Recent content by NatJ

  1. NatJ

    Gender of these 2?

    When they have the same comb type, males do tend to have wider or thicker combs than females. That can be useful if you are trying to sex a group of chickens that all share one type of comb. But it's not very helpful if there is just one chicken with each comb type because the difference between...
  2. NatJ

    Progeny from heroic rooster

    If you want to try putting the young chicks under her, I would probably give her some fake eggs to sit on until then. There's a reasonable chance she would accept the, but of course there is no way to guarantee it. If you don't give her chicks, or if she doesn't accept them, I agree that it...
  3. NatJ

    What color are these silkie chicks?

    I'm bad at recognizing Silkie colors so I'll ask @MysteryChicken to give an opinion about the colors of your adult Silkies. I'm seeing a lot of brown on one, that I was not expecting on a "black" or "blue" chicken. I was assuming they would be black all over, or blue all over, without other...
  4. NatJ

    Gender of these 2?

    Regarding combs: they have different types of combs. The wide one is either a rose comb or a walnut comb. Those kinds are always wide, no matter what sex the chicken is. The narrow one is a single comb. Single combs are always skinnier than rose or walnut combs, no matter what sex the chicken...
  5. NatJ

    Sex links?

    There is a chance, but I think probably not. The way they could be sexlinks: gold father (Buff Orpington) and silver mother (Black Australorp might be silver under the black) would produce gold daughters and silver sons. But the problem is the black. A Black Australorp should be producing...
  6. NatJ

    Show me your bielefelder crosses.

    The barring gene makes white lines across the feathers. Certain other genes or combinations of genes can cause lines of black and brown with no white, like what I see in your picture. I don't see anything that would prove her to be from one rooster or from the other rooster.
  7. NatJ

    I made a HORRIBLE mistake ordering from a hatchery! (Graphic Photos)

    Grogel is a green gooey stuff that some hatcheries put in the box with the chicks for them to eat. Some hatcheries also sell packets to make the stuff at home, for people that want to give it to chicks after they arrive. Here are two hatchery pages talking about it...
  8. NatJ

    I could use some breed suggestions or a reality check.

    For breeding the "right" color of Rhode Island Reds, it is mostly a matter of choosing ones with the right color to use as breeding stock. Hatcheries are more likely to breed the best layers, no matter what shade of red they are. Someone who cares about color will breed the ones with the...
  9. NatJ

    Show me your bielefelder crosses.

    When I look at pictures of chickens that have multi colors and barring, the barring seems to be pretty obvious on black tail feathers (examples include Bielefelders and the Crele variety of any breed.) So I don't know if barring would always show on dark tail feathers, or if just happens most...
  10. NatJ

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

    Depending on the size and arrangement of your run, they may get almost as much exercise inside it as they would outside. Dustbathing should use the same amount of energy anywhere. Scratching should be about the same whether they are inside or out, as long as there is plenty of stuff to make it...
  11. NatJ

    Ship date was today, Monday, and was notified by USPS of an arrival date by Saturday 9 pm

    A recent experience I had: Monday evening, notice of shipment from Metzer Post Office estimated arrival on Saturday by 9pm Package actually arrived on Tuesday Wednesday morning, LONG before Saturday. Shipping was from Tennessee to Michigan (Goslings not baby chickens, but that should have no...
  12. NatJ

    I could use some breed suggestions or a reality check.

    Is there a reason you want just one breed? You could get a few hens each of several breeds, and see how they do. If you don't like any of them, try some other breeds the next year. If you do like them, either buy more from the same source, or start breeding your own barnyard mix from your...
  13. NatJ

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

    Very good point!
  14. NatJ

    Harvesting my Chicken Run Compost - Black Gold!

    A list of flowers that are edible for people would probably be safe for chickens too. In addition to the flowers other people mentioned, I know pansies are edible, and they tend to be easy to find anywhere that sells started plants. They tend to be short plants (so they don't fall over, but...
  15. NatJ

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

    Hmm, definitely a puzzle there! Assuming you are correct about the parentage, here are some thoughts that may or may not help: I could almost believe I see a bit of a crest on the Bielefelder (little puffs of feathers on the sides of the comb), but I don't see it in either of his sons, so I...
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