Iowa Blues - Breed thread and discussion

[Hurley]

Had my first cross beaked chick here a week ago. This chick started out normal in appearance, was a little off at 1 week of age, by 2 the deformity was severe. I culled this chick, but wanted to share the photos for those that have never encountered a cross beaked chick.

 

[Hurley]

On a happier note, I got a little surprise in my hatch this weekend...




Have never hatched a smoky, so that was a surprise. Looks like at least one cockerel and pullet in the grow out pen is carrying E+. LOL

I've been getting brown and black hatches so long, this group this weekend was quite colorfully surprising.

I've got blacks from IB x AM (F1 Iowacanas), a black/birchen from the mixed flock, some silvers from both the mixed flock and pen A (all silver) which has only produced silvers, a blue that is 3/4 IB, 1/8 AM, 1/8 Marans, and this little smoky from the B flock (mixed birchen, silver, charcoal).

 

[karimw]

On a happier note, I got a little surprise in my hatch this weekend...




Have never hatched a smoky, so that was a surprise. Looks like at least one cockerel and pullet in the grow out pen is carrying E+. LOL

I've been getting brown and black hatches so long, this group this weekend was quite colorfully surprising.

I've got blacks from IB x AM (F1 Iowacanas), a black/birchen from the mixed flock, some silvers from both the mixed flock and pen A (all silver) which has only produced silvers, a blue that is 3/4 IB, 1/8 AM, 1/8 Marans, and this little smoky from the B flock (mixed birchen, silver, charcoal).

I think you'll like them they are very eye catching!

 

[Candy442]

Of the seven Iowa eggs we set, five were smokey and two birchen. That makes me think either they were "mixed" or Sweetie is not a silver hen?

I have posted photos of my adults, please let me know what you think of them and what should be weaned out. Thanks!

First, Gandalf. Is he a SP rooster? you can see the smidgen of autosomal red that popped out on his wings, but other than that, what do you think of his saddle feathers, coloring and body?





Next is our Sweetie, is she a silver or maybe a very slight smokey? If you look close, I see a bit of beige on her now that was not on her before, but that could be dirt too. Her breast feathers are all white and black. Silver or smokey girl?







Then we have the two birchens, would these possibly have the "smokey" gene causing the majority of smokey hatch?




Please let me know if you all don't mind what we should work on. This is all we have to work with for now.

I really appreciate it if you could give me pro's/cons of each, should I even hatch any of the birchen eggs and if I do, which out of those should I keep if they are either smokey or birchen?

 

[ottbjumper06]

I think your problem is that your Silver hen isn't laying at the moment. I have a few that are molting and that could be the case with yours as well. Are you providing artificial light?

 

[Candy442]

I think your problem is that your Silver hen isn't laying at the moment. I have a few that are molting and that could be the case with yours as well. Are you providing artificial light?

No, we used no heat or artificial light during the cold days. She does not appear to be molting, although that is possible ...anything is possible for sure

. We were just perplexed why we got more smokies than even birchens...! not one silver but we only set seven eggs. Just thought I would post the photos for everyone to tell me what they think, because maybe if some of those eggs were Sweeties, then she could not be a silver pullet. They all will be one year old in May.

 

[Hurley]

Tyler has officially adopted the smoky chick as his, so that one isn't going anywhere. Thomas's chickie is #119, a silver chick he rescued when it had a rough start. He's still proud of that and talks about it.

Ugh, tired, just got in. Have been outside all day turning my little coop into a taller coop and reinforcing it as it got blown over and wounded this past fall.

Before (under the snow, can't see it but the near wall under the coop's supports are broken.



Now it's tall enough for me to walk in, just need to buy hinges for the door that is sitting off to the left. The old door is now the window at the top of the new door, lol. Think I used up all of my scraps of 2x4s, 2x2s, 1x3s and 1x4s. It looks a little gypsy, but hey, it was "free" parts. It'll look much better once I've painted the whole thing up. My back is sore, but got a lot more done than I thought I would. Add feeder, waterer, bedding, and hinges and she'll be good to go. There's now a pop open door under the nest box area to open and rake out the pen as needed. Built a ladder up to the now quite high up opening to the coop, added a bunch of perches, buried the legs and wire on the side away from the camera. Hopefully it'll be more stable now. By next weekend, should be able to move a breeding group into that one.

Also touched up the growout shed today, fixed the door that had some loose, added some hanging nests and perches. Fixed it so I can leave one door open with the other one latched.

Next up, I need to get the roof on my new pair of breeding pens, get the wire on it, and get the doors made. That's going to take more than an afternoon.
Can't do much until I can make a lumber run, I'm out of the longer stuff.

 

[WVDan44]

Nice. I built one out of a huge dog house I got for free. Removed the roof, added a two foot extension to the top, replace roof, insulated, added new T-111 siding, doors, and fly pen. Never again though, I would start from scratch rather than try to retro-fit or re-purpose another structure this small. What a pain!!! Here it is pictured near completion with unfinished nest boxes covered by a tarp.

 

[WVDan44]

Recently I was asked about my green fodder feeding project for chickens. I originally discovered green fodder on the internet, and there I believe are some entries on You Tube about sprouting grains for fodder. Following is my process which I have set up to require little work.

This is an excellent way to provide green fodder for those living in arid climates, or in winter, or when free ranging is not possible on a regular basis.

I use a mixture of 50% barley, 30% black oil sunflower seeds, and 20% rye. When purchasing grain and seed, be sure to get food grade, not treated for planting. I was told that fodder is six times more nutritious and is six times greater in volume than regular dry grain; I can attest to the latter. I do not sprout wheat, corn, or soy beans because of GMO. I have added dried peas to the mix a time or two.

I came up with a two-bucket system for rinsing and soaking the grain. The inner bucket has holes drilled in the bottom for easy draining. I fill the outer bucket approximately 1/4 full of clean water. The bucket with drain holes is then lowered into the bucket with water and a cover goes on to keep critters out. I allow it to soak for a full 24 hours, drain it and rinse it with a hose sprayer before transferring it to a sprouting bin.



I spread the grain evenly about 1/2 inch deep over the bottom of a plastic bin with holes drilled across one long end. The bin is elevated with a piece of 2x4 so that water poured in will drain out the holes into the bin below. I have three bins set up at all times to provide a constant source of sprouted grain green fodder. One bin will provide three days of fodder.

Here is grain after first day in the sprouting bin. Little white specks appear at the ends of the grain.


After three days the sprouts are clearly visible. Rye sprouts are slightly red in color.


After six days, the sprouts have become a mat of succulent roots and lush green grass and tender sunflower sprouts that are good for humans too! Here is a good cross section view.


This photo shows individual spouts of sunflower seeds, barley, and rye.


The system requires only about ten minutes of work per day. Below is a photo of shelves and sprouting bins, the youngest are always placed at the bottom. Each bin has drain holes drilled in a straight row on one long side. The bins are elevated with a block of 2x4. I set them up in a zig-zag formation so that a gallon of water poured into the top bin rinses down and through the drain holes into the next bin where the water rinses down and out the drain holes to the third bin where the water exits the drain holes into a catch pan. I hydrate in this manner every 12 hours and also use a spray bottle to spray the surface of the seed at the same time. The rinse water contains sugars and starches that are good for watering plants or adding to compost.



And that's all there is to it. My chickens scream bloody murder if they do not have their daily ration of fodder. Occasionally, I will skip a day and toss them a bit of scratch but they still throw a hissy fit. I cut the mat of fodder into small squares, one for each bird as shown below.

 

[Hurley]

I keep meaning to try this, need to locate a source for the grains. Want to set this up this summer. I bet they love it!