Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[ronott1]

Oh Lacey,
I am so sorry to hear of your grandfather's passing. That is always hard.

Hubby Bob and I wee discussing making grow out hoop houses today.
Growing out all these staggered hatches of 3 to 6 chicks is going to be interesting.
Do you have some pics to share? We are wondering just how to make it a walk-in
and put a door in it. Do you have a coop in year's or just a tarp over it? These are
7 egg bators but we don't hold the eggs for longer than 6-7 days so if we have less
than 7, that;s what we put in at week.
Thanks so much for sharing,
Karen , 3 more chicks hatched today (Tux ex May)

I would post a bit more but I have not been hatching "Heritage" chicks by the thread definition.

I really do just love my Fogel RIRs though--And the Hupp Australorps are very pretty with their black eyes.

 

[chickadoodles]

Lacey, So sorry for your loss.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

Lacey, I am very sorry for your loss. I hope you can get some fertile eggs from your senior hen.

My husband took a temp job a week ago. 200 miles away, so have been trying to work and keep the animals fed and watered, the vegetable garden will have to live or die on its own. I have a friend from work coming over tomorrow to pick up all my so-far-obvious culls, to lighten my workload around here. I am giving her birds I had planned to put in the freezer come August, but don't think I can manage on my own that long. (Next week I switch to 12 hour night shifts- much harder than day shifts.)

I am enjoying watching the broody hen raise her 14 chicks. Obviously, the problem with hatch ability was ME. They are growing, scratching and playing in the purple sage bush in their pen, very cute. One afternoon, I came home from town to find one of the puppies walking around in the biddy hen's pen. By the time I could get out of the car and over there, he had rounded up the hen and chicks and herded them into their barn. I have no idea what he perceived as a threat to the chicks, but am so happy he is protective of them.

Best wishes,
Angela

 

[Lacy Blues]

Oh Lacey,
I am so sorry to hear of your grandfather's passing. That is always hard.

Hubby Bob and I wee discussing making grow out hoop houses today.
Growing out all these staggered hatches of 3 to 6 chicks is going to be interesting.
Do you have some pics to share? We are wondering just how to make it a walk-in
and put a door in it. Do you have a coop in year's or just a tarp over it? These are
7 egg bators but we don't hold the eggs for longer than 6-7 days so if we have less
than 7, that;s what we put in at week.
Thanks so much for sharing,
Karen , 3 more chicks hatched today (Tux ex May)

I have a page on facebook: blue_lace_ambition where I already have some pics posted of my progress. I will be putting a door in the western end, and I've got all kinds of things running through my head for outdoor time, I'm nowhere even close to that yet. For the hoop coop itself, I think I will be sectioning a little bit. At the eastern end, I think I will section it across the width about 4 feet wide. The remaining 8 x 16 space, I think I will divide down the middle to separate cockerels and pullets. I am hoping to use it only for growing out so am not planning on an indoor coop. I guess, rather than have it sit the rest of the time, I might use it for some gardening or maybe breeding pens.

If you don't have a facebook account, let me know and I'll get some pics posted. Probably not on this thread though... don't want to cause trouble. I'll make an ongoing article or whatever on here documenting my progress.

Thank you all for the condolences. My grandpa was a great man and he will really be missed.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
I have the inbred chicks in a 96 qt. plastic tub. They are 12 days old today. I am watching TV
and hear those silly sparrows cheep cheeping outside the window. My they are persistent.
Walk past the door to the front porch wait.. The cheeping is coming from there! Must need
heat adjusted again. Walk out there and there is one of the inbred chicks standing on a box letting me know he/she wants his siblings! Wow! Ok, I was not expecting that!
So on went the hardwarecloth roof to the tub.
These chicks sure are feathering out fast. I read that males and females
feather out at different rates. Anyone know which sex grows its wing
feathers out faster? I seem to have 2 things going on and
wondered if it was a sex-linked trait. Some of the chicks look like
they are sprouting a second set of wings on their backs. And some aren't.
Are the ones which are growing the larger wing feathers first of one sex
and the others a diferent one? Can't send pics, hubby has the camera.
Thanks,
Karen

 

[ronott1]

Hi,
I have the inbred chicks in a 96 qt. plastic tub. They are 12 days old today. I am watching TV
and hear those silly sparrows cheep cheeping outside the window. My they are persistent.
Walk past the door to the front porch wait.. The cheeping is coming from there! Must need
heat adjusted again. Walk out there and there is one of the inbred chicks standing on a box letting me know he/she wants his siblings! Wow! Ok, I was not expecting that!
So on went the hardwarecloth roof to the tub.
These chicks sure are feathering out fast. I read that males and females
feather out at different rates. Anyone know which sex grows its wing
feathers out faster? I seem to have 2 things going on and
wondered if it was a sex-linked trait. Some of the chicks look like
they are sprouting a second set of wings on their backs. And some aren't.
Are the ones which are growing the larger wing feathers first of one sex
and the others a diferent one? Can't send pics, hubby has the camera.
Thanks,
Karen

The feathering rate works with some breeds and lines in the breed. The Fogel RIRs(mohawk) feather faster for the females. The males will get tail feathers later than the females.

It can be different for other breeds and the males can feather faster. You need to pay attention to your breed and line--keep track of the ones that are feathering faster and see if it works for you.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi ! ,
Ok, I went out to the poultry yard today and wow, has the egg flock changed!
I am 3/4's of the way thru a bag of Purina Start And Grow Sunfresh Recipe Non-Medicated .
http://poultry.purinamills.com/OURPRODUCTS/Products/StartGrow/default.aspx
For birds from hatch thru laying age ( 20 weeks). This flock was hatched in April 2013.
I bought something else, but Agway shipped me this at the dock. It's all they had, they said
. I checked around and was told it wouldn't hurt to feed it to my adults. So it's been
about 10 days now. I can't believe the difference. The hens have filled out and matured
and the cushions are gone. I just don't get it. Even Rocky, the egg flock cock seems
more peppy! I know Walt Boese makes a special custom mix for his birds, wonder if,
for some reason, this formula just somehow imitates it? The improvement is startling.

Best,
Karen

 

[ronott1]

Hi ! ,
Ok, I went out to the poultry yard today and wow, has the egg flock changed!
I am 3/4's of the way thru a bag of Purina Start And Grow Sunfresh Recipe Non-Medicated .
http://poultry.purinamills.com/OURPRODUCTS/Products/StartGrow/default.aspx
For birds from hatch thru laying age ( 20 weeks). This flock was hatched in April 2013.
I bought something else, but Agway shipped me this at the dock. It's all they had, they said
. I checked around and was told it wouldn't hurt to feed it to my adults. So it's been
about 10 days now. I can't believe the difference. The hens have filled out and matured
and the cushions are gone. I just don't get it. Even Rocky, the egg flock cock seems
more peppy! I know Walt Boese makes a special custom mix for his birds, wonder if,
for some reason, this formula just somehow imitates it? The improvement is startling.

Best,
Karen

It might have something to do with the recent recall. I bet they are paying better attention to the ingredients now.

 

[subhanalah]

It might have something to do with the recent recall. I bet they are paying better attention to the ingredients now.

no one around here carries that...only medicated.
I'm using flock raiser now. I have a breed sensitive/prone to to thiamine deficiency.

 

[ronott1]

no one around here carries that...only medicated.
I'm using flock raiser now. I have a breed sensitive/prone to to thiamine deficiency.

Me too!

I grind it up for the first week. They do very well with it.