Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Hurley]

I'll be sure to post pics when they hatch. Here are some photos from the person I bought the eggs from of the parent stock. Photo of eggs bottom right, they are a blue/green (more green than blue) medium sized egg. I just thought the dark skin and combs makes them very striking.

 

[bigzio]

Nice to see you stop by Hurley. Did you give up on the Iowa Blues project toward acceptance to SOP?
Brutal out there for sure.... 3 trips to the coops daily isn't as much fun in this weather.

bigz

 

[Hurley]

The main people pushing toward multiplying flocks on IBs moved, had life changes, etc., and I got so busy with work the past couple years that there just hasn't been enough support to keep pushing forward without new people taking the reins. It's too bad as they are really cool birds and are pretty with great forager personalities, but I just don't know if they'll go forward. I was getting some nice increase and size and consistency and was weeding out the less desireable things like gold leakage, but I have been frustrated with the egg quality with them. Eggs are medium for the most part, shape of the egg is variable with a fair number of more rounded eggs, some thinner shells. I've still got a quad of them, but they are getting older. Trying to decide if I am going to hatch out a bunch of chicks to keep them going or not.

For my egg flock this year, I decided to just pick up a huge variety of breeds and enjoy colorful eggs in a colorful flock. If I can get my building put up this summer, can refine to some breeding groups once again, but I'm taking the year off this year to play.

 

[bigzio]

Thanks for the update on the Iowa Blues, that's kinda sad in a way for the blues, but I can totally understand why stepping away and keeping things fun makes a lot of sense. I thought for sure, I'd see them making faster strides toward perfection than they seem to be.....maybe someday it will work out for them. Just keeping this a fun hobby is plenty of daily chores, eh!

bigz

 

[Hurley]

Yeah. I am sad they are stagnated, but it takes more people working on them, photographing, sharing, and talking about them to keep the interest gaining. At the end of the day, if there aren't enough champions, then progress grinds to a halt.

We made so many strides tracking down the old history, building up some flocks, getting something to work towards, but life happens, I guess. If there aren't people supplying chicks and eggs and the energy and enthusiasm to stimulate others, not much happens. I didn't have a ton of interest in them when I was producing larger numbers, so I didn't keep back a big group last year. Lost a few to predation this fall, so it puts me at the last of the flock. I honestly don't know if and how many people are still working with them so not sure if they might be hitting their third time heading for extinction.

 

[bigzio]

Dang, again that's just sad Hurley....I know that when you were looking for folks to help out with numbers, I was busy with the Buckeyes, and also concerned about dealing with the single combs of the blues in weather like we are experiencing now. I'm also just having fun with a mixed flock....however with that came some single combed birds, large waddles and frostbite issues anyway, that I always tried to avoid...oh well....keep having fun!

bigz

 

[babylady4]

My internet is frozen; literally. I had to use my company cell phone as a mobile hot spot all day long in order to get any work done. Staying home tomorrow too.

Checked the hive today; found a mouse tunnel up onto the bottom platform, but it did not get in. That would have been disastrous. I have some 1/4” hardware cloth keeping the critters out. With the warm temps this weekend I’ll crack the hive open and see if I still have bees.....

Nice to see you pop in Hurley!

 

[wyoDreamer]

@babylady4 Good luck with the bees! Hoping you have a hive full of healthy little buzzers...

 

[Heinzie]

What do the girls stay in while in the garage?

I put down a large piece of cardboard from my new refrigerator covered it with straw rolled out some chicken wire around a table layed down a saw horse end for a perch. Covered the top with an old table cloth to prevent the urge to fly out. They are doing good can't wait to put them back outside tomorrow

 

[Hurley]

Electricity went out this am at 5. Temps -28 until 9 am. Brought chicks up to the fire and kids and chicks huddled. Thank goodness for thy he fireplace. Amazing how quick the house temp dropped.
Incubators with 7 and 10 days to hatch. Will see if any survive. Were doing great to this point.