Carm
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Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 20, 2014 21:48:00 GMT -5
We finally hit milder temperatures and hens are slowly starting to lay. What does everyone do to get there incubators ready? I have a cabinet incubator for setting and a hovabator for hatching. I only did a quick clean out when I was finished last year. This year I will give it the full clean up when I am done with them. I have been told soap and water and sunshine for the hovabator. But there seems to be a lot of varying information for cleaning cabinet incubators. Thanks
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 20, 2014 21:42:36 GMT -5
There is more information on this topic in a thread from sept. 2011. Just found it today by accident. Has a few interesting opinions and a link to other interesting opinions.
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 18, 2014 8:28:19 GMT -5
I crossed a buff orpington pullet with a barnevelder (partridge colour) rooster so my daughter could pick out a few different looking chicks. We had 4 "Maddie Chicks" that were all male. They were all the same colour. Like Don, we weren't really excited with what we got. It would take another cross to make him look more orpington like, or another cross to the barnevelder to get the better colour. I would think it would be a long process to consistently get a cross you like. Also, my uncle tried crele orpingtons and got every colour imaginable from the offspring. Except crele. Here is our cross:
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 13, 2014 12:01:23 GMT -5
Can people explain their methods? I am considering trying it. How many eggs do you set? Do you add eggs to the nest? Do you keep the hen separate the whole time she is sitting? Do you move the nest later? How long do you leave the chicks with the hen? Do you need to separate at all? Thanks
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 11, 2014 20:30:43 GMT -5
Does anyone use natural brooding? I have seen in several old books that it is the way to go for big healthy chicks. Is this still true, or has advancing technology leveled the playing field for incubators?
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 10, 2014 20:50:19 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. Thanks for the video also. Other than not being in English, it's the best one I've seen
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 10, 2014 16:15:44 GMT -5
David, when you are AI'ing, do you trim vent feathers on males? I was looking today and am not sure how well it will work to leave all of the fluff for show and still do the process clean and effectively.
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 9, 2014 22:42:33 GMT -5
This sort of ties into my vent feather regrowth thread. I am now wondering about artificially insemenating show birds. I'll still have some breed naturally, but use it as a way to get some offspring of the show birds that I want to show early in the year. Anyone here tried it? I have watched some videos and did some reading on it. It doesn't look too scientific.
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 9, 2014 6:19:34 GMT -5
I have buff orpingtons. I have had the dark spots on their heads before. They seem to fade and there is no sign of any discolouration when they are fully feathered. They all seemed to be from the one line. Maybe someone with more experience can give more of the science behind it.
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 8, 2014 22:29:10 GMT -5
We are in southern Ontario, 3 hours north east of Detroit. Less than 2 hours from Buffalo. We have been colder here than some years. We have had nights that would convert to -7, -8 degrees Fahrenheit. The birds are in the upstairs of the dairy barn. Draft free, but no heat source. The 2 cockerels I am showing have a small hideout they have been going in at night and has kept them from getting frostbite.
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 8, 2014 17:18:23 GMT -5
Yes, I wondered about that. Or solid dividers and a removable back for summer. I will do some figuring and see what we have around here. There is a show to go to every month starting in march until the end of November. So it needs to be multi-seasonal.
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 7, 2014 15:04:29 GMT -5
Yes, that's my dilemma here. The shows now and in the late fall it is below freezing. But in the summer its hot. I would think it's better to have them a little bit cold in the winter than too hot and stuffy in the summer. Good point.
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 6, 2014 22:55:16 GMT -5
If I build one like David's, should I use mesh between birds? Some say to have it solid to protect feathers. But I could see how it might prepare them for a show to be able to see birds next to them.
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 5, 2014 23:12:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the link iaechickens. There was some interesting stuff in there. Of interest, it mentions TrueNorth's selection process. I hatched about 50 light sussex from there this year. The only thing it doesn't mention is that when she started selecting for production, she lost a lot of the standard colouring. I have over 20 cockerels from there and not one is a perfect show colour. A few of the pullets have ok colour. She warned me about this when I got them,but I thought I was getting enough that even in 1 in 10 was good coloured I would have a nice group to breed from. But it doesn't look too promising. So I would adapt a program similar to her's but still put more emphasis on show qualities in the first cull
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Carm
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Posts: 58
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Post by Carm on Feb 5, 2014 22:55:14 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Don. That is interesting about more feed causing fewer eggs. I was always told to feed pretty hard and higher the protein the better during breeding season. Maybe I am over doing it?
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