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Redneck DooBwa Chickens


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Hey Petee! My last set was 50% fertile, and that was 3 weeks ago. You got that incubator dusted off yet?

Black coppers on the left. Look at the size of them compared to the eggs on the right. Large egg carton will barely close around them ;)

 

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It's ready and I even bought a second thermometer to make sure I have it right.  Now to find a spot in the house not covered by seedlings!

 

They are absolutely beautiful eggs.  Yippee!

 

If anyone on here is looking for good quality chicks in a month or so, then let me know because I will not be keeping roosters or extra hens. Now to figure out how to sex a chick!  

 

Anyone ready for an old hen?  She's up for grabs for Sunday Dinner.  I hate to do it but sooner or later she will start suffering the ills of chicken old age and I don't want to do that to her.

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It's ready and I even bought a second thermometer to make sure I have it right. Now to find a spot in the house not covered by seedlings!

 

They are absolutely beautiful eggs. Yippee!

 

If anyone on here is looking for good quality chicks in a month or so, then let me know because I will not be keeping roosters or extra hens. Now to figure out how to sex a chick!

 

Anyone ready for an old hen? She's up for grabs for Sunday Dinner. I hate to do it but sooner or later she will start suffering the ills of chicken old age and I don't want to do that to her.

If you want, I can ship them out next Monday or Tuesday. That would get them to you before the weekend.

I'll tell you the number one trick I've learned hatching these black coppers. Of course temperature is important, but I incubate dry for the first 18 days. The eggs are so dark that they don't lose enough moisture by hatch day at 35%, and a lot of chicks will drown after the internal pip. The first time I tried it, I thought it was crazy, but my hatch rates went from 50% or less to 75-90% every time. I've even had one 100% hatch. I don't care what you read online about humidity, trust me. These are my eggs, and the more I hatch the more I sell. Running dry for 18 days will give you a much better hatch rate. On day 18-19, fill up your channels and shoot for 65%+

I'm not very good at sexing day olds, but if you can post a picture at 4 weeks I could give you a pretty good estimate

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Good deal!  It's a skill that needs to be acquired before buying or getting chicks or you will easily overrun a chicken coop with birds that are relatively useless.  I doubt I will be able to harvest them myself (although I know how) but I have no problem with someone else having a great chicken dinner, and knowing that bird will never suffer in its old age.  Obviously they don't go to a vet normally, so most people just let them die painfully.  That's really cruel and it's not going to happen here.

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Good deal! It's a skill that needs to be acquired before buying or getting chicks or you will easily overrun a chicken coop with birds that are relatively useless. I doubt I will be able to harvest them myself (although I know how) but I have no problem with someone else having a great chicken dinner, and knowing that bird will never suffer in its old age. Obviously they don't go to a vet normally, so most people just let them die painfully. That's really cruel and it's not going to happen here.

Mean roosters are easy to process. Sweet pets, not so much...
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Having proccessed a few chickens in my day I can assure you that going to the local market and purchasing one is a whol lot easier and cleaner. That suits many of us a lot better.

No doubt
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Having proccessed a few chickens in my day I can assure you that going to the local market and purchasing one is a whol lot easier and cleaner.  That suits many of us a lot better.

I remember my grandpa beheading them and they flop around, no, mine come from the store, someone else can do the dirty work.

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Yes, the mess for just one would be bad. I'm hoping one of the butchers like in Troutville will process her and give her to an older couple I know out there.

They do have a different taste, and they are more lean, but a dressed chicken costs less at the store than I can grow one that size for. Hybrid chickens can get to butcher size in 7-8 weeks, my purebred take 4-5 months. I would still process them just because I always have too many roosters, but my wife ain't having it
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They do have a different taste, and they are more lean, but a dressed chicken costs less at the store than I can grow one that size for. Hybrid chickens can get to butcher size in 7-8 weeks, my purebred take 4-5 months. I would still process them just because I always have too many roosters, but my wife ain't having it

Ya need to raise some of these Sasquatch chickens!! Lots of good eatin there and eggs the size of baseballs!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi5J-jhq6c0

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Ok, now it's between you and the USPS...

The eggs are darker than they look in that picture. It was taken under fluorescent light and they look washed out.

I'm sending you 2 dozen. The 12 giant eggs are from second year layers, and should be at least 75% fertile. If you have room in the incubator, the 12 medium size eggs are from girls that just started laying a month ago. I don't know if they have learned to stop playing hard to get, and I haven't incubated any, so they may be fertile or they may not. If you have the room, give it a shot, nothing to lose. I'll be setting some myself tomorrow or Thursday. I have cracked 3 of them to eat, and didn't see a "bullseye", so it's a long shot but will be fun to watch anyway ;)

The eggs haven't been washed, I never wash eggs for incubating. They are laid in very clean nest boxes and checked frequently. They are just that clean. The oldest eggs will be 9 days old on Thursday, so I recommend setting them by Friday at the latest. I have been turning them twice per day, but after 10 days viability starts dropping

No joke, these eggs sell for $35/dozen, plus shipping. It's my little gift to Doo-Bwa for the hospitality you guys have shown me. All I ask in return is you send business my way if anyone asks where they came from, and post pictures of the chicks in 3 weeks :D

I know that you know there are no guarantees in shipped eggs, but I really hope you get at least 6.

Oh yeah, one more thing; the giant eggs are from a blue rooster over 5 blacks and one blue, so each of those eggs will have a 50/50 shot of being black or blue. There is a 25% chance that you could get a splash if there is a cross between the blue rooster and blue hen in those eggs. The medium eggs are from a black rooster over black hens, so all of those will be black.

Good luck!

 

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I'll keep a running tab for everyone.  I just hope that one of my posts isn't, "had to shower three times in a row because a bad egg exploded!"

I have been hatching for 7 years, and I have honestly never had that happen. I have had porous eggs from Ameraucanas leak, but never explode. The marans eggs are not porous at all, they are extremely thick. That's why the low humidity incubation works so well with them.

These really are awesome birds. Black copper marans are highly sought after in general, and the Bev Davis line is one of the most desirable. Bev stopped selling a few years back, so she recommended the breeder I ended up purchasing from. This breeder got her birds directly from Bev, and never bred another line into them. It's hard to find Bev's birds that haven't been mixed with Wade Jean, Greenfire Farms, Little Peddler, etc... These are about as pure Davis as you can get. I have a 3 month waiting list for chicks.

I really hope you hatch plenty for yourself. These are my favorite birds I have ever had. Their disposition is just so docile, even as chicks, and of course they lay those giant chocolate eggs :D

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