INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Indyshent]

New Sci Project Idea......
After doing poultry sci experiments for 3 years in 4H, DD will be doing her 1st sci fair at school. The teacher said she should pick a topic she enjoys, so here's her idea:


When I mentioned quail eggs from the little store down the street, DD really lit up. I have zero quail experience & do not know anyone who keeps them. @jchny2000 - Are they difficult to raise? Smelly? Dusty? Noisy? Would a cage inside a chicken coop or garage be sufficient or do adults need to be warm in winter? Do you eat their meat? Does it taste like chicken?

Quail are super easy, feed efficient, lay super adorable dark brown-and-blue-green speckled eggs like crazy once they're settled, grow very quickly, are very quiet, socialize well given the usual loving-on your family is likely to give them, and are about the most adorable poultry you're likely to ever own. Give them no head room or a ton of head room. The loudest these guys can get is still so much quieter (and cooler sounding) than anything you're going to get out of a chicken.


Other science ideas:

Watch My Life as a Turkey with your daughter and see if she comes up with some neat ideas. One I would love to test is the difference of instincts between broad-breasted industrial turkeys, heritage turkeys, and Eastern wild turkeys. All three types come in the bronze color, so the variable of coloring couldn't play into anything if given free range about a property; thus only luck and instincts would play a role in survivability for a given type. Leg banding would be necessary for such an experiment. Specific instincts and traits could also be experimentally controlled, such as reaction to snakes, dogs, cats, plant life (poisonous, native, invasive, edible), roosting reflex,rapidity of developmental progression toward adulthood, etc. Your daughter could also attempt to take on the myth of the stupid turkey by training one.

Your daughter might also want to take on the role of heredity in temperament. Incubate several eggs from both extremely wild, flighty birds and those from exceptionally docile parents. Raise some of each in very nurturing, socially human-intensive environments, and put some perhaps under a flighty broody or simply give them far less positive attention and cuddling. Before hatching, have an objective measurement of a chick's sociability, according to levels of observable reluctance or seeking of human company.

 

[Lengerich Farms]

Provided you're sure she's a she (not a great photo for sexing her) and she's fullblooded something and she's full grown, she's likely a black Minorca.

Minorca is what I came up with too! Just wanted some more opinions. She does lay, she payed for her previous owners. Just not for me yet. She's my only white egg layer, that's how I know she hasn't laid.

 

[Lengerich Farms]

@Indyshent she's camera shy lol

 

[Indyshent]

Minorcas are pretty good layers of white eggs--same family as Leghorns. Any time something drastic changes, eggs will decline dramatically in frequency and/or quality. Nothing to be worried about. I've had them take a month off after rehoming.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Falls here, and I can sure tell it in my chickens. Lots of molting, grumpy birds, few eggs. Starting to plan winterizing now so its done, ugh. Aside from upgrading and moving coops we are looking at whats needed to keep them warm for winter this year, with the newer style coops. Am sure glad I froze eggs this year but they won't last long.

We had 10 new piglets born the 22nd, can't remember if I posted it yet! Berkshire sow Willow and boar Oreo. Totally honest, was not expecting this farrowing. She showed no sign of being pregnant until Saturday. Saw that her milk was in and belly had dropped! We were sure the last breeding didn't take.. Surprise! All 10 are fat, healthy and crawling all over Willow. This is off season for piglets so they will be available in 3 weeks, very cheap!

 

[tmarsh83]

Molting question from an idiot.

When is the leghorn going to start? The two barred rocks are trying, one starting at each end, but the leghorn shows no sign. The BR are giving maybe 5 or 6 eggs a week total, but that white egg is sitting there waiting every afternoon.

Guessing she's more likely to have a "hard molt"? While the BR are doing more of a soft?

 

[Faraday40]

Molting question from an idiot.

When is the leghorn going to start? The two barred rocks are trying, one starting at each end, but the leghorn shows no sign. The BR are giving maybe 5 or 6 eggs a week total, but that white egg is sitting there waiting every afternoon.

Guessing she's more likely to have a "hard molt"? While the BR are doing more of a soft?

I had a barnyard leghorn mix hold off on molting until 22 mo old. She didn't even do a hard molt. Her egg production slowed to about 3 eggs per week for a month & then she completely stopped for about a week & a half. (It was winter.) Then BOOM the production gradually increased until she was back up to 7 eggs giant eggs per week. For most of her life she was giving us an egg a day & took only one day off every 3 months. Her 2nd molt was similar. Other hens always have a hard molt & look like porcupines.

 

[Lengerich Farms]

Minorcas are pretty good layers of white eggs--same family as Leghorns. Any time something drastic changes, eggs will decline dramatically in frequency and/or quality. Nothing to be worried about. I've had them take a month off after rehoming. 

Okay, phew. I was worried that something may be actually wrong with her. So they make chicken Prozac? That might help?

 

[Lengerich Farms]

I just want to give a shout out to @jchny2000 for being patient, kind, helpful, and willing to work with me. I know she's got a busy schedule, but she still gets back to me as soon as she can. I figured she just needed a good public shout out!

 

[Lengerich Farms]

@Indyshent @jchny2000

I've heard of mule ducks, but is there such a thing as a mule chicken? Anyone is free to answer, these two are just usually the quickest to answer me. I want a diverse flock (no more than one of each type) except my two RIR, who are my buddies and I can't part with either one, but when I get a rooster, I don't want to end up with sterile or "mule" birds. Is this possible within chickens??