Spitzhaubens

[Alaskan]

Nice on the trio....


Sorry for the losses.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

So I snapped some pics of my first batch of spitzies the other day. I have had the worst luck. 4 out of 5 were male. But the one female sure is a pretty little thing. They arent the best pics, but here you go.
First three are the boys.

Last two are of the girl. I really need to get a better picture of her. She has a really pretty pointy crest and the daintiest spangles. I'm excited to see her grow up.

 

[Alaskan]

Nice looking birds!

And crazy on the sex ratio

 

[Faraday40]

So I snapped some pics of my first batch of spitzies the other day. I have had the worst luck. 4 out of 5 were male.

That's because I hatched out all your females! Last year 4 out of 6 were female. I'm not sure about the 1st hatch this year (the fertility test) because we rehomed them 1 week after hatch. But, DS used a doz of your eggs for his 4H incubation project. 3 went home with the teacher who owned the Brinsea. One died during hatch, leaving 8 spitz chicks. Only 2 of those 8 were male. The results are pretty unusual.

Anyway, I do like your pretty female spitz.


Off topic ramblings:
What's strange is that I rarely get 50/50 gender. I tend to get more females. If I knew my secret I'd share. There's a myth that claims pointy eggs are male & more rounded ones are female - NOT TRUE. DD spent a lot of time and over 75 eggs testing that idea.

The only thing we've been able to prove is that some indiv hens will produce significantly more chicks of one gender. .... But, most hens are 50/50.

There's another theory that claims egg storage before incubation can affect gender. If eggs are stored in slightly cooler temps (like a fridge), then more females will hatch. The cold weakens the male embryos, so they're clears or quitters. It's probably another myth. I do know that eggs stored in the fridge can hatch, so I may test it out someday.

 

[Faraday40]

BTW- The cliff notes of DS's project this year (comparing 4 incubators):
Best hatch rate
1 Home-made Cooler-bator
2 Brinsea Octagon Advanced - with humidity pump
3 Incuview (w/ turner from Incubator Warehouse)
4 Hovabator Genesis w/ turner

Best Features / Easiest to use
1 Brinsea
2 Incuview
3 Hovabator
4 Cooler-bator - manual everything

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Well, I knew it was going to happen. I had a gut feeling my coyote was about to make his reappearance. I even warned the chickens as I walked away to be on the lookout. The sooner had I made it to the other pasture and opened up the bigger Coop, tragedy struck. Jake and Jasper were alarm calling quite loudly, but I thought they were joining the hen that was about to or had laid an egg. I had gone back to the house to get some more corn from my favorite hen Lila and as I was walking back to the coop lo and behold there is the coyote chasing the baby. I took off running after the coyote with Ranger in Hot Pursuit but he made a getaway. Well I didn't see anything in his mouth as he ran away, I can't find one of my older babies. Fortunately it is one of the males that is missing and not my pretty female. I went back and cleaned the big coop and then went back to check on everyone in the smaller coop. Ranger spotted the coyote still hanging out in the woods, and chased it off. So grateful for my sweet puppy who is watching out! So now I have my son on coyote patrol while I go off do my volunteer time. I snapped a pics of my pretty female I don't know if its any good though. She had taken off running with Jake and came running to me after the area was secure.

Ehh, still not a great picture. Shes a sweet little thing though.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Can you see what i see? Pretty sickle feathers coming back in! His last pair almost dragged the ground. He has pretty saddle feathers too.

For those that dont know, Jake was attacked by a coyote a few months ago. He lost every single tail feather with some wounds under the wing. He's looking handsome again.

 

[KSH1]

These guys are about 14-15 weeks old. Both mild mannered and don't cause any trouble with the flock, but I had thought they were both pullets and now I'm thinking one of each. BUT I don't know what I'm talking about lol. What say you? Looking at the handsome Jake above makes me not so disappointed if I have a cockerel though. I'd also be curious if anyone wants to pick them apart conformationally. Thanks!

 

[Faraday40]

These guys are about 14-15 weeks old. Both mild mannered and don't cause any trouble with the flock, but I had thought they were both pullets and now I'm thinking one of each. BUT I don't know what I'm talking about lol. What say you? Looking at the handsome Jake above makes me not so disappointed if I have a cockerel though. I'd also be curious if anyone wants to pick them apart conformationally. Thanks!

Looks like a pair to me.

 

[Alaskan]

First looks male... and he isn't standing well there... so no comments on him...except it looks like maybe his feet are off color.

The girl looks pretty good, clean spangles on her chest. Too full on the top hat, but that is a common fault.