Colorado

[wsmith]

Ok, Pics!! Note; the Silkie babies are staying until I figure out which one I am keeping!

I like this photo!

 

[wsmith]

.....

Wendell, those are some beautiful boys, and I am curious about two things. First, is precocity valued in breeding chickens? I know in horses and dogs it is, primarily for the competitive advantage it offers in performance - precocious racehorses win races at a younger age and as a result often increase their value as future breeding stock; precocious dogs win at dog shows earlier and thus finish championships sooner; and in both species, those who are able to pass that trait on to offspring gain popularity, sometimes even when the offspring show fragility more often than the get of other lines. In chickens, I can see the advantage in knowing sooner whether you have a male or female, and perhaps precocious females may begin to lay sooner than average for the breed. Are there other things that would make it a desirable, or undesirable, trait?

Second, what particular traits of the cockerels you prefer, make them preferable? I know nothing about the breed standard for Dominiques, so while I see beautiful cockerels, I don't know what makes them best - I realize it is probably a combination of things, such as defined markings, greater contrast, leg color, feather quality and quantity, stature, size - I'm interested in learning about how you select your best, since you have offered us such great pictures to compare them. It is one of the more difficult aspects of breeding, and often one of the most rewarding, especially if you have an impossible choice and are able to work with another fancier who can give your third and fourth choices a try with their own hens to see how your decision bears out.

I have a particular penchant for that sort of thing, but at this time no ability to follow it myself, too many hours away from home working, DH who currently wants nothing to do with roosters, and limited funds for proper housing. Hope you don't mind if I live vicariously through your adventure
.....

Well, this one is quite precocious. In Dominiques, you can tell the gender as soon as they fluff out after hatching. #17: At his age, body type is the best indicator of whether he'll meet breed standard or not. He is an awesome looking bird, but he has two main faults that keep him out of the breeding pen. First. he has a bum toe that can be hereditary. Not something i want all my chickens to have. Second, he has a small upward spike on his comb in fron of the main rear spike, which isn't acceptable. Not a DQ for showing, but none of the others have it.

Feather coloring is one mahor thing to look for if you plan on breeding to standard. All 4 cockerels have nearly identical feathering and color. So it comes down to stance and build, barring obvious faults. We will probably either sell or butcher this one, and wait until early spring to see which of the others goes away. These all came from the same breeding pen in Virginia.

 

[kmatt87]

Interesting discussion so far. Is it possible 20% is too much protein for laying? Most layer formulations are 15%-17% I think. Also, the issue of being chased by the kids could actually have a different effect as a hen reaches laying age, so maybe putting a halt to that for a couple of weeks will tell you whether it is making a difference. Is the nest box nice and private? Just throwing out guesses Try offering yogurt if you don't already, sometimes they absorb the calcium better from it than from other sources. Maybe offer some fresh greens a few times a week if you don't already - my girls are crazy for greens and mealworms over anything else I can give them, in fact I am seriously considering mealworm farming, they go so crazy for them.

i'm not sure if the protein level is too high. I was at jax and they had 16% and 20%. I wanted 18% and went with the 20% because it was being mixed with the last of the chick food anyways. If i can't figure out anything else i'm going to switch to the 16% when i buy the next bag.

The nest boxes are private. I find all normal eggs there. The other eggs are in the poop box, the bedding and the 1 large, strange one was hidden behind the pile of decking.
They get yogurt at least once a wk. There are always leftovers with 5 kids around. lol. They get plenty of greens as well.


Thanks for the input!!

 

[mickey328]

Most layer feed is 20% protein. Besides calcium for the shells, they need the protein for egg production. Since all ours are layers and that's the reason we got chickens, we feed them layer feed. We also supplement with cooked pinto beans, yogurt, cheese and some meat scraps to provide extra. Fresh leafy greens also provide a lot of various minerals for them and the dark leafies also provide good Omega3 which is good for the bird and is purported to reduce the cholesterol in the yolks. The beta carotene in the greens also contributes to the gorgeous golden color and flavor or the yolks.

I made a HUGE discovery yesterday. I throw all the weeds I pick in the run to see what they'll eat. By golly if they didn't eat bindweed! Not the vine, but they picked every single leaf! I'm so excited..that stuff is as bad here as kudzu in the south. And dandelions...they love the leaves.

