Consolidated Kansas

[nick1234]

How old do the chicks have to be before you can tell the sex? Some places advertise selling chicks that they already know the sex.

 

[chicken danz]

Quote:

One winter I successfully got all my roosters to coexist in one building I was able to put enough heat on to keep the frostbite at bay.
I'm either going to build a compartmentalized building just for roosters or put a second level in the brooder house and put individual rooster pens on it.
I never have frostbite issues with the hens or cockerels.

I have a rooster pen. They seem to do okay as long as I have no hens nearby. Then they want to kill each other. I do have frostbite issues. My birds are all in unheated coops for now.
Quote:

The cock was BCM and the hen was Zimmerman Exhibition Buff Orp. The hen is gone as we are more concentrating on the BCMs now. We recently upgraded our cock BCM and the flock is looking really good and true to the SOP.

Ideally you should use the same combination to repeat the heart pattern but if you use different breed lines you may end up with something entirely different. If I were you I'd put those girls in with the new BCM rooster and then see if the chicks color sex. Chances are this color pattern could be a sex link thing as well. But I think you would still have to breed offspring to offspring to get it again.

Quote: QUOTE:
Definition:

Heritage Chicken must adhere to all the following:

1. APA Standard Breed
   Heritage Chicken must be from parent and grandparent stock of breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) prior to the mid-20th century; whose genetic line can be traced back multiple generations; and with traits that meet the APA Standard of Perfection guidelines for the breed. Heritage Chicken must be produced and sired by an APA Standard breed. Heritage eggs must be laid by an APA Standard breed.
2. Naturally mating
   Heritage Chicken must be reproduced and genetically maintained through natural mating. Chickens marketed as Heritage must be the result of naturally mating pairs of both grandparent and parent stock.
3. Long, productive outdoor lifespan
   Heritage Chicken must have the genetic ability to live a long, vigorous life and thrive in the rigors of pasture-based, outdoor production systems. Breeding hens should be productive for 5-7 years and roosters for 3-5 years.
4. Slow growth rate
   Heritage Chicken must have a moderate to slow rate of growth, reaching appropriate market weight for the breed in no less than 16 weeks. This gives the chicken time to develop strong skeletal structure and healthy organs prior to building muscle mass

***********************************************************************************
These heritage barred rocks lineage can be traced back several decades. They are pure and well barred and much bigger than a hatchery barred rock you would normally see. Also entirely different personalities.

How old do the chicks have to be before you can tell the sex? Some places advertise selling chicks that they already know the sex.

Places that advertise sexed chicks usually sex by wing feathers. These are hatchery birds. Many breeds can be wing sexed but others can't. And it isnt' an exact science by any means. Vent sexing can also be done but this is hard on the chicks and very difficult to do without magnification. Also not 100%.
It actually depends on the breed when you can sex them. Most can be sexed by about 8 weeks. Orpingtons for instance can totally fool you though because they feather a little differently. Some of my brahmas have a slow feathering gene so sometimes they are hard to sex. But boys usually get taller and lankier and often grow a large comb early. Girls often develop tail feathers sooner.
I do sell chicks and almost always have some available. It just varies on what breed, color etc you want.

 

[sharol]

nick1234

If Danz has any of her barred rock pullets for sale, you can't go wrong. They are gorgeous. Too bad you can't have a rooster, because I have one hatched from one of her eggs last summer that is gorgeous.



See how fine the barring is on his feathers? That is one big difference between heritage and hatchery stock, but it isn't the most important difference. The females are darker with slightly wider barring. I got one pullet from the 3 eggs that hatched, and I'm still trying to sell the boys. They are just too nice to eat. This picture was taken about a month ago, and they have only gotten prettier.

 

[Prairie Fleur]

We've had quite the snowstorm this weekend. The chickens haven't been enthused at All about coming out of their coop the last couple days. I was very pleasantly surprised to get 4 eggs yesterday! Maybe the bright light from the snow made them think it was sunny. The goats have been staying in their shelter a lot too. Thankfully no sign of eminent kids yet. It's fine with me if they wait to make appearance until after this cold spell! This is some of the coldest weather we've had this winter. The snow we got has made everything So pretty tho. The dogs had a hay day playing yesterday.
Danz, check out the size of London. He's only 7.5 months! Josh, my rough collie, is a good sized dog! Lexi, my Sibe, looks Tiny next to London!! She's not a big Sibe by any means but London is Huge! He's a complete sweetheart!! I used a different filter on my phone camera. Josh isn't quite that vivid but it was hard to capture other colors without tweaking the filter.

 

[Trish44]

sharol I have the same line of BRs that Danz has, they're all from Frank Reece.

 

[nick1234]

sharol,
I'm not 100% but I'm pretty sure I can't have any roosters (I live inside city limits of Lawrence, although it is semi-rural where I livee and other people have chickens near me).

beautiful bird!

 

[nick1234]

Trish44, Sharol, and chickendanz,

"sharol I have the same line of BRs that Danz has, they're all from Frank Reece."

That's crazy! Is Frank Reece someone in Kansas too?

 

[nick1234]

chicken danz,

My wife and I are thinking more and more about getting chicks. The more I read about it, it doesn't seem to be nearly as difficult or as expensive as I thought. Do you have any for sale? Obviously, pullets would be great too! I feel like we'd like any of the breeds that keep being discussed, particularly the Speckled Sussex and the Barred Rocks (my wife and I both like the looks of these two a lot!). It sounds like you have heritage breeds primarily (or all)? You also aren't that far from us, so a trip down there might be fun for the family.

thanks for being so helpful!

 

[chicken danz]

Trish44, Sharol, and chickendanz,

"sharol I have the same line of BRs that Danz has, they're all from Frank Reece."

That's crazy! Is Frank Reece someone in Kansas too?

Yes Frank is in Kansas. He and his father and grandfather were all heritage breeders. Frank told me the last time I was there that he had paid over $300 for his last barred rock roosters. He is very careful only to have heritage traceable stock. He is best known as The good Shepherd and raising heritage breed turkeys. He's been featured in several magazines and articles including the National Geographic. He is a hard person to get in touch with spring through fall because he hatches thousands every week. But once in a while in the winter he will find time to talk to you. Most of his birds are sold and processed by a commercial buyer who sells them at a premium price.
Originally Posted by nick1234
I either have heritage, rare or imported breeds. Except my free range layers. They are actually some I bred for that purpose.
I do have some chicks. I have some pullets in a couple of breeds and lots of babies. If you aren't in a huge hurry I'd recommend coming in a week or so when the weather returns to less savage temperature so you can look at the different birds without freezing to death. I have a few sussex and barred rocks hatching today. I also have some that are slightly older and can be sexed but those are potentially sold. Just send me a PM and we can make arrangements.

 

[thndrdancr]

Welcome to all the new people!

Nick, the ones you buy in a feed store like Orshelns are called hatchery. I have heard nightmare stories of the rir'so being mean when they grow up. They are bred for mass production and to lay prolifically which can be heartbreaking if you also buy them for pets because the poor things usually die so young, they get worn out from laying every single day.

Can't go wrong buying heritage breeds. . I love orps, Cochins, brahmas. Well I am smitten with silkies too but maybe when your kid gets older, they are so cute but can't fly.

Here is a picture of My other showgirl I gave a bath to, she is usually on the floor and I couldn't find her her at first! Ha. She blended in!
It's been too darn cold to put her back outside!