Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[Lacy Blues]

Just thought I would share...




There is at least a half dozen more underneath the heating pad.

 

[ronott1]

Pita Pintas hatched today:

 

[ronott1]

Just thought I would share...




There is at least a half dozen more underneath the heating pad.

They look so good!

 

[neopolitancrazy]

As several of you may recall, I am hatching and raising laced Wyandottes this year. My ultimate goal was to keep the good-to-great red coloring and blue lacing and type while meeting standard weights at 6 and 12 months, and producing >200 large eggs per pullet year. I have hatched a sampling from Cock1xHenA and Cock2xHenB, with a surprise finding, namely some chicks are veerrryyyyyy slow to feather. I am seriously considering culling every chick that still has a naked back at 8 weeks and those without tail feathers at 12 weeks. Any thoughts?

 

[RIR-YELLOWLEGS]

Oh, I still have it!

take a pic let us see it and to answer your question anything in the same rodent spe.can breed together and have young.

 

[chickadoodles]

Lacy your chicks look so cute!

Ron you Pita Pinta chicks are so cute!

 

[chickadoodles]

Quote: I would like to see it please.

 

[gjensen]

As several of you may recall, I am hatching and raising laced Wyandottes this year. My ultimate goal was to keep the good-to-great red coloring and blue lacing and type while meeting standard weights at 6 and 12 months, and producing >200 large eggs per pullet year. I have hatched a sampling from Cock1xHenA and Cock2xHenB, with a surprise finding, namely some chicks are veerrryyyyyy slow to feather. I am seriously considering culling every chick that still has a naked back at 8 weeks and those without tail feathers at 12 weeks. Any thoughts?

I would want to mark those that are slow to feather, and grow them out to see what I had. I would cull any that had were coupled with other concerning deficiencies early.

I am no fan of birds slow to feather, but I would not condemn my best pair for it in the first year. I would want to see what I had to work with, and then go from there. Saying this without knowing what you have as a start, or what you have access to. By saying some, I assume that you are saying that some are not.

See what you have to work with, and go from there. You would have made no commitments, and you would have the opportunity to decide based on evaluating the whole. It does not sound like you are at the "end of the road'.

I would note the parents etc. I would want to know if I was dealing with a sex linked recessive etc.

 

[gjensen]

This is so interesting. I read recently that you should put the lights on from 1-3am in the south to give them extra time to eat in the cooler evening temperature.

It looks like I'm going to have a bunch hatch the first part of June. Two broody's with Seven or so plus 30 or so in the incubator.

It does not matter until you are concerned with weights and percentages at particular times etc. They will eventually reach their genetic potential, but reaching it will have not been as efficient. It is not that they will be stunted, unless we are talking about extreme extremes.

I do not use lights, but length of day is relevant to this discussion. The reason that I do not use lights, is that I do not have to.

 

[gjensen]

Well, I don't know about a 1-3 am feed time, I'm dead to the world at that time of day.

Even if the lights are on in my adult pens, and its dark outside, my birds will be on the roost!

Chicks though? I'd have to get up and feed them because I don't leave food out overnight. I have a terrible mouse issue and leaving food out would only encourage them!

I do need to get up earlier though so they can eat at sun-up.

I do not believe the lights are necessary. They have enough time early am, and late pm to suffice.