New Jersey

[Chickerdoodle13]

Ill be at Sussex! It will be the last show I attend for a while :-( Would love to meet up with you guys! (Kahlua, let me know what you have before the show for sale!)

Also, looks like out of the seven chicks I hatched from you Kahlua, three have totally bare necks and are quite large. They are also black with bits of brown like mom! The other four look more like silkies. Much smaller and have white points. Also more black and looks like the feathers are more "silkie" than the others. They also have beards and chest poofs. How bizarre that three look like mom and four more like dad!

 

[kahlua]

I'll be sure to let you know what I have available

That is really cool! It makes me wonder for a second if any eggs could have come from a silkie (there are 1-2 silkies in the pen that are laying) but I think that's really unlikely, my silkie eggs are TINY and the eggs I gave you were all really consistent in size and shape. So I think they all came from Nadia (the Turken). I guess we can call it an interesting experiment in gene sorting or expression! LOL

 

[kahlua]

Ok I just had to share this pic with some people who would get it! LOL
I was taking pics of a blue OE pullet for someone - but Pink (my favorite Orloff) is NOT to be ignored!

 

[NJchixs]

Lol. She's saying "hey, I'm over here take my pic"

 

[mame1616]

I've got a question. I won't be breeding birds for a long time, but I keep wondering this. How many birds do you need to have a breeding flock? Do you need only one rooster, or is it good to have multiple Roos for different lineages and stuff? If i want to breed multiple breeds, is four hens and a roo enough to sell birds? it wont be for a source of money, mainly for hobby purposes. I know you need the same color birds because two different colors will mess up the colors. I know it's a hard question to answer and is sure there are varied opinions on it. Breeding rabbits is so much easier!

A breeding flock can be as small as a trio. It really depends on what your goals are. If you're doing it with selling and making money as your primary goal, then numbers of birds are probably more important. If your priority is ultimate improvement of the breed, regardless of the money-making factor, then quality is more important, because, to be honest, it takes a long time to evaluate some of these breeds as they grow. Sometimes it's not until after a year - with the big birds like Giants and Brahmas expect two years or more - that you determine whether you want to pass those genes on, and that your breeding program has been is on the right track.Only then do you sell the birds that do not meet your needs. Imagine breeding 30 or more birds and keeping them for all that time. Many of the best breeders hatch ten times that amount. During that time you have to feed and water and house those birds while you wait for them to grow up, which costs money. But, you can do a lot to improve your chosen breed with two or three unrelated trios when you start with really good birds.

If you're looking to make some money, start with the best birds you can buy, with perhaps one cock for every three to eight hens, depending on the size and breed, and that should produce enough birds that people will be happy to buy, and you will be happy to sell. You can have a few different breeds this way. A small flock of one cock and, say, six hens, can produce a considerable number of chicks in a year. Even so, you'd have to hatch a pretty large number in order to cover the costs of maintaining them until you sell. It all goes back to your goals.

 

[Milesofsmiles]

Good morning guys,
Hoping for more guidance. My chicks are 4weeks old today, when should I start to put them out side? I feel It is still to cold for them especially at night here in NJ. I was thinking more like 6 weeks and a heat lamp at night in the coop if needed. Which brings up my next question what is a safe day/ night temp for my little ladies.

Also I think I had a roo, My EE is much bigger and thicker ( lack of a better word) then the rest. The woman I got them from says the EE was hatched only a day before how every this one feels like a week older. Could it be because she is a he? When will I be able to tell?
Thanks so much!!

 

[shadow rabbit10]

A breeding flock can be as small as a trio. It really depends on what your goals are.  If you're doing it with selling and making money as your primary goal, then numbers of birds are probably more important.  If your priority is ultimate improvement of the breed, regardless of the money-making factor, then quality is more important, because, to be honest, it takes a long time to evaluate some of these breeds as they grow.  Sometimes it's not until after a year - with the big birds like Giants and Brahmas expect two years or more - that you determine whether you want to pass those genes on, and that your breeding program has been is on the right track.Only then do you sell the birds that do not meet your needs.  Imagine breeding 30 or more birds and keeping them for all that time. Many of the best breeders hatch ten times that amount.  During that time you have to feed and water and house those birds while you wait for them to grow up, which costs money.  But, you can do a lot to improve your chosen breed with two or three unrelated trios when you start with really good birds.

If you're looking to make some money, start with the best birds you can buy, with perhaps one cock for every three to eight hens, depending on the size and breed, and that should produce enough birds that people will be happy to buy, and you will be happy to sell.  You can have a few different breeds this way. A small flock of one cock and, say, six hens, can produce a considerable number of chicks in a year. Even so, you'd have to hatch a pretty large number in order to cover the costs of maintaining them until you sell. It all goes back to your goals.

Very informative! Thank you! My goal would be to improve the breed and raise a few for show purposes, so I wouldn't need too many birds.

 

[ben is a terror]

Good morning guys,
Hoping for more guidance. My chicks are 4weeks old today, when should I start to put them out side? I feel It is still to cold for them especially at night here in NJ. I was thinking more like 6 weeks and a heat lamp at night in the coop if needed. Which brings up my next question what is a safe day/ night temp for my little ladies.

Also I think I had a roo, My EE is much bigger and thicker ( lack of a better word) then the rest. The woman I got them from says the EE was hatched only a day before how every this one feels like a week older. Could it be because she is a he? When will I be able to tell?
Thanks so much!!

my oldest babies are 9 weeks. I put hem outside for a few hours the other day when it was in the high 50's. they were all huddled together and puffed up so I brought them back in and they ran to the heat lamp. I will be setting up a heat lamp in the shed for them before they go out again. I think the ground is still pretty cold.What breed are they? I keep my Bantams in alot longer than the standard guys.

 

[Milesofsmiles]

my oldest babies are 9 weeks. I put hem outside for a few hours the other day when it was in the high 50's. they were all huddled together and puffed up so I brought them back in and they ran to the heat lamp. I will be setting up a heat lamp in the shed for them before they go out again. I think the ground is still pretty cold.What breed are they? I keep my Bantams in alot longer than the standard guys.

oh good point! I didn't think about the ground temp, only the air. They are a BO, EE, Welsummer, Cuckoo Marans, Speckled Sussex. I really want to wait until end of April unless the weather really heats up. However they will be to big for their brooder soon and I will need to find another places for them.

 

[NJchixs]

oh good point! I didn't think about the ground temp, only the air. They are a BO, EE, Welsummer, Cuckoo Marans, Speckled Sussex. I really want to wait until end of April unless the weather really heats up. However they  will be to big for their brooder soon and I will need to find another places for them. 

What I did with mine as they got bigger(I think they were about 8 weeks & it was May) I put them out mid morning in the dog run and then at night I would bring them back in at night. By then they where tired, so running around in the brooder box wasn't of importance to them. Yes it was tight and a pain but I didn't have room either. If I had to, I could put them out with the light at night, which I just may decide to do this time, but I will wait till its only on the 40's at night.