Utah!

[lizardandchicks]

so i know we have a forum for this but wanted to ask you all because i trust your judgement more. this bird is a black austrlorp and is just over 12 weeks. what do you think, boy or girl? i dont think my mind is in the right place to judge because i am attached to it.


sorry the pictures are not the best. thanks all

I don't know how much of a help this will be, but this is our black australorp roo at 12 weeks. He got attacked the next week. It was really sad.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

That's good to know Lisa. I didn't know how close they were in genetics and wondered if the GCM would be pure. I wouldn't want to cull a bunch of mutt looking Marans and I don't want to add mixes to others projects. Will I have the same problem with the BCM pullets (from the BCMxGCM) if they are bred back to the BCM cock?

Yessir they will be mixes with recessive traits as well. However, mixed marans chicks sell really well if they all have dark egg genes, so you could sell the chicks as purebred marans, just mixed/off colors not to be used for breeding. You would just have to keep track of whose eggs are whose when you hatch them.
The sexlinked babies are nice, easy to sell the girlies for sure. Who does not love a chocolate layer with no guess on gender? haha

 

[the-bird-man]

I don't know how much of a help this will be, but this is our black australorp roo at 12 weeks. He got attacked the next week. It was really sad.

that is more help than you realize! thank you!

 

[RedIII]

SideWing, mine like to hide their nests. They will lay in their coop, but they're brats

 

[lizardandchicks]

SideWing, mine like to hide their nests. They will lay in their coop, but they're brats

That was my welsummer. I literally had to lock her into the coop when she was about to lay. Even then, she wouldn't always lay in the nest box. I think it had to do with the fact that she was at the very bottom of the pecking order though.

 

[Neuport]

I think it is on this forum that a few people have asked about keeping rabbits with chickens. Here are some pictures of our chicken run with rabbit cages added a few weeks ago. Seems to be working out fine.

 

[sideWing]

I think it is on this forum that a few people have asked about keeping rabbits with chickens. Here are some pictures of our chicken run with rabbit cages added a few weeks ago. Seems to be working out fine.

I have cages hung in my coop too and it works out great.

 

[sideWing]

Yessir they will be mixes with recessive traits as well. However, mixed marans chicks sell really well if they all have dark egg genes, so you could sell the chicks as purebred marans, just mixed/off colors not to be used for breeding. You would just have to keep track of whose eggs are whose when you hatch them.
The sexlinked babies are nice, easy to sell the girlies for sure. Who does not love a chocolate layer with no guess on gender? haha

I think I need to adjust my thinking on Marans a bit. I spent a few hours on the "rough" Marans SOP thread and they are all about culling all but 5% of Marans chicks. And when I say culling I mean killing because those folks don't want anything but SOP chicks sold or left around for accidental breeding.

I need to decide to be happy with chocolate egg layers and not get so hung up on SOP. I want to breed towards the SOP, but I don't want to kill chicks that don't qualify. I would rather sell brown egg layers with full disclosure of my flock and possible mixes.

 

[RedIII]

One of my turkey hens showed up yesterday with four adorable little babies in tow So if anyone wants to get into turkeys, I'll have some available soon, haha.

Cynthia, how are you doing today?

 

[lizardandchicks]

Well, this morning I took my broody, miss Chickula, out of her broody prison, and put her back in the coop. Still haven't seen her on the nest. thank you all for help!