Yeah, Hawkeye,
sorry about the lack of fertility so far.
I am wondering about the Black Ameraucanas split to Lavender. If I breed splits to splits, won't I get all black, no splits, in the chicks? Is that correct? I want to be sure I know what I'm doing.
I was going to post the chart again, but looks like you found it!
They are wanting carpenters and electricians to work on a new addition at the church. I told them I'd come in and help as soon as my hand was well. Why do I commit to more than I can already handle??? I am terrible at keeping my mouth shut. I like doing that kind of thing for someone else other than myself.
I moved the last 50 birds to the ghetto trailer too. They will be pretty crowded in there but they should be okay. I was going to go back out and treat their water with ivermectin but I didn't get back out there. I figure since there are more of them now it's more likely they could get mites or something.
I really need to take some time to build some roosts for them. That would help it seem roomier anyway.
My brooder house is actually empty right now. I hope to get out there and clean and disinfect it thoroughly in the next day or two so I can move some birds out. I still have two bins with chicks here in the house. I put a few more eggs in the hatcher today so I guess there'll be a few more to put someplace.
The only up side is that your hand is injured. You can just say that your hand isn't coming around like you need it to. I think you probably have enough on your plate as it is! But I totally understand! I do the same thing and I am volunteered up to my eye balls at my church, too! I do the welcome speech for our Praise Team (contemporary service) each morning (I have to plan and prepare, practice for it each week) and beyond that, attend weekly meetings to plan for the services, and then show up on Wed nights to help set up--which involves MANY things. I bring in food for our table on Sundays, etc, etc... Then, I still have a Sunday school class I attend and my kids are involved in Choir, and my oldest is an accolyte and the list goes on and on! THEN-- I'm doing the Poultry Superintendent which I've been to meeting after meeting for recently, numerous emails with the County convincing them to let go of money to buy more show coops for the barn, set up for the coming show, and THEN I'm also the new Community Leader for our local 4-H club... I'm doing the newsletters (have my first one drafted up already!) and really... if I could sit here and think, I could tell you about more things I'm committed to that I have forgotten about! My calender is nuts with all the things I'm doing and this doesn't count all the things the kids are in. My DH and I really split our time up so we can get everything done. I'm thinking I need to become less committed! LOL But I really do enjoy it all.
Okay, I just flipped back to Hawkeye's Lavender chart so now I've got it. Thanks, Hawkeye for the chart. I'm in need of a chart for everything since I read extremely fast but only retain bits and pieces. I'm going to save it so I don't keep asking the same question every other week.
I don't get to help JosieChick Sat because I have to taxi kids. Our oldest is taking the SAT's and one of our girls has an all day honors band thing. DH and I will have to divide and conquer.
I got my Swedish Flowers in their breeder pen today - yay!
So far I have my Black split Ameraucanas penned and now the Swedish Flowers. Once everyone is in their breeder pens, Danz is going to come and do their NPIP testing.
Happy Superbowl to fans of such things. We have it on -- DH has been looking forward to it. I have an aunt and uncle coming by in a little bit for a visit.
I'm not 100% sure I can do Saturday either... but have to see how this week pans out before I can say. I have a couple of things that might stop me, but might not!! Ugh!! Hope your SuperBowl party was fun! We had a great time at a friend's house. Usually we host it, but our huge tv downstairs died. Knowing my DH, he would have run out and got another one, but we need to wait to see. I am wondering how we will get that thing out of our downstairs. It took like 4 guys to get it down there. Either my DH needs to call in a favor to his friends, or we hire the junk guys to come get it.
Wow was I glad for the sunshine this weekend. Last of the breeding pens all separated but we leave them for at least 3 weeks to make sure all are fertile by the exact rooster that we want with them--I know this is probably longer than need be but I would rather wait longer just to make sure as my luck I would be the one to have a "hmm what is this". Boy was it a crowing contest tho--made me laugh. The slw bantams and sfh should be good to go in another week.
Tomorrow is lockdown for me on the frizzle cochin eggs. 3 of the eggs (all blues) are dancing around like crazy. I haven't seen the Mille's move yet but still hoping
, I am obviously candling challenged as I thought they were all no go's.
Josie hope you had a good workday
Trish--Thanks again for my dear Sven--he showed me today how well he can "puff up" to show off for his 2 girls and that he can crow really loudly each time I was anywhere near his pen. Have you figured anything out with the game camera yet as to what is happening?
