***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[HeyBigRhondaq]

Haha yep I'm still hatching EVERY Sunday.  Got some from last Sunday if you want to come pick one out.  Coweta!


I have a young blue roo I think, about 8 weeks old if you are interested in one that young.  I have two but one is to replace my mean rooster.  He's a blue Ameraucana and only the second mean rooster I've ever owned.


That's exactly where I was heading- got the collar on her last week and did a LITTLE training- but now that she has puppies I took it off for now.  Glad I was on the right track.  She was about 8 months old when we got her.


Yes you can guarantee blue- splash crossed with black will always give 100% blue.  I always tell myself, splash cannot parent a black and black cannot parent a splash.  From there I can figure out BBS breedings.  If she has a splash rooster and blue and splash hens, and can tell the individual's eggs apart by color or size, they COULD be half siblings.  Or she has two pens, one with SplashXSplash and one with SplashX Black.

I'm still getting good hatching eggs from my Swedish Flower Hen pen and a few per week from my Croad Langshan pen.  I've got Cream Legbars coming out my ears and once I do a fertility check I have lots of Sapphires (Cream Legbar X white leghorn) too.  Everybody else is off lay pretty much.  I'm NPIP.

Ugh. And I said I understood BBS! I did know that...chalk it up to a long week. Thx.

 

[hotcurltr]

Welcome to all the newer-newbies!

Rinda, I LOVE PUPPIES. But with 4 large labs laying around, I'd appreciate not seeing any more cute puppy pics. Lol. Something in my being makes me forget that puppies GROW. If they ever make smell-o-vision computers, I'll be in really serious trouble. Puppy breath...aah.

THIRTY WEEKS. Yes, SEVEN MONTHS.That is how old my Jubilees are. And they're not laying yet. Aargh. Lights are on. Pelvic bones are widening. Combs are reddening. Can someone please explain to them (along with every other bird I have that is the same age and not laying yet...Barnevelder, Isbar) that I AM NOT PATIENT?!? Twenty-one days to hatch, weeks to know their sex, months to lay...poppy cock.

And, before you ask...Yes, I've had two children and waited 9 months for both of them. I didn't like that wait either.

The same for me, but I'm learning. The best explanation I've gotten so far, is that it's like young girls. Some start periods at9,10 / others 12 and sometimes older. All are different, even in the same breeds. Rinda would know. Maybe genetics? or diet?

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

  The same for me, but I'm learning.  The best explanation I've gotten so far, is that it's like young girls.  Some start periods at9,10 / others 12 and sometimes older.  All are different, even in the same breeds.  Rinda would know.  Maybe genetics?  or diet?

It's what I get for choosing heritage breeds. I was in a serious "need to vent" mood. The Jubilees will give me an egg when they're good and ready, I guess. They are amazing birds with some seriously fluffy butts. I had to SEARCH for their vents in those feathers like a needle in a haystack. I can see why fertility is often low on big fluffy Orpingtons. I'll be trimming bums when the eggs start coming. I've got plans for them...more Jubilees, of course, but I'd also like to try my Blue Orpington on a few to see if I can get Blue Jubilees. I think that would be stunning. We shall see.

@lonnyandrinda Hopefully you'll still have some eggs here in a few weeks. I really want a Croad Langshan (just because). I am still in the process of deciding what breeds I really want to be a part of...Jubilees were my husband's choice, Barnevelders were mine. I'd like to stay small and get focused! But it's hard when there's so many neat breeds out there!

 

[lonnyandrinda]

It's what I get for choosing heritage breeds. I was in a serious "need to vent" mood. The Jubilees will give me an egg when they're good and ready, I guess. They are amazing birds with some seriously fluffy butts. I had to SEARCH for their vents in those feathers like a needle in a haystack. I can see why fertility is often low on big fluffy Orpingtons. I'll be trimming bums when the eggs start coming. I've got plans for them...more Jubilees, of course, but I'd also like to try my Blue Orpington on a few to see if I can get Blue Jubilees. I think that would be stunning. We shall see.

@lonnyandrinda Hopefully you'll still have some eggs here in a few weeks. I really want a Croad Langshan (just because). I am still in the process of deciding what breeds I really want to be a part of...Jubilees were my husband's choice, Barnevelders were mine. I'd like to stay small and get focused! But it's hard when there's so many neat breeds out there!

