The 6th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[AmyLynn2374]

"Ok, who did it, everyone check your shorts!"

LOL

LMAO.... Cute

 

[chicken pickin]

"Ok, who did it, everyone check your shorts!"

LOL

 

[karenerwin]

The only problem I would see with an aquarium is ventilation though in a pinch in extremely cold weather, I've used almost any container available.

I like your idea of using an aquarium as a brooder.
I have one that is mainly a "dust collector" right now, but now that I've seen your post, it has a purpose once again!

I use the aquarium when it is too cold outside. I leave the top completely open until they start trying to fly, then I switch to a hardware cloth with larger holes.

 

[Joshua G]

Quote:

 

[ellymayRans]

It's not up to standard. I started getting some of those last summer when I lost 5 flocks to mink and hatched every egg available. I even cut eggs out of dead hens to try to reserve some of their genetics.  I know they weren't crossed with anything cause I only had Penedesenca roosters and didn't hatch white or green eggs. (the only other layers I had) Sometimes off colors from past genes show up. To resurrect the breed, they had outcrossed a bit in Spain and after they arrived in the US, I suspect some breeders were less than careful if they either didn't love them or just didn't use due diligence.
I identified a hen that was putting out some of those colors and I culled her but one or two of her daughters with proper color probably survive today in my flock. I'm going to start trap nesting in the next month or so to identify where it's coming from.

Greenfire never imported these but this is something I read on Greenfire's website that applies to these birds too.

[COLOR=0000CD]"What You Should Expect. You should expect birds that reflect the fundamental attributes of the breed. You should not expect a cosmetically perfect bird.  In fact, you should expect to find some defects in virtually every bird you raise.  Just as every child is not destined to become a supermodel, every bird is not destined to win ribbons at shows. Only a tiny fraction of chickens conform to their breed standard in all respects. We do not represent that every bird we sell is show quality or is flawless. You should receive birds that can be the foundation for a breeding program that with enough time and skill can produce show-quality birds. You should also realize that the rarer the breed, the more likely you are to encounter problems related to inbreeding. For some breeds and varieties that we sell, the global breeding population consists of fewer than a dozen hens. We cull for obvious defects like crooked toes, but low fertility, low egg production, low disease resistance, and other challenges are not uncommon with extremely rare breeds. If you encounter these challenges when the birds become adults, you will need to address them with your own breeding plan. "[/COLOR]

I had been pretty successful to get the correct feather, leg, earlobe and egg color and the right bird shape and correct comb but all these problems arose last year.
With the mink attack, the total US population was probably cut by a quarter.
Did I say I hate mink and Walmart? My family has had chickens within a mile of here since the 1870s and never had a mink attack.
Walmart is building a store about 300 yards as the crow flies upstream from here. They cut down about 80 acres of old forest along the creek. Shortly thereafter the mink arrived at my house.
If you want to try some more, I'll give you a few eggs at the end of the month.


The only problem I would see with an aquarium is ventilation though in a pinch in extremely cold weather, I've used almost any container available.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't know we had mink near us and one day I found this on our road. I've never had any losses from apparent mink attack but everything I looked at I concluded this was a mink. Fortunately it was road kill...

 

[bantambury]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't know we had mink near us and one day I found this on our road. I've never had any losses from apparent mink attack but everything I looked at I concluded this was a mink. Fortunately it was road kill...

haha id just say its a ferret so I would feel better about it

I wouldn't want to believe if I have mink around me!
last night I looked outside and there was a opossum right by the chicken coop...it gave me the shivers knowing that sometimes I walk outside at night to collect eggs....

 

[chicken pickin]

haha id just say its a ferret so I would feel better about it

I wouldn't want to believe if I have mink around me!
last night I looked outside and there was a opossum right by the chicken coop...it gave me the shivers knowing that sometimes I walk outside at night to collect eggs....

Oh my DH was outside one night this past summer and an opossum walked just about right up to him

creepy.

I have also seen a fisher cat run through my front yard

and coyotes in my back woods

we hve lots more predators but those are what we have seen with our own eyes.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

We just moved into the house we are in last August. I don't see any[preditors] out here, well, there were quite a few hawksin the fall, but haven't noticead them since mother nature went all hormonal with the snow and cold. I've seen a stray cat once. Never have had a stray dog in the yard yet. But right after we decided to raise chickens, I had the eggs in the bator and was headed into town and saw a red fox dead on the road just down from us that someone must have hit. At first I was like, awe, then I went...wait, that's probably not a bad thing cause he'd be eating my chickens....lol I've always been an animal lover (can't watch nat geo shows hate to see one animal eat another...lol) so this line of thought was new to me...lol

 

[Sambi89]

We just moved into the house we are in last August. I don't see any[preditors] out here, well, there were quite a few hawksin the fall, but haven't noticead them since mother nature went all hormonal with the snow and cold. I've seen a stray cat once. Never have had a stray dog in the yard yet. But right after we decided to raise chickens, I had the eggs in the bator and was headed into town and saw a red fox dead on the road just down from us that someone must have hit. At first I was like, awe, then I went...wait, that's probably not a bad thing cause he'd be eating my chickens....lol I've always been an animal lover (can't watch nat geo shows hate to see one animal eat another...lol) so this line of thought was new to me...lol

I watched a hawk fly away with one of my OEGB's and it broke my heart. I went outside about a half hour later and there she was hopping back from up the road. No feathers on one wing and most of her tail feathers were gone but no real injuries. I tried to bring her in and put her in the chicken hospital but she wouldn't have it. She went back outside about an hour later and acted completely normal. Her feathers grew back and she's fine now.

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Oh no, my rooster Dixon died . He never even got to see his first spring .