YO GEORGIANS! :)

[ChickDancer]

I just wanted to say that I love reading all of your posts but rarely have time to respond. I never knew getting started with chickens could be so time consuming. After finishing our coop a month or so ago, I realized I wanted a few things changed to make my life a little easier. This past weekend was spent entirely running water lines over to the coop and installing an automatic waterer using the nipple system. Never again will I have to crawl under the coop to get the bucket with nipples out and fill it. I didn't like not being able to physically see how much water they had so I crawled under there often. If I had it to do over again I would have raised the coop another foot or so off of the ground. Next we will be building an auto feeder and take out the hanging feeder that also hangs under the coop. The tank for the auto waterer uses a toilet refill valve inside of a piece of 4 inch pvc pipe. When they drink, it automatically fills back up directly from the water line. Many thanks to my sweet hubby for doing such an awesome job. Pics will follow tomorrow

I'm so envious!
I can't do an automatic waterer simply because the water needs to be changed so often with the big pans of water I use. The advantage is that they sit low, so anytime I have babies in there, or a broody hen with babies, they can still reach it.

I might try some type of auto waterer in the next set of pens though. And that just gave me most of the idea on how to build it.

 

[pr0wlunwoof]

I'm thinking about doing that with this one hen who I did emergency crop surgery on. She hasn't been gorging herself like a normal cornish rock since that happened. Maybe her crop is just sore right now. But either way, she also hasn't gained the weight the others have. So if she slows down for a good little while, I may just try and see if I can cross her back to something else (maybe a buff orpington) for a good line of reproducible meat birds.

That sounds like a good plan. I think I'm going to steal your idea. My two cornish hens are not nearly the size the two roos were. My friend was planning on building a whizbang plucker so the whole process should be much easier next time.

 

[ChickDancer]

That sounds like a good plan. I think I'm going to steal your idea. My two cornish hens are not nearly the size the two roos were. My friend was planning on building a whizbang plucker so the whole process should be much easier next time.

My CR hens are also smaller than the roos, but this one in particular seems to be way behind now, and just not gorging herself on food like the others anymore. I'm sure she still has that super-growth gene in her system, it's probably just not kicking in right now with her crop issues and the slower intake of food. That's why I'm hoping I can take advantage of it. Plus it would probably be easier to breed an oversized hen with a normal roo, than the other way around. This way, the roo can balance better with the extra width, and the hen isn't squished by HIS size, lol!

Just a few eggs that I can hatch out though, and I'll be happy with it.

 

[ayla23]

Hi! New BYC member in Georgia!! I have 12 chicken, mostly Amerucana with a couple of Brown Leghorns, a Golden Comet and one little white bantam, plus 4 ducks, a female Rouen, a big solid gray duck I have no idea breed or sex (thinking female, no curly tail feathers!) and 2 younger Rouen/Mallards that haven't lost the baby fuzz yet! I am probably about to become a frequent poster bc my fiancee and I are about to move and we will need all the help we can get to design and build them a coop and run!

So how long is the list now??

 

[ChickDancer]

Hi! New BYC member in Georgia!! I have 12 chicken, mostly Amerucana with a couple of Brown Leghorns, a Golden Comet and one little white bantam, plus 4 ducks, a female Rouen, a big solid gray duck I have no idea breed or sex (thinking female, no curly tail feathers!) and 2 younger Rouen/Mallards that haven't lost the baby fuzz yet! I am probably about to become a frequent poster bc my fiancee and I are about to move and we will need all the help we can get to design and build them a coop and run!

So how long is the list now??

Not sure if anyone knows anymore. The person who started this thread, and many of the people in that list, haven't been around for ages.

 

[pr0wlunwoof]

My CR hens are also smaller than the roos, but this one in particular seems to be way behind now, and just not gorging herself on food like the others anymore. I'm sure she still has that super-growth gene in her system, it's probably just not kicking in right now with her crop issues and the slower intake of food. That's why I'm hoping I can take advantage of it. Plus it would probably be easier to breed an oversized hen with a normal roo, than the other way around. This way, the roo can balance better with the extra width, and the hen isn't squished by HIS size, lol!

Just a few eggs that I can hatch out though, and I'll be happy with it.

Yeah my roos were at least 12lbs live. 9.5lbs dressed out. They would have squished all my hens to death.

 

[ChickDancer]

Yeah my roos were at least 12lbs live. 9.5lbs dressed out. They would have squished all my hens to death.

I need to go weigh mine, just to see what my sister might get from them. I gave abmaddox her number to have them get in touch with each other for the processing. Hopefully they get in touch somehow and meet up to get it done. These nasty things need to get away from the other chickens! LOL!

 

[ChickDancer]

So I have one Royal Palm turkey poult out, another with a good hole in the egg, and a third not yet pipped (has internally pipped though) but with an assist hole in the shell, and very much alive.

Funny how they come out looking solid white (yellow really) but get so much black coloring as adults.

I also had another chick hatch - a white bantam from either a silkie father or a frizzle father. No immediate signs of silkie traits though (it has yellow skin).

I'll get pics in a short bit, but both are still wet.

 

[ChickDancer]

The two new bug-eyed aliens, known as turkeys, beside their sibling who has yet to hatch.

And the mixed-breed bantam who already has his legs bandaged together. He hatched and moved onto the plastic backing of the thermometer, where he couldn't get good footing. So I already pulled the thermometer out and bandaged his legs to keep them from going over his head!

 

[Flowerbh]

Roboduck, I need you and GAM to come back up and visit. My Wheaten Marans laid 5 eggs and has stopped again. What is with some of these birds? I understand the ones who were broody (only one of the four has restarted laying eggs again) and I understand the ones who molted, but I have some YOUNG hens who laid like 5 eggs and haven't laid again for 4-6 weeks! Of the 25 hens who lay eggs, I am only getting like 11 -12 a day. I was getting at least 18. I just don't know what to think of all these hens not laying. Neither of my white egg layers has laid an egg in two weeks. They are all between 9 months and 2 years old. Any suggestions? I make sure they have plenty of water. Are we giving them too many leftovers? Could they have worms? How would I know about that.....never had a problem before so don't know how to check. No mites/lice. All have nice bright red combs. I did switch there food. I tried some flock raiser, but then changed again. Got a higher quality feed this time. The other thing is that we now have them behind a fence and there is not much green stuff left there. So I give them grass clipping and cabbage and whatever else green I come across. Do you think they are still upset over being fenced? It's been about a month now.

On another note, I am thrilled with my 5 new hatchlings. I think they may all be girls. (Maybe one boy) But, they are all the darker egg layers, Olives and Chocolate colors. They are getting really pretty already. I also have 8 Welsummer pullets that are 3 weeks old. I am going to keep 2 and sell the others. I guess I will put the add on Craiglist next week when they are 1 month old. My mind is constantly going over the hatch I want to do next month! Can't wait!