Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[chickengr]

After this weekends' storms and wind, we finally got to moving our big coops around to some fresh pasture. took all day to muck out and move them (plus wheel barreling everything to a fresh dug hole to start a new compost pile in, blah blah blah....)

We finally got to the NN coop and we decided to get some photo updates on how everyones doing, ask some questions about sexing (because I *thought* I had one boy, but some of these pictures are convincing me otherwise...)

Here's shanks, the reddish chick I guessed cockerel, went back to pullet, and I am possibly seeing cockerel again...





Our definite boy, rumple. He's HUGE. I wish pictures did him justice. I'm going to have to take photos of him next to one of the Sulm boys who're a month older so you guys can see what I'm talking about;


Here's the second buff-toned chick, originally guessed pullet, not so sure anymore... however, this one is a nice size, and I'm absolutely in love with it's coloring. What would you guys call it?









I was guessing a bblack pullet for this one, but the way those feathers are coming in... I'm sensing a boy;





Black chick #2 (un-named) who I'm almost certain is a pullet

1 boy and 3 girls. at that age the boy's combs should be big and red.

 

[Phill98]

@Fire Ant Farm I think that you have the most beautiful red non-naked neck chickens. These GNHs are stuning.

I just remembered something. Do they carry barring? Is theur color something like red delaware?!?

 

[DesertChic]

I designed them after finally getting fed up with leaning over brooders on the floor. They actually come apart - they are made out of panels, and then they bolt to each other and to the plywood base through holes using carriage bolts, washers and nuts. So I can take them apart to clean and to store flat. I got some iron rods and you can then use one over the top to hang feeders/waterers when the chicks are bigger (at 2 weeks I already have them on a hanging feeder, and looks like I'll need to increase the size by how big they were this morning). I made a modification and screwed an additional furring board along the bottom to reduce the amount of bedding that gets kicked out. It still comes out (they kick high!), but at least there's less.

They sit on a folding table I got at Lowes (6ft long by 30" wide).

Want me to send you my cut list?

- Ant Farm

Awww...that so sweet of your to offer, but I would customize it for the size of my very small house so I'll work out the cut list accordingly. Thanks!

 

[DesertChic]

I am thinking/wondering/worrying that the little girl is stunted because sh'e getting shoved around and may not be getting to the feeder very well. I think that once they are old enough, I may put her back with this new set of chicks that just went into lock down, in the hopes she gets a better shot at the food. She'll be 2 weeks older than them, but she's small, and I'm expecting these (Puppy's and Snapes babies) to be big. Thoughts?

(@Kev or anyone else...)

I don't think it would be a problem at all to mix them. I've done that several times. In fact, my two NN chicks hatched by my Silkie were 2 weeks old when I surprised (and possibly overwhelmed) them with all of the chicks from my latest hatch, which were only 24 hours old at introduction. The two older girls kept their distance for about a day but integrated very quickly without even an ounce of aggression towards their smaller counterparts.

Just out of curiosity, what's your little pullet's weight & age?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

@Fire Ant Farm I think that you have the most beautiful red non-naked neck chickens. These GNHs are stuning.

I just remembered something. Do they carry barring? Is theur color something like red delaware?!?

Thank you! No barring - @Kev would be better at the genetics, but they carry Columbian, plus I think multiple different "red" type genes. The breeder I got these form has VERY nice birds...

Quote: That's a relief - they are 2 weeks old as of yesterday (which is when the current eggs went on lock down) - she's tiny compared to the others (4.5-ish ounces vs. all the boys at about 6-6.5oz) and ALL are taller than her by a lot. She actually spends a lot of time under the MHP for self preservation, I think (though she'll come out like the rest of them). It was particularly striking this morning how much shorter she is. And the boys like to do this "slam dancing" thing where if a lot of the chicks are all in the same area (like near me when I'm saying hi), one of the boys will come running then flying to jump and slam his way into the top of the group. CRAZY!!!! You can almost read her mid - she's like, "Get me out of this testosterone-fest!!!!"

- Ant Farm

 

[Kev]

Quote:
ya covered it.

as for pullet, sure let her in with the new chicks.

As long as healthy, good environment, and not super overcrowded.. the average chick is extremely tough. But if there is a way to move it with better sized/suited companions, no harm in that either.

 

[DesertChic]

Thank you! No barring - @Kev would be better at the genetics, but they carry Columbian, plus I think multiple different "red" type genes. The breeder I got these form has VERY nice birds...

That's a relief - they are 2 weeks old as of yesterday (which is when the current eggs went on lock down) - she's tiny compared to the others (4.5-ish ounces vs. all the boys at about 6-6.5oz) and ALL are taller than her by a lot. She actually spends a lot of time under the MHP for self preservation, I think (though she'll come out like the rest of them). It was particularly striking this morning how much shorter she is. And the boys like to do this "slam dancing" thing where if a lot of the chicks are all in the same area (like near me when I'm saying hi), one of the boys will come running then flying to jump and slam his way into the top of the group. CRAZY!!!! You can almost read her mid - she's like, "Get me out of this testosterone-fest!!!!"

- Ant Farm

LOL! Poor little thing! Actually, she sounds a lot like me. I've always worked in male dominated industries, and often time was the only female working (and managing) up to three dozen guys. Yes, the testosterone can get to be a bit much at times. (In fairness though, working with ALL women was 1000x worse!)

Her weight sounds pretty good for a pullet of her age. My smallest one from this last hatch was 4.02 ounces at 2 weeks and the largest weighing 4.83 ounces. Sounds like she's holding her own among all those boys!

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
She is holding her own, but she really does get shoved around a lot and has to fight to get tot he food. And of course she needs to NOT be in there whenever their hormones wake up. Also, I'm not keeping any of the boys, so this way I can perhaps get her socialized with other pullets that she will live with, instead of having to do the introductions later. At least that's my hope. Not sure what I'm going to do if THIS hatch is almost all boys, too...

- Ant Farm

 

[draye]

My days off this next week is on Thursday and Friday. Hoping the rain stays away for a while, so that I can get out and rearrange my breeding pens. I'm going to try organize them by color groups this time around. Trying to get 56 hens divided between 6 roosters. I'll also try to get some pictures of the last batch of 15 pullets.

 

[I Love Layers]

Hopefully ordering 20 NN sexed female chicks and 2 sexed male chicks today!