Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[dyorto]

Townline Hatchery in Zeeland use to raise them, but they must have gotten rid of their birds about 3 years or so ago.  If you know what you are looking for, you should be pretty accurately able to sex chicks in the brooder based on markings, just not sure where you can go around here to find them anymore.

Would you be able to tell me what markings to look for? Thanks!

 

[Folly's place]

Google 'sexing welsummer chicks'; it's very obvious, but easier to look at pictures than descriptions. Mary

 

[gladahmae]

a sharply devined V on the top of the head indicates pullet, while a messy or uneven "spot" indicates a cockerel.

 

[trailrider330]

Would you be able to tell me what markings to look for? Thanks!

Keep in mind that this technique may work better with some lines than others, but in general you are looking for well defined lines with a lot of contrast between the chipmunk stripes to spot the females. Males will have less color variation and the chipmunk stripes will not seem as defined or distinct (in general this may also cause the male chicks to appear a little lighter.

If you Google something like "sexing Welsummer chicks" or enter that into backyardchickens.com you will probably come up with some good picture examples.

 

[dyorto]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Jim121898]

I must say we were lucky and didn't get any accumulating snow.

I also wanted to throw out there that EEs tend to lay well through the winter. We have 10 hens at my work and they got at least 6 eggs a day. Needless to say I'm currently in the middle of a staggered hatch of EEs. I have 10 chicks thriving in the brooder, 10 more due to hatch this weekend, and N additional 10 due to hatch the following weekend. I must also say my wife isn't happy with me possibly hatching out 30 chicks. She has informed me that I must get rid of some. So if any body lives near Jackson and has an interest in EEs I may have a few available.

 

[bigmrg74]

I must say we were lucky and didn't get any accumulating snow.

I also wanted to throw out there that EEs tend to lay well through the winter. We have 10 hens at my work and they got at least 6 eggs a day. Needless to say I'm currently in the middle of a staggered hatch of EEs. I have 10 chicks thriving in the brooder, 10 more due to hatch this weekend, and N additional 10 due to hatch the following weekend. I must also say my wife isn't happy with me possibly hatching out 30 chicks. She has informed me that I must get rid of some. So if any body lives near Jackson and has an interest in EEs I may have a few available.

I might be interested in some of them in a few months. I would just need to see how things go with my move to an apartment goes with keeping the flock here on the farm first.

Signed the lease today and we got a key. Anybody want to help us move Saturday Morning??

 

[WalnutHill]

Well we sort-of made it through winter. I ended up losing another duck, but I also figured out that duck eggs make me sick, so I don't know if I'm going to keep the 2 I have at this point. I was so excited about them last year AND ended up with a trio, so I'm kind of disappointed that I can't actually eat the eggs (or hatch any eggs since the drake was the first one to go.) We haven't had an egg laid since December. Yeah. Out of 30+ birds, over half of which were ISAs purchased last spring, WITH supplemental lighting starting at 3am every day.....no eggs. And that's 2 years in a row that we've gotten ISAs that didn't lay until the FOLLOWING year. I'm kind of over them.

I'm completely debating doing a full flock turn-over and getting the birds I *want* for looks instead of just the "high production" breeds that don't seem to be working out for me. And of course I can't find anyone in Michigan who has what I want for a price that I can stomach. I doubt I can talk my dear darling husband into $200+ worth of chicks as a starting point. If anyone knows of someone in MI with good LF wyandottes, I'd love to have a good flock of those. Everything I have seen so far is very hatchery-looking.


Can it be spring already though?? I was all ready to order my greenhouse plastic and then we got 6in of crap. I'm so, so, so very tired of this white stuff.

I took the same approach after buying two batches of production reds that were sorely disappointing. While I do have some nice purebreds (Appenzeller Spitzhauben, Ayam Cemani, Sulmtaler, Black Copper Marans, Crested Cream Legbar, Lavender Ameraucana), I also have a large number of mixes from my old Easter Egger lines and they lay like crazy all winter long. They really don't cost much of anything to spawn a new batch every year with whatever rooster survives the cut, and the eggs are a lovely range of blues, greens and olives. The production reds that are left add some brown, and the Spitzes add some white. The flock is so much prettier than the monocultural deadbeats, and they look unique enough that I can identify most of my >200 birds by sight.

 

[LovelyChicks130]

I think production also depends on feed. I have gotten good results mixing my own, using standard layers mash, whole corn (not cracked) and whole oats. I've heard oats are the secret to egg production. My chicks have laid very well this winter. Only had a drop when it was absolutely frigid out (well below 0) and even at times I found a lot of frozen eggs.

 

[WalnutHill]

I think production also depends on feed. I have gotten good results mixing my own, using standard layers mash, whole corn (not cracked) and whole oats. I've heard oats are the secret to egg production. My chicks have laid very well this winter. Only had a drop when it was absolutely frigid out (well below 0) and even at times I found a lot of frozen eggs.

I have > 200 hens all hatched spring and summer 2016, all fed the same diet and only the mutts did well laying over the winter.

I haven't tried whole corn. What's the magic there? Retained oil? Oats are a major component of the scratch grains we feed.

Our local mill let me boost the concentrate levels in our mash over the winter. It made for better feather condition but didn't seem to do much for production.