Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Glad your back!!

 

[chicken danz]

Quiet again on here. I know every one is busy preparing for the holidays. Myself included. I just needed a few minutes to take my mind off all the prep and mess.
I've done quite a bit of hatching to test fertility and it's finally starting to pick up a little. I still have a lot of groups that aren't producing fertile eggs yet. I did get a bunch of eggs set that happen to be due Jan 1. I have no idea how many will develop. At any rate I've hatched several for myself in hopes of adding to some of the breeder groups and producing a couple of back up roosters. I've learned the hard way that being stuck without a rooster is a bad thing.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Hugs will keep my fingers crossed that your fertility picks up as your chickens are awesome and we need more of their lines in the world. Cant wait to see you again its been too long we gotta find a time to hang and talk chicken. Miss you Happy Holidays!!!

 

[Trish44]

I can't believe your breeder birds are laying Danz. The only ones I have that are laying at all are my Isbars & the white Leghorns right now. I'm not planning to hatch any more till spring. I have a group of Japanese Ohiki Bantams growing out so they should be laying by spring along with the two little hens I already have. The Isbar eggs are good sized now so they should be ready to produce in the spring except for the two young pullets I just added to the pen. I'm not sure if they will be or not. I have two more young Welsummer pullets growing out as well. I agree about getting stuck with no rooster, I learned the hard way as well. I have backups for almost all of my breeding stock. I have a backup Speckled Sussex that is proving to be a butthead though, so I may have to replace him next year. My main SS rooster is a really nice guy.

 

[chicken danz]

I lost my backup partridge brahma roo a couple days ago. I checked him out and he was in perfect health. But he was in the coop area below a roost so I suspect he broke his neck. I've about decided to use my less than perfect gold laced Orp boy for a rooster for them because the old guy just isn't throwing fertile eggs.
And I think I will have to end up using my blue/gold partridge orpington for those. My lavender orpington girls are still partially in molt but are laying like crazy. I've probably set 50 eggs and have had none fertile. Last year I had both the big lavender and barred lavender roo in the breeding pen and ended up with mostly barred chicks. I assumed that he was the more aggressive roo so that was why. Now I'm wondering if this big boy is not fertile. I have a small cockerel who lost an eye early own so he's taking forever to grow. I may end up using him, although he isn't as impressive. I haven't tried trimming the lavender roo's bottom yet though. That might change things.
I've hatched several Isbars and a few langshans for myself. And I only have the one Isbar girl who is laying yet but she does pretty good. The other girls should be laying in a couple more months. I have no backup langshan roo at all so I'm glad I've gotten a few. One of those Langshan girls is broody and has been since she laid her first egg. Crazy bird. I only have one or two others that are laying yet.
I can't wait for the winter solstice. These short days are killer. At least some of my laying flock has started laying again.

 

[CayugaJana]

Hey Danz! I’m sorry about your rooster. How many do you normally sell? I don’t know much about chickens. When do ducks start laying again around here? I have several young girls that I’m sure would be laying if it were spring. I’m trying to figure out which sand pool filter to use to clean their pool. I don’t want to dump it all of the time.

 

[chicken danz]

Hey Danz! I’m sorry about your rooster. How many do you normally sell? I don’t know much about chickens. When do ducks start laying again around here? I have several young girls that I’m sure would be laying if it were spring. I’m trying to figure out which sand pool filter to use to clean their pool. I don’t want to dump it all of the time.

What kind of ducks do you have. Mine are laying and have never stopped. I can tell with my cayuga who is starting a new season and who is laying from last season by the color of the eggs.

 

[CayugaJana]

Cayugas and a Pekin. One of my males is a black swedish.

 

[CayugaJana]

My Pekin is 7 months and the Cayugas are 5 months.

 

[chicken danz]

The cayugas are still a bit too young. Give them to about the end of January or Feb. The pekin will probably start as soon as the winter solstice has come.