Embarking on ambitious eggsperiment

[Tropical Chook]

Quote:
Thanks for the advice.......I'll get some dud eggs in the nesting box. Yes, we are meant to be having summer right now but it's also the monsoon season and most days are overcast and relatively cool. In the last week to week and a half, the temperature hasn't really been above 25 to 30 degrees Celsius.

If none hatch, well then it's just too bad really I suppose. On this occasion, it's more of an experiment than anything else. Of course I would be really happy if some do hatch, but I'm not getting my hopes up to high just yet.

I stay just slightly south in the country, on the coast, but I really need to go driving around up country because surely there must be hatcheries somewhere where I can buy a few chickens other than the funny looking ones which you always see running all over the place. These are mainly female game birds, and it's from these that you get the Thai fighting cocks. I realize that many people like the game birds, but I really want good old regular farm style chickens. You know......those big juicy plump birds.

Don't get me wrong though, because I am quite attached to my flock of weirdos....

I know one thing, if you want chickens that don't require feeding, these native chickens are great because they really can take care of themselves. I feed mine though, and my guess is they eat more than any other chicken in Thailand

Apart from pellets, they get a full range of fresh greens which we grow ourselves, all grown organically from seed. Hopefully I'll soon be able to feed them only on home grown produce.

About the Sussex eggs.......if any do hatch, at least the seller I bought them from will have something to talk about as well I suppose

 

[Tropical Chook]

Just a quick update........................The seller posted the eggs from the UK on the 4th and they arrived here in Thailand on the 10th. Eggs were exceptionally well packed, and there were no broken ones. I let them settle for about 14 hours (overnight) and have just been out to the coop and placed them under a broody.

So, now the countdown begins. Is there anything I should be doing or should I just sit and wait it out?

Please hold thumbs for me

 

[damselfish]

As far as I know, all you can do is count down, and candle occasionally to toss out any duds. I've got my first broody ever sitting on shipped eggs as of today...I'm going to go start a hatching buddy thread so come on over & join me if you want! Good luck in any case!

 

[bethanyrae]

How about posting some pictures of those native Thai chickens you were describing? Now I'm curious...
thanks,
bethanyrae

 

[Tropical Chook]

I would love to post some pics but for some reason I'm unable to connect any USB device to my computer

Basically the Thai chickens I'm referring to are the female versions of the Thai fighting cocks. They're what you see running around everywhere over here. Most Thai families (not city folk) have them. They are super easy to keep as they don't even need to be fed if they free range. Even if kept in a run, they don't put on weight very quickly, and there eggs are also quite small. On the plus side, their egg production tends to remain constant even after many years. Unlike commercial broilers, the meat is quite tough, or at least one could say it has a similar texture to pork. Many Thais prefer the meat rather than broiler meat, and at present, the meat is more expensive than commercially raised broilers.

With that said, many Thai families don't both with eating them or collecting eggs. They just leave them to run around the place eating bugs and so on, and on the odd occasion, one may end up in a pot of soup.

You can increase their size by selective breeding. In fact, a large commercial poultry supplier over here only produces native Thai chickens but they are basically a different breed to the ones I'm talking about.

Let's just say, I could let mine out of the run now and never bother feeding them again and they would manage just fine. Also, unless you process some of them, they multiply quite rapidly so I'd soon be over run.

So why do I want other chickens if these are so easy? Good question, but we all know how addictive this chicken keeping thing can become, and besides, I wouldn't mind a few decent sized eggs from time to time, and perhaps a bird that's big enough to fill a dinner plate....lol.

 

[Funky Feathers]

Wow, small world, I have an Aunt & 2 cousins from Thailand. Do you know the Chavasant family? Thailand is a beautiful country, I wish you could post pics.

 

[French Connection]

Hi.
I have some Light Sussex but they are easy to get here in France. Hope next Spring to run some of the girls with an Indian/Cornish Game cock to see if I can get some realy good meat birds out of the cross.
Good luck with the hatch

 

[teresa-78]

fingers crossed for you

 

[Tropical Chook]

Thanks for all the good wishes people. If good packaging has anything to do with it, then I'm sure some will hatch because the seller I bought the eggs from really did put in a huge amount of effort. I was well and truly impressed, and if even one egg hatches, I'll definitely support her auctions again in the future because.

So, 18 days to go and counting

 

[Tropical Chook]

Quote:
Getting hold of the game cocks is the easy part for me over here because they really are everywhere. If I succeed at getting some of these Light Sussex, I may experiment a little myself, although from what I've been told, the Light Sussex make good meat birds just the way they are.

If I end up with a rooster, I will surely allow him to run with a few of the native hens I have in the hope the rooster will be able to add some bulk, and maybe also improve egg production.

What fun this all is