Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[dheltzel]

i will have to keep this all in mind as the time approaches.

I have the idea of wanting to have a more colorful egg basket..............currently I only have brown layers..............

I want dark brown, and blue eggs, if I can

then I love the wyandottes................
I thought the welsummers seemed prettier and nicer by my readings only..........than the marans..............and the dark brown egg.

If I can find an olive egger...........cool..............

I like friendly , winter hardy............good egg layers...............large fowl not bantam.................
Since I really enjoy the wyandottes I thought I could try to "collect " different types...............like a columbian or pencilled feathered pattern..............
For some odd reason I dont find the blue laced red.......that attractive.......yet it seems they are sought after..............

I dont know much about rhodebars

I do have interest in CCL's

I have a New Hampshire currently.

so that is my convoluted way of thinking.

For health safety and convenience sake...............I envision getting new chicks all at the same time from the same source...............so they are already exposed to the same germs etc...........used to each other...........

so all these factors and considerations may not work together and therefore who knows what I will come up with.

Lastly .............I really cant have that many............even though I would like more....................I probably can get.only .........4-5 chicks ------------I have 3 hens currently.

stay tuned

You realize Wyandottes are all brown egg layers, right? Not to try to talk you out of them.

For dark eggs, I favor Welsummers because they are sexable at hatch, though I can sex BCM's at about 3 months by the combs. Maran hens seem calmer to me, and being bulkier in shape, they might be better winter layers. We are getting 3-4 eggs a day from 4 Maran hens, and less than 10 from 18 Welsummers, but most of the Welsummers are a lot younger than the Marans, so I don't consider that a fair comparison. Just that the Marans are laying better than I expected from their reputation compared to Welsummers. Welsummers are so pretty too, they are among my favorite breeds for sure.

For blue eggs -- our best blue eggs layers right now are the "super blue egg layers" from a cross I made last spring (white leghorn hens and Lavender Ameracauna roo). I don't find the hens that attractive (white with some random black patches), but others do (say they look like owls). The other thing I didn't like about them is that they took a long time to sex out. This year's cross will be Barred Holland hens (great layers of white eggs, but the eggs are smaller than I'd like, hopefully because they are still young) to a Black Ameracauna roo (for blue eggs, larger egg size, and to sex link the chicks). These blue egg laying black sex links will be a big seller, I hope, and along with Welsummers (that seem to always sell out) should make some money for my niece's college fund.

Other options for blue eggs are the CCL's and Ameracaunas. I can't say enough good things about the CCL's, they might edge out Welsummers as my favorite this year (I'll probably just have multiple favorites). The only disadvantage I see is their higher cost due to rarity, but I hope to help fix that by building a larger flock and hatching a lot to sell to local hobbyists. The Ams are popular, but they take too long to sex out to be a viable contender for my favorite. As part of a black sex-link cross, I think they are great.

I might do an olive egger cross too, by putting a blue Am hen into the Marans pen. I'm not sure how popular they will be, since they are not sexable at hatch.

For colorful eggs, you have an abundance of choices.

 

[dheltzel]

There are 2 different genes that show as white, one is dominant and one recessive. The dominant white is more common and is what makes the white leghorn a white bird. Even Dom white is only partially dominant, so for ex, crossing a white leghorn with a black ameracauna will produce white with some black in random places. That is most likely what you will get from white crossed to cuckoo.

If it happens that white Marans are recessive white, then you should get black sex links from that cross, where the pullets are mostly all black and the males are barred (cuckoo) and so have a white spot on top of their head.

White Marans are uncommon and I don't know their exact genetic makeup.

I forgot about the silver gene, that also produces white birds like Rhode Island Whites and Delawares. They are very useful genes, since they are needed for making red/gold/brown sex links. That is also dominant, at least over gold (red or orange like you see in RIR and NH), but I think this form of white would not show in a cross to extended black (the base for cuckoo) because extended black is even more dominant. That means you "should" get black sex links if the white in Marans is silver based. If you want to be sure, go ask on the sex-link thread, lots of people more knowledgable than I hang out there. Someone probably knows for sure what form of white the marans have.

