Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[fisherlady]

I have read that even if the surface is cool on the eggs, they may still be warm enough inside. I thinking cooling down of eggs is better than too hot. Keep us updated!

@fisherlady Question about your extra Roos. When you are raising them for freezer camp, do you keep them isolated? I have four eggs in the incubator right now, and if they all hatch, I will likely have two extra Roos. Should I keep them penned up separately? The rest of my flock free ranges during the day. Also, what is a good butchering age/weight? I have a feeling they won't be very heavy unfortunately, since they are CCL/Marans mixes. My Rusty (the father) doesn't look very meaty and he's probably near full grown.

Our extra roos stay in the flock until butcher size if we can (anytime from 16 wks on depending on how they fill out).
We do sometimes remove them to a moveable 'canopy coop' during warmer weather if they are getting pushy with the hens or if we have enough of them. If we have a lot of broody hatches at around the same time we can get the 'bachelor pen' going. I won't seperate one by itself though for more than a day or two, they just aren't meant to be alone so any that need isolated get butchered as soon as we can no matter what their size.

With smaller birds we debone the meat and freeze it until we have enough meat saved up for a 'canning run' and same for the bones, which we pressure cook for broth. Usually takes about 7 smaller birds to make a good batch.

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Sorry one more and then off to chores. My chicks are a little over a month old and spoiled rotten. If I have the brooder cover on they cry and cry till I take it off so they can sit on edge and harass the dogs... its cute but becoming an issue lol. They are almost all feathered out

Except this little girl/boy

I'm not sure why she's so far behind but I'm worried if I take away heat lamp she'll get cold. She's probably one of my favorites I was hoping she was a splash but she's coming in darker now. Anyway
1. What age can I put them in coop? It's divided from my big girls. And I can add a heat lamp but I'd have to do a little work for drafts from the run door.
2. Is there possibly a reason she's so far behind or just a slow grower.
3. We've had a few really nice days around 60 is that to cold for them to play outside for a bit. I let them out for 15 min the day it was 70 and they were fine but..
Thanks and sorry for always having questions. You guys are too helpful!!

 

[fangedknight]

Goooodd morning everyone! Good news! Keith and I managed to get the plans for the coop drawn up! Albeit haphazardly but it's where we can understand whats going on. Here's a quick question though. We decided to do one giant nesting box (obviously with a second level since we're planning on so many birds) is it better to have an open nesting box instead of divided individuals? Or is that mostly up to what the girls prefer? I've seen big open boxes and divided boxes and I'm honestly curious if it matters

 

[FluffyButt789]

Good morning all. What a rain we got yesterday. I was lucky to get a couple breaks in the rain to get the main roof on minus ridge vent and caps, trim work done, and a vent window put on (and various locks). Today will be focused on the run and a door, chickens get picked up [hopefully] between 1230 and 1430.

Im also planning on recycling an damaged piece of gutter to recycle rain water to help water the girls. Our sewer rate is astronomical compared to our water bill.

Very nice work! We have a bigger coop but we are not good woodworkers so it is a bit funny looking lol!

Hi @FluffyButt789 ! My wonderful little boys are doing okay. We think one of them isn't castrated and the little guy looks like it might not be done correctly. Big guy has a funny eye too and they are both still coughing and limping. Have an appointment at vet for them tomorrow. On the upside they like us now. Little Ford is a ham and Stetson is still a little flinchy with me but loves my hubby and daughter. Hopefully the vet will help figure out what's going on!

I hope the vet can help them quickly. Definitely ask the vet what you should do about the person you bought them from. If that person is not taking care of the animals, that's not ok!

Goooodd morning everyone! Good news! Keith and I managed to get the plans for the coop drawn up! Albeit haphazardly but it's where we can understand whats going on. Here's a quick question though. We decided to do one giant nesting box (obviously with a second level since we're planning on so many birds) is it better to have an open nesting box instead of divided individuals? Or is that mostly up to what the girls prefer? I've seen big open boxes and divided boxes and I'm honestly curious if it matters

If you have two separate levels, I suggest doing one open and one with individual boxes. Let the girls choose what they like best!

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Very nice work! We have a bigger coop but we are not good woodworkers so it is a bit funny looking lol! 


I hope the vet can help them quickly. Definitely ask the vet what you should do about the person you bought them from. If that person is not taking care of the animals, that's not ok! 

If you have two separate levels, I suggest doing one open and one with individual boxes. Let the girls choose what they like best!

I'm having a hard time figuring out how mad I am. The woman we bought them from was definitely old enough to be my grandma and by herself. We had talked to people that bought animals from her over the years and all were happy with her. She mentioned that she normally had 100 goats but had a heart attack last October so she was cutting back. I feel like I did when we had to take away my grandma's car keys. Obviously if this is how the animals are living it's not okay and something should be done but I honestly don't think she has them in this condition on purpose after talking to her. So I'm hesitant to get her in trouble. If I knew her better or her family I'd talk to them. But on the other hand the poor animals need help. Ugh. I don't know what to do. I'm definitely going to talk to vet about it.

 

[hyzenthlay]

Sorry one more and then off to chores. My chicks are a little over a month old and spoiled rotten. If I have the brooder cover on they cry and cry till I take it off so they can sit on edge and harass the dogs... its cute but becoming an issue lol. They are almost all feathered out

Except this little girl/boy

I'm not sure why she's so far behind but I'm worried if I take away heat lamp she'll get cold. She's probably one of my favorites I was hoping she was a splash but she's coming in darker now. Anyway
1. What age can I put them in coop? It's divided from my big girls. And I can add a heat lamp but I'd have to do a little work for drafts from the run door.
2. Is there possibly a reason she's so far behind or just a slow grower.
3. We've had a few really nice days around 60 is that to cold for them to play outside for a bit. I let them out for 15 min the day it was 70 and they were fine but..
Thanks and sorry for always having questions. You guys are too helpful!!

