Recent content by PrairieChickens

  1. PrairieChickens

    White crested black silkies? Can it be done?

    Batch #2 just hatched, and one looks like a white-crested-black. A couple look like they might be white-crested blue, and another one looks like "Gori", the super interesting chick from the first hatch (who is feathering out silkied, by the way). I also have some that hatched out maybe...
  2. PrairieChickens

    I just started it back up again. My rooster was killed early on and I thought that was it for my...

    I just started it back up again. My rooster was killed early on and I thought that was it for my experiment, but I happened upon another WCB polish/silkie cross rooster at the fair and bought it. :) My hens have managed to survive this whole time, so I put them together and started hatching out...
  3. PrairieChickens

    White crested black silkies? Can it be done?

    Hello, apologies for disappearing. My rooster was killed by a predator and I thought that was it for my experiment, but fate apparently wasn't finished with the polkie project. This past summer, I was at the fair when I noticed one of the roosters there to be rehomed looked an awful lot like a...
  4. PrairieChickens

    Announcement April's Fools 2018 - New BYC Cryptocurrency: ChicKoin

    Perhaps you have the wrong breed of Prairiechickens. ;)
  5. PrairieChickens

    Ended Contest #3 Cutest Baby Fowl - 8th Annual BYC Easter Hatchalong

    Alright, here are our two entries on behalf of my husband and me: "Biker Chick" White Crested Black Polish, born Feb 2017 2017 "Civa Tateo" "Chicky Chat" White barnyard mix chick, born February 2017 2017 "Civa Tateo"
  6. PrairieChickens

    Ended Contest #3 Cutest Baby Fowl - 8th Annual BYC Easter Hatchalong

    May I submit a photo on my husband's behalf? I tend to be the chick wrangler while he's the one behind the camera, so the photos are technically his.
  7. PrairieChickens

    White crested black silkies? Can it be done?

    The first generation of crosses has reached point of lay in the girls, and I have collected five eggs so far. My rooster has a great deal of red and gold in his feathers that--while lovely--will need to be bred out as I work. So far the only hint of a white crest is on Yoru, the hen pictured...
  8. PrairieChickens

    Topic of the Week - Feeding table scraps to your flock

  9. PrairieChickens

    Topic of the Week - Feeding table scraps to your flock

    Chickens survived for thousands of years on forage and kitchen scraps, so I don't worry too much about "how much" they're getting. I have a sort of compost bin set up inside of the coop, and I just dump everything in there and let the chickens pick out what they want. Neighbors have even...
  10. PrairieChickens

    Topic of the Week - Aggressive Roosters: What is the best way to handle them?

    A rooster who is good to the hens will keep a watchful eye out for predators, find treats and share them, and only mate when the hen he's interested in gives him permission. Roosters who run down and grab hens against their will get culled from my flock. :)
  11. PrairieChickens

    Topic of the Week - Aggressive Roosters: What is the best way to handle them?

  12. PrairieChickens

    Topic of the Week - Aggressive Roosters: What is the best way to handle them?

    I host classes of small children at my house to teach them about chickens, so I cannot have a rooster with ANY human aggression. In the past, I have successfully taught aggressive roosters to respect me, but I can't force them to respect other people. Once they demonstrate a willingness to...
  13. PrairieChickens

    Turning a bread proofer into an incubator--an adventure in incubation!

    Day 3 Development of the embryo is now visible. The incubator is running on the cool side right now, between 96.6º and 98.4. I had to leave it unattended for the day, and didn't want to risk it creeping above the "danger zone" while I was gone, so I deliberately let it run cool for the...
  14. PrairieChickens

    Turning a bread proofer into an incubator--an adventure in incubation!

    48 Hours into incubation... 2 days in, here is a photo of an unincubated egg (left) next to one that has been incubating in the proofer for 48 hours (right). Note the darkening yolk of the developing egg.
  15. PrairieChickens

    Turning a bread proofer into an incubator--an adventure in incubation!

    24 hours into incubation The eggs have been incubating now for about a day. Although I haven't candled all of the eggs, the ones I have taken a look at are already showing the first tiny signs of development. The yolks are darkening up, and a tiny dot is visible where the cells are beginning...
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