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

I started up the cabinet incubator tonight. I was planning to start it after the first of the year, but we are close enough to that (that's what I'm telling myself anyway). When I gathered eggs tonight I found 14 Welsummer and 10 Rhodebar eggs and I just couldn't bring myself to put them in the refrigerator to eat. Adding in the CCL and turkey eggs brought it to 39 eggs set.

i am so having egg envy right now

...I know it's not attractive, but..I think I jinxed myself by bragging-on the "new" eggs....haven had another in the coop since last Thursday

....
I really do think if made-fixed the nest boxes they might be a little more inclined...the birds are just too big for those boxes...DH & I are thinking they are too narrow(boxes..not birds)..
I had the girls out in the yard doing calisthenics...

... .maybe that will spur them on to drop a few(eggs) for us!

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

i will have to keep this all in mind as the time approaches.

I have the idea of wanting to have a more colorful egg basket..............currently I only have brown layers..............

I want dark brown, and blue eggs, if I can

then I love the wyandottes................
I thought the welsummers seemed prettier and nicer by my readings only..........than the marans..............and the dark brown egg.

If I can find an olive egger...........cool..............

I like friendly , winter hardy............good egg layers...............large fowl not bantam.................
Since I really enjoy the wyandottes I thought I could try to "collect " different types...............like a columbian or pencilled feathered pattern..............
For some odd reason I dont find the blue laced red.......that attractive.......yet it seems they are sought after..............

I dont know much about rhodebars

I do have interest in CCL's

I have a New Hampshire currently.

so that is my convoluted way of thinking.

For health safety and convenience sake...............I envision getting new chicks all at the same time from the same source...............so they are already exposed to the same germs etc...........used to each other...........

so all these factors and considerations may not work together and therefore who knows what I will come up with.

Lastly .............I really cant have that many............even though I would like more....................I probably can get.only .........4-5 chicks ------------I have 3 hens currently.

stay tuned

well, you know what you want & most interested in. The wyandottes are great winter hardy/friendly birds..BUT..they shut -OFF in the winter..mine being a good example & they have a more natural tendency to go "broody"....if that is not a worry, then go for them! Oh, the pencil & partridge are beautiful!!

I do love my BLR thought too

I really like wyandotes, but..with the way things have gone this year with all the broodiness & no eggs...well, I still "think" the rooster/cockeral we get in the spring will be wyandotte,

BUT..wondering if going with a total different breed would be better...then have him mix with the wyandotte & marans girls....I am not sure what i would end up with or if the egg laying would improve at all

.....

maybe i should just stick to a wyandoote rooster to continue to produce pure wyandootes and still mix him over the marans....,so much to think about, glad we have some time.

I am really liking the rhodebars too, they are good layers, from what people say...man..i need help..

wingstone ,

for doing the feathers.... primarily we are trying to save the hackle and saddle feathers, though some of the fluff below the saddle is very useful for some flies also. Wing feathers are rarely used that I am aware of.

When we are doing a bird for feathers (we did one today) we cut skin from chin the whole way to the back of the bird. We cut off the wing at the first joint (since most barnyard roosters have very little usable meat at the ends of the wings anyway) and cut off the legs as normal for processing. Work the skin off of the neck area and peel it to the shoulders, continue to pull it off, usually I just pull it inside out over the wing and legs.

Once you have the skin off we lay it feather side down on a piece of plywood about 2 ft square, Start at one edge and nail through the skin about every 1 inch around the outer edge of the hide. I like to pull the skin taught but it doesn't need to be heavily stretched. remove any obvious fat or tissue. Cover the skin liberally with 20 Mule Team Borax and place in a cool dry place to dry for a few weeks. Usually after about 1 week you can brush off the first dose of Borax and scrape off any noticeable tissue which was missed before and then recover with another layer of the borax. Let the second run of borax sit for another couple of weeks and then brush off and pull the nails, you can then store the hides in a dry location stacked with a layer of paper between them.

If the feathers need washed DH said he does that after he removes the first dose of the borax, he removes the hide from the board, washes it, blots it dry and then resecures it before doing the second dose of the borax. He prefers doing the washing at that time because he says it is easier for him to scrub the feathers after the skin has stiffened some.

