The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[Beekissed]

That's another reason I love them so...they are built for my state's climate. Their slow metabolism allows them to maintain good muscle and weight without a large consumption of food and it also keeps them more warm in the winter months. They are active when other birds are not and seem to fare better on what feed they consume.

 

[chicken pickin]

Yes Beekissed, the icicles was the work of old man winter himself. The sun is out & the ice is melting today so today is definitely a better day. My chickens spent the best part of today outside also, these Plymouth Rocks sure can take the cold weather.

That's another reason I love them so...they are built for my state's climate. Their slow metabolism allows them to maintain good muscle and weight without a large consumption of food and it also keeps them more warm in the winter months. They are active when other birds are not and seem to fare better on what feed they consume.

I really like to hear this. My area has cold, horrid winters. I love a bird that can handle this weather. Im not too big on birds that need to be coddled. Those of you in really cold areas, how do you feel your males do regarding frostbite?

 

[Beekissed]

I think it has more to do with the place in which they roost rather than the temps or humidity of the outside....at least, that's what I'm finding. I've always kept large, single comb birds and some were leghorns and RIRs in the past and never enough frostbite for worry except one year when I battened down the coop too much and created a humid condition there. Then I had some tips blackened and self dub on me but after increasing the ventilation at the floor level to a great degree and opening more up near the roof, I had no more problems with that.

Right now we've had single digits and below zero several nights in a row, with getting up into the teens and twenties in the day, but the big ol' WR male shows not even a dark spot on the comb or wattles. And that's with deep litter on the floor creating even more humidity in the coop. When the ventilation is right, all that becomes a non-issue, I have found. Big comb, little comb, open water, water nipples, litter or no litter, it all comes down to ventilation and having the air moving through your coop in such a way as to remove the humidity where the birds roost, in an active manner.

Last fall/winter I had a whole pen of meat birds(males) of various large comb breeds~BO, RIR, leghorn, RIR mix~and it was a very open air pen. The temps dropped into the teens for several nights and only got to twenties in the day and the birds that had arrived here just a few weeks ago with shriveled, blackened tips were showing red combs all the way to the top. Not only had they not gotten more frostbite but what they had when they arrived disappeared. All those that arrived with black tips had gotten a coat of castor oil, but the rest of them had no protection at all. The place I had gotten them from had them all closed up in small coops to protect them from the cold, with too many birds per dwelling and no ventilation whatsoever.

 

[chicken pickin]

I think it has more to do with the place in which they roost rather than the temps or humidity of the outside....at least, that's what I'm finding. I've always kept large, single comb birds and some were leghorns and RIRs in the past and never enough frostbite for worry except one year when I battened down the coop too much and created a humid condition there. Then I had some tips blackened and self dub on me but after increasing the ventilation at the floor level to a great degree and opening more up near the roof, I had no more problems with that.

Right now we've had single digits and below zero several nights in a row, with getting up into the teens and twenties in the day, but the big ol' WR male shows not even a dark spot on the comb or wattles. And that's with deep litter on the floor creating even more humidity in the coop. When the ventilation is right, all that becomes a non-issue, I have found. Big comb, little comb, open water, water nipples, litter or no litter, it all comes down to ventilation and having the air moving through your coop in such a way as to remove the humidity where the birds roost, in an active manner.

Last fall/winter I had a whole pen of meat birds(males) of various large comb breeds~BO, RIR, leghorn, RIR mix~and it was a very open air pen. The temps dropped into the teens for several nights and only got to twenties in the day and the birds that had arrived here just a few weeks ago with shriveled, blackened tips were showing red combs all the way to the top. Not only had they not gotten more frostbite but what they had when they arrived disappeared. All those that arrived with black tips had gotten a coat of castor oil, but the rest of them had no protection at all. The place I had gotten them from had them all closed up in small coops to protect them from the cold, with too many birds per dwelling and no ventilation whatsoever.

That was a great response, and I completely agree. I guess I am not finding a good balance of ventilation without drafting. I have many different style coops all have ventilation also none are over crowded but I cant seem to escape frostbite. I will evaluate all my coops again and try to make some changes I must need more area of ventilation. Thanks.

 

[Beekissed]

I'll tell you what finally came to be the turning point for me that one winter...and I found out completely by accident. I opened up a large opening at the floor level of my coop to make a window into the next building where I was making a broody pen, so they could see and hear one another. That broody pen was open into a small shed that had a large open door on the front, so pretty much open to the elements but no direct wind could reach the broody pen.

Now, I had already opened up some upward ventilation at that time and found no relief from the frost bite and was wondering what I was going to have to do to get this solved, but when I opened up that large window at the floor level right under the roosts, and hadn't fashioned a door for it yet, the issue went away. Everything I had read up to that point kept telling me that one shouldn't have big ventilation at the floor level or it would create too much draft~especially right under the roosts~ but since the opening wasn't directly to the outside but still receiving fresh air from the outside, it did the trick. Any ammonia smell I was getting off my DL was lifted and gone and no more frost bite happened that winter...and that was a particularly bad winter.

Ever since then I've made it a point to have ventilation at floor level and a little at all levels, and especially ventilation that could be easily adjusted to suit the weather. My coop right now is 10x12, with roosting at the back, but the front door is left half open as are some small windows on either side of the door. At the roof line I have large gaps for air and under the roosts is the pop door that is left open at all times...it opens into a porch shared by the chooks and the dog, so no direct wind is blowing through that hole but still an active airflow there. All throughout the structure I left intentional cracks that provide air seep at all levels.

