The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[BlueBaby]

Yes they can do well during cold months but they have to have heat and a draft free brooder if outdoors. We have successfully brooded many chicks over the years in the winter. Our brooder building is well insulated and easy to heat so chicks do well in there for the most part. One year I moved a set of chicks out to the brooder building as newborns and we lost power overnight. By the time we realized it the chicks in that group had already chilled and died. So that is why they have to be house chickens for 2 weeks before I will take them to the building now during cold months. By then, they are sturdy enough to huddle together for warmth and survive a power outage until we can get to them. We are shopping around for a generator so hopefully we can find one at a decent price.

Make sure to check the ratings on them and if there have been any recalls on them. I usually check the 1 and 2 star ratings to see what people are complaining about.

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

If ya stick em in the cold their feathers grow faster. Right?

I didn’t say water. Just the cold. Pretty sure I saw it on here. Lots OPINIONS floating around.

I thought this theory was a bit based on broody chicks vs brooder ones? Brooder chicks are on heat 24/7 while broody chicks aren't, they feather faster for survival?
I kinda do follow that theory that less heat = faster feathering but haven't actually documented whether it's true...
This last lot of chicks ended up off heat super quickly because the weather made overheating far more of a risk. There was one EXTREMELY slow feathering chick in it regardless. Wyandotte mix, the odd one out.

 

[Amer]

I have a hypothesis though. These White Leghorn chicks are feathering at different rates. Two have long wings that are the same length and are feathering at the same rate as the other varieties in the brooder, and two of the WL have short wings and are feathering slower. I hypothesize that they have the slow feathering gene that allows for feather sexing. I am marking the chicks to see if my theory is true. I am thinking the two slower feathering WL are males, and the 2 faster feathering WL chicks are female.

@Amer?

I gotta get pictures.

Ok, so slow feathering is sex linked dominant. Males or females are equally likely to get the gene from their father. If you had a slow feathering hen though, then it would be the males that are slow feathering.
I need to go to bed
I keep writing misinformation and then realizing it's wrong and rewriting it. But that should be right.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

What kind of rooster was he? I’m so sorry you lost him.

He was a mutt.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

That bobcat will be back.

Oh I’m counting on it. Almost shot a stray cat last night when I saw two beady eyes in my headlamp

 

[KF0002]

He was a mutt.

Those are usually the best yard roosters in my opinion.

 

[KF0002]

Ok, so slow feathering is sex linked dominant. Males or females are equally likely to get the gene from their father. If you had a slow feathering hen though, then it would be the males that are slow feathering.
I need to go to bed
I keep writing misinformation and then realizing it's wrong and rewriting it. But that should be right.

Ok I read about it last night and think I have it figured out. Thank you!

 

[KF0002]

Oh I’m counting on it. Almost shot a stray cat last night when I saw two beady eyes in my headlamp

Stray cats will kill young grow outs. Especially anything quail-size and under.

 

[Iluveggers]

Well I am regretting not having an incubator right now. My good rooster sacrificed himself to a bobcat for the hens. Didn’t lose a single hen but now I have no rooster. Lots of his eggs in the fridge though

So sorry about your boy. Do you have a Cooperative Extension near you? Mine will rent you a small incubator (12 egg size), for $20 for 30 days. I took advantage once. Great if you don’t think you’ll need one again. Now I have 3 incubators

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Stray cats will kill young grow outs. Especially anything quail-size and under.

One of those cats got a pullet this spring. The dog hasn’t been allowed to free range for a few days otherwise I would have just cut her loose on it. The dog is an eejit but she will go after a cat on command no problem