Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmc...hy-owning-backyard-chickens-is-for-the-birds/

Im gonna play the devils advocate and you tell me why this article is "for the birds" just like I told the lady of FB who had to send me this link after posting a pic of my chickens...

That kind of crap makes me want to punch someone in the head. I don't like to think of myself as a violent person, but some things just make me have those urges. Idiots who only do half their homework then write an article like that need one of those punches to wake them up.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I've worked with men for quite a few years, the same men for over 20 years, and i'll tell you right now, you are doing it wrong according to them.

All of them have a "secret fund" They have this fund so they can buy their toys and what not without having to bother the wife about it. Each paycheck they get money and put it in the fund. They save it up and then they buy stuff that they want/need. They tell me my husband has a secret fund, all men do... Well, my husband and I each get an allowance (we call it our secret fund even though we each know about it). he can save up and spend his on what he wants, I do the same with mine, it works well for us.
So, start a secret fun if you haven't already! (or at least an allowance!)

That looks fantastic, i'm sure it will hold up good. great find at fleet farm as well.

This is true and part of the reason I made my run bigger. the chickens were living the great life out of the wind and I was freezing my butt off going back and forth between the run and the coop! Now I have a storage area inside the run, so cool. I'll be good with the girls!

I would keep applying it. I keep my bag balm in the house. it would get to hard to spread if kept outside. I don't have any chlorhexedine, so not sure where you should store that, does it say on the bottle what temp it should be stored at?

We don't do allowances: What's his is mine, and what's mine is mine.

hahaha i have a 'secret fund' too

I dont add any money from our 'general fund' just from all my special jobs. I have flipped cars, bikes, snowmobiles, do some on the side computer repair and other odd jobs. that is how I bought my new bike this year. not a bad idea with the 'allowance' though. my fund would grow quicker!

and if you guys promise not to tell my DW... i do have a second secret fund that is actually secret. For the last 2 years i have had a secret savings account at the employees credit union at my work. each pay check I put $100 into it. DW dreams of some day quiting her job at the nursing home to open a dog boarding business. My secret fund is going to be my surprise for her when that day comes. It should be enough to get the business off the ground. Ive managed to keep it secret this far and hope that i can for the long haul!

You are such a PRINCE! That was originally what I was going to do before I caught the chicken bug. I worked at a boarding kennel when I was 19 and loved it. I love dogs, so that sounded grand. Then I started weighing the good and bad of dogs and waste from them, etc. The chickens won out. Sometimes though, I still wish I had gone to the dogs instead

Hello folks I'm flying by for a check in tonight.

Who knew working 100% from home would make me NOT want to get on the computer in the evening. After working then tending the critters I swear I just don't feel like looking at a 'puter! So I apologize for not keeping up with everyone. Hope this finds everyone healthy safe and warm! How about our 'first snow' yesterday?

I have a really stupid chicken newbie question.

Do chicken's grieve the loss of a mate or a pal?

Sadly I had to let Ralphie know that I lost Ole' almost 2 weeks ago.

He presented with symptoms of a cold - treated with antibiotics and within 24 hours he was back to his bad butt self. Went out to release them within a day or two from coop and he appeared to have passed while on the roost. Head still tucked. Broke my dang heart.

I still miss hearing him wake up the farm!!

Ever since then Lena has moped around but she seems to have finally taken up with the young chickens - she no longer pecks on their heads. BUT she refuses to allow them to roost with her in what was her and Ole's cage. She prefers to roost with them in their cage. She is always the first one up at night and the last one out of the coop in morning. (Before winter truly sets in they will all be moving to new digs in the new chicken house and covered run.)

Anyway - Lena hasn't laid an egg now in at least a month - so the no egg laying started before Ole's passing.

Is this normal with this up and down weather we're having?

Some animals do grieve, but I have never noticed a chicken do it. Then again, i am not like most of you who have just a small flock to watch closely for that stuff.
As for no eggs, it is that time of year, days are short and cold is coming in. I got 4 little bantam eggs today and that was it.

 

[destiny_56085]

Do white silkies typically yellow in the sun or from eating yellow corn? What determines the silver gene? What is gold based? Tell me everything. Lol

I have a lot saved on genetics, but I am going to copy and past excerpts that explain it very well in laymans terms....

