***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[sjarvis00]

Quote:
they are laying decent and picking up steam quickly and all have been fertile, so as they start to come out of teh brooders the chicks are yours too if you want them. They will be htaching for teh next three weeks.
Edited to note it is the Columbians laying well and fertile. Will have the first ones of fall hatching in a few days.

I can start a growout area in the barn. Roger has decided to knock out the wall on the east inside the barn to expand the hen room for me so we can incorporate a window for the water cooler. This will double the size of the henroom. I can put up a half-wall with a door to divide the inside into two separate areas. One side for the hens and one side for an inside growout area. So, yes, I'd love to acquire some of the hatchlings...Shoot me a PM on price when they are ready.

they should start to hatch next tuesday, they will be yours... no cash involved but will consider trades for goodies.. I might be behind on that already though.

 

[sjarvis00]

Quote:
You've given me hope! There's so many beautiful roosters around and it just seems daunting to build a separate yard for each of them if they're unrelated. I'll keep my Silkie boys together with just each other and make another yard for other roosters. I'm betting this Cochin boy I got from MJ would even mix in fine in the Silkie boys yard now. Why didn't I think of this before????

Mitzi,
You can keep several roos together in one pen without problems, just do not add one to the group or a hen, if you decide to allow one to breed a hen on ocassion take him out in the late afternoon, and return him to the roost when they are already roosting the same evening. otherwise they will try to re-establish the pecking order and it will be a big feathery mess. I have done this even with my OE and it does work without problems. The late afternoon breeding is best because there is no egg blocking the path..

 

[Ksane]

Quote:
You've given me hope! There's so many beautiful roosters around and it just seems daunting to build a separate yard for each of them if they're unrelated. I'll keep my Silkie boys together with just each other and make another yard for other roosters. I'm betting this Cochin boy I got from MJ would even mix in fine in the Silkie boys yard now. Why didn't I think of this before????

Mitzi,
You can keep several roos together in one pen without problems, just do not add one to the group or a hen, if you decide to allow one to breed a hen on ocassion take him out in the late afternoon, and return him to the roost when they are already roosting the same evening. otherwise they will try to re-establish the pecking order and it will be a big feathery mess. I have done this even with my OE and it does work without problems. The late afternoon breeding is best because there is no egg blocking the path..

I don't even have to worry about breeding them because that's not on my agenda. I'm thinking of making a 10'x20' pen connected to the 10'x20' turkey pen and having boys in there. That just makes my day to hear people do that with unrelated roosters. This is great news. If it works with OE's surely it'll work with the lazy breeds I like

Edit: So I may get to have an Americana roo after all!!

 

[NanaKat]

Here is my set up:
My hen room is for those girls that are laying or have been a laying hen. There are now 29 hens (most 2 - 3 years old) in the hen house and attached run. They were without a rooster since early June when I put down Dudley Do-Right. Dudley and Thor both shared the hen house peacefully with the hens, each claiming part of the flock. For some unclear reason, Dudley had attacked the Chantcler rooster Thor and injured him so badly he did not recover. Then began attacking my hens. Like he went berserk on hormones or something.

There have been three young non-breeding roosters in with them until yesterday. Two were butchered and one remains with the HUGE Blue Cochin now named Samson purchased from The Jarvis'...Master Enablers! This little Silver Laced Wyandotte is too young to breed and has already decided that Samson is King of the Henhouse. He will be used when he is old enough for my little SLW pullet and the New Hampshire and RIR hens to breed out nice F1 layers. ( I was listening Carl and Stephanie)

I also have a teen pen (growout) set up with 13. One is a young Columbian Wyandotte roo that is not breeding age yet. The little Minorca hens in that pen have started laying and will be incorporated into the hen house over the next few weeks as I determine which older hens are not laying and do some cutting back. The others in the pen are pullets.

I have a small pen of a new quad of Columbian Wyandottes and another small pen of a trio of BLRWs, both from the Jarvis breeding programs. My little black Cochin roo is still in a cage with the blind EE Angel until his eye clears up and his size is more comparable with the teen pen.

I have found over the years that little roos do okay with pullets or with older hens who put them in their place. I pick out a nice breeder prospect and cage with pullets or the older girls and butcher the rest as either fryers or boiling birds. But when the roos are breeding age, separate them from the hens or the hens get stressed.

Chicken math....Don't count the ones not laying or breeding....15 eggs today and three breeding age roos...only 18 chickens....not bad.

 

[NanaKat]

Quote:
I can start a growout area in the barn. Roger has decided to knock out the wall on the east inside the barn to expand the hen room for me so we can incorporate a window for the water cooler. This will double the size of the henroom. I can put up a half-wall with a door to divide the inside into two separate areas. One side for the hens and one side for an inside growout area. So, yes, I'd love to acquire some of the hatchlings...Shoot me a PM on price when they are ready.

they should start to hatch next tuesday, they will be yours... no cash involved but will consider trades for goodies.. I might be behind on that already though.

I have made recipe cards for Stephanie for the ones we discussed. Will put those in the mail tomorrow.
I start young chicks in the hottub room in a big water tank with a light and wood shavings....works great and only takes 10 minutes to set up.

 

[NanaKat]

DGibson...are you catching up on the thread?
I'm making a run to town to the bank tomorrow and Roger has a hydraulic hose to have made too....will bring some goodies by the shop for Johnnie if you are going to be there...let me know what time you go home so I can get there before that time.

 

[Ksane]

Quote:
That sounds like a wonderful set up and I can see how it would work well. It also had never occurred to me to keep young boys with hens until they mature-another great idea I hadn't even considered. This is one of those 'lightbulb' moments for me lol! I've got 2 roosters that have been here for years that migrated over from the neighbors when they moved off and left them. I get ahold of them and worm them and check them over but if could integrate them into a covered yard with my Cochin & Silkie boys and maybe an Americana.......that would save me from having to build 4 or 5 individual 8'x8' pens. I'm thrilled and hope it works.

 

[artsyrobin]

Quote:
That is a great stink-eye! What a cool bird!
I'm trying to imagine how to paint or draw Silkie feathers?????

When I taught art classes at the hs, shade in your areas lightly and use a sharp edge of an eraser to "draw" in the contrast feathers. I have a lion's mane I drew that way and the wrinkles and hair of an old woman's portrait...I'll see If I can get a clear photo of the technique.

i had a class on that, negative space, it really is magical how it works

on roos together- will try that with my nn boys, seems the 2 have been squabling alot, and the lone one wants to be with them, but i wasn't sure if it would work- my silky boys from betsy have always been together and are best friends...

 

[banjoejoe4783]

how is every one to night well i hope


RIP sweety the bantam blue cochin we will miss you

here she is shurfing the BYC

 

[bfrancis]

Quote:
NanaKat, you say 'hen room'. Do you keep all your roos together in another area? I'm going to keep my Silkie boys in a bachelor pen but they grew up together. Does anyone keep unrelated roos together away from the girls? If so, does it tend to work well? I'd love to try that if someone's made it work. It'd be gentle breeds, that should help. I'd sure like my hens to be able to live in peace without getting jumped on all the time by a roo.

We have a big run dedicated to roos, and it works out...they will still scooble sometimes but nothing serious. Thats where we put our "pitch hitters" or back up roos as well as our cockerals that we are growing out for the pot. They still have a "pecking order" and an australorp is the top of ours. We have of course australorps, EE's, marans, wellsummers, and buckeyes together...no American Games or anything that by nature territorial. Hope this helps.