 

[dennarahl]

Most layer feed is 20% protein.  

I could only find one commercial layer feed that was 20% and it was meant to be mixed with scratch at a 2 to 1 ratio. All the others were 16%. I checked Purina, nutrena and ranch way.

made a HUGE discovery yesterday.  I throw all the weeds I pick in the run to see what they'll eat.  By golly if they didn't eat bindweed!  Not the vine, but they picked every single leaf!  I'm so excited..that stuff is as bad here as kudzu in the south.  And dandelions...they love the leaves.  

There are only two weeds my girls won't eat, thistle and those nasty sticker plants.

 

[mickey328]

Hmmm we got 20% lay pellets yesterday at Ranch-Way here in Ft Collins, item number C2021BP-50. Figured we'd get 2 since the price was going up...each 50# bag was $16.60. I wonder if your store could order it for you.

Ours will eat thistles as long as I get them before they get too big...which works cuz I sure don't wanna pull 'em when they're big...ouch! LOL I wish ours would eat that dang goat's head as well, but nope, no way, no how. There are a number of weeds we have and I don't have a clue what they are, but there are several they won't eat, which is a bummer, but heck...that's what the compost pile is for!

 

[coloradogal]

Hey all! Well, my babies are growing up! I will post picks later but I am fairly sure I have two little roos and one pullet. They are only 4 weeks old so they have two weeks, minimum, before they go to their new home(s) but I wanted to see if anyone on here is interested. They'd be free to a stewpot free home. Two of them are (I think) RIR x Orphington and one is RIR x Leghorn. The leghorn x is one that is highly suspected of being a roo. I would prefer they all go to the same home, if possible.
Let me know if you are interested!
Again, will post pics later!
Wsmith - I dont envy your having to choose, but I do envy your birds! They are gorgeous!

I know that the reason I was in denial for so long with mine initially was that they all looked waddly when they were little. The leghorn even today has such a big comb that it flops over as does the orpington. 3 of the 4 babies I kept all have big combs/waddles so I am holding judgement until they get older. 1 of the 3 is for sure a roo as he is doing his rooster things but the other 2 so far are typical for hens. It's still too early to know as they are only 8 weeks old. Let me see if I can find an old picture of the parents as babies. I know I have some.

I can't find any old pictures. It sucks if you did get that many roos.

I have more little roos than I know what to do with because of the straight runs. The funniest to watch is the little silkies bumping against the bigger breeds. He bumps, pecks and then runs between the legs of the bigger one then comes back for a peck and does it again. The bigger one just doesn't care. The bigger one is also Nemi's baby and that's why I'm fairly confident he's a boy even though he is only 8 weeks old. He's huge though compared to the rest of his flock, which is why I still can't make a call yet on the other 2 with big combs.

 

[coloradogal]

Ok, Pics!! Note; the Silkie babies are staying until I figure out which one I am keeping!

Wrote my first reply without seeing pictures. Yup, the first one looks like a roo. The second one I'm still not so sure about.

 

[coloradogal]

I could only find one commercial layer feed that was 20% and it was meant to be mixed with scratch at a 2 to 1 ratio. All the others were 16%. I checked Purina, nutrena and ranch way.

I've been getting my feed from Agland the last month. Their 20% layer feed also has a higher calcium content, 3.5% to over 5%. 50# bags are still $14. Inquiring why they are so cheap, i was told they only sift once where nutrena/purina will sift more than once.

All in all, I'm happy with their brand.

 

[Pozees]

I just switched from Purina's Layena to local Sweeny Feed Mill Layer (uses more locally sourced ingredients), both are 16% protein. I can't say I know that one is better than the other, but so far I am not seeing problems with 16%, which is what I used the last time I had layers. I happen to be reading "City Chicks" by Patricia Foreman right now, and she says layers need 14%-18% protein, with high production varieties ("super-charged layer hybrids" is her wording) needing the higher end and heritage breeds needing toward the lower end. So far I haven't located whether higher protein can actually be harmful, but my typical approach is, if it's working for your flock, why change it? I did skim this article about seasonal adjustments in diets for chickens: http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/1/1-5/Lisa_Jansen_Mathews.html - she advises decreasing protein and increasing carbohydrates in winter, but it sounds like she decreases from 20% to 17%. It isn't a long read.