First thing to remember, there are ONLY two pigments that make up color, Black (E-group) and Red (s and AR). White is the absence of pigment.

There are only five base colors in the black (the E group.) In order of dominance – E(black) = full extension of black, masks most patterning genes that may be present, ER (Birchen) = black with restriction i.e. allows patterning to show up including silver/gold leakage in hackle and saddle, fine lacing present in breast feathers, usually dark legs; eWh (Wheaten) = same as Duckwing (e) except no black lines in rooster hackle or saddle feathers and lighter down, secondary wing feathers remain black, females very different from (e) & (eb) with salmon of breast extending over all or most of body, chick down white or cream; Duckwing aka partridge or wild type (e) = salmon color breast on hens, black lines in hackle and saddle feathers of roosters; and last, Brown (eb) is same in appearance as (e) and (eWh) but will always have black shaft in hackle feathers, hens do not have the salmon breast of the wild type (e).

Red comes in a sex linked trait as gold (s) versus silver (S). Red also appears apart from silver/gold as autosomal red (Ar) which is dominant and not sex linked.

White comes in two masks – albino or “recessive” white masks the expression of ALL other colors and patterns which sometimes causes confusion because it acts dominant in this respect; however it is recessive because it only can express in a double dose (c/c). The “dominant” white (I) masks only the expression of black which is how you get white lacing instead of black or why you might want to breed to a black bird. You also only need one dose, hence the name dominant white. Have you ever tried to paint a room in a lighter color than is already on the wall? If you don't prime it first, you will get leakage of color, usually in uneven patches. The dominant white gene (I) works like paint without primer over the rest of the color genes in the chicken. Black is covered completely, but red will leak if it is present. In this case, the chicken could have autosomal red, or one of the black "bases" like e+ that gives hens a salmon breast in addition to the 'I'. Because it is dominant, you only need one copy of the gene for it to express so it could come from either parent. With the recessive white, think of it as primer (a recessive 'c') plus the coat of paint (another recessive 'c') which provides complete coverage (masking) of any other color genes, black or red, that may be present. You get a pure white bird. This color needs the recessive gene from each parent i.e. two copies to express. Indeed it's kind of as painting a wall, but first you must look what kind of wall it is !

Also at the locus for dominant white is the dun modifier (ID) which acts the same way as blue. When homozygous (ID/ID) it is khaki/dun, when heterozygous it is a chocolate color (ID/id) which is different than a true chocolate (choc), a homozygous recessive. Everything else is ‘not dun’ i.e. (id/id).

The rest of the alphabet soup affects the distribution of the two pigments (black and red) and sometimes the lack of all pigment (white), to various parts of the bird and the individual feathers. Some affect only black pigment like chocolate (choc), Melanotic (Ml) while others affect only red pigment like Mahogany (Mh) and dark brown (Db). Others yet affect all color pigments like Perlgray/Lavender (lav) which dilutes both pigments; the black to pale gray and red to straw gold or the sex linked barring (B) which turns expression of a pigment off and on over the length of a feather.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I have a lot saved on genetics, but I am going to copy and past excerpts that explain it very well in laymans terms....

First thing to remember, there are ONLY two pigments that make up color, Black (E-group) and Red (s and AR). White is the absence of pigment.

There are only five base colors in the black (the E group.) In order of dominance – E(black) = full extension of black, masks most patterning genes that may be present, ER (Birchen) = black with restriction i.e. allows patterning to show up including silver/gold leakage in hackle and saddle, fine lacing present in breast feathers, usually dark legs; eWh (Wheaten) = same as Duckwing (e) except no black lines in rooster hackle or saddle feathers and lighter down, secondary wing feathers remain black, females very different from (e) & (eb) with salmon of breast extending over all or most of body, chick down white or cream; Duckwing aka partridge or wild type (e) = salmon color breast on hens, black lines in hackle and saddle feathers of roosters; and last, Brown (eb) is same in appearance as (e) and (eWh) but will always have black shaft in hackle feathers, hens do not have the salmon breast of the wild type (e).

Red comes in a sex linked trait as gold (s) versus silver (S). Red also appears apart from silver/gold as autosomal red (Ar) which is dominant and not sex linked.

