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I love the hens squished into a nest box photos!
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It gives you hope doesn't it?

When the flock has a favorite nest, it happens a lot more than we know.
 
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I love the hens squished into a nest box photos!
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Thats why I want nest boxes like you built... Enough room for two or three. Historically they were called tunnel nests...

If a hen goes broody in one there is still room for others to lay their eggsies. Of course If I found a broody I would remove her to a Broody box and an appropriate amount of eggs....

My intention is to use broodies to raise up Guinea Fowl.... One day...

deb
 
I prefer broody apartments too but if one has a broody in a community coop, make sure they mark the original eggs to remove volunteers in a timely manner.

Yep thats how 25 eggs dont get enough heat... I had a hen that went broody but I didnt know.... she was in the back of a dog house... All the hens loved laying their eggs in there .... when I found her she was pancaked over about 20 with five or so showing around the fringes... I immediatley built a cage around the dog house... (which was in the coop by the way) So the floor space in the coop was cut in half.... Wired off a partition then a wired on lid and a lttle wire hatch for food and water. She hatched four chicks...

This was before I knew much about broody hens.... I just used some logic realizing one hen couldnt keep all those eggs warm and I kept seeing her push the colder ones under neath her.... as one would go under another would pop out. She was a mid sized hen not quite a LF not quiate a Bantam... Most of my flock was a barnyard mix like that some large some small....

That experience along with what I have learned here and on the net was why I want tunnel nests for my pens as well as designated space for broody accomodations... For when I build the coop again.

deb
 
12 ayam cemani hatching eggs shipped to Canada for $120 is a VERY good deal.. I think they are about $50 each for me with hatching service, svart honas are more though.

Since that sounds like too good of a deal, I would be cautious. There are some unscrupulous people out there looking to cash in on any/everything.

I'm thinking of naming each line of chickens I have after the different houses from Game of Thrones. This was after my bf said I should make costumes and dress up my cemanis and post pictures of them in costumes and that can be my "thing".

He finally saw me with them and was pretty surprised at how they love to cuddle with me and just melt like butter in my hands. He knew I spent a lot of time with them, but not to get them like that. I think it might help later on down the road with helping to develop good temperaments, which is as important to me as healthy & beautiful birds. It makes me want to spend more time with them if they are friendly. Which luckily, all my chickens are all very friendly. My layers I can only pick up my roo and my polish pullet, but they eat out of my hands. And beg for treats. Lol.

Omg, I saw the longest earthworm today when I was putting new soil into the brooder boxes for those spoilt chickers to have some place to dust bathe and chill. They love it. And it builds them up against cocci I heard.

However I discovered that if there are other people around, they just freak out unless it's just me & them & maybe 1 other person as long as they don't get too close.

The dp meaties I raised from babies love to hop on me and follow me around the yard begging for treats. The new roos are starting to follow their lead.

Freezer camp is 2 weeks from today. 15 chickens and 5-6 muscovy ducks are slated for that week. I might have to dress them out myself, as I'm sucking up to my bf to pay for some of my fm chickens in the spring, incubators, brooder box accessories, and to get him more willing to build the much needed coop for the ac & bresse. At least it gives me all winter and early spring to save my pennies to pay for them. Thank goodness for being able to make payments lol.

Agh, I can not believe that out of 6 chicks from my friend's flock 5 are roos, and the 1 pullet is a haffie!

They really aren't the best blackest ac, but I'm new to chickens etc, and until I get all my husbandry skills where they need to be, it's best I started out with these breeds with the not perfect lines. The vet that does the decrowing surgery said it's good it happened like this too, b/c as they're not super common and the trachea is black (she said mine were charcoal) it's hard to see the area that the incisions are made for the crow reduction, with 'regular' chickens it's white and reflective. So she is also honing her skills with decrowing, I am extremely happy so far. They do sound a little wheezy, but that's to be expected, I have a semi-quieted rooster from her and he has the same wheezing sound, which is normal.

One of my bresse has a curled toe. If it's a boy, I will make him a capon, if it's a girl, I will have to move her to my laying flock so I don't hatch her eggs.

A/c and svart honas are great dual purpose chicken breeds, the ac are far more flighty and gamey I hear. I can definitely see that, and they are very agile from what I have seen in my friend's flock and my chicks/juveniles so far.

I would do ac capons for my use only. It's just nice to know I have more roos just in case... winter is coming.

It's a bit cooler today in my neck of the woods. Well, I better get back to chores. All this work isn't going to do itself.

fwiw my baby ac chicks weigh as much as my slw pullet that's 4 months old, and the little dude is only 3-4 weeks old. I noticed my ac are surprisingly heavy for how compact they are. The slw pullet is 4-5 weeks older than the cemanis and haffies from the 1st batch, and weighs just 1/3 what they weigh, even though she looks bigger.
 
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Homeopathic referes to dose....  A very very very very small dose only enough to trigger the response to the medicine....

That's why I phrased it that way, trace amounts are hard to call an ingredient in my mind.


Where are they being shipped from?  Do they have to pass quarantine?

I have heard that there are some breeders in Canada breeding Dutch Blood lines...  Shipping from Indonesia is a no no... Big quarantine in the US on indonesian birds and eggs.

deb

Yep Indonesia I'll keep searching...

Those are most likely silkeys.....  Yep Silkies are hiding that gene under all that fluff.... Not quite as dark as Ceminis but some are darker than others....

deb

Right again deb lol
 
Yes, that's what the vet said, she said my cemanis hearts were dark mulberry. I plan on being careful and slow. And by the time we get to those boys, we will have caponized a couple dozen roos.
 

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