Yes those big breeds are LONG time maturing. Langshans and Jubilees make me wait FOREVER. It's partly about the sheer size of the bird and also about the thrift of the bird- the heritage breeds just don't lay early and daily like an egg laying breed.

I'm sure I will, not ready to combine pens quite yet. I do have chicks and chicks hatching weekly. And hey I had a small batch of langshan chicks (maybe 10?) that didn't sell- they are just about sexable right now so if you want a for sure girl I will know within a few weeks!

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

This is what I get for complaining about having to wait...
We are supposed to be out of town all day tomorrow. Egg are due to hatch Sunday evening. I have 3 pips already. Now I wish I had to wait a little longer!

And, I've checked the running temp of this incubator with another digital thermometer...says 99.5. The same thermometer I used in a styrofoam incubator and had hatches go long. Odd.

 

[ashtree]

This is what I get for complaining about having to wait...
We are supposed to be out of town all day tomorrow. Egg are due to hatch Sunday evening. I have 3 pips already. Now I wish I had to wait a little longer!

And, I've checked the running temp of this incubator with another digital thermometer...says 99.5. The same thermometer I used in a styrofoam incubator and had hatches go long. Odd.

Are these the silkie eggs? My silkies always hatch on day 20, sometimes a couple on day 19 but never after 20. I think I've read about others having similar experiences with silkie/bantam eggs.

 

[iPeanut1990]

Hey everyone! This is my first winter with my chickens. Getting a little concerned about this cold snap we're about to get. I have 3 RIRs. They are 24 weeks old. I know RIR is a very cold hardy breed but will they be okay since it will be suddenly getting cold after still being fairly warm? I'm in Tulsa if it matters. Sorry for being an overly concerned newbie

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

Are these the silkie eggs? My silkies always hatch on day 20, sometimes a couple on day 19 but never after 20. I think I've read about others having similar experiences with silkie/bantam eggs.

These are my Olive Eggers, but that's good to know. The silkies are due in a little more than a week, and I'd be happy if they came a little early.

Hey everyone! This is my first winter with my chickens. Getting a little concerned about this cold snap we're about to get. I have 3 RIRs. They are 24 weeks old. I know RIR is a very cold hardy breed but will they be okay since it will be suddenly getting cold after still being fairly warm? I'm in Tulsa if it matters. Sorry for being an overly concerned newbie

If they've got a safe dry place, they'll likely be fine. Make sure their water doesn't freeze. I do occasionally use a heat lamp just to take the bite away.

 

[miohippus]

@Kyzmette one more idea for you: http://www.olyfarmstead.org/olive-oil-enema-for-chicken-constipation/

Puppy pictures! I promise not to post any more here at least until they are mobile with eyes and ears open. But they are SO stinkin' cute!

Boy:

Boy:

Boy:

Girl:

Girl:

aww.... they are so stinkin cute wish i could have one but my DH says we have a two dog limit and we are at max right now, lol. I had an ausie shepherd once i really loved her but she got hit by a car. so i got our half assie shepherd half red healer pup hoping he would have the same personalty boy was i mistaken he is very protective, and dose not like stranger at all.

 

[kaiwan]

Hey everyone! This is my first winter with my chickens. Getting a little concerned about this cold snap we're about to get. I have 3 RIRs. They are 24 weeks old. I know RIR is a very cold hardy breed but will they be okay since it will be suddenly getting cold after still being fairly warm? I'm in Tulsa if it matters. Sorry for being an overly concerned newbie

The sudden temperature changes shouldn't be a problem.
As for the cold, I may be a bit extreme, but for my hens I rarely use heat unless the temps reach low 20's and below. If you have roosters with large combs, they can get frostbite. So my roosters get heat lamps. Some say you can coat the comb with Vaseline. The only time I tried that, it was so cold that the Vaseline froze and I couldn't get it to spread...

For the water, if you don't have the electric heated water founts, you can use an open container. If it freezes, dump the block of ice and add fresh water. If the temps are very cold and don't get above freezing all day (or for several days), I'll use a gallon plastic ice cream container (a fine excuse to eat a gallon of ice cream!) Fill the container a third or half up, then just add fresh water in small amounts a couple of times per day. Dump the block of ice the next morning and start over. Obviously it's easier to use a heated waterer, but not always possible, and you'd miss out on the ice cream!