White comes in two masks – albino or “recessive” white masks the expression of ALL other colors and patterns which sometimes causes confusion because it acts dominant in this respect; however it is recessive because it only can express in a double dose (c/c). The “dominant” white (I) masks only the expression of black which is how you get white lacing instead of black or why you might want to breed to a black bird. You also only need one dose, hence the name dominant white. Have you ever tried to paint a room in a lighter color than is already on the wall? If you don't prime it first, you will get leakage of color, usually in uneven patches. The dominant white gene (I) works like paint without primer over the rest of the color genes in the chicken. Black is covered completely, but red will leak if it is present. In this case, the chicken could have autosomal red, or one of the black "bases" like e+ that gives hens a salmon breast in addition to the 'I'. Because it is dominant, you only need one copy of the gene for it to express so it could come from either parent. With the recessive white, think of it as primer (a recessive 'c') plus the coat of paint (another recessive 'c') which provides complete coverage (masking) of any other color genes, black or red, that may be present. You get a pure white bird. This color needs the recessive gene from each parent i.e. two copies to express. Indeed it's kind of as painting a wall, but first you must look what kind of wall it is !

Also at the locus for dominant white is the dun modifier (ID) which acts the same way as blue. When homozygous (ID/ID) it is khaki/dun, when heterozygous it is a chocolate color (ID/id) which is different than a true chocolate (choc), a homozygous recessive. Everything else is ‘not dun’ i.e. (id/id).

The rest of the alphabet soup affects the distribution of the two pigments (black and red) and sometimes the lack of all pigment (white), to various parts of the bird and the individual feathers. Some affect only black pigment like chocolate (choc), Melanotic (Ml) while others affect only red pigment like Mahogany (Mh) and dark brown (Db). Others yet affect all color pigments like Perlgray/Lavender (lav) which dilutes both pigments; the black to pale gray and red to straw gold or the sex linked barring (B) which turns expression of a pigment off and on over the length of a feather.

I knew you would pull through with the mother lode! LOL

 

[destiny_56085]

I have ALOT more saved here on the computer from when I find stuff. I used to have a library of pictures too until a dang virus wiped out all my personal files on here this summer.... If you are really into genetics I really will push you to some books by Sigrid van Dort.

 

[destiny_56085]

Next to address the Brassiness issue. Anyone who shows light colored how birds knows to keep them out of the full sun, avoid yellow corn, andsome feeds like Purina Flockraiser that have marigold in it..... Waterfowl on the other hand need to sunlight to whiten up. Some breeds need that to help with the yellow in legs. Other breeds like when you are showing Ayelsbury ducks, you avoid corn and switch to something like wheat or oats to keep them that nice pinkish skin hue.

here's a few examples of Brassiness... no amount of bathing before a show ill get rid of it either.

 

[Coffee 1st]

Next to address the Brassiness issue. Anyone who shows light colored how birds knows to keep them out of the full sun, avoid yellow corn, andsome feeds like Purina Flockraiser that have marigold in it..... Waterfowl on the other hand need to sunlight to whiten up. Some breeds need that to help with the yellow in legs. Other breeds like when you are showing Ayelsbury ducks, you avoid corn and switch to something like wheat or oats to keep them that nice pinkish skin hue.

here's a few examples of Brassiness... no amount of bathing before a show ill get rid of it either.

Brassiness or not they are beautiful...

 

[Minniechickmama]

I have a White Silkie cock out here I showed last fall who wasn't so noticeably brassy until I had him by other Whites at the show, then it was obvious.
Splash birds can get this brassiness too, not just whites. That is a whole other ball of wax though.

 

[destiny_56085]

It takes a lot of work to keep them gleaming white. You not only have to deal with the brassiness but any staining on foot feathers and by the beard if they are a messy eater. Kudos to all who successfully show them (and have taught me over the years too).

 

[Coffee 1st]

It takes a lot of work to keep them gleaming white. You not only have to deal with the brassiness but any staining on foot feathers and by the beard if they are a messy eater. Kudos to all who successfully show them (and have taught me over the years too).

wow,,,prettier then my Pomeranian.... well almost...lol