Virginia

[cindynkidsd]

Saw the sign today-indoor chicken swap every first Saturday in Windsor at the Feed and Seed.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

It will be fun to watch them grow out!

I was looking at the width of the white band on the wing feathers. With the the barring gene being sexlinked, the males from the black(hen) cross will only have one copy of barring, same as the girls. So the boys from that cross will be dark like a BR pullet.

The third chick in the first set definitely has two copies, so that's a BRxBR chick. The nibs on his comb are already lengthening, too. I can't see the teeth on the first two dark chicks.
If they are boys, their combs will be right with his or maybe even a little bit bigger. You'll know for sure in two more weeks!

Here's an example of a hetero barred cockerel (barred red sire over a black hen)... the girls are reminiscent of BRs with red leakage, and the boys are darker than BR roosters. They tatse really good - don be so quick to give them away!

Yeah, I'm sure, but that's gonna be an expensive meal...having to feed them until they reach processing age!

 

[Maggiesdad]

Yeah, I'm sure, but that's gonna be an expensive meal...having to feed them until they reach processing age!

But you get to determine when they've reached it! Run them out to about 2 -2.5 lb each, and then try spatchcocking them - a real treat. If they are about a 1 to 4 conversion, then your looking at about 5 or 6 birds that size in a 50lb sack of food. Then they are long gone before the girls come into lay, and you'll be hatching all spring and summer to keep a steady supply, lol!

 

[ki4got]

well, had a slight 'almost oops'... I had set some eggs, wrote down the lockdown date as the 18th... well yesterday I opened the incubator to take the eggs out and put them in the hatcher, there's 2 mille fleur bantam cochin chicks looking out at me! LOL 6 more eggs that were also due at the same time as well. so they went to the hatcher (3 had pipped already!).

last night had a nice blrw pop out before bed but no other progress on the 2 pipped eggs. this morning I had another blrw and a red dorking running around the hatcher! first chicks of the year!

the other eggs had quit somewhere along the way, but with the pipped ones I didn't take the time to candle like I normally do...

 

[Cknldy]

That's the good kind of surprise! By the time I get to lockdown I am constantly finding a reason to walk by the incubator just in case someone decides to hatch early. I gave away the first chicks of this year and am already collecting Russian Orloff eggs to set for a Valentine's Day hatch date. I hope this year is a great year for everyone!

 

[Maggiesdad]

Get reddy, Virginia! It's gonna SNOW!

Then it's gonna get super duper cold an' there'll be blowin' an' driftin' an - quick! Roll out the slat drift fences like when I was a kid! WOOOT!



This bit of childish exuberance brought to you because no one else saw it coming!

 

[Flowerbh]

I wish I knew! I was told on another thread that I couldn't feather sex by length of feathers, but speed of growth. All chicks but the one I'm sure is a pullet still had fuzz on their wings, but the pullet had wing feathers long enough to see the two separate lengths on day 1. I didn't take pics of the feathers until day 3. On that day, all chicks had two different lengths of feathers. Here, I'll post pics of their wing feathers at day 3:

Chick 1:


Chick 2:


Chick 3:


Chick 4:


Chick 5:



So I just don't know. Since I'm not sure if these babies are from my Barred Rock girls or my Commercial Black girls, I can't be sure they will show the normal signs of boy/girl like BR's do.

I wish I knew! I was told on another thread that I couldn't feather sex by length of feathers, but speed of growth. All chicks but the one I'm sure is a pullet still had fuzz on their wings, but the pullet had wing feathers long enough to see the two separate lengths on day 1. I didn't take pics of the feathers until day 3. On that day, all chicks had two different lengths of feathers. Here, I'll post pics of their wing feathers at day 3:

Chick 1:


Chick 2:


Chick 3:


Chick 4:


Chick 5:



So I just don't know. Since I'm not sure if these babies are from my Barred Rock girls or my Commercial Black girls, I can't be sure they will show the normal signs of boy/girl like BR's do.

Here is a great clip about feather sexing chicks....day 1-3. Remember that this is possible because the hatcheries use slow feathering males and fast feathering females as their parent chickens. If your chickens are close to being hatchery chicks, this will work great. If you have been breeding your own chickens for a while and have been mix-breeding them, this may not be an accurate way to sex your chickens. Luckily, I can still do this with my chickens and I can tell the boys from the girls from birth by this method.

 

[finnfur]

Get reddy, Virginia! It's gonna SNOW!

Then it's gonna get super duper cold an' there'll be blowin' an' driftin' an - quick! Roll out the slat drift fences like when I was a kid! WOOOT!



This bit of childish exuberance brought to you because no one else saw it coming!

I think you been out in the cold to much already or maybe cooped up to long already. I'm ready for springtime. But I guess I'll get out the sled LOL

 

[MistyMountain]

Get reddy, Virginia! It's gonna SNOW!

Then it's gonna get super duper cold an' there'll be blowin' an' driftin' an - quick! Roll out the slat drift fences like when I was a kid! WOOOT!



This bit of childish exuberance brought to you because no one else saw it coming!

I'm glad that I am not the only one ridiculously excited about SNOW!!!

 

[MontanaDolphin]

I'm glad that I am not the only one ridiculously excited about SNOW!!!

I am! I love snow!

My chickens? Not so much.

What I hate is cold with no snow...don't mind the cold, as long as there's white stuff covering everything and making my property look so beautiful! No white stuff, then I hate cold and am ready for spring.