The "Ask Anything" to Nicalandia Thread

[NatJ]

Hi @NatJ and/or @nicalandia

Can you say if black x quail will cause leakage in the F1s? I am looking to acquire some hens that are quail and I only have black roosters, so I'm wondering if that is an okay crossing that won't cause me issues? I know that the F1s would all be black, but just wanting to understand the ramifications!

I think there is a good chance of leakage in the blacks from that cross, but I am not positive.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Can used incubators spread diseases?

 

[ChicksnMore]

Can used incubators spread diseases?

With a good disinfection type cleaning they shouldn't. If they're used without cleaning and have live virus, bacteria or molds then yes. Some germs are small enough to enter through the eggshell, and the ones that are too big for that can still infect newly hatched chicks. But all incubators should be cleaned and disinfected between uses for that reason.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

With a good disinfection type cleaning they shouldn't. If they're used without cleaning and have live virus, bacteria or molds then yes. Some germs are small enough to enter through the eggshell, and the ones that are too big for that can still infect newly hatched chicks. But all incubators should be cleaned and disinfected between uses for that reason.

I got the incubator, it’s been sitting in a shed for probably 15+ years. It is an old foam still air incubator (not a little giant) has some mouse damage but I think I can fix that with expander foam. I’ve cleaned the incubator inside and out with Mr Clean. Should I also clean it with bleach? And should I let the incubator run a couple days on like a high heat to kill disease or bacteria if its not already dead? Oh and I’ve got it sitting outside under our porch (it can’t get wet) to air out.
Thanks

 

[ChicksnMore]

I got the incubator, it’s been sitting in a shed for probably 15+ years. It is an old foam still air incubator (not a little giant) has some mouse damage but I think I can fix that with expander foam. I’ve cleaned the incubator inside and out with Mr Clean. Should I also clean it with bleach? And should I let the incubator run a couple days on like a high heat to kill disease or bacteria if its not already dead? Oh and I’ve got it sitting outside under our porch (it can’t get wet) to air out.
Thanks

I usually use vinegar or bleach. Bleach fumes dissapate after 24 hours and vinegar fumes are harmless. My guess is Mr Clean is adequate but you might want to rinse extra well and air out or bake out any fumes. No idea how strong or long Mr Clean chemicals foul the air. If you have an old computer fan laying around and can wire it in, you can add air movement to the incubator easy too.
Hope you get many happy hatches!

 

[Egg Snatcher]

I usually use vinegar or bleach. Bleach fumes dissapate after 24 hours and vinegar fumes are harmless. My guess is Mr Clean is adequate but you might want to rinse extra well and air out or bake out any fumes. No idea how strong or long Mr Clean chemicals foul the air. If you have an old computer fan laying around and can wire it in, you can add air movement to the incubator easy too.
Hope you get many happy hatches!

Thanks!

 

[Shaunb1003]

What breed would be the best route to introduce the color black into my Malays? I want both Solid Black, & Red Shouldered blacks.

Black Jersey Giant

Black Sumatra

Black Olive Egger

Fibro Easter Egger

Black Ameraucana

I got some High fibro Naked Necks. I was gonna cross them to an Indio Gigante Rooster. Get some Large Fowl Fibro NN, then figure out later how to get them Silkied

 

[MysteryChicken]

I got some High fibro Naked Necks. I was gonna cross them to an Indio Gigante Rooster. Get some Large Fowl Fibro NN, then figure out later how to get them Silkied

They're certainly pretty.

 

[ChicksnMore]

I'm trying to figure out if these birds are silver, and if they are, what the silver carrying hens look like as adults. The birds come from blue Olandsk dwarf breeding and all the parent birds were tri-color. If I understand correctly, if it's silver then all the hens are likely to be tri-color even though I did get one almost all white hen in this trio I'm asking about. Do I understand correctly that most silver hens are nearly normal colored?

Juvenile pics:

Adult pics:
Unfortunately I never got a good picture of the hen and I lost her recently...but you can just barely see her behind the boys in the top picture. She was almost all white with black and a touch of brown scattered over her. Her head was pure white.

I bred those three together and got 4 chicks. 2 all white (not yellow but white down) and 2 pale chipmunk. The white ones are feathering out with black and brown mixed feathers so far and the chipmunk are looking standard dwarf so far.

Is that enough information to tell if the colors silver or something else? If it is silver, then will my few chicks allow me to figure out what silver carrying hens look like in dwarfs (assuming I have a girl) or would I need more chicks for that?

Editing to add a question about that mostly white girl from the trio. Is a silver hen that's mostly white carrying the Columbian gene? I'm assuming the mostly white breasted boy has Columbian and the black breasted boy is black breasted red duckwing. Does that sound right?

 

[ChicksnMore]

I keep reading and looking at the above birds. When I originally asked about those three chicks I was told probably silver, maybe cream but everyone said the parent birds didn't look right to produce silver.

Is wheaten a possibility? I seem to recall reading that wheaten can look like silver but I can't remember what other genes are involved and I'm having trouble refinding that information.