The Old Folks Home

[ronott1]

Quote:

Scott
I work at a University. The Professors become Emeriti and so never really leave, Until Heaven calls.....

 

[bamadude]

Bamadude, don't worry, I guess I should have included the  so you would know I was just pulling your leg (if you are reading this and confused by that statement, it is a southern expression -  Bamadude will understand.)

u had me worried. I dont wanna mess with the old timers mafia lol.

 

[bamadude]

I may have to register 1 of my roos as a sex offender. He is relentless. The girls do not seem to enjoy it. My little roo tries to push himoff of the girls. Is it normal for a roo to mate 100 times a day?

 

[Dragonfly216]

I do!!

My wife's plane touches down in three hours!!

We will go to a late might Meditteranean restaurant tonight.

Tomorrow I will cook a spinnich mushroom and feta cheese omlette with a side of toasted chiabatta bread and home made strawberry jalepeño jam

Oh that sounds like just wonderful plans!!! I love the sound of your food too! Mrs. Oz is lucky to have found such the chef!!! I wish I could make the meeting at the pub. I will def make the trip to see yall in the Southeast!

What a night. After almost no action I have two that died in shell after pipping, four or 5 pipped now and one out being adorable.

Ugh, sorry to hear that That's what I'm not looking forward to one day when I start hatching my own eggs. I got 15 chicks from Wisher and not a one has died so far, growing like crazy in fact! I just know it would've broken my heart. I was prepared, but not prepared, ya know? Hooray on the others and the one who hatched already is SO CUTE!!!!

The party's a surprise. He retired a couple weeks ago.

It's a follow up to my beginner class and is for people that have had chickens a while or had the first class and are looking for more in-depth information. It's more of an open forum where we discuss diseases, parasites, injuries and treatments; chicken anatomy and egg development; incubation and broody hatching; culling and processing; breed characteristics, showing, and judging for SOP, supporting heritage breeds; and changing ordinances.

Oh, very nice! I wish I lived closer to you, I would love to take your classes. I've seen you quite a few times helping people in various threads (a few of the folks on here, hence all the rewards for being helpful!) and you're always giving such good advice.

This weekend I have turkeys and chickens hatching although so far only turkeys have hatched. We are also smoking one of our turkeys for Easter. Processed one of the hens yesterday, today she is brining.

OMG! The baby turkeys are so cute!!! It's funny how much they look like baby chicks!

Heel low:

Pop in and post pics. Lots of pics...

I always look forward to your posts, Tara! (If you don't mind me calling you by your name I love the photos especially. Those crested ducks and geese are so cool!!! I have never seen them before you shared them with us. The ducklings with bonnets are simply adorable!!! I just love the way you talk too, the sayings you use and the cutesy words, i feel like I would really get along well with you in person and we would just laugh and laugh! You always crack me up with your stories and funnies! So the crested ducks kids will be 1/4 lethal if they have two crested genes? Is that what I'm getting out of what you wrote? That's pretty crazy. And what a great use for the little electric cooler/heater!

 

[CanuckBock]

I always look forward to your posts, Tara! (If you don't mind me calling you by your name I love the photos especially. Those crested ducks and geese are so cool!!! I have never seen them before you shared them with us. The ducklings with bonnets are simply adorable!!! I just love the way you talk too, the sayings you use and the cutesy words, i feel like I would really get along well with you in person and we would just laugh and laugh! You always crack me up with your stories and funnies! So the crested ducks kids will be 1/4 lethal if they have two crested genes? Is that what I'm getting out of what you wrote? That's pretty crazy. And what a great use for the little electric cooler/heater!

Happy to make you happy and my name is Tara...never had any issue being called unless late for dinner.

How I talk bothers some immensely...but they are more than welcome to scroll past my nonsense gibberish if that is how they perceive it. Some laugh AT me, some laugh WITH me...as long as there is laughter, eh?

We both love the birds...and therefore we would have the most fabulous of times...

