The Old Folks Home

[chickadoodles]

They may hatch better but still be hard to candle.

The only way to know is to toss some into the incubator! (That is always my answer....)

She lays one of these:




Probably the one on the right. The very dark one on the left is probably from:



I am moving the Wheaten PP into a different pen so that I can breed the Partridge Penedesencas.

Brand is my Partridge Cockerel:

I love the colors you have for your eggs. And your Rooster is gorgeous!

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote: Lovely eggs, Ron. I do love the look of Penes, but the HUGE comb would just be an awful disaster in the cold winters here. It's 17˚ right now with 20-45mpg winds...that comb would blow right off after it got frostbitten.

Is it spring yet? Can we focus on thinking about sunny days with flowers blooming? The only downside is the kids being off school soon after...and I'm barely recovered from Winter Break!

 

[ronott1]

I love the colors you have for your eggs. And your Rooster is gorgeous!

Thanks!

They are not as"wild" as they are describe either.

Lovely eggs, Ron. I do love the look of Penes, but the HUGE comb would just be an awful disaster in the cold winters here. It's 17˚ right now with 20-45mpg winds...that comb would blow right off after it got frostbitten.

Is it spring yet? Can we focus on thinking about sunny days with flowers blooming? The only downside is the kids being off school soon after...and I'm barely recovered from Winter Break!

We have a Mediterranean climate here--The record low is 19. Today it was 34 for the low and the high will be 72--A record high for the day.

I need breeds that can take the heat in the summer. Marans Die here so for my place, Penedesencas are a perfect dark egg layer. Marans have big combs too though. What do people in frozen places use for Dark egg layers?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Lovely eggs, Ron. I do love the look of Penes, but the HUGE comb would just be an awful disaster in the cold winters here. It's 17˚ right now with 20-45mpg winds...that comb would blow right off after it got frostbitten.

Is it spring yet? Can we focus on thinking about sunny days with flowers blooming? The only downside is the kids being off school soon after...and I'm barely recovered from Winter Break!

It's 17 and windy here too. -1 windchill.
The frostbite on my Penedesenca roosters this year has been the worst. The last few years my birds had very little. Then hens never get frostbitten here, even this winter.
Frostbite aside, They handled the -13 well, even very young birds in open sided housing.
They can't wait for summer either.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

...
I need breeds that can take the heat in the summer. Marans Die here so for my place, Penedesencas are a perfect dark egg layer. Marans have big combs too though. What do people in frozen places use for Dark egg layers?

Maybe Barnevelders and Welsummers.

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:

Quote:

I used to keep Vorwerk Lakenvelders and they had the massive flags- I had to really work to teach them to tuck their heads to sleep...seriously never want to have that problem again.

My Marans have smaller combs than that, and they tuck pretty well. One guy is going to lose some of his points, though.

We really have the worst of the temps here, with negative F˚ in the winter and 100˚+ for at least 20 days each summer, in 70%+ humidity. The birds HAVE to be able to handle that 120˚ spread to survive, so there's some natural selection during the extremes.

Wellies do well here, but lose some points off of their combs in the winter. Barnies have an even smaller comb and do great, but their girth is heavier and they can get too hot. They don't really lay all that dark, either.

In summer, it's really crucial the birds have microclimate areas with perma-shade, so the areas don't get sooooooo sun-beaten. I like to allow dense areas of evergreens, prairie grass, and sunflower forests. Red sumac helps, as does butterfly milkweed- neither are attractive to the birds so they don't molest them.

We have soaking wet springs with nary a drop in July and August. Then it's soggy starting in late October. It's hard to catch a break because it's always one extreme followed by another.

We really just have mitigation built into everything.

Right now it's sunny and windy, so I have plastic huts set up everywhere to give them greenhouses to protect from the wind, but heat up nicely. In the snow, the huts work the same, and give them a spot without snow to poke around and scratch. In the rain, it will offer them a dry area. In the heat, I trade the clear huts for plywood lean-tos and white billboard vinyl tents that reflect the sun.

