Delawares from kathyinmo

[capayvalleychick]

Here are the first 10 @ 3 weeks old. Starting to get a few tail feathers and get some height. They still look very uniform to me, but maybe I see male legs vs. female legs.

Looking good!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

So this last hatch of Delawares, there were 9 chicks between the two hens. We were about to let them all out of their little broody area. Yesterday a couple of the chicks escaped (there is chicken digging going on, long story), and I found one well away from the cage and shivering from cold. Today one of the 9 was dead in the nest, and another has an injured ankle joint so I think the hens are going to cull it. I can clearly see bruising in the ankle area. Poor little guy ... if I was into babying chicks I could maybe save it.

So ... I think we started with 12 eggs, 9 hatched ... and I'm expecting to end up with 7 healthy chicks.

I'm still not getting a great percentage of healthy chicks, but for various reasons with each clutch.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Why has Delaware egg production suddenly fallen off?

Yep ... that explains it.

 

[Zanna]

Why has Delaware egg production suddenly fallen off?




Yep ... that explains it.

Stinker! She may be getting ready to go broody on you. One of my four just decided to. She is my favorite who got pretty barebacked when in the breeding pen. The feathers have not grown back yet but I think I will still put her back in with the cock to break her up. She is nesting in the barn and I don't want to take the chance of losing her to a coon.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Stinker!  She may be getting ready to go broody on you.  One of my four just decided to.  She is my favorite who got pretty barebacked when in the breeding pen.  The feathers have not grown back yet but I think I will still put her back in with the cock to break her up.  She is nesting in the barn and I don't want to take the chance of losing her to a coon.

I was thinking that, too. I'm curious to see if she wants to sit on the eggs tonight -- I scared her off the nest every time I got close, but she kept getting back on. The nest is inside the Delaware run, but that isn't as secure as the coop by a long shot.

I think we are going to start another broody tonight, and if we do, we will include these eggs in the clutch for sure.

To be fair to my two Delaware hens, their coop is pretty overrun with different ages of chicks at the moment. There is a little power struggle over all the boxes.

 

[Zanna]

I was thinking that, too. I'm curious to see if she wants to sit on the eggs tonight -- I scared her off the nest every time I got close, but she kept getting back on. The nest is inside the Delaware run, but that isn't as secure as the coop by a long shot.

I think we are going to start another broody tonight, and if we do, we will include these eggs in the clutch for sure.

To be fair to my two Delaware hens, their coop is pretty overrun with different ages of chicks at the moment. There is a little power struggle over all the boxes.

My Chicken yard is Grand Central Station for the next while!!! Today was clean up food on the floor day and I thought I was going to have a mutiny on my hands. Trying to refill feeders early this evening after the day you would have thought they had no food for a week even though there were still some morsels left on the ground. With the gorgeous day they were mostly all out freeranging except for the youngest that are not leaving the coop yet and I hoped they would completely clean things up but they didn't. I got guilted into filling feeders rather than making them go another day. Heading back out shortly to dust for mites, the birds get them badly if I don't routinely dust.

 

[finnfur]

Why has Delaware egg production suddenly fallen off?




Yep ... that explains it.

Thats funny and reminds me of when I had the mutt lines my egg production dropped from 9>12 day to 1>2. I searched the grass and under the trailer coop where they would some times lay and nothing. On the third day went to clean out the coop and we keep one of those cattle supplement blue tubs to
haul the poop in by the trailer. It was up side down with the lip on the edge of a pallet. When I turned it over there was the catch of eggs - just over two dozen.
Almost all were crawling under and laying. LOL

We are remodeling the old meat bird coop to accommodate the F5s.
Do you think the girls will like the new floor color ?

 

[LindaB220]

I was thinking that, too. I'm curious to see if she wants to sit on the eggs tonight -- I scared her off the nest every time I got close, but she kept getting back on. The nest is inside the Delaware run, but that isn't as secure as the coop by a long shot.

I think we are going to start another broody tonight, and if we do, we will include these eggs in the clutch for sure.

To be fair to my two Delaware hens, their coop is pretty overrun with different ages of chicks at the moment. There is a little power struggle over all the boxes.

Oh, you poor dear, the pain and struggle.

 

[LindaB220]

My Chicken yard is Grand Central Station for the next while!!! Today was clean up food on the floor day and I thought I was going to have a mutiny on my hands. Trying to refill feeders early this evening after the day you would have thought they had no food for a week even though there were still some morsels left on the ground. With the gorgeous day they were mostly all out freeranging except for the youngest that are not leaving the coop yet and I hoped they would completely clean things up but they didn't. I got guilted into filling feeders rather than making them go another day. Heading back out shortly to dust for mites, the birds get them badly if I don't routinely dust.

What do you dust for mites?

 

[Zanna]

What do you dust for mites?

I use sulfur powder. We have honey bees on the farm and it is safe for them and I believe safer for me Sometimes I also spray with a permetherin spray but then you need to remove all water/feed from the area. With the sulfur powder (agricultural/feed grade) it is safe for them to eat so if some gets into the food or water, no biggy.