If you breed crested to crested (Cr/cr+), statistically, yes, one quarter of the ducklings get TWO doses of crested (Cr/Cr) and will not hatch. Give them the chance to get a double whammy of crested and they simply do not form into viable ducklings that will hatch. Of the ones that do hatch, 1/3 are cr+/cr+ so (no pompom) and 2/3's will be crested like the parents (Cr/cr+). Expression of the crest can be from no sign of it to five inch crests...some crests off to the side, some broken up instead of one big in the center of the back of the head as preferred. There are also ducks with crests that have skeletal deformities and balance issues, but so far (touch the pompoms), have not had any of those issues.

Far right is not crested by appearance, middle crested, left crested but not well. These are Grey Crested and you can see the pompom is another colour so stands out vividly.​

Same ducklings, L to R; barely crested, crested, not crested.​

I breed crested to non-crested so unless it is one of those "crested" ducks that don't express the trait at all, I have been hedging my bets not to produce Cr/Cr. Personally, a bird that never hatches can be cause for alarm to some, but I EAT eggs, so I already am a baby killer, so I don't seem to have as bad a time as many do with crested ducks.

I have Appleyards in crested and crested Hookbills and Crested Ducks.

Appleyards in Crested.



Dutch Hookbill in crested.



Crested in Grey (ducklings as of yesterday now in white and black and two adult hens in black).​

Put simply, we are breeding for a deformity...it happens naturally once in 100,000 to 1,000,000 ducklings. Crested Ducks were accepted as a breed by the American Poultry Association in 1874 (White) and 1977 (Black). Grey is an unrecognized variety.

The Bali is a duck breed that has a crest too and is one of the oldest of the domesticated ducks. Looks similar to a Runner in conformation with a slimmer but upright carriage.

I happen to like the pompoms...they are usually not there during breeding season on the hens thanks to how drakes breed hens (gripping the back of the head). I suppose that just makes my case for Crested Ducks even more dismal...such a horrific person...oh well. I come by it honestly.

And yes, those heater/coolers are all the rage...I cannot imagine a more neat bit of technology if you have birds that might get chilled. I also pack those warmer packs...the ones that you can bust open and it incites the formation of heat...lower back and such heat packs. I would rather have the gear there and unused than stranded with dying or chilled birds and no way to warm them up. I have heard of some using a pop bottle, filled with hot tap water at each gas station along route to home...we do what we are able. I like that we can share our tidbits to help others so we can do well by the birds.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[ChickenCanoe]

how many black Penedesenca you have hatching Guy?

My other crele rooster is limping bad. nothing looks wrong with him foot so not sure whats up but I better find someone to incubate the eggs I have from that pen since my two incubators are full

I'll have to count them. Probably about 30. There's a few Jaerhon/pene crosses and Ameraucana/pene crosses. The pelts of the Jaer/pene crosses are magnificent. I was hoping to end up with some olive eggers eventually. Black Penedesencas are my main focus and true love though.
If one wants goose size eggs out of a chicken, I've gotten them from a Minorca/Penedesenca cross.

I also have about 12 pullets and 9 cockerels that are 16 weeks so I have to cull some hens and roosters.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I may have to register 1 of my roos as a sex offender. He is relentless. The girls do not seem to enjoy it. My little roo tries to push himoff of the girls. Is it normal for a roo to mate 100 times a day?

This made me laugh. I had a pack of boys that did would work together to hold hens and pullets down and then take turns on them. They got processed very quickly.

I think it's "normal" when they're really young and the hormones hit, but if I were you I'd:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Awesom...h&event10=1&e7=Home Page&soid=sr_results_p1i9

 

[Wisher1000]

Quote:
I think we should do this for all sex offenders (SOs)...... poultry and otherwise......................I'll pass on the SOup if they were not poultry, though...........

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I think we should do this for all sex offenders (SOs)...... poultry and otherwise......................I'll pass on the SOup if they were not poultry, though...........

Early surprise retirements, SO Soup... let's see how far we can get today.

 

[Dragonfly216]

We've gotten to where we roasted whole corn kernels off the cob and bell peppers in the oven, and saute the onions, carrots and mushrooms in butter with minced garlic, before adding all to the chicken noodle soup. You wouldn't believe how tasty that roasted corn is in the soup!!!

I agree also, put ALL SO's down!!! Or at least castrate them. It wouldn't work as well on other roosters, but the rate of sex offenders will go WAAAAY down if all of them get castrated!