Colorado

[Ashdoes]

Somehow Abe needs to understand the consequences of not producing........

 

This made me laugh. Hopefully when the weather warms up you have better luck. All though, I wonder if the heat of the summer will then also cause a problem? Do you just have Abe? I'm thinking maybe a little male competition might get him in gear?

 

[Kitty990]

wsimth i am jealous of your set up. there is no way i could do all of that building. (i wish i had the land)

but my 8x8 has four walls, a floor, a roof (without shingles), and the doors, now all i need to do is the sill the holes, and paint the inside, build the nesting boxes, roost, broody, and supplies cabinet.

i seen a 'poop broad' under a roost and they PDZ sand, has anyone used this 'kitty box' in the coops? if so how does it work in Colorado, were their any issues?

 

[suncatcher]

Quote: I guess it could be a number of things. Is it his age? Do they mature later? Or the hens age? I am sure he will get with the program, may take the weather getting warmer for his hormones to really kick in. Do you have a spare rooster you could use?

 

[dennarahl]

Hi All,
I am trying to catch up tonight on all of the posts.... I've been crazy busy trying to get the new garden built.

Black Copper Marans... there is a nice lady named Holly in Black Forest who sells her eggs. I have her email address if anyone wants it.
She sold me 15 eggs for 20 dollars and I got 10 chicks to hatch. I believe she has a BCM rooster and 4 blue copper hens. I hatched 4 black, 3 greys, 2 whites and a splash.

Could you pm me that email address?

 

[wsmith]

I guess it could be a number of things. Is it his age? Do they mature later? Or the hens age? I am sure he will get with the program, may take the weather getting warmer for his hormones to really kick in. Do you have a spare rooster you could use?

He is just under a year old. They mature at a slower rate, but at one year he should be taking care of business.....
The hens are of the same age and have been laying for 6 months.

We used to have a spare rooster, but he attacked one of my neices little kids, so we ate him.....
Abe: Take notice!

 

[dennarahl]

He is just under a year old. They mature at a slower rate, but at one year he should be taking care of business.....
The hens are of the same age and have been laying for 6 months.

We used to have a spare rooster, but he attacked one of my neices little kids, so we ate him.....
Abe: Take notice!

Are you interested in another roo? I can take & post some pictures of my Dom roo and see if he's up to par with your standards. He's a good boy, and the only reason he's still around is my daughter named him and he's stayed nice.

 

[jgurshtein]

I'm still haveing chicken fertility issues.

So in the next couple of days, I will recombine all my chickens into the main pen, nad wait about a month then try it again. Frustrated. In talking with some very experienced Dominique breeders, it seems that some lines (mine included) are sensitive to temperature ans weather swings. This is apparently due to their survival instinct: it would seem that their instincts are telling them to wait until things settle down before bring chicks into the world, giving them the best chance for survival. or so it seems......

*huh* It would appear that your chickens are smarter than some people! Making sure they've got the right environment to support their children... sounds like a wonderful idea!

 

[jgurshtein]

This made me laugh. Hopefully when the weather warms up you have better luck. All though, I wonder if the heat of the summer will then also cause a problem? Do you just have Abe? I'm thinking maybe a little male competition might get him in gear?

The idea of competition might be just what he needs!

 

[wsmith]

The idea of competition might be just what he needs!

That was kind of my thought as well. Either way, I will give him until next spring to produce chicks....

The problem with late hatching Doms, is that the pullets need 18-22 weeks of good warm weather to start laying. If the weather turns bad before that, then they will eat, and eat, and eat all winter, becoming FAT before starting to lay in the spring. There really isn't a problem with late hatching dom cockerels, as we can process them at any time once they reach processing weights. I prefer 26 weeks. They tend to put on the largest percentage of their weight during their 6th month. Just don't feed them too much corn during the last couple of months, or they get a massive amount of fat n their posterior regions.... unless you like that sort of thing......

 

[wsmith]

Are you interested in another roo? I can take & post some pictures of my Dom roo and see if he's up to par with your standards. He's a good boy, and the only reason he's still around is my daughter named him and he's stayed nice.

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