Sdwd

[Cetawin]

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Kathy, the little pullets are the sweetest tiny things on the planet. They are amazing little pets, especially Penny the Pocket Pet. Aimee is more of a pest than pet and Carly is so tiny, she almost looks like a wild bird rather than a chicken. The cockerels are opposite the pullets. Angus, bottom of the pecking order, is quite sweet-he will let me rub his chest, never bites, certainly never flogs. Aubrey will flog and bite, if you try to catch him, otherwise, he leaves you alone. Rufus is alpha and can't decide if he's a menace or a Little Love, so he alternates. Rusty is a snot extraordinaire, 24/7, except on the rarest of occasions when he freezes if you stroke his chest on the roost, but mostly, he threatens to peck your face off. So, yes, I do like these. No feathered legs, no single combs to freeze, chunky little goofballs.

The D'Anvers are much smaller than Silkies. They're actually normal, too.

Amy, I don't plan to breed anymore Orps after the Suedenator passes on. He broke the mold so I really don't need to hatch eggs from them. Traveler was HUGE and Robin loved that boy, but he was one of the last to be lost to a family of raccoons. She was heartbroken, thought she had the problem solved when they got him. I'd like to get her more of Suede and Meg's kids if I can, but was really waiting for a broody hen.


Scott, thanks! Yes, that is in the back of my mind, that I can get eggs from you in the future if I need them . I appreciate it!

HA! Not a silkie I have ever met, hatched, owned, sold, kept, given away or etc has EVER attacked anyone and you get the smackdown daily from the Aubrey, toerag and My Little Love aka Your Bantams! hahahahahahaha

Suede is THE STUDMUFFIN was forced to live with defective women and now he has been given young blonds to reproduce with I mean come on now really? And oh SOME people (*looks for Kathy*) will blame Suede if production goes down in that Orp pen but truth is HE HAS DEFECTIVE or DITZY WOMEN

 

[kathyinmo]

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I was laughing out loud when I read this!

 

[kathyinmo]

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What? Now listen here, Lady....... Mr. Isaac has had no problem keeping ALL of his women fertile. Put those defective women with him and just see!

 

[cpartist]

Uh ohhh.....here we go again! Battle of the boys is on

 

[har]

I had this nice older Gentleman from Kansas City stop at my place the orther day to talk chicken. While we were talking he made the commit that if you hatch early in the year you will get more females then later in the year. I told him I have never heard that before. Have any of you heard that? Wives tale or not I thought it was interesting. Its always fun and interesting to talk with orther chicken lovers..

Scott

 

[kathyinmo]

I don't know, Scott. I don't think I have heard that one. I hatched 8 Silver Laced Wyandottes about 12 weeks ago...... 2 males and 6 females. That's about the best ratio I have ever had.

 

[catdaddyfro]

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Hey there Scott and the rest of ya'll SDWDers and BYCEers too:

I quess I could say too that I've yet to hear that one about hatching early makes more pullets. I don't believe it'll have anything to do with it at all. The hen is deciding factor in world of chickens on the sex of the chick. I don't know whether a hen lays predominately one sex her whole laying cycle or if it changes. I've read it to be both ways. I would be inclined to say that they can change up the sex and it would most likely be triggered by a hormonal change due to a number of factors inc. habitat/ environment, number of roosters breeding her, maybe even the number of hens in the flock, I really don't know. I do know one thing I usually end up with 65-70% roos/30-35% pullets in all my hatches. I've tried all the tricks in the books and still end up with these astronomical numbers of roosters to deal with, always. One hatch I had a broody sitting on 15 eggs from about 7-8 different little mixed breed hens crossed to a pure Silver Phoenix rooster she hatched out 13. 12 pullets and 1 cockerel my best ratio ever and never has happened since either. My last 2 broody hatches which are now about 8 and 6 weeks old I got 3 roos and 1 pullet the first one and 6 roos and 2 pullets out of the last one, go figure. I got roosters out the yen yang around here.

Jeff

 

[kathyinmo]

Luanne's eggs seem to be a higher female ratio. I think she knows something we don't. Honestly, of all of her eggs I hatched, I know I got at least 75% females..... that is with Wheaten Ameraucanas and Marans.

 

[speckledhen]

I see the cease fire in the Suede-Isaac War is over.

I remember when I hatched some show type RIRs from Julie in Alabama. Seven hatched, six pullets and one cockerel! Can't beat that, eh? Too bad I wasn't going to breed them or I'd have had my instant flock!

 

[Serrin]

So far, it looks like Maggie is 3 for 3 in the pullet department.

Cleo still looks girly to me at ten and a half weeks.

If she continues to be a "she", then I'm going to be a bit inclined to believe that the hens determine the sex of the chick and that some hens are predisposed to lay more of one sex than the other. Just my thoughts, take them for what they're worth.

I've also heard that adding ACV to their water for about a month prior to setting eggs will boost the pullet numbers.

If memory serves me [and usually it doesn't

] it was Luanne that mentioned this somewhere. Luanne? Do you remember that comment? Please tell me I'm not hallucinating these things again!