If folks on BYC saw it they would call it a drafty coop and say it wouldn't be good for the birds, but I sit in there all the time and it feels cozy and warmer than outside, but with good airflow that I can feel..not cold, just movement. I imagine it works somewhat like the Wood's style coops of old, with that open front and cozy roosting area in the back.

In the summer time the whole thing can be opened up hugely on all sides for a constant flow of air, but this winter time coop with all this ventilation is working out great!

 

[keesmom]

I think it has more to do with the place in which they roost rather than the temps or humidity of the outside....at least, that's what I'm finding. I've always kept large, single comb birds and some were leghorns and RIRs in the past and never enough frostbite for worry except one year when I battened down the coop too much and created a humid condition there. Then I had some tips blackened and self dub on me but after increasing the ventilation at the floor level to a great degree and opening more up near the roof, I had no more problems with that.

Right now we've had single digits and below zero several nights in a row, with getting up into the teens and twenties in the day, but the big ol' WR male shows not even a dark spot on the comb or wattles. And that's with deep litter on the floor creating even more humidity in the coop. When the ventilation is right, all that becomes a non-issue, I have found. Big comb, little comb, open water, water nipples, litter or no litter, it all comes down to ventilation and having the air moving through your coop in such a way as to remove the humidity where the birds roost, in an active manner.

Last fall/winter I had a whole pen of meat birds(males) of various large comb breeds~BO, RIR, leghorn, RIR mix~and it was a very open air pen. The temps dropped into the teens for several nights and only got to twenties in the day and the birds that had arrived here just a few weeks ago with shriveled, blackened tips were showing red combs all the way to the top. Not only had they not gotten more frostbite but what they had when they arrived disappeared. All those that arrived with black tips had gotten a coat of castor oil, but the rest of them had no protection at all. The place I had gotten them from had them all closed up in small coops to protect them from the cold, with too many birds per dwelling and no ventilation whatsoever.

I have had a similar experience. I have some younger birds in the "baby pen" for the winter. Three sides are enclosed to prevent the winter prevailing winds from getting in, but the 4th side is open. Now there is a large snow pile forming a temporary wall over part of that open area, but those birds are fully exposed to the cold temperatures. It has been subfreezing if not subzero since the beginning of January and none of the males has any signs of frostbite. Too bad the eggs aren't as fortunate.

 

[denn1948]

This is my first hatch this season 4 columbian rocks these chicks are 2 weeks old Dennis

 

[denn1948]

Better pictures of my first hatch 4 Colombian rocks. 27 degrees I like Brodie's. Next Friday will be A group from the incubator.

 

[emenheiser]

Looking good Joe, nice to see the slate color getting out of the mix. Is this from your main line of Blue or the Andalusion? If the later then I'm speechless you could get that shape so soon! Either way looking really good.

Thanks, she's from the original line (no Andalusian). I've actually scrapped the Andalusian crosses for a while to concentrate on type and make a better female base for the next Andalusian cross.

 

[Beekissed]

Here's the two body styles of pullets I have for breeding this year.....these are both 5 mo. old and not at POL just yet. Just throwing this out here for pondering and any feedback you find appropriate, I'd like to hear it.




I tend to think they both fall into the #1 body type and will get more so as they fill out to maturity, though the pullet on the right(our right) has a more pinched in tail. I'm hoping that breeding her back to her sire, this super wide Weaver male, that I'll get that width that I want at the hips/tail. I think that will serve to separate those too high set of wings as well.

The pullet on the left has very loose, pillowy feathering like her mother and less overall heft than the pullet on the right. They both have a good keel, though the pullet on the left has a tad more leg. Just a tad. The left hand pullet has a wider, deeper tail but the same length of back as the rt. hand pullet. Overall, except her feathering and signs of slow maturation, she is the better looking pullet according to the SOP.

What finally edges out the pullet on the left, for me, is the laying performance of the mother....her mother was slow to mature and didn't come to POL until 8 mo., lays a nice big egg but is not consistent and steady in her laying cycles and she went broody twice, molted three times(the last time it took her three months to recover) and didn't lay an egg all winter(Oct-present). Though she is more accurate to the standard look of the WR, I can't say that I want most of her other traits passed along.

The pullet on the rt. comes from a hen that came to POL in her 6th mo. of age, had consistent, steady laying of a large, uniform egg for years, went broody once a season and displayed good mothering, didn't molt heavy at all, and molted appropriately in season with a quick molt recovery. She also had a better quality feathering that fitted close to her body, had wide, strong feather shafts and this has carried on over to her offspring. She was extremely hardy, as was all of her line, and all were consistently good layers with a heavy carcass at finish. The pullet on the rt. shows signs of appropriate sexual maturation, with deepening redness in the face and developing comb and wattle at 5 mo.....the pullet on the left does not show this yet.

As the pullet on the rt. has potential to improve her body style if bred back to her sire and she has all the other traits I want and need in my flock, I'm going to use her, and her sister that has an even slightly better body style than she~longer body, taller of leg, wider tail, as the focus of my breeding efforts this year.

That's my breeding focus this year so far. Things could change by that time but so far that's what I have in my mind.