Oh, they're going to freezer camp, just not till around March lol. They were being brats in the main coop and I needed some more room in there.
Pennsylvania!! Unite!!
- Thread starter LeBlackbird
- Start date
Oh, they're going to freezer camp, just not till around March lol. They were being brats in the main coop and I needed some more room in there.
Yea, mine do that too. That's when I pull all but 1 of the mature boys & put them in Freezer Camp, then let the young boys grow out more before doing it again. Rarely do I have a large fowl roo around here over about 18 months old. Most are lucky to make it to 6 months. I have to REALLY like a roo for him to stick around more than a year.
my main roo will be a year old next month. He's really good at protecting his ladies and doing his job. I'd have to hatch a really good roo to replace him. I'm not ready to part with such a good boy. Eventually though, he'll get replaced.
- Jun 10, 2012
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I have one rooster that is 3 years old and a few others that are going on three years. I have no plans on killing any of them any time soon. 2 of them were my main breeders in 2013 and 2014. This year I will be using them again, but not quite as heavily. Last Spring I had a 15+ year old hen finally die on me.
My neighbor has hens who are a decade or so that still lay enough eggs to sell. True Rhode Island Reds.
The hens I keep. I just lost my oldest girl to the cold. She was a 7-8 yr old EE banty who loved to sit on eggs but only laid about 20 eggs per year the last 2 years...mostly right before going broody each time. I hatch lots of babies each year so am constantly selling off extra hens who don't meet the heavy body style I want for my dual purpose flock. I'm doing the same with my boys, keeping the heavy body styles who carry the blue egg gene. I'm trying to get all peacombs as well since frostbite ruins all the big combs on my boys. Once I get a nice, big, heavy boy who has all the qualities I want, he will stay. Until then, I just keep working toward the goal & culling out the qualities I don't want a few times per year.
SS:
I'll take some pics of my coolerbater and use that as a blueprint...also SallySunshine has links on her profile with instructions...if memory serves, I think she posted a second set of instructions when she built a second bater out of one of the huge coolers turned upright....
T:
You had a 15yr hen, what breed? and how did you do that??? at what point did she stop laying? Have to think she was a great influence on the entire flock...I am amazed!!!
- Jun 10, 2012
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She was a Cubalaya hen, her last year of laying was when she was 14. She laid 4 eggs and none were fertile. I still have her bloodline in my flock. One grandaughter is now 3 years old and very productive.
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I just loaded my incubator with 44 eggs. Will be looking forward to what hatches for me. Most of the eggs are from my free ranging flock. Sometimes I'll do a few eggs double layer and when I candle there are usually enough of the pullet eggs that aren't fertile to bring it down to one layer. Cubalaya and Cuabalaya crosses.
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