Good Morning! in 2018

[Killerbunny]

Yes the one under #42 hatched and died within a couple of hours. I hope yours makes it.

[Happy]

So strange @Killerbunny
I’m sorry. You have no idea why? Do you think that it’s something passed down by Stephen? So heartbreaking.

[Killerbunny]

I don't know what happened but I was prepared for this. It is a young hen (I don't normally breed 1 year old girls but since she was fertile I incubated the eggs and gave some to a broody. I had more quitters this year all around but the 10 that hatched are all vigorous and healthy. In each case of the 3 that died around day 21 candling the embryo went from being a wriggler to a bit lethargic and I told DH at the time that something was up. Could be so many factors but the poults looked perfect. I'll be interested to see how Jan's makes out because I suspect the egg is from the same female.

[thegawd]

pics of almost week old chicks.

[SusanH]

Sorry KB, so sad.

[SusanH]

Hey gawd, cute chicks! What are they?

Does anyone have a developmental milestone chart, maybe with pictures? Giving an approximate age for the appearance of various things? When do they get wattles? When do they start clucking instead of peeping? When do they finish growing adult feathers? I just saw pictures of 3-month-old polish roosters with enormous wattles. Mine are 9 weeks and there is not a wattle or a comb to be seen. They whistle and chirr like songbirds. The feathers are rounded. Of course I'd love for them to stay babies. Those soft toes curling around your finger just kill me. I guess it's curiosity and impatience. I can't wait to know for sure if Boris and Natasha are both Roos.

[Killerbunny]

So this weekend with the poults nearly 4 weeks old was moving weekend. The hens marched the kids to the main coop and informed everyone of the change LOL. This am I found poor Eddie looking very confused with a couple of the kids snuggled up to him! He really seems a very gentle guy.

[TomK]

Mornin folks...

Susan, i don't rightly know if thats possible...in my limited experience with a few breeds I have found that developement is so crazy different that a standard chart is highly unlikely...when I got my initial dayold Barred Rocks they all looked identical..there were 25...it took weeks, lets say 7-8, before i saw a real difference in the boys and girls and only then were the boys (3) a lighter colouring in their plumage, more grey....the wattles and combs were almost identical...with the Marans i am currently growing out i have one male in the six and his identity was evident early..cape colouring and a wicked comb already compared to the girls and they are just touching 7 weeks now....most of my other birds were all single sexed so i dont have comparisons to offer but i cant imagine standardization is easily achievable...i just find it fun to watch and see

Hey!!!... i finally met Kathy and Martin yesterday...what lovely people...made it work to meet up at that all Canadian rendezvous, aka Timmies, in Perth on their way thru on a wee vacation...some lovely Welsummer pullets now call my coop home...and i have a couple of PTO ball caps if anyne nearby would like one...I find that unless I decide to road trip I can't actually meet any of you so I take advantage when I can..yesterday was a treat...

So now the coop if full..OC, 'Big Boy' has his beak out of joint....lost his pen and resides in a huge crate til i can build more apace and so is 'Coach' the splash Cochin...i can't seem to load up pix from my phone so maybe i will just mosey on out with the ipad and take a few...anyone want a really beautiful almost 2 year old Cochin rooster let me know...crates are not a good long term housing option...

Cheers for now...another week has begun

[thegawd]

Hi Susan, they are Rhode Island Reds, (the standard bred Heritage kind) and light brown leghorns that sported out some white leghorns. some breeds throw "sports" when breeding, the sports do not usually conform to the breed standards. my old Light Brown leghorns sported black leghorns i stil have one that survived the winter attacks.... I had about 50 birds killed over the course of a week in the middle of winter, completely decimating my flocks. I almost didnt get back into poultry because this will be the 3rd massive attack we have had over the last 5 years, its heartbreaking.

one other thing..... i will always put a mop head in the brooder from now on. this is the quietest most relaxed bunch of chicks i have ever raised.... I guess im not the one raising them, my kids and wife are. i wasnt getting more poultry if I was the only one taking care of them, everyone steped up, even our youngest!

[windwalkingwolf]

Yes the one under #42 hatched and died within a couple of hours. I hope yours makes it.

He's out, dry, and walking around, along with the 6 chicken eggs I left in the incubator as his company. Well, I mean CHICKS are walking around, not eggs lol. I'm surprised THEY are all out, some of them looked behind in development, and two had pipped at the wrong end last night. So, mama turkey should have a bunch of chicken chicks under her too. I will go check when I screw up the courage--she drew blood when I was stuffing those eggs in there a few days ago.
I originally expected NO poults to hatch, so I was going to put ALL the incubated chicken chicks under her at hatch, but now I'll brood a few inside along with new turkey, if he lives. So far so good, but as you noted, no guarantees.

Does anyone have a developmental milestone chart, maybe with pictures? Giving an approximate age for the appearance of various things? When do they get wattles? When do they start clucking instead of peeping? When do they finish growing adult feathers? I just saw pictures of 3-month-old polish roosters with enormous wattles. Mine are 9 weeks and there is not a wattle or a comb to be seen. They whistle and chirr like songbirds. The feathers are rounded. Of course I'd love for them to stay babies. Those soft toes curling around your finger just kill me. I guess it's curiosity and impatience. I can't wait to know for sure if Boris and Natasha are both Roos.

Noooo. It is partially dependent on breed, and even different varieties or individual lines or individual birds within a line can vary widely. With Polish, the difference shows in their crests...boys get pointier crest feathers, and a more tousled look, while girls have smoother, more rounded head feathers.
A favourite game is the "what am I?" game where someone posts pictures and we all try to guess genders. It's not always terribly accurate, but it is fun!