Sumatra Thread!

[zach N houdan]

Here are picks of my blue large fowl pullet and splash bantam pullet!

 

[ramirezframing]

Well my flock editing is nearly finished for the year! What a chore and I culled hard this year. After subtracting 51 birds I am now left with 45 chickens and pheasants, 23 are sumatras (4 roosters and 19 hens). I'll be hatching from 1 rooster and 5-7 sumatra hens, keep a few backups and sell the extra MMcM hens. I'll be keeping the hens separated and moving the roo from pen to pen. Any thoughts on how to keep the hatching chicks identifiable? I figure I'll set the eggs on different days and try to put little partitions in the hatcher, after the chicks hatch I'll put a tie-wrap band on em, or maybe paint a spot on their head... I just need to figure something out because often I've got lots of chicks hatching overnight and once they walk away from their shell I've mixed them up so any thoughts would be great!

-Stephen

Tie straps are the best that I have come across so far, just remember to check them often to make sure they don't get too tight. For in the hatcher a friend of mine uses the grilling baskets to keep different lines/ types separated from each other.

 

[ramirezframing]

Here are picks of my blue large fowl pullet and splash bantam pullet!

Nice birds Zach, are you going to Ohio with any of your birds?

 

[zach N houdan]

Nice birds Zach, are you going to Ohio with any of your birds?

Sadly no I'm not going . In the spring I am planning on going to a ohio show in the Spring it is just hard to have some one watch the farm and a nine hour drive each way. Does Southern Ohio have a show in the spring I have some friends who go out there

 

[championsumatra]

Quote: Same here we can't get anyone to bran sit for us. we have a lot of animals. so we can't do trips like that.

 

[4Hgirl]

Nice birds Zach, are you going to Ohio with any of your birds?

Zach they Look great!

 

[ramirezframing]

Quote:
I don't know about a spring show in Ohio, I'm in NC. But I really do like the first splash bantam hen you posted. She has a nice dark face and legs for being a splash. I can understand finding good reliable help to watch animals can be hard. The main reason most vacations are a day trip here, and not many at that rate either. But the animals make it worth it.

 

[Penny Hen]

Quote:
You can always try getting older high school age 4H kids to help farm watch. All of the older ones I have known have been good serious agriculturlist that take their responsibilities seriously. I'm sure that isn't universal because nothing is but it is a good place to start and some of the kids are going for college grants and things and good personal reference letters from you as a satisfied customer of their agricultural services (farm watching) can be of great value to them.

 

[zach N houdan]

I

Quote:
I don't know about a spring show in Ohio, I'm in NC. But I really do like the first splash bantam hen you posted. She has a nice dark face and legs for being a splash. I can understand finding good reliable help to watch animals can be hard. The main reason most vacations are a day trip here, and not many at that rate either. But the animals make it worth it.

I do have animal sitters that i have been using for years and they take care of my 150 birds and all my other animals (goats, horses rabbits etc.) when I am on vacation but I still worry with the cold because none of them have the quantity of animals as I do lol. And thank you for te complement on the splash bantam I really like her and I can't wait to breed her in the spring

 

[4Hgirl]

You can always try getting older high school age 4H kids to help farm watch. All of the older ones I have known have been good serious agriculturlist that take their responsibilities seriously. I'm sure that isn't universal because nothing is but it is a good place to start and some of the kids are going for college grants and things and good personal reference letters from you as a satisfied customer of their agricultural services (farm watching) can be of great value to them.

That is a great idea!!