Home from work and dinner eaten. I have to go feed the barn cats, see if all the chickens are good and collect frozen eggsYep, high on the bank thermometer across the street from work was 9F. It isn't that warm now and the high tomorrow is suppose to be -6F! windchills tonight -30 to -35F and up slightly during the day tomorrow at -25 to -30F. Low tomorrow night of -15F. Good news is that starting Sunday the daytime highs will be in the 20s with nighttime lows hitting some single digits but no negatives!!
Okay, comparison pictures of what Silver Laced Wyandottes breed to the Standard of Perfection look like compared to hatchery.
Some history. In 2007, when I no longer had horses, I decided to get some chickens. The co-op near me, that I got my horse feed from, takes orders for chicks. I wanted 3 or 4 pullets and asked if I could get that few and was told they combined small orders to make the minimum. I told them I was up for whatever and was called and asked if Americanas were okay. The four pullets I got (from Mt Healthy Hatchery in Ohio) were my start with chickens. The picture below shows what a variety they were:
Three were muffed and bearded and clearly had some Ameraucana in them (I didn't know it at the time since I hadn't found BYC and would not for two more years). The fourth looked completely different. I liked her black and white coloring and she laid an olive green egg while the others laid blue ones. I started checking out the different kinds of chickens and found Silver Laced Wyandottes looked the most like Audrey. I ordered some from a different hatchery and then joined the Wyandotte Breeders of America breed club as mentioned before.
Here is a picture of the SLW flock I had in the fall of 2009. It consisted of four hatchery SLW and a trio of SLW that I got from the breeder. The overall size is larger. Their heads were much broader. The lacing, there was no comparison.
Here are some closer shots.
The two breeder hens tails and hatchery hen side:
Trio with a hatchery hen on the far right:
This one shows the lacing difference:
I don't want anyone to think that I am saying you should buy only birds from show breeders, I am not. We all have different reasons for having what we have. I thought these SLW were the way to go for me. I was wrong.
The APA bred birds didn't lay many eggs and trimming fluff was necessary to get the hens bred. I would have to hatch a large quantity of chicks and raise them to a decent age to evaluate who was a keeper. These were things I didn't want to have to be part of my hobby. I learned the "party colored" birds were difficult to master and not something a novice such as myself needed to start with.
I turned my focus to what did I really want out of my flock. Some eggs but no mandate on tons of eggs, longevity, some diversity, something that did not need heat and coddling to survive, hens that would sit on eggs and raise chicks (which meant I had to have a male), male with strong protective instincts and good nature and good looks. Around this time I found BYC. I lurked for almost six months before joining. Early in 2010, I found The Sheriff's (whose BYC name at that time was The Warden) thread on Icelandics. I thought that Icelandics could be the right match for me and I was right. I love my Icelandics and have done what I can to promote them. They are not for everyone. They can be confined but love their freedom.....they are after all Vikings....and we know Vikings love to roam! They are only truly an Icelandic if they are kept pure. They have no standard, no trait has been bred for or eliminated to meet a set standard. The only thing that truly makes them Icelandic is that they are the carriers of the diverse genes that were brought to Iceland by the Vikings following the raids on other lands or trading with other groups. Once they are crossed, they cease to be Icelandic. There is no half Icelandic, only crossbreeds that carry Icelandic blood. You cannot breed them back to purebred. You can take an Orpington and breed it to a Marans to get a new color and eventually breed those back to meet the Marans standard and down the line call the resulting offspring Marans. Not so with Icelandics. The only thing that makes them a true Icelandic is if the gene pool has been kept pure.
Stepping off the soapbox now.....
Okay, so you can see I'm passionate about them and I see I've written a book....sorry so long winded.
Funny thing here.... My very first job as a draftsman was at US Elevator and doing Glass elevators..... I did high rise as well as three and four story buildings.... If I were to do my own I would buy a scissor lift hoist and put the elevator cab on that.... exterior to the building of course.... or even in an exterior are that is enclosed from the elements... Not as expensive as a Pneumatic lift but not cheap either.
I dont know about the full bred.... But an Ameraucana that doesn't have the approved colors has to be called an EE even though its purebred.... There is a list of colors that are approved too.
Araucana is the breed of Gallina Mapuche originating in Chile. Those may or may not have tails. The Standard of Perfection in the US dictates that they be tail less and have tufts that stick out behind their ears.... The Standard in Europe only requires they have the tufts... tails are optional... All lay blue or bluegreen eggs.
Ameraucana Is the breed of chicken that Araucana was a foundation for. They are more prolific layers they have the muffs under their chin and have only been around as a breed in the US since the 70s
Americana or Easter Egger. These are chickens that can have just about any coloring and physical characteristics.... They have the capacity to lay blue eggs but they have equal opportunity to lay tinted, brown, pin, blue, even greenish eggs. My first chickens were Americana they were chip monk colored as chicks and each one was a different fledge color....
Here is a thought about the green house de Snowing.... How about tying a rope on the off side throwing the rope over the top and swinging it back an forth across the arch of the green house.... If it froze in place a good hard flip up should free it.... No lifting of a rake necessary. If that works then you can think of a way to make that a perminent feature. It certainly would protect the green house material from accidental scrapes from the rake....
Looks like three Ponies.... My friend who used to live in Michigan was always having to track down her horses in winter because the snow would pile up over the fence and they would Walk out of their pasture.... LOL She said she had to dig a path along the fence to keep em in. Its amazing how much of the cold a healthy horse can handle as long as they have a wind break.... Like sixty below or something like that.
deb
Anyone know where I can find these? Dark Cornish...
These birds look Flippin perfect for me... Big and meaty, compact comb, calm nature.... Not Over bred.
Anyone know where I can find these? Dark Cornish...
These birds look Flippin perfect for me... Big and meaty, compact comb, calm nature.... Not Over bred.
