Washingtonians

[LovemyBabies]

Barred Rocks are supposed to have yellow legs/feet, do I see pink legs/feet here or what ?

They are yellow with blackish... if male would mainly just be yellow, very little no blackish color... females have more blackish color on their legs...if that helps... i noticed ours in their room with some light... the male has mostly yellow legs, but tiny bit of the black color... as for the females, u could definately see the blackish color..more so than the yellow--- if that helps... take a look at the one u know for sure is a Roo... then compare the leg colors of the known Hens... then take a look at the one that is Questionable... may help ya figure it out...

 

[MonFeed]

Poultrymom
I think Barry would sooner grow wings than hire someone^^; He likes to get things done with a minimal crew at the best of times lol. Besides, all of us here have raised chickens, and I dont mind telling someone 'I dont know' on a tough question

 

[KMoran]

Yes, I only let out one flock at a time. However, I do have multiple roo's in each flock. It works best when they are hatched and raised together, however, I don't tolerate mean roo's. If they are mean, they are outta here! If there is enough space and enough ladies, you can have more than one roo even if they are not raised together. You will end up with an alpha roo who is the main man, a beta roo who helps stay on the look out in guarding the ladies, helps find them food, and may occasionly get lucky with a girl or two, but only when the alpha roo isn't looking...

. The 3rd roo on the dominance list and those under him if you have more than 3, really don't get much action with the ladies as the more dominant roo's won't let them partake in any rooster roles. Upon introducing a new roo to a flock, the alpha roo will definently put him in his place a time or two. I generally tend to add young cockerels in to an existing flock, so that they will submit to alpha roo and not challenge him. But I usually wait until they are almost full size....usually around 16-20 weeks.

For breeding, I would probably want 5 ladies or less for each roo, to have the best chances at fertility. More ladies than that, and the roo picks his favorite few and ignores the rest of them.

I highly suggest letting the roo live with his flock. It benefits them all, ESPECIALLY if they are free ranging, because the roo's really do guard the flock well. Maybe fence off 3 different sections of your free range area to let all 3 flocks be able to run? The only reason I don't let the flocks run together, is I want to have pure eggs at all times and haven't been able to fence off different area's for free ranging, although that is in my plan eventually. I don't worry so much about the roo's fighting, as I do that the wrong roo jumps the wrong breed lady and then I have mixed eggs......HTH!

Thanks for responding. Very helpful. Each run will have an out door run as well so they can go in and out as they please during the day. I want pure eggs as well so that way I can hatch them and replenish my girls when needed. So I think I am gonna keep them separate and do one breed per run and just keep the girls with their Roo instead of letting them all out in one large run. Thanks again.

 

[Chickielady]

Argh! I just wasted a week with someone who answered my CL ad for some of our project birds. At first it sounded really exciting, she was putting together her breeding flocks and that's always a lot of fun to help someone with, but then it started taking 2 days to get any response and when it came, it didn't answer any question I put to her, had no information as to her setup, and she wouldn't commit to a farm visit. After a week of these delays, I finally sent her an email explaining that this wasn't how I do business and I find these repeated delays very disrespectful to my time an energies. End of communication and Flake Filed her, so if she emails again (and they nearly always do), I can minimize any contact or time put in.

I sometimes wish we had a database of these idiots so we'd all be forewarned - so and so arrives hours late, sucks up hours of your time but won't commit to buying birds, brings kids who chases your birds and upsets your rooster, wears street shoes to your farm despite being told to wear appropriate shoes, waffles when its time to pay for their birds, tries to make deals that are outrageous, skips out (I had one do this Sunday) without paying, ignores proper care of the chicks then wants you to replace them for free, etc.

We all do this somewhat informally, of course, and I will warn some local folks about the above gal to give them fair warning. Most of them are less patient than I am, so I doubt they'll put up with that for long.

How do you all deal with these time sink flakes?

I have had my share, and I also have a short fuse, and most of my flakes come down about 8 PM...which infuriates me all the more.
being ever famous for "cutting off my nose to spite my face", I choose to terminate the relationship as you do,, after shortly coming out of the shower at 8 PM and having these "people" show up in my driveway.!!!
But after a few years , there have been "colorful personalities" that I originally listed as "turd heads" and they have come to be very nice people !
However quirky, and serious characters.............maybe give them just a bit of time, and pateince, and by all means, close the gate, and do not answer the biz phone, after 5 PM.

 

[Chickielady]

They are yellow with blackish... if male would mainly just be yellow, very little no blackish color... females have more blackish color on their legs...if that helps... i noticed ours in their room with some light... the male has mostly yellow legs, but tiny bit of the black color... as for the females, u could definately see the blackish color..more so than the yellow--- if that helps... take a look at the one u know for sure is a Roo... then compare the leg colors of the known Hens... then take a look at the one that is Questionable... may help ya figure it out...

I look at hackle, which should have been evident weeks earlier in the bird's life, like at 3-4 weeks in some breeds, just saying, in the photos she posted, the birds' shanks look very pink to me.

 

[Chickielady]

Hay CL they havent hatched yet so I will let everyone know what happens. I did have a great Orp hatch only have 2 eggs left to go.
Next week is my Legbar sure how I get a pair..
Have a great weekend if I dont get back on will be building and cleaning and yes visiting my son in Lacey everyday again..

KM Im sorry for your loss..

Hope you have a great hatch Z !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chickielady]

And I have to do More chicken math ONLY the subtraction part

I'm getting between 15 & 20 eggs a day

and still have SIX girls that haven't started laying yet ! I only eat about 6-8 eggs a Month! I have done some subtraction in the last three weeks. Ive went from 35 down to 33 . got rid of a bitchy old RIR and something got my dear little Ricky rooster

30 sounds likes a Nice number

Ricky retardo is , GONE ???????????

 

[KMoran]

I look at hackle, which should have been evident weeks earlier in the bird's life, like at 3-4 weeks in some breeds, just saying, in the photos she posted, the birds' shanks look very pink to me.

They are pinkish? What does that mean?

 

[Chickielady]

Hey guys I have a quick question... I am making plans for a new coop I am doing a large coop with separate pens for each of my breeds. I am not sure which breeds yet but I know I want at least 3... I also want to have a Roo for each breed so that I get pure eggs to hatch. My question is does the roo have to stay with his girls 100% of the time? I know you dont want more then 1 roo in the same pen but I would like all my girls in the same pen and then removing them and putting them in with the Roo when I want fertile hatching eggs. Is this a good idea or do I need to keep them together at all the time? I have heard that if you separate them the roo will beat up on the hens or kill them? Ideally I want around 25 hens of 3 - 4 breeds. Thanks

The person with THEE best chicken pens is RedRooster Farms.................Annie, she has a system to drool for..................I have seperate coops & pens, but under various roofs, hers are all organized in one long barn...awesome !!!

 

[Chickielady]

Ah sorry, misunderstood. Sounds like a pain, but I wonder how actual breeders do it. I'll watch for a real answer too :

1 Cock for every 7 hens, max is my breeding regimen.
For 12 hens, I have 2 Cocks.
For 15 hens, I have 3 Cocks.