Recent content by NatJ

  1. NatJ

    Spontaneous Mutations? Split-Comb, Tassle, All-White?

    This is definitely puzzling! Can you post pictures of the parents? Is the Bielefelder the father of the half-Bielefelder?
  2. NatJ

    enrichment/enclosure for indoor setup (plants,toys, etc)

    Chickens usually seem to do better in a group. There are occasional exceptions. For example, sometimes a chicken will have health issues that cause it trouble in a flock setting, or one gets bullied by other chickens so badly that it really is better for that particular chicken to live apart...
  3. NatJ

    5 tips for getting birds to a new coop in the forest?

    Personally, I would let them go to bed in the old temporary coop one night, then grab them and carry them down to the new coop. Put them in, and do not let them out for at least a week. (That means NO free ranging during that week.) Or if you don't want to carry them in the dark, shut them in...
  4. NatJ

    Buttercup comb genetics

    Here's a few sources I turned up: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2013691/ Duplex comb in the chicken: a multi-allelic trait by R G Somes Jr 1 (Breeding experiments, written up in 1991, involving V-comb and Buttercup comb.)...
  5. NatJ

    Show me your bielefelder crosses.

    I read back through the thread and looked at the photos, and I'm not sure about Solo being barred. Those tail feathers look pretty un-barred to me. If Solo is not barred, then his parents could be the hen you think, and the silver mixed breed rooster. That's a pretty thorough rundown of...
  6. NatJ

    Show me your bielefelder crosses.

    Barring vs. not-barred is obvious on black chicks, because the ones with barring have a light spot on their head and the ones with no barring do not have that spot. Unfortunately, on chicks that are mostly brown, the barring gene does not seem to always make a light head spot. (Obvious example...
  7. NatJ

    Chicken Genetics | Questions?? | Any Dangerous Combos or No-Nos?

    There is one particular gene, called the creeper gene, that causes short legs in certain breeds. Japanese Bantams are one of the examples I most commonly see. (I thought Dorkings had it too, but today I'm not finding anything to back that up, so maybe I mis-remembered about them.) Wikipedia...
  8. NatJ

    Comb questions

    Oh, no! I'm glad you were able to set some new eggs!
  9. NatJ

    What color are these silkie chicks?

    No, a black rooster can never produce a splash chick. Splash means the chick has two blue genes, one inherited from each parent. A blue hen can give a blue gene to her chicks. But a black rooster has no blue gene, so he cannot give one to the chick, so the chick cannot be splash. I am not good...
  10. NatJ

    Oyster shell deal

    Or save effort and just toss the shells to the chickens without all that fuss. Maybe give them a squish with your hand or step on the shells so they look a bit less like an egg. If you have young chicks, and you are buying eggs while you wait for your pullets to grow up, then I agree it could...
  11. NatJ

    How long can I wait to put shipped hatching eggs into my incubator?

    I would candle a few eggs that were not shipped, even just eggs for eating, to get an idea of what a normal air cell is like. The air cell naturally gets bigger over time, but generally stays at the big end of the egg, usually a little off-center to one side or another, and does not really move...
  12. NatJ

    How long can I wait to put shipped hatching eggs into my incubator?

    That is probably too long. I would start by candling all the eggs carefully: any non-viable eggs in the incubator get removed. The worst of the shipped eggs get skipped (look for cracks, weird air cells, extra-dirty eggs, etc.) You can save the last 4 of the hatching eggs, but I do not think...
  13. NatJ

    How to Recall Free Range Chickens

    I have found wet mash to be helpful (chicken food + water in a dish.) The chickens usually consider it a treat, after they try it a few times. That means I can hold the dish and call, then walk into the run and sit the dish down, and the chickens will run in to eat it. Or put the dish in the...
  14. NatJ

    Is this toe issue genetic?

    In this case, if you have hens but no other rooster, I would probably hatch some chicks from him and pay careful attention to their toes, as well as watching all the other traits you would normally think about. The real test of his ability as a breeder is to breed him and see what he produces...
  15. NatJ

    What am I doing wrong???

    Could it be the nutrition of the parents? Maybe they have slightly different needs than the other breeds? Years ago, I had a nutritional deficiency show up in rabbits, when I had not changed the feed at all. I eventually decided the manufacturer must have changed the recipe, because...
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