Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Chickielady]

anyone have any fertile orpington , wyandotte or astrolorp eggs anywhere closish to me

Becareful if you buy any eggs this time of year.
Cold weather can sterilize a cock quickly.
The birds may mate, but the cock will be shooting blanks, nature's way of saving his energy (in winter) and preventing chicks from hatching (in winter)

Standard comb cocks are effected first as their comb stands up so high, followed by the rest of the breeds.
Pea comb and cushion comb birds may still be fertile while the standards have gone sterile.

WE have joked here that we need mad bomber hats for cocks to prevent the comb from getting so cold, the signal to stop sperm production...

 

[Chickielady]

Hi all,



I'm on an egg quest--I would like to hook my sister and her family up with fresh local eggs as a Christmas gift. I'm thinking I would prepay for a couple of months worth of eggs, say a dozen a week, to get her started and then have her sort out arrangements going forward. She lives in Columbia City, Seattle; for this to work, it would be best to have a source in/near her neighborhood. If you have eggs available, know of anyone who might, or know of other places where I should look or post messages, I'd love to hear from you!



Thanks,

Julie

Try Rainwolf
here on BYC, she is in Wallingford (I think) and has a mess of chickens.

 

[Amberjem]

Becareful if you buy any eggs this time of year.
Cold weather can sterilize a cock quickly.
The birds may mate, but the cock will be shooting blanks, nature's way of saving his energy (in winter) and preventing chicks from hatching (in winter)

Standard comb cocks are effected first as their comb stands up so high, followed by the rest of the breeds.
Pea comb and cushion comb birds may still be fertile while the standards have gone sterile.

WE have joked here that we need mad bomber hats for cocks to prevent the comb from getting so cold, the signal to stop sperm production...

hmmmmmmmmm thank you haha I hadnt thought of the cocks reproduction just the hens silly oversight in my thinking there thank you I wanted to try to do some new year chicks..maybe I should knitt up some cockunblock hats and sell them lol

 

[ochochicas]

Those are awesome! The backcountry horsemen here have their Christmas Party on December 13th. I'm sure a bunch of them would sell at the party. Too bad you are so far away.

anyone have any fertile orpington , wyandotte or astrolorp eggs anywhere closish to me

I have Australorp cross eggs. They are fertile - just checked them today. This weekend is the last weekend I'll be selling fertile eggs though since my rooster is no longer breeding and it will be too cold out for me to guarantee egg viability after this weekend. Let me know if you are interested. Located south of Issaquah. Hen is Black Australorp, Rooster is Ameraucana/Legbar so chicks will be easter eggers.

 

[ochochicas]

Today I got this great spotted egg. I have no idea who laid it since my Marans are broody and no one else lays an egg this dark. My pullets are only 17 weeks, plus this is too big to be a pullet egg. I guess it will remain a mystery for now...

 

[Amberjem]

thats a great looking egg though

 

[them chickens]

Its a Christmas present ,double yoker.

 

[DaveOmak]

Becareful if you buy any eggs this time of year.
Cold weather can sterilize a cock quickly.
The birds may mate, but the cock will be shooting blanks, nature's way of saving his energy (in winter) and preventing chicks from hatching (in winter)

Standard comb cocks are effected first as their comb stands up so high, followed by the rest of the breeds.
Pea comb and cushion comb birds may still be fertile while the standards have gone sterile.

WE have joked here that we need mad bomber hats for cocks to prevent the comb from getting so cold, the signal to stop sperm production...

What ??? Egg laying may slow down or even stop due to daylight... (been there, seen it) The tide may rise higher on a full or new moon.... (been there, seen it) but blanks because of colder weather ????? I'm leery when it comes to believing that story.... Maybe if the testes were on the outside of the body cavity but not where they are located.... Up against the backbone on the inside of the cavity... Dave needs more info.... Now granted, I don't know much... not even that much but..... I have been reading tons of stuff, about chickens, the last several moons and that has not exposed itself....

Can you point me to some research.... I don't believe ANTHING I read on the internet on the "first" reading....
Facts Ma'am, just the facts...

Dave

 

[DaveOmak]

After reading about 24 papers about "Viability of roosters in freezing weather".... this is as close as I could come.... I'm not saying it ain't true... I can't find it.... Dave


When a rooster suffers frostbite on his comb or wattles, it causes a fluctuation in his body temperature and results in a lack of fertility lasting about 30 days.

My birds have 16 hours of light...

I always mention nature as I write about birds; so let’s think for a moment about the natural breeding cycle. As sunlight increases in the spring it acts upon the males and causes their bodies to produce higher levels of hormones. This causes them to become more active and more interested in mating. Sunlight also causes higher levels of hormone production in the hens, resulting in more eggs and the desire to nest. At the same time grasses spring forth and the diet of the birds will include bits of this fresh grass and the higher levels of vitamins, such as A and D, that it contains. Insect activity also manifests, and the birds’ diet will include more protein.

 

[Theegoliath]

I love the horse head wreath! And its not crafty crap : P

Its hard to keep up on this thread!, I log in after four days and there is 87 new posts : O