FRUSTRATION AND LACK OF FINANCES

I'm really sorry to do this, but I need to suspend (possibly even cancel) my chicken breeding project. Many reasons:

(1) quality of stock I got from Cackle Hatchery is poor. I have another of their bantam eggers dying, and two have crossed beaks .. no clue how they are still alive.

(2) don't have the time or money or energy to build the 4 separate chicken coops needed to track who breeds with who

(3) not getting any help from family with chores or much of anything else and I'm exhausted and severely frustrated that I have to beg for help from family for basic day-to-day chores

(4) enough on my plate with dealing with my Kid's diagnoses and upcoming therapies ... autism, adhd, ocd, math dysfunction and much more

(5) goats keep escaping and I just can't deal any more with them slipping out and eating the chicken food, my garden boxes, my garden ... no more! We're getting rid of them as soon as I can talk Hubby into it AND as soon as they have enough kids to cover the expenses we've already put forth.

(6) did I mention the money? Thought we had signed up for the cafeteria plan thru Hubby's work but "somebody" didn't do something and needless to say, I'm really ticked that I'm not going to be reimbursed for the TON of money I've already spent this year on doctors' appointments. No... ticked doesn't even begin to describe how I feel.

Trust me ... NO ONE wants to be near me right now. Except for my Kid who for some reason is being extra nice to me right now. Probably because I'm incredibly close to tears.

Anyhoo...

I'll still keep the birds I have. I'll put all of the bantam survivors (17? 18?) in a pen that is already built. First, from that pen, I'll move the current chickens elsewhere (possibly the goat pen), give it a good cleaning, and see what I can do to make it bantam-chicken safe. Move them and let the roosters fight it out and let them cross-breed however. If someone goes broody, fine. I just won't be able to track it.

We'll sell most all chicks that hatch, keeping only enough chickens to provide eggs for us, mom-in-law, and any eggs we can actually sell.

I'm really disappointed. I really wanted to work this project to create a cross-breed of small chicken that goes broody and lays colored eggs ... but gotta admit that not having to build more chicken coops right now is a weight lifted. Can't handle any more burdens.

So, again, sorry.

I quit.

FORAGE TEST 1

As of yesterday, the chicks were 2 weeks old. Old enough, I thought, for the "forage" test. I wanted to see if they'll go looking for the food and water if they can't see them. Will they hunt? Obviously, since I'm not a scientist, this isn't a real scientific project or test!

(Started typing this as yesterday wore on.)

8:00 a.m.: In the box "maze", placed the feeders and waterers in the 2 outermost boxes. They'll find it or starve/dehydrate. Sounds mean, but I need to use only the smartest for my breeding program.

8:20 a.m.: Just checked and they were all huddled in the middle box. But when I approached, they scattered to the far ends. And found the food and water. Not sure if this would qualify as successful. Will check again in a little while.

9:12 a.m.: Several eggers but only 1 silkie were in the outer boxes when I snuck up. Hope it goes better than that!

9:49 a.m.: Was just out feeding the other chickens and the goats. Let the adult eggers out to forage. Came in and as I walked by the room with the baby chicks in it, stopped short. Both front boxes (the ones with the feeders/waterers) are full of chicks. Alright! But ... will they keep it up?

3:26 p.m.: Periodically checked all day. This last time, saw more silkies than eggers in there. I think they are all "motivated"!

5:45 p.m.: Getting dark. Moved the waters and feeders closer to the boxes with the heat lamps. They don't like to go in the dark boxes at night.

Good enough test for one day.

Update 3/3/11 at 8:04 a.m.: Moved the feeders and waterers back in the furthermost boxes and within 2 minutes I saw the chicks find them. Woohoo! Success!

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If they keep going to the outer / front boxes of the maze to get food and water, that should mean that not only are these chicks able to survive whatever killed the first 7, but they are also good for looking for food and water. Still, will keep an eye on.

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I'll do similar forage tests periodically as they grow older. Want to encourage them to find sources of food and water. That way, their chicks will also have that ingrained in them, and thus, be good for people who want independent chickens that cost little to care for. That's my hope, anyway.

Intro of Chicken Cross-Breeding Project

We are working on cross-breeding chickens to create a new breed of chicken who are:
-quiet (especially the roosters)
-roosters are good protectors and virile
-very small birds
-hens are prolific layers of colored eggs (blue, green)
-hens go broody (wants to hatch eggs), and are good moms
-cold hardy AND does well in heat
-docile and friendly
-foragers but bears confinement well.

These chickens will be great in self-reliant-type situations, where you want to provide a good source of meat (the eggs, not the bird) for your family when you don't have much (if any) property.

Why not meat? The meat will be about the size of quail ... one will make a meal for one person. Which would be ok for 1-2 people families!

Working on these in conjunction with other breeders and friends. If you'd like to participate in this project, please contact me.

Plan:
Crossing bantam (small) blue silkies with bantam easter eggers. This will get the blue and green eggs.

We're going to call this breed: Silger (you saw it here first!)

Stay tuned!