For smaller jobs you can also either pluck or cut off feathers right at the base of the shaft and store them in a zippy bag for craft projects. This would be my preferred method if I am only interested in a small amount of feathers from a particular bird. Storing in plastic can cause the feathers to degrade a bit, some air flow seems to keep them nicer.

this is great info *FL!! If you have a tackle shop or some such near, you could maybe make a few $$ by providing feathers (whole saddles etc.)..just a thought..
We used Borax to help preserve the trophy fish DH had taken...it really does keep the colors and skin in-tacked.

 

[wingstone]

Since my asparagus bed is well established, I want to do something else that is gonna produce yearly...is it possible to grow artichoke around here. I never hear about these... we really like them but they are pricey to buy.

 

[fisherlady]

well, you know what you want & most interested in.  The wyandottes are great winter hardy/friendly birds..BUT..they shut -OFF in the winter..mine being a good example & they have a more natural tendency to go "broody"....if that is not a worry, then go for them! Oh, the pencil & partridge are beautiful!!   I do love my BLR thought too

I really like wyandotes, but..with the way things have gone this year with all the broodiness & no eggs...well, I still "think" the rooster/cockeral we get in the spring will be wyandotte,

BUT..wondering if going with a total different breed would be better...then have him mix with the wyandotte & marans girls....I am not sure what i would end up with or if the egg laying would improve at all .....

maybe i should just stick to a wyandoote rooster to continue to produce pure wyandootes and still mix him over the marans....,so much to think about, glad we have some time.

I am really liking the rhodebars too, they are good layers, from what people say...man..i need help..:/

this is great info *FL!!  If you have a tackle shop or some such near, you could maybe make a few $$ by providing feathers (whole saddles etc.)..just a thought..
We used Borax to help preserve the trophy fish DH had taken...it really does keep the colors and skin in-tacked. 

We donate the feathers to the Project Healing Waters. We are involved with them through our Erie friends. They use them for teaching the disabled vets how to tie flies.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Look at what I found in the run this morning! Is this a fart egg or a pullet egg? My oldest pullets are about 12 weeks old so it seems so crazy to think it could be one of them. It looks like a regular brown egg just miniaturized. I cracked it open and this is what was in it.

 

[fisherlady]

I would call it a fart egg, the pullets are too young at 12 weeks. My hens lay them once in awhile. Sometimes find them on the roost shelves.

Edit to correct the spell check screw up.

 

[wingstone]

well, you know what you want & most interested in.  The wyandottes are great winter hardy/friendly birds..BUT..they shut -OFF in the winter..mine being a good example & they have a more natural tendency to go "broody"....if that is not a worry, then go for them! Oh, the pencil & partridge are beautiful!!   I do love my BLR thought too

I really like wyandotes, but..with the way things have gone this year with all the broodiness & no eggs...well, I still "think" the rooster/cockeral we get in the spring will be wyandotte,

BUT..wondering if going with a total different breed would be better...then have him mix with the wyandotte & marans girls....I am not sure what i would end up with or if the egg laying would improve at all .....

maybe i should just stick to a wyandoote rooster to continue to produce pure wyandootes and still mix him over the marans....,so much to think about, glad we have some time.

I am really liking the rhodebars too, they are good layers, from what people say...man..i need help..:/

this is great info *FL!!  If you have a tackle shop or some such near, you could maybe make a few $$ by providing feathers (whole saddles etc.)..just a thought..
We used Borax to help preserve the trophy fish DH had taken...it really does keep the colors and skin in-tacked. 

We donate the feathers to the Project Healing Waters. We are involved with them through our Erie friends. They use them for teaching the disabled vets how to tie flies.

Not looking to sell them either, the subject of Fisher Lady keeping them came up at the VFW Saturday night and lots of the guys ask for some. Just figure we will give it a try. One less thing wasted

 

[LadyBehir]

My run is approximately 5 x 20. I have 6 girls. Can I have more or am I at a realistic level now? I do not really want to build another run, although I am trying to plan a way to add on to the existing one. Hearing you all talk about the different breeds isn't helping!