"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

campingshaws · Aug 31, 2017

theuglychick said:
Greetings!
How did you fare through Harvey?

What birds do you raise?

No trouble with Harvey, but we live on a river and there's 2ft of water on the road. The next few days will be the worst for my family. We're the only ones on this part of the road.

I have svart honas, banty cochins, and lots of fun, fancy mixes. :lol:

My mixes are from a sapphire roo, legbar/leghorn roo, legbar/marans roo and cochin, EE, leghorn, and legbar hens. I like playing "mad scientist" with traits and colors.

I also have muscovies and a few guineas.

theuglychick · Aug 31, 2017

Glad y'all are well! We get flooded in too during big storms. At least we have our chickens to keep us busy!

That's a wonderful variety of birds. Do you have any legbar/leghorn bred back to legbars laying? If so, what color eggs are you getting?

I'm putting my CCL over my whiting pullets in a few weeks to see if I can get some of the green tint out of my eggs. My CCL hens all lay a blue-green egg.

campingshaws · Aug 31, 2017

theuglychick said:
Glad y'all are well! We get flooded in too during big storms. At least we have our chickens to keep us busy!

That's a wonderful variety of birds. Do you have any legbar/leghorn bred back to legbars laying? If so, what color eggs are you getting?

I'm putting my CCL over my whiting pullets in a few weeks to see if I can get some of the green tint out of my eggs. My CCL hens all lay a blue-green egg.

I had bad trouble with snakes, cocci, and moldy feed this year, so I only have guesses on the parentage of most birds. I lost so many in such a short time that I got pretty depressed and just mixed all the broods. In the spring I'll separate hens and roos. I have a big blue EE/cochin who lays a nice medium green egg. I had her with the legbar/marans roo and hatched three pullets off her, but none survived. My spring pullets aren't laying yet.

campingshaws · Aug 31, 2017

My fav birds I got from a member in Texas. She's trying to develop a lavender crele from her Isabella leghorns and cream legbars. I have a few of her castoffs, and a few from eggs I hatched from her. It's a really fun project and the birds are gorgeous.

theuglychick · Aug 31, 2017

campingshaws said:
I had bad trouble with snakes, cocci, and moldy feed this year, so I only have guesses on the parentage of most birds. I lost so many in such a short time that I got pretty depressed and just mixed all the broods. In the spring I'll separate hens and roos. I have a big blue EE/cochin who lays a nice medium green egg. I had her with the legbar/marans roo and hatched three pullets off her, but none survived. My spring pullets aren't laying yet.

I see, It can be really (REALLY) trying to raise chickens in a wet swampy area!

I tell people that cocci is a right of passage for chicks in southeast Louisiana.

And snakes!! I've pulled 3 snakes out of my coop and brooder in just 1 month! Darn rat snakes, one ate 3 eggs from under a broody in the night mid-hatch! I've since reinforced EVERYTHING. My coop is now stuffed and stuffed with foam and tinfoil, it's ugly but it's snake-proof. I included pics, those are the three snakes.

I've since found a way to relocate the snakes to people's property that actually need help with rat control.

I'd love to know what colors you get when they start laying!

theuglychick · Aug 31, 2017

campingshaws said:
My fav birds I got from a member in Texas. She's trying to develop a lavender crele from her Isabella leghorns and cream legbars. I have a few of her castoffs, and a few from eggs I hatched from her. It's a really fun project and the birds are gorgeous.

They sound lovely! I'd love to see pics when you get a chance to post!

campingshaws · Aug 31, 2017

Oh geez, snakes first. All rat snakes. I only killed the ones I caught in the act. All others were chased off.

First: chick survived.

Second: juvie survived.

Third: ate entire clutch of duck eggs 8 days from hatch.

Fourth: killed 5 juvies, not big enough to eat them.

Fifth: deleted pics I guess but it's in the crate the hens are looking in. Ate 5 chicks and eggs.

Sixth: ate 2 big chicks, killed one other.

Seventh: ate eggs.

theuglychick · Aug 31, 2017

Wow!! Were they all rat snakes/chicken snakes?!

I'm sorry you had to deal with that and had that kind of loss. I had no idea they would go for a juvenile bird. I thought my older chicks were safe. I will take some extra precautions tonight and reinforce my brooders tonight.

Were all of the snakes found at night or I the early morning? That's when I find mine.

theuglychick · Aug 31, 2017

campingshaws said:
Oh geez, snakes first. All rat snakes. I only killed the ones I caught in the act. All others were chased off.

First: chick survived.
View attachment 1125403

Second: juvie survived.
View attachment 1125401

Third: ate entire clutch of duck eggs 8 days from hatch.
View attachment 1125410

Fourth: killed 5 juvies, not big enough to eat them.
View attachment 1125411

Fifth: deleted pics I guess but it's in the crate the hens are looking in. Ate 5 chicks and eggs.
View attachment 1125398

Sixth: ate 2 big chicks, killed one other.
View attachment 1125399

Seventh: ate eggs.
View attachment 1125400

Oh I see where you said they were all rat snakes!

campingshaws · Aug 31, 2017

A few honas. They make good broodies!

My best broody EE Cinder. She'll take anything! I gave her day old keets and month old chicks (survivors of the 14). Then a week later I have her two more day old keets. She'll mother anything.

Mixed hona pullet:

Wild banty cochins. They lived for a month finding their own food and shelter! I kept checking on them but they were always fine, so I let them stay out. Fun fact: Cinder hatched half of them last year for her first brood!