Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

Would anyone want to buy this little fella from me for $15? I think he's going to be a rooster and I'm thinking I don't want a large rooster right now, maybe later on.

That is most definitely a HE. Didn't get far enough on posts to see if you found him a home. No, I don't need him, I have PLENTY of my own

 

[Minniechickmama]

I agree on the roosters vs dogs. A crow sounds so much better then the barking. I also think some of the hens egg songs (which I also love) are alot noisier than the roosters crows so I really don't understand the no rooster policy.

Feathersite has a page with chicken/guinea crosses and some peafowl/guinea crosses. They are always sterile.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Guineas/BRKGuinHybrid.html

There is a fun thread on here about "Miracle" the guinea/chicken cross. They are sterile, like mules, but really cool looking!

 

[rainin22]

That is most definitely a HE. Didn't get far enough on posts to see if you found him a home. No, I don't need him, I have PLENTY of my own

Not yet and I feel like he's the one making all the noise already! And I have a feeling he has a brother..

 

[holm25]

OK Minnie this is how I have them set in the bator for easy turning I just flip them to the other side... Is it OK to do it this way??



I'm super excited all the eggs have these in them!!! NO clears at all!! I had to give my roo a treat... Bad pics but they r all alive a moving in the shell!

 

[Minniechickmama]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.
Ok, Isabelle Orps are Lavender. They are the lavender dilution of the Crele. The Crele is developed by covering partridge with Cookoo. So technically Crele is a Cookoo-Partridge. Very beautiful and rich coloring. The Isabelle is the same but has the lavender gene added so it is very diluted. Pale lemon head and neck, where the gold feathers normally are, cream where the red feathers normally are and of course all black feathers are lavender.
I am going to get them from Fancy Chick.com since she started chatting with me here on backyard chickens and she has been giving me tons of advise on how to breed a self sustained flock. There are a couple of other places with English breeding programs that have lavender and Crele breeding pens. I feel, however, that her enthusiastic and generous nature has won me over (and no she didn't even hint that I should buy her birds)
As to my old coop, looks like a small barn. V shaped roof. Has an attic I used to play in as a child. There was a female cat who always had kittens up there. There even was an attached covered shelter for a tractor. That is falling apart so eventually I will pull it down. Two large rooms inside. We had it converted to a 2 horse stable with attached Paddock. That will help in protecting them from 4 legged predators. I intend to add hardware cloth and restring the electric fence. Have a real powerful fencer. Got zapped a couple of times...NOT very pleasant. The enclosed runs will be Inside the paddock. With the threat of avian flu being so high the open parts of the paddock will be utilized ONLY when they can be supervised by me and possibly my standard poodle. I have to train him (read Brainwash) to recognize the birds as 'family' so he will protect them as he does the cats. They have to override their natural prey drive. We succeeded doing it with the cats and he is seriously protective with any animal that meets his criteria of 'family'. He is scary smart and his desire to please me is huge. All it took was for me to catch him once squatting to pee as a 4 month old puppy. He stopped mid pee, finished outside and never messed in the house again. He will wait, has waited over 12 hours to go out without an accident. Wonderful dog.

Good luck getting it all off the ground. But especially, good luck with teaching your Standard (note, I have 3) to leave the chickens alone. They get that taste of feather in their mouth and you will need to invest in an in-ground fence. I did and it saved my birds and my sanity. We tried all the advice about breaking them, but to no end. I got them on the in-ground system and they learned it in one day. All it takes is a beep if they get too close and they back off. The only chickens I have lost since got out of their own fence and came to the house.

The Orps sound lovely! They will likely be as big of an investment as Ralphie's Creamettes!

 

[Minniechickmama]

Thank you, Bogtown Chick!

I greatly appreciate your input. My wife did pick her up yesterday and the entire time she was holding her, she was turning her neck to try and bite my wife's hand and arm. This came out of nowhere and because my daughter's rabbit and rabbit hutch are in that part of the yard, a second person has to go back with her to keep Rebecca away from her since my daughter's terrified of all chickens but especially Rebecca.

We'll continue to pick her up and teach her that she's not the leader. If this continues, I won't have a problem sending her on her way.

Thank you again!!

I would skip the holding and toss her in chicken jail (aka kennel or big cage) for a few days. I am in 100% agreement with Bogtown. Hatchery birds are much more frequently the victim of some kind of reproductive problem, and some can change their behavior. Personally, I wouldn't bother with the jail even if she is a danger to a child. She could be useful as a nice pot of chicken and dumplings, and let your daughter know so she can feel better as she eat the nasty little witch.
Well, that is what I might do anyway.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I know I have seen some of you talk about this before...BUT I being old forget most things I read..


I put Bert in a coop by himself with three girls to try and make toads.. ( a CX Dixie Rainbow cross).

I have a few problems:

Bert is reverting into a CX and wants to eat all the time. If I remove the food I wonder if the Dixie chicks will get enough to eat.
The Dixie chicks have started spending the night in the nests. ( how do I stop this?) I have better roosts but they like the nests.

The Dixie chicks do not seem to like Bert. I have not seen them allow him to do his job. He grabs them behind the head and they break free.



They are in the coop I originally put Ed and Ole in when they got out of "jail" from moving here. Ed is spending too much time in this coop, but not in the same partition Bert is in wooing the girls, I think. I watched Ed tonight and he is even spending the nights alone in his "old" roost. That surprises me as I thought he was head rooster and would live in the other coop. I wonder sometimes if I even have a vague idea of what their pecking order really is.

I am remodeling the coop for this winter. I plan to keep all the peasant chickens in this coop and give the other coop to the royal creamettes. I will have 2-3 separate areas and runs, which should help me get started hatching earlier in the winter.

Try putting feed behind a door that Big old Bert can't fit through but the girls can. Fee d him is ration and give them theirs where he can't get to it.
As for getting them to like him more, did you try putting a paper bag over his head?
They probably look at him and think, "There is NO WAY I am having relations with a man-bird that size!"

 

[Minniechickmama]

Are you allowed to learn more than one tidbit of information a day?

Have you though of upgrading from a tidBIT to a tidBYTE, or a tidMEGABYTE? It may be helpful to upgrade your RAM too, or did he eat the motherboard?

 

[Minniechickmama]

OK Minnie I have a question for u!! Is it OK to have my eggs that r in my bator in cartons that r on there sides?? Or do I have to do this differently

Well, as long as they are getting turned over/rocked twice a day, that should work. What kind of incubator do you have?

 

[Minniechickmama]

This is an interesting question I had seen someone bring up in another forum....
If a hen hatches eggs, they are on their sides and she rolls/turns them throughout the day and hatching period. So, why do you suppose 'it is better' to put eggs in a holder, pointy end down (or auto turner)? I have done them on their sides and rolled them, and I have done them in the auto turner types and truly, the difference is that I have had more pip out the narrow end or out the side of the egg more often when they are rolled.
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