Delawares from kathyinmo

[LeslieDJoyce]

Leslie,
Do your males show a protective streak at an early age. The ones I got from Kathy this yr. actually at 4 wks pecked at me when I picked up a little female and she skreeched. They sure are growing.

Not really. But I haven't handled any of the chicks much until this week. They seem to tolerate it pretty well considering.

I have noticed more sparring of very young birds this year. It looks like playing ... they run around together before and after.

 

[rancher hicks]

Dot

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

A couple tails from the April Fools Day Mr. Fatty Hatch. Cockerel and pullet. You can clearly see who is winning here. The cockerel just has fluff. This is the cockerel with the freckles all down his front. The pullet has a bit of a cape of barring, which is not correct, but it seems in my flock that means for more correct color in the tail.



From the side you can see the more white barring of the tail coverts.





From the rear view you can see the darker primaries inside the tail spread. I'm pretty sure these tail feathers still show barring, but it is substantially darker than on the coverts (meaning it's black on dark gray barring instead of white with random black barring).

Her tail is still coming in, and I believe she has another couple of molts to go through before she gets her adult feathers. But the tail development and carriage seems to be better than what I saw at the same stage last year (last year I was very angsty about tails). I hope this doesn't mean her tail will end up too high, but droopy tails are depressing.

I think the Mr. Fatty females might tend toward longer wings than the Mr. Fatty males. But I haven't started having any wing angst with this year's hatch. Yet.

Heat wave here coming this weekend. I am SO not looking forward to the predicted 102 on the 27th. Followed by several days of 99. I have a double-clutch broody hatch due on the 28th. I can't even imagine how those two broodies are going to feel.

 

[caychris]

A couple tails from the April Fools Day Mr. Fatty Hatch. Cockerel and pullet. You can clearly see who is winning here. The cockerel just has fluff. This is the cockerel with the freckles all down his front. The pullet has a bit of a cape of barring, which is not correct, but it seems in my flock that means for more correct color in the tail.



From the side you can see the more white barring of the tail coverts.





From the rear view you can see the darker primaries inside the tail spread. I'm pretty sure these tail feathers still show barring, but it is substantially darker than on the coverts (meaning it's black on dark gray barring instead of white with random black barring).

Her tail is still coming in, and I believe she has another couple of molts to go through before she gets her adult feathers. But the tail development and carriage seems to be better than what I saw at the same stage last year (last year I was very angsty about tails). I hope this doesn't mean her tail will end up too high, but droopy tails are depressing.

I think the Mr. Fatty females might tend toward longer wings than the Mr. Fatty males. But I haven't started having any wing angst with this year's hatch. Yet.

Heat wave here coming this weekend. I am SO not looking forward to the predicted 102 on the 27th. Followed by several days of 99. I have a double-clutch broody hatch due on the 28th. I can't even imagine how those two broodies are going to feel.

Tomorrow is supposed to be 104 in my neck of the wood. Need to keep em safe and cool.

 

[finnfur]

Tomorrow is supposed to be 104 in my neck of the wood. Need to keep em safe and cool.

We had that yesterday - don't wish it on ya but glad its gone from here - still mid 90s- stay cool

 

[rancher hicks]

My hoops get hot, too hot. I have a fan in one to draw the heat off. Good ventilation, designed/arranged in such a way as to catch the cross breezes helps. If there are any.

I wonder if dirt floored coops stay cooler.

I've also recommended freezing plastic milk jugs of water to keep waterers cold. Any container that will give a large chunk of ice would work though.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

My hoops get hot, too hot. I have a fan in one to draw the heat off. Good ventilation, designed/arranged in such a way as to catch the cross breezes helps. If there are any.

I wonder if dirt floored coops stay cooler.

I've also recommended freezing plastic milk jugs of water to keep waterers cold. Any container that will give a large chunk of ice would work though.