Ahhhh...nice to think about the heat. I'm wearing a hat and jacket inside.

 

[ronott1]

I used to keep Vorwerk Lakenvelders and they had the massive flags- I had to really work to teach them to tuck their heads to sleep...seriously never want to have that problem again.

My Marans have smaller combs than that, and they tuck pretty well. One guy is going to lose some of his points, though.

We really have the worst of the temps here, with negative F˚ in the winter and 100˚+ for at least 20 days each summer, in 70%+ humidity. The birds HAVE to be able to handle that 120˚ spread to survive, so there's some natural selection during the extremes.

Wellies do well here, but lose some points off of their combs in the winter. Barnies have an even smaller comb and do great, but their girth is heavier and they can get too hot. They don't really lay all that dark, either.

In summer, it's really crucial the birds have microclimate areas with perma-shade, so the areas don't get sooooooo sun-beaten. I like to allow dense areas of evergreens, prairie grass, and sunflower forests. Red sumac helps, as does butterfly milkweed- neither are attractive to the birds so they don't molest them.

We have soaking wet springs with nary a drop in July and August. Then it's soggy starting in late October. It's hard to catch a break because it's always one extreme followed by another.

We really just have mitigation built into everything.

Right now it's sunny and windy, so I have plastic huts set up everywhere to give them greenhouses to protect from the wind, but heat up nicely. In the snow, the huts work the same, and give them a spot without snow to poke around and scratch. In the rain, it will offer them a dry area. In the heat, I trade the clear huts for plywood lean-tos and white billboard vinyl tents that reflect the sun.

Ahhhh...nice to think about the heat. I'm wearing a hat and jacket inside.

We are hotter longer with higher record highs.

Kansas has terrible lows that we have never seen!

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote: Woah- awesome site for comparisons- what site is that?

You know what's wild is you guys cool off a LOT more at night. We have no opportunity to recover as much. That has to be what the humidity thing is...

But you are HOT for a lot longer. I think I might like that.

 

[ronott1]

Woah- awesome site for comparisons- what site is that?

You know what's wild is you guys cool off a LOT more at night. We have no opportunity to recover as much. That has to be what the humidity thing is...

But you are HOT for a lot longer. I think I might like that.

The site is:

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USMO0460

Woodland is close to the break between the Coast Range Mountains and the Santa Cruz Mountains. We actually get an off shore Ocean wind for a lot of the Summer called the Delta Breeze. The lows you see are because of that Breeze. North of us and south of us does not get that so the record and average temperatures are higher.

I grew up in Red Bluff California and the Record high for Red Bluff does not fit on the Chart! 121.9 in 1976! The chart says 121 but drops it below the 119 that fits.

I lived there then and it was terrible. We had 7 of our chickens blow up....Quite sad.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

...

. Barnies have an even smaller comb and do great, but their girth is heavier and they can get too hot. They don't really lay all that dark, either.

I know of a line of nice Barnevelders developed here in SW MO that had incredibly dark eggs. The lady retired and someone in Oklahoma bought them. The last time I e-mailed him he still had them. I can try to get his info for you if you want.
Check out her eggs here.
http://www.peaceofthyme.com/photo2_1.html

In summer, it's really crucial the birds have microclimate areas with perma-shade, so the areas don't get sooooooo sun-beaten. I like to allow dense areas of evergreens, prairie grass, and sunflower forests. Red sumac helps, as does butterfly milkweed- neither are attractive to the birds so they don't molest them.

.. It's hard to catch a break because it's always one extreme followed by another.
Really tough climates to decide on a breed.
Most of my buildings are under some high dense shade or with midday and afternoon shade.
...

Ahhhh...nice to think about the heat. I'm wearing a hat and jacket inside.

Same here.

...

But you are HOT for a lot longer. I think I might like that.

You might, but the chickens would hate it.
And I'm with them on that. I'd be happy if it never got over 70.