Recent content by NatJ

I was thinking only one drake with the female at a time, which matches what you are suggesting. But if the ducklings from each drake look different, there is no need to wait after switching drakes, because you can already be sure of who is the father of each duckling.

Are you trying to get chickens that can fly? In general, the body size seems to vary more than the wing size. That would be part of why Bantams and Leghorns and other small/light breeds are better fliers than heavy breeds, because their bodies are much smaller and their wings are not so much...

Yes, it is hard when there is a more common meaning for the words you need to use. I tried "genetics quail d'anvers chicken" and found a few things. Two threads on this site: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/d%E2%80%99anver-quail-pattern-inheritance.1319023/...

1/2" hardware cloth would be even more durable, because it is made with thicker wire than the 1/4" 1/2" holes are small enough to stop almost every predator that matters.

I'm not good with duck genetics, so I can't immediately say whether you will be able to tell the ducklings apart by color or not. @Pyxis if these drakes are crossed with the duck in the first post, would it be easy to recognize which ducklings are sired by which drake? The first post says this...

I agree, the comb does look much more red in those photos. I also agree that "time will tell," which is good because apparently none of us can tell yet!

Rhode Island Reds have some black in their tails and maybe bits of black in other parts of their feathers, even when they are hatchery stock. The birds in the first post have the black all turned to white, which means they are not Rhode Island Reds from any source. (Or one might have some blue...

I would put food and water in the coop for now. Chicks will probably be able to drop 4 feet out of the coop safely, but will probably not be able to get back up without help. So you might want to shut the hen & chicks in the coop for now, or else move them all to the run and block the coop. You...

It has indeed been addressed. I believe you are the third person to make that point since the picture was posted. Answer to that:

The most recent post from that member is a profile post made in late March of 2024: https://www.backyardchickens.com/members/3killerbs.36480/#profile-post-202807

Males should be black with a light dot on top of their head (I see one chick like that in one photo.) Females should be black with no light dot on top of their head (I see one chick like that too.) The chick with large amounts of brown has me a bit puzzled: I do not think a Black Copper Marans...

Can you get a second incubator? That would be the easiest way to solve it: just move one kind of eggs to the other incubator, so each group can hatch at the correct time, without interfering with each other.

Dump all the feed out of the feeder into something else, so you can sort out the clog. Then decide if the feed is fit to be put back in. If it seems dry and clean, you can put it back. If the feed is wet and sticky, it will just gum up again soon. You may be able to give sticky feed to the...

I see why you can't decide! The darker color in the wings is making me think male. But the comb is so small and pale that I would call it a female, given that the bird is already 10-11 weeks old. Unless it starts crowing, I would probably keep waiting to be sure, but I think there is a chance...

Are they all the same kind? If the two drakes would produce different-colored babies, you could just sort them after they hatch instead of waiting in between. I don't personally know, so I tried searching too. It is definitely hard to find much! I found an older thread on this forum, where...