EDUCATIONAL INCUBATION & HATCHING CHAT THREAD, w/ Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs

[aliciaplus3]

That's funny dh and I were just talking about dividing the new turkey run in to two with a wall.... why is it that chicken/turkey math would always be better with More pens. Or is that the problem we started with more than we ever thought we would need and then filled those up??

 

[kwhites634]

That's funny dh and I were just talking about dividing the new turkey run in to two with a wall.... why is it that chicken/turkey math would always be better with More pens. Or is that the problem we started with more than we ever thought we would need and then filled those up??

All it really takes, whether you have the facilities or not, is a "some day" thought. The rest just magically appears.
I learned that from someone on this very thread, believe it or not.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Nope. He'd been separate for a few months due to aggression, and the main flock (where the hens are) has two other roosters. I really need breeding pens. Maybe I'll buy some hardware cloth when I'm in town next.

If he was human aggressive or a real pain in the flock, it may be for the better you don't have any of his offspring. I think aggression is partly genetic.

 

[BantyChooks]

That's funny dh and I were just talking about dividing the new turkey run in to two with a wall.... why is it that chicken/turkey math would always be better with More pens. Or is that the problem we started with more than we ever thought we would need and then filled those up??

Surprisingly, it's mostly that I never had many pens in the first place. I have fewer birds now than when I started with chickens. When I first started caring for them, we were going through 100--150 lbs of food a week. I'm only going through 50 now. To be fair, the first numbers happened as a result of a fleet of semi-domestic ducks that spent their nights at a pond and their days gorging themselves here. They got "taken care of" and feed consumption went way down.

I think I have five or six pens, but all but one are single bird size and only two of them are predator proof.

If he was human aggressive or a real pain in the flock, it may be for the better you don't have any of his offspring. I think aggression is partly genetic.

I do have one son of his and a few daughters. He wasn't very aggressive, but his spurs were sharp enough that I wasn't going to take any risks, especially with barefoot children around. I would have gotten another rooster for breeding purposes, but that would be close to impossible because of how rare the breed is, especially here. I got quite lucky to get him.

I agree that aggression is partly genetic but I also think it can be managed or bred out later. Once I have a large enough selection (more than one bird) I will not permit ANY sort of aggression.

I could likely have re-trained him but I didn't feel like taking the time for a rooster that was only sticking around for another winter/spring. He grew up with same age pullets so he had a real attitude towards other roosters and wasn't the best with hens.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Oh, Goody! Heat index only going to 97* today
Anyone see what I did with my sweater?
Maybe I won't need to put the A/C in the BR window, after all, for the 1st time in 4 years.
If this extreme heat is really cyclical, I'd appreciate it if the weather people would ride their cycles somewhere else.[/QUOTE
Yeah, that will be the actual temperature here today. I can take it sort of, except it never really gets the least bit comfortable at night. At 7AM it was 80F and 85% humidity.

If by cyclical you mean a steady upward incline from year to year, then yeah, I guess it is cyclical.
It really has me worried.
The last 4 years are the hottest globally in history.
The five warmest years in the global record have all come in the 2010s
The 10 warmest years on record have all come since 1998
The 20 warmest years on record have all come since 1995
What are the odds next year will be among the coolest, or just average?
Just keep that sweater handy.

 

[aliciaplus3]

I agree sometimes we tolerate less than ideal attitudes in order to get other qualities we desire. .... I have a rather large rooster (14 pounds) that I am currently keeping trying to get more size in my more meaty line of birds..... he only gets cranky with other humans that venture into his pen.... not with me any more.

 

[kwhites634]

But how long have those records been kept? Not long at all, compared to the age of the planet. If scientists are to be believed, Earth has been through many cycles. Of course, some other scientists believe it's all man-made. Just depends on who you choose to listen to.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Surprisingly, it's mostly that I never had many pens in the first place. I have fewer birds now than when I started with chickens. When I first started caring for them, we were going through 100--150 lbs of food a week. I'm only going through 50 now. To be fair, the first numbers happened as a result of a fleet of semi-domestic ducks that spent their nights at a pond and their days gorging themselves here. They got "taken care of" and feed consumption went way down.

I think I have five or six pens, but all but one are single bird size and only two of them are predator proof.