Cute chicks! I see the various Wyandottes, but what breed is the first one, with the gold neck? On your one that's slow to feather, I have heard that males often feather out more slowly than females--that has been somewhat true in my limited experience. Did you get straight run? For me, the ones with feathers look ok to go out with weather in the 60s, but it was snowing here this morning, and at least for me, I wouldn't take them from indoors with a heat lamp to outside in the cold, even if they did have a lamp outside--it just seems like too much of a swing without the chance for them to acclimate. Unless they can get right up next to the lamp, it probably only raises the ambient coop temperature a few degrees. Others with more experience can chime in. As for mixing them with your big girls (which I don't think you were asking), I've read you should wait at least until the young ones are about 3/4 the size of the adults, so that they can stand up for themselves.

 

[hyzenthlay]

Believe it or not, this will be my third year keeping turkeys and I have yet to taste one lol. I've baked with them and everything turns out fantastic! From what I've been told, they taste like chicken eggs but more rich.

My one BCM girl came from @dheltzel when he had them. The rest were from shipped eggs. I'm not doing marans anymore since it's very hard to find good stock. I only have 2 girls left now. The other is a wheaten Marans that was supposed to be from BCM eggs. I'll be using the girls to make olive eggers.

I don't know how you've managed to resist trying one this long! I'd be so curious. They are pretty eggs, though.

Marans are one of those breeds that has enjoyed tremendous popularity, but many people only keep them for a while, then move to other breeds that lay better. There are other examples of this phenomenon, like Breda Fowl, that were re-introduced to the US (by Greenfire Farms) after being extinct here for probably a century. They are well on their way to being extinct again, they just aren't "worth it" to most people, being mediocre in most every area except for looks. Some breeds that are introduced, like Legbars, have tremendous staying power, but other very good breeds, like Rhodebars, just don't seem to have enough advantages to offset their disadvantages. I have to admit, I follow the trends a lot and I think Marans popularity has peaked. None of the dark egg layers are as satisfactory as breeds that lay other colors, so most people will get a token dark egg layer or 2, but their main flock will be other color eggs. I'm trying to produce a lot of Welbars this year to satisfy the demand from breeders for breeding stock of a new and rare breed, but I honestly expect that 2 years from now, Legbars will be outselling Welbars 5 to 1.

Marans are excellent pet chickens. Both hens and roos have a pleasant personality and you will not regret having some in your flock, but don't expect a lot of eggs from them. Don't expect a lot of eggs from silkies or cochins either, but still keep them if you can. Nothing I sell is suitable for commercial production, the hatcheries have that market well served. I like to try to find the right balance for the backyard, I would still have Marans if they could be sexed as chicks, but the fact that the Welbars (and to a somewhat lesser degree, Welsummers) are sexable at hatch is a huge deal for me. If I ever do Marans again, I will get a flock of commercial Cuckoo Marans and use most of those hens with a BCM roo to make black sexlink Marans. Those would absolutely sell like hotcakes, and the Cuckoos do lay better. The hybrids should be pretty satisfactory as layers of dark eggs. I don't have room for that project now, maybe someday when I retire . . .

@Auroradream26 and @dheltzel , I can definitely understand it would be hard to raise BCMs to sell, since they can't be sexed right away. I do wish I could get some decent BCM stock, though. I really love black chickens with single combs--I think they're very striking. I used to have an Australorp that I thought was the prettiest thing, but I haven't gotten another BA because I also want variety in egg color that the BCM provides. I think they fill a good niche in a backyard laying/pet flock like mine. I have more hens than I really need for eggs most of the time, so I'm not looking for the highest producers, just interesting (and healthy!) birds that lay interesting eggs.

dheltzel, if you did the sexlink Marans, the males would be barred and the hens would be black/black copper, right? That sounds like a good project to me!

 

[yoopergirl1211]

The first pic is of our Easter egger Rabbit. And I ordered 5 hens and 1 rooster BLRW. So it could be my rooster! We were hoping it was. Even named it Stellar which was the name we picked out for the rooster. They didn't mark them so it was a guessing game. Oh I hope that's him! They definitely aren't going out today lol. Stupid snow. I can definitely keep them in house but probably need to get something bigger to put them in.

 

[dheltzel]

dheltzel, if you did the sexlink Marans, the males would be barred and the hens would be black/black copper, right? That sounds like a good project to me!

Right, male chicks would have a white headspot and barring on their feathers (evident at just a few days of age, if the headspot is not clear). It would also be easy to make olive egger sexlinks from a black Marans roo but putting him over Cream Legbars. You could keep them in a single pen, the dark eggs make "dark egg BSL" chicks and the blue eggs make "olive egg BSL" chicks.

 

[hyzenthlay]

The first pic is of our Easter egger Rabbit. And I ordered 5 hens and 1 rooster BLRW. So it could be my rooster! We were hoping it was. Even named it Stellar which was the name we picked out for the rooster. They didn't mark them so it was a guessing game. Oh I hope that's him! They definitely aren't going out today lol. Stupid snow. I can definitely keep them in house but probably need to get something bigger to put them in.

I love your EE's name!

Re the color of your slow-feathering BLRW, it will probably lighten from what you see now. I got a BLRW from Meyer, and she had the darkest chick fluff and her first feathers grew in very black looking, but once she matured she was a pretty nice steely blue. Let me see if I can find pics... here we go--that's Zinnia on the left in the first pic. And speaking of my pretty BA (RIP), she's photobombing in the pic with the dogs.



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