Dixie Chicks

[Ravynscroft]

Anxious kids wanting to do what the big ones do as soon as they can, little buggers, lol... I'm thinking I should try a cockerel grow out pen, they become hormonal teenagers and harass the pullets like crazy way too early...
Felix, I'll post pics as soon as I can, thanks again for the help... I had an idea to use a 55 gal plastic drum for tumble compost but Jim thinks we should go bigger, lol...
Gotta catch some Z's, so G'Night...
Amberjem, catch ya on the flip...

 

[Ravynscroft]

Morning all!  I will have to play catch up later....Gotta scoot and cook breakfast for everyone.   Get DH off to work and little girl off to school....Then I can relax!

Mornin'! And G'Night, lol... Stayed up, so going down now...

 

[Amberjem]

morning @Outpost JWB ok enjoy breakfast and time with your family...


ohh kewl @vehve speckled sussex was on my bird to have in my flock list until I started reading up about them liking to escape.. how have you found him as a cock? and how did you end up having him as your flocks cock?


Also I was wondering if I rememebr reading right when you first started out you started hatching your eggs ..now you have a broody hatching them have you noticed any notable difference between doing both ways? your likes dislikes? any surprises over either method?

 

[Amberjem]

nini @RavynFallen see ya later thanks for keeping me company and the convo

 

[Ravynscroft]

@Amberjem Anytime, hon, was my pleasure... Now to get my brain to turn off...

 

[Amberjem]

I need to do some research on cockerel pens... I think it's @Beer can who is going to capon his cockerels..I could be wrong... that seems like an interesting process and the behavioral aspects sounded appealing...I dont think it's something for me and I cant see paying or just finding a vet who would do it as viable option... there is suposedly someone off island not to far from me who does it with bresse's

 

[vehve]

Karin wanted some Sussexes, so we threw a sixpack into the 'bator, and two of them hatched. One was Emma the pullet, who lays our best tasting eggs, and the other was Eemeli. We had three roos to begin with, but Topi and Taneli (OE mutts, same genes as Töyhtis, one of my favorite pullets) started acting aggressively towards Karin, and also the neighbor's kids. As roosters I liked them better, they were more protective of the flock, and more agile than Eemeli. Both our Sussexes were very slow to mature, they're very clumsy, and they're skittish. They stay close to the coop mostly, and especially the pullet bullies the other birds. I like birds that are flightier and more game-like in behavior, I'm not too keen to keep these too. Eemeli has been loving his sister a bit too much lately though, so I don't want to try rehoming these before she feathers out again. I'll try to get rid of them first, but if no one wants them, they're headed for freezer camp.

Comparing incubating and hatching with a broody, I'll have to say that there's no way I'd want to use the incubator again. The incubation period isn't that bad even though we hand turned all the eggs individually, but the chick phase is a lot nicer when the mommies take care of them. I hated having the chicks inside, they put out so much dust. It's a lot better this way. Plus, the integration is a lot easier. Sure, Flappy got hurt a bit, but otherwise we've had no issues. He was a bit slower then the other ones anyway. Without Emma the Sussex he wouldn't have been hurt either. (I don't really know who pecked him, but she's my strongest suspect).

 

[Amberjem]

@Amberjem Anytime, hon, was my pleasure... Now to get my brain to turn off...

ya I know right........thinking my insomnia is kicking in again.....

 

[Amberjem]

Karin wanted some Sussexes, so we threw a sixpack into the 'bator, and two of them hatched. One was Emma the pullet, who lays our best tasting eggs, and the other was Eemeli. We had three roos to begin with, but Topi and Taneli (OE mutts, same genes as Töyhtis, one of my favorite pullets) started acting aggressively towards Karin, and also the neighbor's kids. As roosters I liked them better, they were more protective of the flock, and more agile than Eemeli. Both our Sussexes were very slow to mature, they're very clumsy, and they're skittish. They stay close to the coop mostly, and especially the pullet bullies the other birds. I like birds that are flightier and more game-like in behavior, I'm not too keen to keep these too. Eemeli has been loving his sister a bit too much lately though, so I don't want to try rehoming these before she feathers out again. I'll try to get rid of them first, but if no one wants them, they're headed for freezer camp.

Comparing incubating and hatching with a broody, I'll have to say that there's no way I'd want to use the incubator again. The incubation period isn't that bad even though we hand turned all the eggs individually, but the chick phase is a lot nicer when the mommies take care of them. I hated having the chicks inside, they put out so much dust. It's a lot better this way. Plus, the integration is a lot easier. Sure, Flappy got hurt a bit, but otherwise we've had no issues. He was a bit slower then the other ones anyway. Without Emma the Sussex he wouldn't have been hurt either. (I don't really know who pecked him, but she's my strongest suspect).

hmm flighty is a negative for me........ Although can you explain exactly what flighty means in chicken terms..? I have noticed a few comments on it and some seem to mean it more then just say skittishness? which is how I always thought it ment..... I think a certain skittishness is healthy I mean if I was the most delicious object on the food chain I would be skittish..lol.... But I think slight skittish and a settling down when they have processed is a good temperament...to have... I dont want my chickens being soo friendly they walk into a predators mouth......( on a side note I totally cant help but laugh no matter my mood when I see them stampede towards me it's just hilarious)

ok so what about development differences between broody raised and you any notable ones?



I'm curious also.....would you say the birds you can get there by breed in comparison to other countrys exhibit different qualities then from what other countrys say their birds exhibit behavioral or bodywise?

 

[vehve]

Most of our birds are (or have been) pretty much mutts, so I can't really comment on how they would differ from other SOP birds. At the moment we have Wilma, who is pretty much a pure BCM, and the Sussexes. We had three Alho's, which were our most flighty birds, but that's a Finnish landrace, so not much to compare to in other countries. Ironically, these are the two birds killed by predators, one by a hawk, and the other by a dachshund. The third Alho is still alive and is a great mommy. And then we have Töyhtis who is a bit of everything. The roos with the same genetics as her were really good from a "keep these on their own in a field" point of view, but less so from a "small kids may run into our yard at any moment" point of view.

By skittishness in this situation I mean that they're skittish towards people. Flighty again for me means that they're able to escape predators and they move around more independently. Just that they seem less domesticated, I guess.

I'd say the birds that are handled by a broody develop skills a lot quicker, they have someone to teach them instead of having to figure things out by themselves. Physically I can't comment on differences that much since they're kept in completely different conditions. They seem to be feathering out more quickly and gaining size a bit more slowly, but like I said, that's probably because they're kept 20C colder than the 'bator chicks were. The biggest advantage of keeping them with a broody is in my opinion the fact that you don't need to care for them as much, and they're not making a mess inside. A negative would be that the broody is out of egg production, and the chicks probably are a bit more weary of humans.