Araucana thread anyone?

[cashdl]

Your all a bunch of wuss's. LOL! Don't know if I spelled that right. I trim vent feathers so I don't have to worry about fertility. Its all fine and dandy to have good fertility naturally untill you don't and then you are running around trying to figure out whats wrong. Been there done that. Now I trim vents. Plus it gives me a chance to look at their bums and make sure they are clean. Sometimes the tidiest looking girls are just nasty messes when you look at the undercarriage. All it takes is a little bit of mud for the poop to start piling on. Thats gross. I just had a little hen that I was patting myself on the back about how pretty and clean she was keeping herself. I picked her up and gave her neck a nuzzle with my nose while telling her what a good girl she was and almost threw up from the smell. I turned her over and OH MY GOD! She had a mess piled up back there and it was all hidding under her pretty rump feathers. I grabbed the scissors and 5 minutes later and both of us were happier. Now she truly is tidy. Vent trimming is not dirty or a big deal if their undercarriage is clean. Its just a fuzzy process.

I just heard from two people that I sold hatching eggs to last month. One lady had 8 hatch with 5 being tufted, another lady has chicks hatching right now. I got an email from a customer last week who said all were developing at first candeling. I am super happy. I try not to ship eggs over 3 days old and I keep everyone trimmed to help with fertility. I feed the best food I can buy and it looks like it is all working out great.

I have a few set to hatch this week in my incubator, only about 25 or so. Nothing like last weeks 76 that hatched. I just moved all of them out to a brooding pen to get them off my porch.

I had so many hatch last week with at least 30% being tufted, that I almost considered putting up the incubator for the year and seeing how these develope. Then I came to my senses. LOL! I am keeping everything duckwing and wheaten that is tufted and rumpless. Everything else will be sold.

I hope you are all doing well.

Lanae

 

[MA Mama]

I don't have the capability or desire to sell eggs, so I think I'll stick with nature's plan for feathered bums! As long as my boy does a good enough job to help my kids see a chick or two peek out from a mama, I'll be happy! ( ')> Unless I see lots of "action" with zero results, I'll save myself the stench and my hens the humiliation.

 

[cashdl]

Ma Mama,

I totally understand. If you ever have to trim behinds, my best advice is stand up wind with the bird pointed down wind. You get less fuzzy in the face that way.


Got an update from one of the ladies that bought eggs from me and so far I think 4 have hatched and two more pipped.

On a different kind of chicken note I have 6 kedu eggs set to hatch next week and 8 the week after. I have to start reading up on them because I have no idea what I will have on my hands. I don't know how to evaluate them or how to tell if any of them are good looking. Thanks Kermit. LOL!

Lanae

 

[poularde]

Congrats on the Kedu eggs casdl! Those should be some interesting birds. I have some Colloncas hatching eggs coming the end of this month from Yashar. I can hardly wait. Good hatching vibes to both of us.

 

[shanshan51]

Your all a bunch of wuss's. LOL! Don't know if I spelled that right. I trim vent feathers so I don't have to worry about fertility. Its all fine and dandy to have good fertility naturally untill you don't and then you are running around trying to figure out whats wrong. Been there done that. Now I trim vents. Plus it gives me a chance to look at their bums and make sure they are clean. Sometimes the tidiest looking girls are just nasty messes when you look at the undercarriage. All it takes is a little bit of mud for the poop to start piling on. Thats gross. I just had a little hen that I was patting myself on the back about how pretty and clean she was keeping herself. I picked her up and gave her neck a nuzzle with my nose while telling her what a good girl she was and almost threw up from the smell. I turned her over and OH MY GOD! She had a mess piled up back there and it was all hidding under her pretty rump feathers. I grabbed the scissors and 5 minutes later and both of us were happier. Now she truly is tidy. Vent trimming is not dirty or a big deal if their undercarriage is clean. Its just a fuzzy process.

I just heard from two people that I sold hatching eggs to last month. One lady had 8 hatch with 5 being tufted, another lady has chicks hatching right now. I got an email from a customer last week who said all were developing at first candeling. I am super happy. I try not to ship eggs over 3 days old and I keep everyone trimmed to help with fertility. I feed the best food I can buy and it looks like it is all working out great.

I have a few set to hatch this week in my incubator, only about 25 or so. Nothing like last weeks 76 that hatched. I just moved all of them out to a brooding pen to get them off my porch.

I had so many hatch last week with at least 30% being tufted, that I almost considered putting up the incubator for the year and seeing how these develope. Then I came to my senses. LOL! I am keeping everything duckwing and wheaten that is tufted and rumpless. Everything else will be sold.

I hope you are all doing well.

Lanae

Hmmmm maybe I did it wrong. I was told to "pluck" them out. That is what made my stomach turn....the sounds of the feathers "popping" out. Trimming...now I can deal with that.

 

[cashdl]

OUCH! Don't pluck just trim. You don't even have to trim to the skin, just a nice overall 1/2" height in fuzz is good for both boys and girls. Some of the birds have seriously fuzzy butts.

Whats the crass saying that "everyone likes a secret garden but only if you can find the gate".


I have 10 chicks that have hatched so far today and several more pipped. Another update from one of those I shipped eggs to, she has 8 chicks hatched today and 2 more pipped. I usually ship between 12 and 18 eggs, for every dozen purchased so 10 out of that is not a bad hatch rate on shipped araucana eggs. I would love it if even more hatch.


Lanae

 

[shanshan51]

OUCH! Don't pluck just trim. You don't even have to trim to the skin, just a nice overall 1/2" height in fuzz is good for both boys and girls. Some of the birds have seriously fuzzy butts.

Whats the crass saying that "everyone likes a secret garden but only if you can find the gate".


I have 10 chicks that have hatched so far today and several more pipped. Another update from one of those I shipped eggs to, she has 8 chicks hatched today and 2 more pipped. I usually ship between 12 and 18 eggs, for every dozen purchased so 10 out of that is not a bad hatch rate on shipped araucana eggs. I would love it if even more hatch.


Lanae

Well let the butt trimming....not plucking commence this weekend then I can handle that.

 

[Stacykins]

Yea, I trim, not pluck. Plucking sounds painful for the bird.

Can ya'll help me in sexing an Araucana? My gut says male. It was the only tufted/rumpless to hatch from my eggs from Gary Ramey. If he is a boy, I am going to replace my golden and black tufted/rumpless rooster with him. I like that this chick is solid blue. BUT the comb is weird, doesn't look like a typical pea comb? Pics tell all.

Odd comb first




Now better shots for sexing

 

[cashdl]

How old?

Lanae

 

[Illia]

Shots of the back will greatly help.


But so far if that's not just white gunk of some sort on its wing, but actual shimmer from the flash, that's a definite boy. Birds of this age I always sex by premature male feathers coming in, and the best way to tell is by if any wing or back feathers come in shiny and/or rather triangular, like this -




Combs can be tricky at times but feathers never lie. (unless it's a rare gynandromorph)