I do have one son of his and a few daughters. He wasn't very aggressive, but his spurs were sharp enough that I wasn't going to take any risks, especially with barefoot children around. I would have gotten another rooster for breeding purposes, but that would be close to impossible because of how rare the breed is, especially here. I got quite lucky to get him.

I agree that aggression is partly genetic but I also think it can be managed or bred out later. Once I have a large enough selection (more than one bird) I will not permit ANY sort of aggression.

I could likely have re-trained him but I didn't feel like taking the time for a rooster that was only sticking around for another winter/spring. He grew up with same age pullets so he had a real attitude towards other roosters and wasn't the best with hens.

I get all of that. Especially the rarity part. I've had over 30 breeds and as many as 100 birds. Now that I'm down to 1 breed, I don't often get up to 100. I only have 25 hens now and 6 roosters. At least 5 of those hens need to go and at least 2 of the roosters.
I have 8 housing units but only 6 in use. One needs doors finished and the other needs to be completely rebuilt because I can't keep predators out of it.
My biggest problem is still predation.
One of my most valuable roosters disappeared this week. He was with another rooster and the largest group of hens. He got a bad case of bumblefoot late last year. I worked on him a long time with Epsom salt baths, herbal balms and I had him at two different vets and even Xrays. Turned out the bumblefoot got into the bone and destroyed one of his rear toes. He improved dramatically but still wasn't extremely mobile. 3 days ago I let them out and he didn't come out. He wasn't in the building so apparently never put himself to bed the night before.
I lost a broody to raccoons a couple weeks ago. She took her chicks out and apparently couldn't get them to go back in the coop at night so she stayed under a building with them and they were all eaten overnight.

 

[BantyChooks]

I get all of that. Especially the rarity part. I've had over 30 breeds and as many as 100 birds. Now that I'm down to 1 breed, I don't often get up to 100. I only have 25 hens now and 6 roosters. At least 5 of those hens need to go and at least 2 of the roosters.
I have 8 housing units but only 6 in use. One needs doors finished and the other needs to be completely rebuilt because I can't keep predators out of it.
My biggest problem is still predation.
One of my most valuable roosters disappeared this week. He was with another rooster and the largest group of hens. He got a bad case of bumblefoot late last year. I worked on him a long time with Epsom salt baths, herbal balms and I had him at two different vets and even Xrays. Turned out the bumblefoot got into the bone and destroyed one of his rear toes. He improved dramatically but still wasn't extremely mobile. 3 days ago I let them out and he didn't come out. He wasn't in the building so apparently never put himself to bed the night before.
I lost a broody to raccoons a couple weeks ago. She took her chicks out and apparently couldn't get them to go back in the coop at night so she stayed under a building with them and they were all eaten overnight.

I remember him. That's a bummer, sorry. I think I lost a hen last month too---she vanished one week and I suspect she went off to be broody in the woods. Even if something didn't get her, the heat surely has by now. I was going to sell her this spring but never got around to it.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I remember him. That's a bummer, sorry. I think I lost a hen last month too---she vanished one week and I suspect she went off to be broody in the woods. Even if something didn't get her, the heat surely has by now. I was going to sell her this spring but never got around to it.

It is a bummer but the way I look at it, it is all the more reason to hatch a lot and keep plenty of your best birds. If you lose some, you haven't lost everything.

Every year I tweak the way I go about this.
From now on I'm going to hatch even more than before and get very strict with what stays and what goes, right from the start.
Every bird here over 4 months of age has to be blood tested every August for the National Poultry Improvement Program.
So it behooves me to have my adult numbers lower by then.
I used to hatch off and on year round. I'm going to start going with my version of a more traditional breeding season. Next year I'm going to hatch most if my replacement breeders in February and March. April, May June and July hatches will be for chick sales. Keepers from older birds and the late winter hatch will go through the blood testing.
Then I'll hatch for replacements again in August, September and October from the February/March hatchlings.
The philosophy is that birds recovering from molt and a winter break will have better body stores of nutrients before they have laid very many eggs, resulting in better hatchability and more vigorous chicks from which to select replacements. Same goes for pullets eggs after a couple months of laying when eggs have reached proper size.