The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[Amer]

What are you talking about? These are all obviously buff Orpingtons.
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OMG buff Fatties! And a buff d’Anvers!

 

[The Moonshiner]

I'm sure you've mentioned it before but what is your brooder set up for raising that many chicks?

I have about a dozen "brooders" then they move to pens. My brooders are fairly uninteresting. Mostly just basic plywood boxes. Some are kinda like stacked cages.
I have two 70 gallon poly horse troughs. Then the boxes range from 32" x 64" up to 48" x 96"
Everything has framed hardware cloth lids or fronts and I just use dome lights with various watt bulbs. I used plug in dimmer cords on a lot so I can easily and quickly raise or lower temps.
Heres a pic of my chick house where I keep all brooders now.

Nothing fancy and it now has hardware cloth in windows and is fenced out from two sides with 6' fencing just to contain any escapes that make it out and out the door. Ya lol that happens more then I'd like.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Wow, I would have thought the Leghorn cockerels by nine months would be mature enough to not hang onto them a year. With the English Orpingtons it's a given I'm going to grow them out for nine months before I pick a few potential keepers and then a year before I pick the one I like the best. I hate feeding them that long though, so I always wonder how many phenomenal cockerels are on someone's dinner table or covering their mutt chickens in the backyard. lol

Ya it's not hard to pick the better ones by 6 to 9 months. I have had some that really came around between 9 and 12 months though. So ya if its a pattern or combo I need and didn't hatch much I'll let them hang around.
Mostly either wishful thinking or an excuse to keep them.
Pullets never seem to take as long to spot the good ones vs the less favorable ones.

 

[The Moonshiner]

One of these days im determined to tackle this entire thread from page 1 and read completely through. From ocasionally popping in and out, already know i will gain lots of knowledge and see lots of beautiful birds along the way.

Tu everyone for the likes and loves. Your responses motivated me to not wait til "later", but start Now. The Moonshiner's Leghorns page 1, here i come!

This is awesome. Glad you've found it interesting enough to at least stop by every now and again. If you make it through the whole thread then . I think its up to at least a 4 hour read. Much more if you read as slow as me.

 

[The Moonshiner]

It is well worth it. I've done it twice I think.

It's pretty good. Lots of pictures of babies and breeding pens

Lol. Ya, I have no idea why I'm not a reality show by now. I'm way more entertaining then the Tiger King.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Ya it's not hard to pick the better ones by 6 to 9 months. I have had some that really came around between 9 and 12 months though. So ya if its a pattern or combo I need and didn't hatch much I'll let them hang around.
Mostly either wishful thinking or an excuse to keep them.
Pullets never seem to take as long to spot the good ones vs the less favorable ones.

So if there are any with noticeable problems like wing patch, you can see it by about a half year as opposed to a wholeyear?

 

[Jfitz]

I have about a dozen "brooders" then they move to pens. My brooders are fairly uninteresting. Mostly just basic plywood boxes. Some are kinda like stacked cages.
I have two 70 gallon poly horse troughs. Then the boxes range from 32" x 64" up to 48" x 96"
Everything has framed hardware cloth lids or fronts and I just use dome lights with various watt bulbs. I used plug in dimmer cords on a lot so I can easily and quickly raise or lower temps.
Heres a pic of my chick house where I keep all brooders now.
View attachment 2481590
Nothing fancy and it now has hardware cloth in windows and is fenced out from two sides with 6' fencing just to contain any escapes that make it out and out the door. Ya lol that happens more then I'd like.

Man, that's some goals! I would love to have a brooder shed that big! Right now I only have a 3x6 and a 5x8 under one shed. Have a couple more to add before spring.

 

[The Moonshiner]

So if there are any with noticeable problems like wing patch, you can see it by about a half year as opposed to a wholeyear?

Oh ya things like that, wing carriage, tail set etc show up by 6 months.
Most often by 6 months if a bird looks good it stays good or gets better but more often ive had a bird that just didn't look that great kinda overall that ended up coming around to something nice much later.
With the boys its like it took them quite a while to get past a gangly looking stage and fill out and mature.

 

[black_cat]

What does 'wing patch' mean?

 

[Amer]

What does 'wing patch' mean?

It’s the feather shredding in Lavender birds.