Nice eggs. If i remeber correctly it seems as though you mentioned the penedesencas not being a recognized breed and trying to get them recognized. Doing some limited research on them yesterday I'm confused how they have four recognized color variations but they aren't recognized. Often times people and stories run together and get mixed up in my mind so I could have them confused? Very nice eggs either way.
X2
I've enjoyed it all. Have you estimated how many total miles you'll be hiking/backpacking and pack/trail riding?
You'll need to go to work to rest up.
Have you been climbing, hiking, working out to build up?
Valid points on building up. Being a distance runner I know how quickly a blister can come up and ruin plans. Made the mistake of trying to push through on my 2nd marathon. Half my shoe was covered in blood and lost 3 toenails after that race. Learned to properly break in shoes and listen to my body, a hotspot is an indicator and soon turns to a blister. Hiking is no different and maybe more severe when it comes to blisters.
I messed up the qoutes somehow and the more I try to fix it the more I mess it up. My comments in blue.[/QUOTE]
Not recognized, as in by the APA or the ALBC. They are recognized in Spain, Germany, Ireland and Argentina. The ALBC basically recognizes breeds that were in the U.S. by around 1900. The APA recognizes breeds with a minimum number of breeders and that have been standardized and shown for a specific amount of time. Penedesencas weren't imported till after 2000.
There are records of these birds in highly variable colors in the Catalonia region of Spain by the early 1900s. There was concern by 1928 that the breed might not survive. A professor also made a patriotic call to those interested in helping to save the local Penedes chicken breed. By 1933 there were groups of breeders and in 1946 a standard for the black variety was recognized.
Very little was known about them in the ensuing decades and in 1982 recovery work was begun by a veterinarian to save them from extinction. Old breeders no longer had any stock but dark eggs continued to show up at farmers' markets. They learned that some farmers had small flocks of birds with slate legs, white earlobes, side appendages on their combs and laying very large, very dark eggs. The plumage was primarily partridge, wheaten with a few barred and black hens. Roosters were primarily black with red on the backs. (these traits continue to show up in my birds) These were clearly the last remnants of the old Penedes breed.
Obtaining eggs and a few birds from markets, work began at a poultry genetics unit at a University in Tarragon. With successive incubations, they raised the population to 300 birds and then they set about standardizing the 4 varieties. This work was done by the vet, Dr. Jorda and biologist Dr. Fransesch (who sadly died last summer).
The black was standardized as a DP bird while the others are egg varieties. The black was determined to be organoleptically unique with a special flavor. Since that time, they created an "improved" black variety. It is larger than the "classic" but in the process, it lost the white earlobe and the dark egg.
I'm devoted to the 'classic' black and am likely the largest breeder in North America.
There are very few breeders of a handful of birds scattered around the country.
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I used to be a runner but I only ran 10k races.
I've only been in one canoe race but I picked the mother of all races. The Missouri 340. World's longest non-stop canoe race. I finished the 340 miles in 78 hours. It would have been faster had I not started hallucinating and hiding in the woods a few miles before the end.
I had blisters on top of blisters on top of blisters. Strong head wind most of the way and mid 90s heat during the day.
@DwayneNLiz
were they pullet eggs?
how long did you store before set?
breeder nutrition?
my 5yo has helped me eggtopsy
How long is an egg considered a pullet egg? the youngest hens are 2-3 months into their laying cycle.
Storage for this batch was 2 weeks tops and they were on the turner outside of the incubator prior.
Nutrition is a combination of purina flock raiser, scratch grains, and BOSS all free choice. Also free range time almost everyday for around 3-4 hrs.
I suspect if I had explained the process my daughter would have been interested and been able to handle it. I think it was more a question in my mind if I could do it and didnt want the added stress of her asking questions and distracting me. Maybe next time. My son would have probably chosen not to be a part of it.
By definition, a pullet is under a year of age. But for the purposes of incubation, I consider a pullet to be laying pullet eggs till the eggs approach the size that is standard for the breed. Normally that is about 3 or 4 months into the lay cycle or possibly much longer. A little protein boost may increase egg size. Cutting back on the scratch will help. Not much nutrition there.
I think it is important for people - kids included - to understand that not all living things are meant to live long. Some fail to thrive. That would be true of humans too if the maternity ward wasn't populated with doctors, nurses and millions of dollars of medical equipment.
I have just started to really condition for it. Of course, with eleven hundred feet of fence cleared Saturday, and fifty one t-posts driven last night in MO I have some basic condition to work from. I have a mile long hill near me that has real hilly shoulder sections where the road was cut through to practice on. Not to mention I have to be riding or my body will never survive the pack trip.
I figured you would have endurance from working your place but some of the muscles are different.
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@ChickenCanoe I have no idea how many miles the pack trip is so I can only estimate. It is more than four hours a day.
As to Yellowstone, I only concentrated on keeping the daily totals reasonable.
Let's see. Day one is a morning day or fanny pack hike of 3/3.5 rated easy mostly paved witbout steep sections, and a 1.5 mile moderate afternoon because it has some steps.
Day two has a one mile hike early in the day with no pack to the big tourist spot Tower Falls rated easy, and then I get my full pack for six miles to campsite one. Day three is eight miles. Day four 2.6 out with pack, Mammoth has 1.75 miles, but you can choose lesser loops day/fanny pack. Artist paintpots 1.2 easy loop fanny pack.
Day five up to five at Old Faithful day/fanny,
Rest of day five and morning of day six easy/moderate five miles (3.4 on day five).
So thirty miles total in five days. Just over half with a pack.
Anything on day six is voluntary with a day hike 2.4 the easiest.
Nothing sounds insurmountable there.
My 5 year old is awesome. She will round up all the chickens & get them into the run sometimes, even the English Orpington that's almost as big as a turkey. She has no fear. She is gonna be a vet someday or a farmer.
If I have to give the chicken medicine or something, she is the one who will hold it for me.
My 10 year old, on the other hand, just lets the chicken go & says, "I couldn't hold it; it wanted to get down!" He is very tender-hearted, lol.
Awesome to have a helper like that.
So, as I stood by a piece of garbage prefab coop that I keep thinking I need to toss or fix, I noticed Sabrina the turkey inside. She walked out, and there was a clutch of six (infertile) eggs. I went to do bed checks last night (Duckling was roosting on the highest perch she could get to. J/K) and found one hen still in an empty nest. She is the third this month. Then I went looking for Sabrina. She used to sleep on the chimney of the outdoor oven. Then I caught her, and have had her in a coop with a run. She has only been out again for about a week. ANYWAY! She was laying on her clutch.
