Chicken breeds

[TheSeedObsesser]

Thanks for the info Ridge! For some reason I didn't think about state laws when It comes to shipping eggs.

Smiles Jr. - I agree that your rooster is a mix and probably has some Delaware in his blood. I'm going to say that one of his parents might have been a buff Brahma also.

 

[Ridgerunner]

@catjac1975 , I’ll see your expert and raise you an article from Texas A&M about hatching eggs. This is the article and below is a quote from that article written by so-called expert Lee Cartwright. Are you going to call my bluff or just pass?

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/...e-Cartwright-Incubating-and-hatching-eggs.pdf

Hatchability is best maintained by storing eggs with the small end down in sealed, airtight plastic bags. The bags help keep the eggs clean and prevent moisture loss.

During the first week of incubation the egg does not need to breathe. There are even studies that show the developing chick develops better if there is no air exchange through the shell the first week of incubation. But eventually the chick develops enough that it needs to have an air exchange to bring in fresh oxygen and get rid of excess carbon dioxide. The shell is porous and allows an exchange of good air for bad. The porous shell also allows moisture to escape.

My convoluted logic says if a chick does not need an air exchange the first week of incubation to exchange bad air for good, it does not need air exchange before incubation starts.

I certainly do not seal eggs for hatching in airtight plastic bags. That’s way over the top for me.

I’m not an expert, even if I’m from out of town. But I have had some good hatches with eggs shipped in bubble wrap. I’ve had some bad ones too.

 

[baymule]

Hey you guys (doesn't that sound like the beginning of Electric Company - kids show on T.V.) we have only one rooster here at PlayStation and I don't have a clue as to what kind he is. He is very large, very nice to the girls, and friendly. I'm thinking maybe Delaware but I don't know.

He looks like a mixed breed, but what a handsome fellow! He certainly deserves his own special breed name! Let's see......

Silver Speckled Super Smiley!!

 

[Smiles Jr.]

We call him Mr. Roo and he's a pretty good guy. I have seen him chase away a hawk on two different occasions.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I've been keeping track of the Delawares egg production - all 18 hens are currently laying and we get about a dozen eggs per day, not bad.

We had to separate our last and only roo - found him with a large gouge in his neck, lots of blood and the hens were pecking his wound. He's doing well. We still can't figure out what happened though - no other roos around. We figure that hawk, cat, or racoon are among the most plausible possibilities. Thing is though we lock our animals up tight at night, so cat or hawk would be most likely. The cat does has plenty of lemmings to go after.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've had a hen peck a rooster's neck until he was bleeding. The rooster just stood there and ignored it like he was being groomed. I isolated him a few days until he had healed some and then put him back with his flock. No more problems.

You might try getting some Blu-kote to put on it. Supposedly that stops other chickens from seeing the red blood and pecking at it, plus it kills bacteria.

 

[baymule]

Maybe you shouldn't have butchered down to the last one, and kept 2 just in case. Hope he is ok. The hens sound like they are going to be real good layers.

 

[thistlebloom]

After what seems like forever without any eggs and a mass community molt I went out tonight to make sure two darn persistent hens were not roosting in the nest box---and I found an egg! woohoo!!
Carried it in and displayed it to dh who didn't recognize what it was.
Yeah, it's been that long!

 

[ninnymary]

Haha, I'm lucky I have 1 pullet laying an egg a day. Sure wished the other 2 were laying also. Oh, and I've had an easter egger lay one per week for the last 2 weeks. What's up with that?

Mary

 

[so lucky]

Just taking her sweet time, Mary!
I have an Easter Egger who just started laying about every other day after about a 4 month hiatus. Two out of three---maybe all three--- of the new girls I got recently are laying. They are not producing quite enough eggs to meet our needs, but it's better than none!