Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[DesertChic]

Okay, this has been a tedious and drawn-out hatch. My Silkie hybrids pipped on day 18 and hatched on day 19 along with one NN. The rest of the eggs hatching throughout the day on day 20....except one egg that is just now hatching....on day 22. I definitely witnessed a turtle vs the hare scenario this time around, and only one egg out of 23 failed to hatch. Here are some of my NN chicks....the goal of this hatch. I discovered that my black cockerel, Heisenberg, must have sneaked in and mated with a few of my girls because I got a few black chicks, one of which I will probably have to cull because it has an injured leg that it can't stand on and the chick stopped eating.

I also found out that one of my NN cockerels mated with one of my Australorps, because I got a NN chick from her.

Here's a sampling of my new NN flock:

Black

Chipmunk




I think this "chipmunk" will be a boy because of the lighter striping.


This is my favorite little surprise...very red and chocolate with black.




And this is the fluffiest of my buffs.

 

[Sierra987]

Adorable!!! I love the NN chicks. I hope to get some with dark skin next spring.

What are the Silkie hybrids? I had hoped to sex my Silkie cross chicks (Silkie rooster) by skin color but it didn't work. The "girl" is definitely a boy at 3 weeks. :-( But the NN pullet had been an excellent mother. She is now working on teaching him how to escape over the makeshift fence that separates them from the other chickens. Never mind that they have my little vegetable garden fill of ripe cherry tomatoes to themselves!

 

[DesertChic]

Adorable!!! I love the NN chicks. I hope to get some with dark skin next spring.

What are the Silkie hybrids? I had hoped to sex my Silkie cross chicks (Silkie rooster) by skin color but it didn't work. The "girl" is definitely a boy at 3 weeks. :-( But the NN pullet had been an excellent mother. She is now working on teaching him how to escape over the makeshift fence that separates them from the other chickens. Never mind that they have my little vegetable garden fill of ripe cherry tomatoes to themselves!

My only pure Buff Silkie hen was mated by one of my Bielefelder cockerels. Here's the result:







I actually hatched four of them but lucky #4 was slower to finally hatch and didn't make the group photo. They have hints of the chipmunk coloring on their backs, but so far are mostly buff in color....all with the black skin and five toes. They're extremely hardy at this point and very quite and friendly...more like the Biels in personality than Silkies.

And here's their daddy:

 

[Sierra987]

That is an interesting cross! They are very cute! Hmmm...will you eat the extra boys? They may have a decent amount of meat with the Biel cross. The dark skin would make an interesting looking roast chicken! If I were better at being able to cull the extra roos, I would be willing to raise more chicks. I'm ok in theory but have a really, really hard time doing it.

My only pure Buff Silkie hen was mated by one of my Bielefelder cockerels. Here's the result: I actually hatched four of them but lucky #4 was slower to finally hatch and didn't make the group photo. They have hints of the chipmunk coloring on their backs, but so far are mostly buff in color....all with the black skin and five toes. They're extremely hardy at this point and very quite and friendly...more like the Biels in personality than Silkies. And here's their daddy:

 

[Phill98]

@DesertChic I love your chicks! I didn't know that you have bielefelders. Is there any chicken breed you don't own?!?

 

[artblueggwanter]

black Sumatra x nacked nack ... ?? HUHMMM?

 

[DesertChic]

@DesertChic I love your chicks! I didn't know that you have bielefelders. Is there any chicken breed you don't own?!?

One or two...but I'm working on adding those.

 

[DesertChic]

That is an interesting cross! They are very cute! Hmmm...will you eat the extra boys? They may have a decent amount of meat with the Biel cross. The dark skin would make an interesting looking roast chicken! If I were better at being able to cull the extra roos, I would be willing to raise more chicks. I'm ok in theory but have a really, really hard time doing it.

The culling is most definitely the hardest part. I'm closing in on having culled a dozen cockerels so far, and it still upsets me each time. I make multiple excuses NOT to cull until finally I know I just must.

 

[Sierra987]

The culling is most definitely the hardest part. I'm closing in on having culled a dozen cockerels so far, and it still upsets me each time. I make multiple excuses NOT to cull until finally I know I just must.

My family raised Cornish X meat chickens every spring when I was growing up. I helped with the processing and had no problems with it. I've helped process wild game and have no problem with that. But to actually have to kill the chicken myself is hard for me. I had to cull a little bantam cochin rooster this summer and you wouldn't believe how long I procrastinated and how hard it was for me.
My practical side says it shouldn't be that big of a deal - especially since I like to eat chicken. And I like knowing what they ate and that they had a good life and were humanely treated. But there's still a part of me that finds it very, very hard to actually end their lives. Fortunately I had friends who went in on the meat chickens with me last spring and he had no issues with that part. They routinely process wild game and had butchered chickens before so the processing was pretty quick and easy.

 

[DesertChic]

My family raised Cornish X meat chickens every spring when I was growing up. I helped with the processing and had no problems with it. I've helped process wild game and have no problem with that. But to actually have to kill the chicken myself is hard for me. I had to cull a little bantam cochin rooster this summer and you wouldn't believe how long I procrastinated and how hard it was for me.
My practical side says it shouldn't be that big of a deal - especially since I like to eat chicken. And I like knowing what they ate and that they had a good life and were humanely treated. But there's still a part of me that finds it very, very hard to actually end their lives. Fortunately I had friends who went in on the meat chickens with me last spring and he had no issues with that part. They routinely process wild game and had butchered chickens before so the processing was pretty quick and easy.

Now that's a lucky break! I know my husband would probably do the killing for me if I asked him to, but I won't do that. I'm the one who wanted to start raising chickens, and I think it's only fair if I take on full responsibility for them. Besides, I hatch these guys, tend to them, cuddle with them....and eventually decide which ones will be dinner. It just seems right that I end their lives as well, and as silly as it may be, I always thank them for feeding my family.

I haven't culled a hen yet. I'm wondering how I'll handle that since they're usually more affectionate than (most of) my cockerels.