Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[NanaKat]

Rollercoasterw inter....ups and downs on temps and now snow due Sunday Tuesday and Friday.
A lot here are treating frostbite on birds and losing a few
There are 12 fluffy chicks from that hatcher full that dropped in temp to the 80s earlier this week. A few more are pipped and beginning to zip....should finish by midnight.

 

[hellbender]

I love my chickens again.

Except the gang of Australorps leaving tomorrow.

I have wheedled a couple of my son's quaisi-friends (non military) to help me sort them out late this evening...

In this case...wheedle means offered money. I guess their supply of Oxy is getting low

because they were more than happy to oblige. I'll believe they're here when I see them.

 

[hellbender]

Thanks to all the folks who offered information on Costa Rica. We will only be enjoying vacations there, not transplanting ourselves.

I will be sprawled out on a sandy beach, soaking up sun for my arthritic joints..Jason will be soaking up whatever he can dig up in the way of beautiful Latinas, one of his all time favorite flavors.

 

[smarsh]

on lambing:
We always lambed in Feb. here in Kentucky; this is past tense, I am now city folk. Lambs are very hardy once they got on their feet. The only time we had problems was when it was wet. Frozen ground was a blessing. We did house our sheep at night for security purposes. As for assisted lambing, there seemed to be a good bit of that. I don't know if it was the breed or what. Big lambs and mostly twins, seemed to have a lot of lambs with a leg back and in need of some help.

 

[hellbender]

on lambing:
We always lambed in Feb. here in Kentucky; this is past tense, I am now city folk. Lambs are very hardy once they got on their feet. The only time we had problems was when it was wet. Frozen ground was a blessing. We did house our sheep at night for security purposes. As for assisted lambing, there seemed to be a good bit of that. I don't know if it was the breed or what. Big lambs and mostly twins, seemed to have a lot of lambs with a leg back and in need of some help.

Same problems with goats...some go smoothly but other times, one has to go in and maneuver the kid to get them coming, feet and nose first.

 

[Arielle]

on lambing:
We always lambed in Feb. here in Kentucky; this is past tense, I am now city folk. Lambs are very hardy once they got on their feet. The only time we had problems was when it was wet. Frozen ground was a blessing. We did house our sheep at night for security purposes. As for assisted lambing, there seemed to be a good bit of that. I don't know if it was the breed or what. Big lambs and mostly twins, seemed to have a lot of lambs with a leg back and in need of some help.

THis is where you can apply selection-- I kept records on my ewes as I didn't have many. I noted if they had assistance during lambing and why. By selectively culling, I reached a p oint where I didnot need to help, even with twins. Large singles gave the most problems, and gave the ewe 2 strikes: no twins, and help at lambing.

THe year I added a new ram the lambing season was bizzarre-- the twins were 1 very large and 1 very small. THe next year, the lambs were closer in birth weight , but not like in past years. FIgured it was the ram.

Glad I don't have to deal with such stuff with the chickens. CHickens are far less stressful.

 

[thedragonlady]

Same problems with goats...some go smoothly but other times, one has to go in and maneuver the kid to get them coming, feet and nose first.

I had the misfortune to live in a small town in north Ga. All the vets had huge hands.I had a flock of Suffolks, and a herd of Nubians.One of my vets asked why I never had kidding , or lambing problems. I told him that my Nubians mostly had twins and triplets, sometimes quads, and that yes, I did have to pull kids, and the occasional lamb.The word got out. The vets would have people call me at all hours to deliver babies.One catch...if you were driving through this small town after midnight, the police thought that you were either drunk, or crazy, and needed to be stopped. Three vets chipped in, and got me a tag. It read :" QVM " for Quack Veterinary Medicine. They also called the police, and asked them not to bother me at night. They were only too glad to have me helping those ewes and does on bitter nights, while they stayed in their warm beds. Having produced an 11 lb baby myself (my only one !), I have a lot of sympathy for mothers to be in distress.

 

[crazyhen]

Does anyone here have the large WR eggs or chicks for sale this late March? I want the pure breed type. I love their fluffiness and egg laying too. Thanks

 

[Fred's Hens]

Does anyone here have the large WR eggs or chicks for sale this late March? I want the pure breed type. I love their fluffiness and egg laying too. Thanks

Yes. Weaversrocks

He's a member here at BYC. weavers rocks

Send Ken a pm.

 

[Fentress]

I think this chatter about seasons, weather etc, is relevant. There is a natural ebb and flow to things. It is easier to go with it than against it unless there is some advantage to fighting it.

In SC and Georgia, quail and turkey breeding season kicks in around March. Most of the eggs are hatching in May. These two birds having the most similar habits to our birds is relevant to me. The young are hatching as the insect population is beginning to increase.
Our birds are most fertile and active in March as the weather is first starting to warm and as the days continue to get longer. The broodies tend to be sitting in April, and the chicks on the ground in May.
There is variation in the captive and wild populations but the months mentioned see the most activity.

The birds I have would be in their prime for fall shows if hatched at a similar time frame. There is little reason for me to go against it other than to beat the heat, but with ample shade and cool clean water these birds don't seam to miss a beat in the heat. Coupled with that my birds want to molt their first year if hatched too early, I think that I will just go with the flow this year.

And with a broody on a productive pasture in a May/June time frame, I think that would mitiage to at least some degree the later hatch. They just seem to grow better.