Hawkeye-oooh darn about the silkie, hopefully just needs a little more time as the AI doesn't sound like too much fun to me
Hechicken--yeah that they figured out the door ---most of the time its the little simple things that make our lives a bit easier
Waiting 3 weeks is very smart, and doing that, you'll have exactly what you want. I don't currently have the room to keep chicks or birds that don't fit in with my plan, so I'm with you, I just wouldn't want to take the chance either. Good luck on the eggs! And AI isn't too bad, it's just really time consuming and a real pain in the bootie.
ocap, I've never separated them out as you are suggesting. My feeling would be that there would be some initial squabbling and then they will figure out a pecking order and will be fine. My only concern would be the multiple roosters being combined. I just had to process some younger cockerels because the head roo wouldn't tolerate their breeding with "his" hens, and it was creating tension for the whole flock, as instead of being a good roo and keeping a watch out for predators, he spent his time watching the cockerels so he could chase them away from any hen they approached. So in your scenario, I'm guessing there will be some fighting among the roosters once they are all combined. Perhaps you can have two winter coops - one for the boys and one for the girls?
OCAP-- I agree with HEchicken here-- I would either make two pens of all girls and all boys, or don't put them back together. I have limited experience, AND I'm working with Silkies which are laid back anyway-- but I created an all-boy pen and an all-girl pen for this winter. That way, the girls didn't get beat up because I wanted to jump right into the Spring shows coming up and can't have them over bred or their feathers messed up. The all-boy pen worked out pretty good. They were all raised together (except for a few of them) and I made sure I put the new boys in at the same time. The other boys didn't know who to pick on first and they sorted it out really fast. Now they get along great. I did have to remove 3 boys from the all-boy pen this winter, though. They had to go in separate pens. I have stacking pens in the garage, so two of them went in there. They are still there. They just are too hormonal and wont stop fighting. If they weren't breeding quality boys, I'd just get rid of them. But they fit in my plan, so for now, I can't. The 3rd boy was being attacked and flew over the low fence into the girl side. I left him there as he obviously hasn't figured out he is a boy yet. The problem would be once I separate out adult boys and then try to put them back together, they will fight.
Karen, I sent you a PM, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I was busy all day yesterday.
My DH did come out & help me yesterday with getting the pop doors all cut out on the breeder coop & we got them done all except putting a latch on to hold it shut & one to hold it open. We had some squabbling at first until I let him know I wasn't going to put up with his whining & then he settled down & got to work. That's why I hate working with him most of the time, he doesn't know how to do things so he whines & acts up. I just don't tolerate whining adults very well, I just want to get to work & shut up about it. If you don't know how to do something then figure it out. We ended up having to get a little creative with the outside frame & all just because he couldn't manage to cut the openings quite right, but it turned out all right in the end, I figured it out. Next I need to put up roosts in each section, I can do that by myself & put up inside latches on the doors. I think that will about do it on the inside other than just putting the nest boxes in & litter for the floor. I decided just to leave the dried leaves in there on the floor that blew in before the roof was on, it will just add to the DLM in there.
Today I have to make a run to get the stuff for the panels outside & gates. I was hoping to do that yesterday, but it took all afternoon until almost dark to get all the pop doors done. I'm just glad they're done, really relieved because I wasn't looking forward to trying to do it by myself. The weather is supposed to be pretty decent this week, so I hope to get my pens outside done. I don't know about whether I'll get all the gates done or not, we'll see. My DH did drag over that other truck topper from the place next door that got abandoned, so I have that now if I want to make a shelter out of it. I haven't gone out yet to see what kind of shape it's in, he went over after dark & got it last night. He says there are windows over there too from one of the trailers, I would like to get those too next before someone else gets them. People have been stripping the trailer & travel trailer over there until there isn't much left of either.
Sounds like you got a lot done!! YAY!! I'm dying to get started on my breeding pens!! My DH is dragging his feet. We're planning on putting the auger on the tractor and digging all the hole in one day and then setting them. After that, we're going to put up a tin roof and then wire the pens-- all open air. But I'm thinking of going ahead and putting up some kind of siding for the west side to keep the horrible sun off of them. Then I'm going to plant honeysuckle around the pen and that should screen them well. I've had amazing luck with the honeysuckle-- it become a very dense thick barrier and provides a lot of shade, but still lets a breeze thru. I figure I'll still need to hook up a water mister system into the roof line anyway.
I'd love to see what you do with the truck topper! I'd certainly try to get those windows if you can, too!
I put all those birds out in the ghetto camper yesterday and they wouldn't stay in side. I kept trying to put them back in and they'd run back out. I finally rigged up another heat lamp and set it under the trailer in hope they would crowd around it and not get too chilled. I'm almost afraid to go out today and see if I lost any. I'm not sure how I can get them to stay in. I couldn't catch them and put them in fast enough. I don't really have a latch for the pop door so it wasn't working very well.
Sure wish I knew who to call to do some of this work for me.
I've also got to decide what I am going to do for housing for the new birds soon.
Why do I get birds before I have a place to put them? I'm so dumb sometimes!
How about just stapling some chicken wire over the pop door, leaving the bottom unstapled and then tossing in a bird under the wire to keep them in? You could bend a nail or something to hook it down or even use rope or string, etc to keep the screen down?? I'd be worried too. I see 'handy men' listed on CraigsList all the time.
