Okies in the BYC The Original

[Buckguy20]

Buster The snapping turtles in your pond are probably not Alligator snapping turtles but common snapping turtles. True alligator snapping turtles are endangered and thus not usually found or seen.
They much prefer swamps and brackish back water of rivers and creeks.
The common snappers are menacing enough and can take a finger off very easily.
I once caught a common snapper on a limb line that weighed over forty pounds. He almost tipped my boat over.
The most abundant turtles I have in my ponds are the green headed ones with the red strip on their head.
Not sure what thier official name is.
Anyway good luck with getting some cleared out of your ponds.

 

[nnbreeder]

Quote:
A quarantine area needs to be somewhere away from your regular flock, since illness can be passed through poo and airborne bacteria.

Your cochins (which unfortunately are down to 2) can run with anything that is close to their size. They are about 8 inches tall right now.

I am not very good with chicken math - but in my experience, if they have sufficient room to roam during the day, you can put as many in the coop as you have roosting space. You just don't want to have too many in an enclosed area on a 24/7 basis.

Oh no what happened? Got it quarantine needs to be away from everything else!

And when you care for the birds you always care for the quarentined birds last so you don't carry anything to the established flock. Never go from the quarentined birds to your flock, even for just a second.

 

[TheBarnSwallow]

Quote:
Oh no what happened? Got it quarantine needs to be away from everything else!

And when you care for the birds you always care for the quarentined birds last so you don't carry anything to the established flock. Never go from the quarentined birds to your flock, even for just a second.

You are so wise.. we need to call you Wikipedia ... seriously you are one of the smartest folks on this thread!

 

[nnbreeder]

Quote:
And when you care for the birds you always care for the quarentined birds last so you don't carry anything to the established flock. Never go from the quarentined birds to your flock, even for just a second.

You are so wise.. we need to call you Wikipedia ... seriously you are one of the smartest folks on this thread!

Not really smart, just been raising birds a long while and have already made a fist-full of mistakes. Got to know a bunch of old showmen that passed their knowledge on and in turn I.m doing the same.

Way back when it was "chicken's sick, quick order a book!!!" Thank goodness for computers, you can do a year's worth of research in an evening.

 

[Buckguy20]

Les my main man, I have a question about colors in my NN's.
I hatched out some NN rosters this year that are one solid color except in the wings where red showed up. Like a Red Pyle color.
Some of them were all blue and one all black except for the red feathers in the wings.
Why would the off color only show up in the wings and not on the rest of the bird?
Also it is just on the roosters, the pullets are a solid colors, blue and black.

Just curious, thanks.
monty

 

[artsyrobin]

Quote:
Nice picture! - I love cochins!

thanks! funny thing about this little flock, the silky used to get picked on, and once captain entered the flock, that kind of thing stopped completely.... gotta love the silly guy!

 

[Poco Pollo]

Caught another snake in the coop today after work. He had one egg down his throat and was trying to swallow another. I went looking for a stick to fish him out, but by the time I found one long enough he had slithered out of the coop and urped up the egg so he could fit through the 1" chicken wire. He must have rolled over the egg on his way out because it looked like it was coated on all sides. Snake innards must be really, really sticky. Yuck. Here's a photo of the egg the snake gave back and one he didn't bother with. I hope the hens aren't too stressed. They are just starting to lay again now that it's not so hot.

 

[poultryand bees]

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that is a very interesting picture - one I hope never to be able to duplicate

 

[nnbreeder]

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Red Pyle is so my favorite color of OE! But on to the question. These birds do not yet have their adult plumage and won't until their first true molt which the old-timers tell me is in the second year and not the first. Cuban I think told me to breed a white bird to a black to get the red out of a bird. Since blue is supposed to be a diluted black it should work for those too. I have seen the rust coloring on blue birds before and on the second molt it was usually lost. Lighting makes a difference too. Different types of bulbs will make your eyes see different colors.

I imagine that this is popping out because of crosses made long ago and the genes are just now lining back up to give trouble. Roosters would be more likely to get it because they are all about attracting a mate and the different colors help them to stand out while the plumage of a hen is about being safe while on the nest.

Years ago when I tried to get blue birds from my own flock it was a disaster at first but through very selective breeding in time I was able to do it. I can't tell you the nuts and bolts behind it but I can look at two birds and tell if it is a good cross or not. And Teva is even better at it then I am. Used to argue with her but I don't any more.


Are you breeding from the stock that you got from Carla? If so they should lose that rust color.

 

[Buckguy20]

The blue rooster I got from Carla is the sire. Not totally sure of the hens but I did have him with two black NN hens as well as some other hens. I can't remember now which other hens were with him.
The Black roo with the red pyle wings only has one feather where his bow tie would be. I have a blue roo with no bow tie as well as a blue hen with no bow tie.
Anyway thanks for the info. They are pretty just like they are but I just wasn't sure why the coloring only showed up in the wings.
Thanks again,
Monty