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Yes, a cold snap in May. Apparently it hasn't been this cold in May since 1986 Lucky us
I really have too many colors. I had meant to get out of Golden Necks and then found I just couldn't. I love them. So I kept a pullet and a cockerel. They aren't perfect, but their flaws cancel one another out (hopefully). And I'm glad now that I got the black pair from Ronnie. I wish now I'd endured the wrath of DH and gotten a pair of millies as well. But he thinks I have too many chickens as well. At the moment he is correct.
Perfection is hard to come by, and my millies aren't perfect. But we're working on it! The biggest problem that I can see is that perfection + perfection doesn't always equal perfection. Sometimes you need that wild card. Breeding is not an exact science. Its good that you're keeping an assortment in another pen, just in case. I think spiral breeding is a very cool tool for a small flock. If I can get a bird directly from Ronnie's line sometime soon, I will use that roo as my new blood. But in the meantime I have a couple of others waiting in the wings, seeing if they grow up 'worthy'.
Most of my millies are really too old. I hope to fix that this year. And I need to get away from staggered hatches. That's my May goal
Then I will know if I have a bad hen, or just too much hatching stress. I am consistently losing a chick just before hatch. So I have a teacher hatching a BUNCH of millie eggs for me, and tracking hatch rates since hers is a stand-alone hatch date. And I will switch over to single hatch dates in about 10 days.
And if students fall in love with the millie chicks? They can buy them and raise them! I'm mean it when I say I am doing my level best in 2011 to promote and expand the breed. They don't know it, but 3 chicks for $5 and parental permission is a good deal! I made sure the teacher knew that those birds, if raised well, could be shown this fall.
Yes, a cold snap in May. Apparently it hasn't been this cold in May since 1986 Lucky us
I really have too many colors. I had meant to get out of Golden Necks and then found I just couldn't. I love them. So I kept a pullet and a cockerel. They aren't perfect, but their flaws cancel one another out (hopefully). And I'm glad now that I got the black pair from Ronnie. I wish now I'd endured the wrath of DH and gotten a pair of millies as well. But he thinks I have too many chickens as well. At the moment he is correct.
Perfection is hard to come by, and my millies aren't perfect. But we're working on it! The biggest problem that I can see is that perfection + perfection doesn't always equal perfection. Sometimes you need that wild card. Breeding is not an exact science. Its good that you're keeping an assortment in another pen, just in case. I think spiral breeding is a very cool tool for a small flock. If I can get a bird directly from Ronnie's line sometime soon, I will use that roo as my new blood. But in the meantime I have a couple of others waiting in the wings, seeing if they grow up 'worthy'.
Most of my millies are really too old. I hope to fix that this year. And I need to get away from staggered hatches. That's my May goal
Then I will know if I have a bad hen, or just too much hatching stress. I am consistently losing a chick just before hatch. So I have a teacher hatching a BUNCH of millie eggs for me, and tracking hatch rates since hers is a stand-alone hatch date. And I will switch over to single hatch dates in about 10 days.
And if students fall in love with the millie chicks? They can buy them and raise them! I'm mean it when I say I am doing my level best in 2011 to promote and expand the breed. They don't know it, but 3 chicks for $5 and parental permission is a good deal! I made sure the teacher knew that those birds, if raised well, could be shown this fall.