The birds & I vastly prefer the deep litter right on dirt floor coops to the one raised wooden coop we have. When it's hot, the birds dig down to cool moist soil; the deep litter doesn't freeze during cold snaps (though obviously we don't get as cold here in western Oregon as lots of people do). Originally I'd put weed barrier under the deep litter, but we ripped that out when we noticed it was interfering in the way the Deep Litter is supposed to work.

I am now a big fan of dirt-floored chicken coops.

We have greenhouse plastic coops, and have nestled them under deciduous trees for good winter light and summer shade. There's also one particularly large evergreen over the coops that provides year-round protection. With the heat wave that's coming up here, we consolidated birds into the shadier coops, and we are going to add a reflective tarp on the sunset side to our most exposed coop. We also open the coops to pastures that offer a variety of spots for the birds to seek refuge from all sorts of weather.

Right now I'm opening the laying coop's nest boxes in the evening to discourage the young birds from sleeping in there ... I close them up after dark. The opposite long side of the coop is open hardware cloth. This seems to help move air through the coops, chasing out any staleness & heat trapped in there. We tend to get very good evening breezes.

I've opened vents up high at the ends of the coops.

I'm also making an extra effort with the water ... flushing the automatic water lines gives the birds some water on the ground to play in, and helps keep the water in the founts cool and clear.

Right now the birds are really digging into the fermented feed, and that might be for the extra moisture.

 

[rancher hicks]

The birds & I vastly prefer the deep litter right on dirt floor coops to the one raised wooden coop we have. When it's hot, the birds dig down to cool moist soil; the deep litter doesn't freeze during cold snaps (though obviously we don't get as cold here in western Oregon as lots of people do). Originally I'd put weed barrier under the deep litter, but we ripped that out when we noticed it was interfering in the way the Deep Litter is supposed to work.

I am now a big fan of dirt-floored chicken coops.

We have greenhouse plastic coops, and have nestled them under deciduous trees for good winter light and summer shade. There's also one particularly large evergreen over the coops that provides year-round protection. With the heat wave that's coming up here, we consolidated birds into the shadier coops, and we are going to add a reflective tarp on the sunset side to our most exposed coop. We also open the coops to pastures that offer a variety of spots for the birds to seek refuge from all sorts of weather.

Right now I'm opening the laying coop's nest boxes in the evening to discourage the young birds from sleeping in there ... I close them up after dark. The opposite long side of the coop is open hardware cloth. This seems to help move air through the coops, chasing out any staleness & heat trapped in there. We tend to get very good evening breezes.

I've opened vents up high at the ends of the coops.

I'm also making an extra effort with the water ... flushing the automatic water lines gives the birds some water on the ground to play in, and helps keep the water in the founts cool and clear.

Right now the birds are really digging into the fermented feed, and that might be for the extra moisture.

Could you post a pic of your nest boxes. I have broodies galore. At least 6 now perhaps 7. I give them eggs because they are too hard to break. My #7 Del was broody when we went to TX and she's on eggs now. She stayed all that time so there is no sense fighting her.

4 Marans
1 Sussex
1 Del
1 C. Rock

Point being if I could close the nest boxes I might discourage them.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I just have regular nest boxes with hinged lids that hang off the side of the coop so I can gather eggs from outside the coop. I think there are photos at the "my coop" link under my avatar photo. In the evenings I open the lids of the boxes, and that seems discourage birds from roosting in there. Last night, however, which was still and warm, I had all kinds of birds roosting in odd places, including the nest boxes.


Today I set up a "practice roost" for the younger birds. I'll try to post a photo right here later. I just used cinder blocks and 2x4s above where their baby boxes are.

 

[rancher hicks]

I just have regular nest boxes with hinged lids that hang off the side of the coop so I can gather eggs from outside the coop. I think there are photos at the "my coop" link under my avatar photo. In the evenings I open the lids of the boxes, and that seems discourage birds from roosting in there. Last night, however, which was still and warm, I had all kinds of birds roosting in odd places, including the nest boxes.


Today I set up a "practice roost" for the younger birds. I'll try to post a photo right here later. I just used cinder blocks and 2x4s above where their baby boxes are.

I don't have a secure run so leaving that open would leave preds access to the coop.