Silkie thread!

[jajeanpierre]

You are one tough cookie jajeanpierre. There have been times when I've considered getting dual purpose chickens and learning how to process them, but I'm not there yet. I agree, caged factory farming is not a life for a chicken.

I'm still learning all the interesting chicken terms. A frazzle seems quite interesting. I bet it has a hard time staying warm though.

I've considered a bachelor coop and the box, but for now I'm going to just see how it goes. Thanks for all the suggestions and comments! It's nice to hear other people's experiences with chickens.

I have three cockerels to process--two really ugly Ameraucanas and the Silkie cockerel who survived the dog attack. My son is bugging me to not slaughter the Silkie because, well, he's a survivor.

The frazzles are awful. They have few feathers and the feathers they have are not as wide as a normal feather, so they are like little stings or pipe cleaners. Plus the feathers are incredibly brittle. Often everything breaks off except the shaft, leaving just wires instead of feathers. There is also reference to skin problems and both of mine have inflamed skin on their feet, their keel and their vent/tail. I think it might be related to the pine shavings. The pullet is the least affected. Anyone know of any skin problems with frazzles (double copy frizzles)?

Yes, they do have a lot of trouble staying warm. The one bit of research on them that I read from I think the 1930s or 1940s found they had a much higher heart rate and an exhausted thyroid, which they hypothesized was from them trying to stay warm.

I wouldn't want to subject the little frazzle pullet to a rooster. She has almost no feathers on her back and what she has will break. Maybe I should get a saddle for her? Where can I find information on saddles? She is a tiny thing, so I think I will have to make it myself. I will only need it if I put these two cockerels in with the pullets. I might just leave them in a separate pen. I don't know.

This morning we've had 1.5 inches of rain with more to come. I'll keep checking on the frazzles and bring them in if I need to.

 

[jajeanpierre]

You are one tough cookie jajeanpierre. There have been times when I've considered getting dual purpose chickens and learning how to process them, but I'm not there yet. I agree, caged factory farming is not a life for a chicken.

It's a philosophical choice. I love animals too much to support factory farming. I decided that if I'm going to eat meat, I'm going to give that meat a really good life until it has one bad minute, a mintute that isn't all that bad. I haven't bought chickens solely for meat yet, but I will. It makes me appreciate and be thankful for the meat I have and not waste a single bit of it.

 

[Suzierd]

How long does it take for a baby chick to hatch through the shell and out of the egg? Thanks

Can take all day.

 

[sacramento]

Thank you!

 

[sacramento]

Can take all day.

I have a chick hatching but the broody hen i have did not do anything with humidity, so the membrane is very dry. What can I do about it? I have been putting a drop of water on it every so often

 

[Suzierd]

Is out from under the hen? Staying under the hen keeps the humidity right. If its shrink warped it won't be able to turn and hatch. When did it pip?

 

[sacramento]

It piped late last night, but when it broke some shell off, it was in the middle part of the shell, she is still trying to pop out of the membrane though. It is not out of the shell or out from under the mama

 

[Suzierd]

Does it have a breathing hole thru the membrane? Can you hear it peeping?

 

[sacramento]

No it doesn't its stuck in there

 

[sacramento]

No peeping either. Should I help it?