The 7th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-A-Long!

[Cynthia12]

Goodnight all.

Goodnight Chickendreams24!

 

[Cynthia12]

Good night! I'll be catching up on the hatching list in the morning !

Good night Mike.

 

[nanasacres]

Today was Isbar eggs picture day

That is a beautiful basket of eggs! Are they for hatching?

 

[UGLYFOOT]

All I hear is " Oh my Gosh Becky, Look at her butt"

Ha Ha YES!!!

Thanks I will post some pics for you to see if you'd like but the birds we have I'm finding are very flawed. They were bred by a man local to us and his stock was stunning but our cockeral has shown some aggressive behavior and he's on his last chance. The pullets aren't as friendly as I had hoped(one has a single comb) but mostly these chicks are an experiment for us to see how the chicks will turn out and if the aggression is passed down or heightened as it passes down. I have spoken to a few other people on BYC that have not had the lacing or aggression issues with their stock. We may try the breed again sometime if this experiment flops. Our cockeral is huge probably 12-15 lbs and the pullets are really big too so if the chicks turn out to have poor temperaments they will end up in the freezer. We are hoping to find a good heritage breed that can serve as a good meat bird as well as layers. So far my assessment of the ones we have is they're beautiful, but their eggs are kinda small, and they are a bit over the top with putting the rest of the mixed flock in their place, as well as any human aggressive bird belongs in the freezer.

I know that you mentioned wanting a heritage breed, but have you considered the Bielefelder? They are newer to this country but quite a few people are breeding them. They seem to have the qualities you are looking for. There is a dedicated thread here about them. I am just getting my flock together because of the reasons you mentioned above, They are very large gentle birds who lay huge eggs and are suitable for the table.

 

[country lovin]

Got her done for the HAL!!!

 

[Peachickie]

Got her done for the HAL!!!

awesome!

 

[ToddQ]

Ok everyone I have a stupid question. I plan on hatching barred rock and black copper maran eggs for the HAL. Problem I have is I also have australorps and Im not sure how to tell the eggs apart from my BR hens. Easy to pick my BCM eggs as they are a nice dark #6-7

 

[UGLYFOOT]

Ok everyone I have a stupid question. I plan on hatching barred rock and black copper maran eggs for the HAL. Problem I have is I also have australorps and Im not sure how to tell the eggs apart from my BR hens. Easy to pick my BCM eggs as they are a nice dark #6-7

You could build a couple of trap nest, that way if a barred rock goes in then you know those eggs are the ones you want. I am going to build some and block off my regular boxes so I can get an idea who is laying then will take them out. Check out the thread on here about them.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Quote: Hm, no special secret in particular, I can tell you that I *DONT* rotate my eggs back and forth while I store them for hatching. I sit them on the kitchen counter in a carton labeled "DO NOT EAT OR REFRIGERATE" and just pop em in the bator when I'm ready.


@Sally Sunshine Awe thanks! It means a lot!

I post on the PA theead all the time and no one responds, so I just gave up. I skim/lurk though.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Quote:

...too funny!!!