She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[chickiedoodahs]

Ok, a few pics of the 4 that have been moved to the brooder. They are so super tiny. I love them already

So cute! Going to have to get an incubator although it may be even more stressful than my first broody hatch :/

 

[scflock]

So cute! Going to have to get an incubator although it may be even more stressful than my first broody hatch

Nah, you're a meddler

Incubators make it easier to meddle than a broody

 

[chickiedoodahs]

Sorry to be flooding this thread but I just had to share some more pics of my little fluff balls lol

 

[Alaskan]

 
My biggest sellers are the cuckoo marans and silkies, both sell out within days. I like the cuckoos, because I can sell them sexed as soon as they come out of the brooder, and silkies sell pretty well as straight run young. I can get a really good price for silkie pullets if I keep them that long. I have 7 pens, but I could see me downsizing to 3 or 4 breeds in the next couple of years

I have 3600sq ft that I'm free ranging on right now, but I need to separate for pens come fall. How do you manage your pens? How big of coop? How many chickens per pen/coop and how many cocks per hen is ideal for production and selling? For instance, if I want to sell fertile Marans eggs do I need 4 or 8 hens to get a dozen within a 5 day window?

I love building but lumber is expensive here. 

You should look through my coop pages..... I highly recommend scrounging through the dump, asking builders for left over scraps, and picking up pallets.

Also, the free pages on Facebook and Craig's list can bring you some lovely things.

I had my Marans rooster with 6 hens... And his fertility was around 75 to 80 percent... On a good day

I had my Ameraucana rooster with one hen.... And I still had about 75% fertility! My Dominique rooster though can cover almost every single egg, and he is over about 20 hens.

Ditto with my Leghorn rooster, rare to get an infertile egg with either one of those stellar boys.

when I don't have snow and frozen water problems.. I can separate lots of different breeding groups... In the winter though, I try to keep them together as much as possible, with at least 8 square feet per bird of covered space.

 

[chickiedoodahs]

Nah, you're a meddler
Incubators make it easier to meddle than a broody

I promise not to touch the incubator*



*Unless it's for candling and general meddling!

 

[scflock]

You should look through my coop pages..... I highly recommend scrounging through the dump, asking builders for left over scraps, and picking up pallets.

Also, the free pages on Facebook and Craig's list can bring you some lovely things.

I had my Marans rooster with 6 hens... And his fertility was around 75 to 80 percent... On a good day

I had my Ameraucana rooster with one hen.... And I still had about 75% fertility! My Dominique rooster though can cover almost every single egg, and he is over about 20 hens.

Ditto with my Leghorn rooster, rare to get an infertile egg with either one of those stellar boys.

when I don't have snow and frozen water problems.. I can separate lots of different breeding groups... In the winter though, I try to keep them together as much as possible, with at least 8 square feet per bird of covered space.

Mmmmm, pallets...
That's what led me to discovering free lumber, my wife looking at pallet furniture on Pinterest. I've got a few really cool things that have been built out of pallets

 

[scflock]

I promise not to touch the incubator*



*Unless it's for candling and general meddling!

No, I'm not saying you can't meddle. That's why this thread is the She said/He said thread. Everyone does it differently. An incubator will just enable your weakness

 

[WVduckchick]

My wife calls our house the meat locker. She turns the electric blanket on an hour before bed every night

Ok, so I could live with her. You can sleep with the chickens.

Definitely looks white to me, but could grow into a buff

Yea, 3 hours is a little early, huh

I am terrible at sexing chicks, but I swear the one closest to the camera in this picture crowed at me...

That was the first one out.... and they reason that they got moved to the brooder already. I'm gonna guess you are right! lol

@Yorkshire coop when can you tell they are fizzled? I've had 3 gold laced Poland's hatch today but they all look the same? Their father is fizzled so hoping for at least 1.

I've finally seen 1 more pip so hopefully have at least 1 chamois poland from the 2 eggs left! The chicks are so beautiful, I'm in love

Love to know this answer too

So cute! Going to have to get an incubator although it may be even more stressful than my first broody hatch

Nah, probably about the same

Quote:

Sorry to be flooding this thread but I just had to share some more pics of my little fluff balls lol

I'm doing the same thing! haha

 

[chickiedoodahs]

No, I'm not saying you can't meddle. That's why this thread is the She said/He said thread. Everyone does it differently. An incubator will just enable your weakness

Ok I'll happily admit I'm a meddler, can't stop myself!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@Yorkshire coop when can you tell they are fizzled? I've had 3 gold laced Poland's hatch today but they all look the same? Their father is fizzled so hoping for at least 1.

I've finally seen 1 more pip so hopefully have at least 1 chamois poland from the 2 eggs left! The chicks are so beautiful, I'm in love

As soon as the feathers start coming through you can generally tell the frizzle ones. I'm afraid they all hatch cute and fuzzy so no way of telling straight away.

The middle chick is a frizzle can you see how the feathers are just starting to point out. It's not a full polish but it's the same principal. The pic was taken in their first week.

This chick is about two weeks and the frizzle feathers are pronounced by now.

Good luck on the chamois