tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post1873316148234006461..comments2023-10-21T16:38:35.007-05:00Comments on Thoughts from Frank and Fern: Great HatchFrank and Fernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15570058990887565563noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post-8820787236936422552015-06-04T00:38:01.587-05:002015-06-04T00:38:01.587-05:00Frank, thanks for the chicken post, and congratula...Frank, thanks for the chicken post, and congratulations on the good hatching. I know that you and Fern are planning to grow some of the feed for your different animals. If you were unable to buy chicken feed from a store because of some type of catastrophic event, would you be able to feed them everything they need from what you can grow? Do they have to have some kind of grain?CentennielMagnoliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256656771993531467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post-34103393446980325262015-06-03T21:36:40.857-05:002015-06-03T21:36:40.857-05:00Thank you for the comment. We've never had a c...Thank you for the comment. We've never had a cannibalism problem either. Yes, on occasion, you might have a bird die, and some of the other chickens will take the opportunity of a free meal. But that was our one and only time to have a cannibalism problem. It was not a crowding issue, we just don't know what happened. We even separated the birds into two groups. We finally just got rid of all of the males and that seemed to stop the problem. <br /><br />We still have a few of those hens left, and they have never exhibited normal chicken behavior. They were just a strange batch of birds. As I've stated before and earlier, the Black Australorp is probably the most popular chicken in our area, and to this day I do not know what caused the problem, and we have not had the problem again since then. Thanks for the comment.<br /><br />Frank<br />Frank and Fernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15570058990887565563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post-52845737255764052502015-06-03T21:26:49.198-05:002015-06-03T21:26:49.198-05:00M.E. I'm a city boy. A real big city boy. And ...M.E. I'm a city boy. A real big city boy. And Fern is the opposite. She is a teeny weeny town girl. My first livestock experience was chickens. It was in a classroom experiment. I was teaching middle school. I found an incubator stored in a closet and some of my kids raised game birds. They brought the eggs, I cleaned up the incubator, and I have been hooked on hatching chickens ever since. I have used hatching chickens to teach kids the cycles of life, from conception to birth and the importance of nurture and care. And I am still fascinated every time I hatch chickens. You take an egg, put it in a little heated box, and 21 days later, if all goes well, you get a baby chicken. To me that is just ultra cool. <br /><br />And a different point. As far as intelligence goes, that baby chicken has everything inside of it's head that it needs to know for the rest of it's life. The reason I bring this up is that some support the concept that all knowledge is already in the mind. And some support the concept that the mind is a blank slate. We all need to make our own choices. But that baby chick has everything inside the egg with it that it will ever need to know the rest of it's life. Food for thought.<br /><br />Frank<br />Frank and Fernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15570058990887565563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post-14058780319731677612015-06-03T21:18:40.524-05:002015-06-03T21:18:40.524-05:00Hi Fiona. The rooster in the picture was a photo o...Hi Fiona. The rooster in the picture was a photo opportunity before he became a fryer. The daddy of this hatch is a Buff Orpington, but we don't have a picture of him. I'm sorry. Actually, he was our third choice. We kept two red roosters and one Buff rooster. But when it came time for the final cut, the Buff was the guy. <br /><br />As far as cannibalism? Yes, I'm positive it was the Australorps. Other folks in our area have great success with Australorps. I guess we just got a bad batch, or the moon was in the wrong part of the sky when they hatched. I really don't know. <br /><br />And, no, our feed is not organic. I didn't know it existed. Thanks for the comment.<br /><br />Frank<br />Frank and Fernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15570058990887565563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post-60426917947823382042015-06-03T21:14:21.011-05:002015-06-03T21:14:21.011-05:00Hi, Tewshooz. Never heard of organic chicken feed....Hi, Tewshooz. Never heard of organic chicken feed. I'll look into it. Every couple of years we order a batch of day old chicks. It gives us new blood. We normally get around 50 straight run mixed heavies. That gives us plenty of males to put in the freezer, and a nice group of hens to choose from. Some years we'll also coordinate a hatch of our own birds at the same time. Doing this also gives us a choice of a new rooster. Thank you for the comment.<br /><br />Frank<br />Frank and Fernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15570058990887565563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post-41144682016332195742015-06-03T15:34:14.555-05:002015-06-03T15:34:14.555-05:00I've had lots of black australorpe's in my...I've had lots of black australorpe's in my life but never any that were cannibals. Actually I've never had that problem with any. Sometimes crowding can cause that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post-77030513645620694232015-06-02T19:27:32.020-05:002015-06-02T19:27:32.020-05:00congratulations! I hope to be able to hatch chicks...congratulations! I hope to be able to hatch chicks at some point just not right now. M.E. Mastersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00430739166948213915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post-23421447000177572672015-06-02T06:29:37.695-05:002015-06-02T06:29:37.695-05:00Was it the Australorpe's that were cannibals o...Was it the Australorpe's that were cannibals or the red chickens in the photo? Are the pellets organic? We do have to learn to do things smarter as we get older! Great hatching results.Fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05348495575211204989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003348645601520194.post-88504193180231023292015-06-02T02:18:07.817-05:002015-06-02T02:18:07.817-05:00Very nice hatch! We used to mix our own feed, too...Very nice hatch! We used to mix our own feed, too. But nowadays, we are buying organic crumbles from the feed store.....and organic scratch. We are even buying this year's batch of chicks. Yeah, I know. Not lazy, just old. heh. You know...the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Tewshoozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02564577459982968771noreply@blogger.com