Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[finnfur]

Cant say that DE and sulphur are effective as preventative on chickens but thats what I use and maybe I have just been lucky.
I will say that DE flour put in grain for storage is effective. I store grain a year at a time in 55 gallon plastic barrels and if I don't put it in the grain it gets bugs- but none when I do. The grain I get straight from the farmer out of the combine un cleaned or processed.
DE is only effective on Exoskeleton bugs.
Its mostly what organic farmers use to eliminate bugs in stored grain.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
Well the local farmer who bought chicks from me last year is going to take "Knight And Day" and the other excess birds this year. That's a relief. I am just gving them to him. It's late in the season and I really need to downsize this flock for overwintering. Looks like another brutal winter here and I am going to have to heat the coops. Only want to heat 2 , not 3. So will only overwinter 8 birds. Plus the little pullet found her crow today. Ugh, very early this morning "he" started crowing. Of course the other 3 cocks had to answer, what a cacophony! Guess who couldn't sleep thru it? Yuck. So am only keeping 2.
Best,
Karen

 

[hellbender]

Hi,
Well the local farmer who bought chicks form me last year is going to take "Knight And Day" and the other excess birds this year. That's a relief. I am just gving them to him. It's late in the season and I really need to downsize this flock for overwintering. Looks like another brutal winter here and I am going to have to heat the coops. Only want to heat 2 , not 3. So will only overwinter 8 birds. Plus the little pullet find her crow today. Ugh, very early this morning "he" started crowing. Of course the other 3 cocks had to answer, what a cacophony! Guess who couldn't sleep thru it? Yuck. So am only keeping 2.
Best,
Karen

Karen, please take this in the spirit in which it is written. Of course in the end we all do what we feel is right for ourselves and our birds but the way I see this coop heating business, if my stock is not hardy enough to withstand our winters, which pretty well mimics yours, then these birds can just freeze to death.

I'll provide them with warm water as many times a day they seem to need, I'll feed them warm mash and I'll make sure they have adequate housing long before 'les vents d'hiver.' Actually, I'd come nearer providing air conditioning but that's not going to happen either. In the warmer times, I provide ice water, large blocks of ice and if it hits the 90s, I'll turn on some fans but that's it.

Good luck with your efforts and I think you know I'm being sincere.

RON

 

[3riverschick]

Karen, please take this in the spirit in which it is written. Of course in the end we all do what we feel is right for ourselves and our birds but the way I see this coop heating business, if my stock is not hardy enough to withstand our winters, which pretty well mimics yours, then these birds can just freeze to death.

I'll provide them with warm water as many times a day they seem to need, I'll feed them warm mash and I'll make sure they have adequate housing long before 'les vents d'hiver.' ( 'winter winds.') Actually, I'd come nearer providing air conditioning but that's not going to happen either. In the warmer times, I provide ice water, large blocks of ice and if it hits the 90s, I'll turn on some fans but that's it.

Good luck with your efforts and I think you know I'm being sincere.

RON

Hi Ron,
I didn't heat last year and everyone made it thru. But the cock's combs froze and it pushed my breeding season back to May-June before they were healed and ready to sire. Yes, both my strains are Canadian in origin ( years ago) so they can handle the cold, but the combs can't. I sure wish they had Rose combs, sigh.
Farmer Karl and his wife came by today. They took "Knight and Day", the young cockerel from early this season, plus 2 hens from the egg flock, the cock from the egg flock, and one hen from the breeding flock. The I asked farmer Karl if he wanted any of the 8 chicks. I had noticed the majority of them were one sex. He got a nut and string and proceed to hold it over their heads , correctly sexing all the chicks.
1. nut on a string over their head goes in a circle. it's female.
2. In a back-and-forth line, it's a male. He took 5 of the cockerel chicks. I kept the 2 pullets and the last cockerel chick.
So I have left for overwintering: My best stud cock, "Tux" ( full brother to Knight And Day) ; 2 hens from the egg flock; 3 hens from the breeding flock; and 2 pullet chicks and one cockerel chick.
I think that is a good number for me. I will only have to heat two coops instead of three. I will definitely have to heat one because of the late hatched chicks.
Best,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
I need to ship a dozen hatching eggs to Florida. Usually I don't ship eggs. Like to deal in started birds. But it's late in the season
and the breeder in FL wants them now, not Spring. So, has anyone found a foolproof way to ship hatching eggs? Size of box,
method of wrapping, etc.? Thanks for you help,
Karen

 

[finnfur]

Hi,
I need to ship a dozen hatching eggs to Florida. Usually I don't ship eggs. Like to deal in started birds. But it's late in the season
and the breeder in FL wants them now, not Spring. So, has anyone found a foolproof way to ship hatching eggs? Size of box,
method of wrapping, etc.? Thanks for you help,
Karen

Foolproof to get them there un-broken but not to hatch . Don't know anyone that doesn't have reduction of hatch rate.
I bubble wrap [med size bubbles] individually rolling egg and leaving the ends open to air and back them firmly in a styrofoam frozen meat type container and put that in box with shredded
paper. Haven't had a problem with broken eggs but hatch rate goes down . I think that is related to the handling they get.
There was a good thread on that here on BYC - try a search
Good luck

 

[Wisher1000]

The Great Egg Shipping Experiment thread .......

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/738943/the-great-egg-shipping-experiment

 

[finnfur]

The Great Egg Shipping Experiment thread .......

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/738943/the-great-egg-shipping-experiment

Yes thats the one - all 250 pages of it

It has progressed since I last viewed it.

 

[3riverschick]

Thank you!!

 

[Big Orp]

Well this year was a wash in the hatching side of things. I have some of Jeremy Woeples barred rocks and all of the eggs died. I have 10 hens and 2 roo's so fertility shouldn't be the problem. All of the hens seemed to tend to their nest well, only leaving for a few minutes. I feed them good food (Purina Flock Raiser). They get clean water daily and the waterers get washed twice a week. The coop bedding is cleaned out every week and so are the nest when hens aren't sitting in them. They turned one year old this summer. Any suggestions on why the eggs did not hatch?