Quail_Antwerp: Words from the Barnyard...

[lorihadams]

Thanks! I've never done chicks...though I hope to...I want to do some meat chickens this year but I have to get Chad to go along with it.

 

[PamsPride]

Lori, a Straight Run means you get the chicks as they are hatched - male or female - you take it. So you could end up with 50/50 male/female or some variation, depending on the hatch.

Other choices would be to order all cockerels or to order all pullets. Or to order a set number of males and females.

One of my local friends got a straight run last spring and ended up with 35 cockerels and 15 pullets out of her 50 chicks.

eta: That same friend got 24 hatching eggs from an auction last spring and ended up with 18 males and 6 females. So maybe last year was a Male Year..

Am I weird or what? I am actually hoping for a LOT of males out of the 34 BJG eggs I have in the 'bator right now! I only want to add like 5-7 more pullets to my flock and then I want to put all of the roos in the freezer this year. Males! LOL!!

 

[Farmfresh]

Ya'll know you CAN eat hens too. I know I am harsh.

You want something to talk about with your friends?

The hen is what controls the sex of the chick, NOT the male like in humans. There are actually girl eggs and boy eggs. This is one of the things that makes it so hard to breed chickens. If the male controlled the sex (like in mammals) you could just Artificially Inseminate the hen with the sperm of the chosen sex. More pullets for egg layers or more cockerels for the meat birds. Since the hen is in charge we have no control (or way of knowing what sex the egg is without breaking it open - thus destroying the chick).

Weird huh?

 

[Beekissed]

You can try the ACV trick....been proven to help produce more females of the species, with many types of livestock...even chickens! I used it when breeding meat rabbits and it worked. I plan on using it when keeping my sheep, as well.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

You can try the ACV trick....been proven to help produce more females of the species, with many types of livestock...even chickens! I used it when breeding meat rabbits and it worked. I plan on using it when keeping my sheep, as well.

OK, SPILL! Tell me, do I just add the ACV to their water to get this?

 

[keljonma]

QA - around here the feedstores won't purchase birds until you pay in full up front. Maybe that would be the way to go next year.

Yup, that's how I plan to do it from here out!

I figure it is all going to work out one way or the other. Maybe God isn't letting me sell them. Maybe I have about 50 pullets in this mix, and I did say I wanted close to 100 brown egg layers by next year!

You know that old saying... Be careful what you wish for!

 

[keljonma]

Lori, a Straight Run means you get the chicks as they are hatched - male or female - you take it. So you could end up with 50/50 male/female or some variation, depending on the hatch.

Other choices would be to order all cockerels or to order all pullets. Or to order a set number of males and females.

One of my local friends got a straight run last spring and ended up with 35 cockerels and 15 pullets out of her 50 chicks.

eta: That same friend got 24 hatching eggs from an auction last spring and ended up with 18 males and 6 females. So maybe last year was a Male Year..

Am I weird or what? I am actually hoping for a LOT of males out of the 34 BJG eggs I have in the 'bator right now! I only want to add like 5-7 more pullets to my flock and then I want to put all of the roos in the freezer this year. Males! LOL!!

If they are Jersey Black Giant males, you'll have them around quite a while before they are edible! They take forever to grow....

 

[Farmfresh]

This is VERY true about the Jersey Giants. I have never eaten one, but I hear some say they taste richer and better because of their rate of growth. Any truth to that one?

I have heard about the ACV trick. I also have heard that a rounder egg is supposed to hatch a female and more pointy ones for males. May be just a wives tale. Someone needs to do research out there.

Another friend I know puts ACV in the stock tank for all of her animals. She claims it helps the critters and makes the water too acidic for mosquitoes to hatch. Any one know about that?

I just be sure and change the water completely at least every five days. It takes seven days for a mosquito to hatch and mature.

 

[Beekissed]

Interesting stories and links for ACV/livestock:

http://www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/24/24-1/Laurie_Ball-Gisch.html

http://www.rah.co.nz/feedback.htm

https://fultonscrossingranch.com/Shared_Secret_s.html

http://www.ewephoric.com/sheeptips4.html

Apple Cider Vinegar On The Farm

For the past year and a half I have routinely added apple cider vinegar, to my baby birds' hand-feeding formula, to all drinking water and sprinkled some on the food of the animals here at our aviary and small dairy farm. These animals include several species of breeding exotic parrots, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats and LaMancha dairy goats. The vinegar keeps the water bowls and bottles very clean and sanitary and the animals seem to love it--- of course, the nutritional and health benefits are a plus. Apple cider vinegar added to young birds drinking water encourages early weaning and healthy weight gain and they will feather out faster. Adding a little raw apple cider vinegar to the hand-feeding formula water can prove nutritionally beneficial and help to inhibit the growth of yeast, fungus and bacteria. In formula a ratio of about %uFFFD tsp per 4 oz water is best.

You may safely add cider vinegar to food and/or drinking water, starting with small amounts and building up to %uFFFD to 1 teaspoon per 15 pounds of body weight or about 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (health food store variety best) to 8 oz water. That is about %uFFFD cup per gallon of water and/or you may sprinkle or spray small amounts on bird's food. Gradually add small doses to food over time, you can help even the most finicky eater to accept this. Do not use metal food or water dishes when using vinegar, stainless steel is OK.

Helpful Natural Fertility Therapy ~ Out of desperation one can come across some interesting information on Natural Remedies. After being inundated with two years of nothing but ram lambs we decided to take a horse-womans advice and introduce Apple Cider Vinegar into our breeding regimen. We were told not only did it increase fertility it was commonly used to produce more female offspring. Now, before you say Thats a bunch of hooey we have tried it with terrific results.
The vinegar is added to the breeding flocks drinking water each day without fail. Not only did we see a marked improvement in the number of ewe lambs born, our multiple births went through the roof!

 

[Farmfresh]

Great links!