the racoons when they stop by!

I have heard they are very sweet and that is why I would like a few. The racoons are a pain in the neck to deal with, but I keep a constantly baited trap out there now. Got an armadillo in it today on a marshmallow zip tied to the bottom of the trap. LOL @ greeting the coons!!!

 

[slordaz]

True! Chicken Man was just saying something about maybe waiting it out a bit to see if one of them is a roo and possibly trying to raise more. He's perfectly fine either way, I just wasn't prepared for Cornishes from the beginning. I'm changing water so many times a day and cleaning their brooder multiple times a week. They're ridiculously sweet. I would love to let them live a while longer but I'm just not sure. I keep going back and forth.

if you have the option to free range em kick em out with your main flock to do that, takes a few times pushing them but then they don't need special diet and aren't so much work

 

[Fivebots]

We started with 6 then I *had* to take the kids to the feed store with me and that brought home another 6, 2 of which are accidental meat birds (TSC and their mislabeled bins and employees that have never had anything to do with chickens) so technically just 4 since our 2 Cornishes will be culled in a couple of weeks now. Then I go back with the whole family because we need feed and I wanted my husband to show me what he was talking about us using for the run and, of course, we can't leave without a peeping box. Our count was at 18 total with 2 to be culled early (I'm so sad because they're so sweet!) and that was satisfying. Our coop is plenty big to handle this many and more. More. A friend calls to tell me new chicks are in and they're marking down chicks and I can't help myself, I want at least 3. So we agree to split the order. She gets them and then radio silence. For a full 24 hours. Husband sees my disappointment and can't stand it so off to TSC we go and you can't buy less than 6 so.... chicken math. 24 chicks, 3 separate brooders, plenty of love to go around. After researching so much, I'm fairly certain that out of our first 6 Australorps, only 2 are actually Australorps. Unless 4-5 week old Black Australorp juvenile feathers are barred....? So I think we're actually looking at either Cuckoo Marans or Barred Rocks as both were for sale at the same time and many were in the same bins together. I really wish that TSC would hire people during chick days who have some kind of experience with chickens. Husband is officially, lovingly, referred to as the Chicken Man around these parts. We have one specific "Australorp" that adores him. Picture for cuteness. View attachment 1882468
For now, our flock stays at 24....... until I have to go back to get feed and they end up getting something in that I just can't say no to. Does everyone have this problem? I can't help myself.

I can relate! I started last year with six (my first dive into chickens). Lost two of those last fall/winter. One to a predator and one was an unknown death. Went to the feed store this Spring and my husband said, “better get a few more!” So home I went with six more chicks. Then a hatchery catalog showed up in the mail. Shipping was cheaper if you ordered at least 15, so 15 it was! Then a friend gave me six eggs for my broody hen to hatch. Of those six, four were viable. My dog killed a one of the hatchery chicks a few weeks ago so I’m at 32 chickens! My husband enlarged their run to 16x32 and also built an additional coop to handle the flock!

 

[slordaz]

True! Chicken Man was just saying something about maybe waiting it out a bit to see if one of them is a roo and possibly trying to raise more. He's perfectly fine either way, I just wasn't prepared for Cornishes from the beginning. I'm changing water so many times a day and cleaning their brooder multiple times a week. They're ridiculously sweet. I would love to let them live a while longer but I'm just not sure. I keep going back and forth.

if not a barred rock rooster will do the trick

 

[BlueBaby]

Below I linked an interesting article about Naked Necks. For breeding, as I understand it you can use the blue/black/splash chart with naked neck and fully feathered to work out the possible outcome of your hatch regarding the degree of nakedness.
Article is here
https://www.google.com/amp/s/relay....n-naked-neck-chicken-churkeys-turkens-science

This is one of the roos I've kept, mostly because of his bare chest. I would like this kind of feathering in a light color though.
View attachment 1882908

You will be able to breed him later with the lighter colored one's that you are hatching from mine over here now, if they turn out to be pullet's!

 

[starri33]

This is Charlie, my roo that I got from @BlueBaby, I think that I've understood from research that if you mate a NN Roo aka Turken with a hen that has a fully feathered neck, you have a 50-50 chance of having a NN hatch from those eggs, from there you could take any NN and mate with the one that hatched and make more. Mating Brother and Sister or Dad and Daughter isn't a problem from what I understand. That is how a lot of folks get the traits that they want, take two that have closer traits to what they are wanting and then out of the hatches from those, eventually get the coloring and feathering they want, do you belong to your state's forum? you might have someone close that has the NN's.

 

[Melbeforeyou]

We started with 6 then I *had* to take the kids to the feed store with me and that brought home another 6, 2 of which are accidental meat birds (TSC and their mislabeled bins and employees that have never had anything to do with chickens) so technically just 4 since our 2 Cornishes will be culled in a couple of weeks now. Then I go back with the whole family because we need feed and I wanted my husband to show me what he was talking about us using for the run and, of course, we can't leave without a peeping box. Our count was at 18 total with 2 to be culled early (I'm so sad because they're so sweet!) and that was satisfying. Our coop is plenty big to handle this many and more. More. A friend calls to tell me new chicks are in and they're marking down chicks and I can't help myself, I want at least 3. So we agree to split the order. She gets them and then radio silence. For a full 24 hours. Husband sees my disappointment and can't stand it so off to TSC we go and you can't buy less than 6 so.... chicken math. 24 chicks, 3 separate brooders, plenty of love to go around. After researching so much, I'm fairly certain that out of our first 6 Australorps, only 2 are actually Australorps. Unless 4-5 week old Black Australorp juvenile feathers are barred....? So I think we're actually looking at either Cuckoo Marans or Barred Rocks as both were for sale at the same time and many were in the same bins together. I really wish that TSC would hire people during chick days who have some kind of experience with chickens. Husband is officially, lovingly, referred to as the Chicken Man around these parts. We have one specific "Australorp" that adores him. Picture for cuteness. View attachment 1882468
For now, our flock stays at 24....... until I have to go back to get feed and they end up getting something in that I just can't say no to. Does everyone have this problem? I can't help myself.

Why would you cull them? I have had "meat birds" as pets, and they turned out to be the best pet chickens there was, along with being a good extra large egg layer.