Sumatra Thread!

[Nat123]

We love our Sumatra chickens! We have 2 Sumatra hens that have gone broody twice, and 2 Sumatra roosters that's such a good protector and provider to their hens

 

[Giddi-Up]

Thank you everyone for your help.

I was just trying to get a jump on these because my daughter wants to show them this year, and I wanted some chicks on the ground before they get switched over to showing and stop laying - with the change in feed. Also we only have the 3 hens right now - if I had more I would not worry. I am only trying to hatch from the chickens that my daughter and I want to show this year. Trust me I really do not want to hatch in this weather, the hydro bill

but at least I will have a head start

> There are some really pretty pictures on this thread.

Thanks again

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

oh I get ya... I'm always for a head start, got 4 brooders full of chicks and 3 incubators that never shut down, 6-8 in the spring and summer.
If they lay, cool, if not the will sooner or later. I have 2 laying an egg or two a week, but that's it. My ohiki and phoenix are laying like crazy though. So wont be long.

For show season, which is not a must by the way, but fun. I might suggest just taking your best pair and running the shows this year with them. Use the rest to build your flock where for the 2013 season you'll have plenty to work with. That way you can still do both, sounds like you need some more anyway HAHA. But by going this route, you can hatch out plenty of birds and still have a couple to carry to the shows...Just an idea where you can kill two with one stone

 

[gallo4319]

mother and son rooster is only 7 months i think

 

[jeremy]

My Platinum cockerel is crowing and mating and doing everything that a cockerel should be doing. My hens are through their molts and have grown accustomed to being penned with a rambunctious young roo... the problem? My hens haven't laid an eggs in months!

We started putting them under lights about a week and a half ago, I diligently check the nest boxes every day in hopes on of my girls will have laid for me. No such luck yet...

This project is off to an extremely slow start...

 

[Henferno]

Quote:
Looove that hen, those feathers are so bright and shiny they look fake...

 

[Bentley]

Quote:
My birds are given artificial light and basically lay year round and the egg quality stays good. Of course I turn over (replace) 90% of my breeding stock each year with the next generation selected so I rarely have birds (especially hens) more than 12-18 months of age. At any rate, even when providing artificial lighting to breeders, they will cease laying when their bodies need to regenerate themselves. The molt they go through is considered a 'soft molt' where egg production just slows or MAY cease altogether for a short period of time while they replace feathers. I hatch year round so this works for me. However, if you just hatch seasonally then pulling artificial light and forcing or, 'strongly encouraging' hens to go out of egg production at the same time is probably ideal.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

yes rotating the hens is where the difference is. If you were to do it year after year on the same hens, it wears on them. It's not forcing them to stop by not adding light, it's their natural cycle which they have for a reason. It gives them time to rebuild and recoup and be better prepared for the following season.
I hatch year round too, but just from what naturally lays. Dont get me wrong, I'm not one of them "all natural" folks.
I just keep some very high end birds that are not replaceable, and have learned over many years, forcing them to lay year round can deplete their body, make them weaker and more prone to disease, bone structure can suffer from calcium deficiencies, etc...
If you rotate out stock constantly though, just a year of doing is no big deal, it comes for year after year of doing it. Also production style birds differ here too, they are more less bred for this, ornamental breeds arent
Thing is, me at least, I keep very rare and hard to find stuff, so the breeders just arent going anywhere til they die. Once I get a good line going, I keep them, of course I also add each year too, but the primary breeders always stay, just to hard to replace. So in this case, giving them their natural break in the winter is the only route to go for me

 

[gallo4319]

Quote:
Looove that hen, those feathers are so bright and shiny they look fake...

it was a sunny day.
it makes it look brighter .

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Quote:
Looove that hen, those feathers are so bright and shiny they look fake...

it was a sunny day.
it makes it look brighter .

yep an ol sumatra will glow in the sun wont they