Dominique Thread!

[JediJinx]

I am by no means experienced breeder, however I have noticed with this years batch of youngins the different comb shapes that have resulted when out crossing a single male over 4 non related to each other females with vastly different combs. One of my females has a comb that looks like a mixture of single comb and rose comb, her male offspring tend to have a much bulkier comb which is not desired. She will not be used again for breeding. Another of the hens has a very small, almost flat comb (daughter of hen pictured), her male offspring have combs identical to the sire which is very close to the ideal (he has other faults but his comb is very nice).

Here is the picture of a hen with an ok comb shape imo (the grandma of this yrs smaller combed males). Any larger than this might mean problems for male offspring.

 

[JediJinx]

Here is the male:

 

[Faraday40]

Here is the male:

He looks nice to me. Not an expert, I just like the way he looks.

Question: Do those wattles freeze in the winter? We're in N. IL, so a few -20'F nights (to a rare -40'F wind chill) can happen. On those nights I use bag balm or Vaseline.

 

[Alaskan]

Here is the male:

He looks to be a nice size, he has good clean yellow legs, and I like his comb! Nice rooster!

 

[Sylvester017]

Question: Do those wattles freeze in the winter? We're in N. IL, so a few -20'F nights (to a rare -40'F wind chill) can happen. On those nights I use bag balm or Vaseline.

An owner in Australia uses Vick's VapoRub - ugh! I tried Vaseline but it was so greasy it badly stained our Leghorn's white feathers when she dust-bathed and we had to wait til her next molt before she got clean and white again. My vet suggested we use vitamin A or E oils on the combs, wattles, beak, feathered legs, toes, and nails of our chickens. The vitamins applied at roost time soak into the skin and leg feathers overnight with added vitamin benefits so by morning when the chickens are released for free-range their dirt bath doesn't stick to the feathers like with greasy vaseline or olive oil residue. Our temps only get down to freezing and not much lower so not sure how this method would work in snow country but vitamin oil is all we use now - we also use for scaly mite prevention. We have an older chicken that has very dry skin and she loves her dust baths which aggravates her skin. 1 to 2x a week we vitamin E oil around her face and eyes so she can open and close her eyes easily plus she sneaks some taste tests, bless the old girl!

 

[centrarchid]

He looks nice to me.  Not an expert, I just like the way he looks.

Question:  Do those wattles freeze in the winter? We're in N. IL, so a few -20'F nights (to a rare -40'F wind chill) can happen.  On those nights I use bag balm or Vaseline.  

Keep the large wattled / combed birds out of direct wind but still in a well ventilated location to prevent moisture buildup. Extreme windchill and degrraded ability to keep warm as promoted by wet feathering are very problematic. Also make certain birds are in good weight and good nutrition when extreme cold hits as not being either compromises the ability to generate heat. When ambient temperature get below -10 F the risk of frostbite is low regardless of precautions mentioned so far. Frostbite I have observed closely appears to have occurred mostly during the day because birds get away from wind breaks during periods of activity. As a kid we had endowed cocks that seemed more resistant to frostbite because of certain activities during the day. Those birds either hung out on large manure piles or with larger livestock (cattle / hogs) where birds made an effort to stand on warm locations. Feet are metabolically expensive to heat so anything that reduces that load makes so more heat is available for shunting to comb and wattles. Frostbite has been an issue for me most years and I do nor have resources for supporting a hog to use as a foot-warmer so somehow cocks will be kept in a warmer microclimate possibly as enabled by a heating pad like used for dogs. I would also like to find a heated roost pole for testing. Fire risk and utility bills will have to be considered.


I have also had birds roost on dog in doghouse during extreme cold but dogs are very expensive.

 

[mermaids]

Do you happen to have a greenhouse? Even a small one, would that be a good place for chickens to wander in the winter?

 

[centrarchid]

Do you happen to have a greenhouse? Even a small one, would that be a good place for chickens to wander in the winter?

That might be very effective although great care must be taken to vent moisture.

 

[THeelChickinKY]

I've wondered about the heated roosting bars for winter, too. It would be such an excellent idea if it could be safely implemented, so if you ever figure out how to do it, please share!

 

[Lucky KY Chicks]

This is just an idea, you all have me thinking, what about PVC pipe roosts with heating tape inside? You would likely need to rough up the surface of the pipe so the birds have traction. Heating tape is made to be right on the pipe so I would assume it is safe and the tape would be inside the pipe so no birds could touch it directly. I have it pictured in my head and I'm thinking I could glue sand paper to the pipe with heat resistant glue for traction and when soiled I could just scrap it off and glue more down.