Silver laced Wyandottes lay well, big brown eggs ...they need space and good dust baths to stay pretty like that.

I also lost like 3 hens as they started to lay. It's called butt-blow out. The first time layers that died layer Goose sized eggs and died within hours.

I had 12 layers for 2 years . Then I chose a different breed.

Holy eggs Keith...that's a lot of work

How long do you have to keep a hen away from the roosters before you can put her in with your choice roosters and be sure he will be the daddy? I don't know if chickens are like some other animlas and store it internally for a while. If my question makes since?

Hens can commonly store sperm and keep it alive for at least 9 to 14 days after breeding. I have heard of hens laying fertile eggs even after 20 days. If you needed to be 100% sure, a month would be sufficient. After 2 weeks would usually be okay.

Keith

you keep the duckling and chicks together?

I don't know. I've never had ducks before. My wife and granddaughter are researching it. They may have to be separated until they are older. I know a lot of the farms around here have mixed flocks of turkeys, chickens, and ducks.

Maybe some of the Tman guys that know will chime in.

We free range except in the spring. We used have fox take a lot of our chickens in the spring when they were raising pups and had extra mouths to feed. I have a pond on my property. I'm thinking the ducks can take refuge there and be free ranged all the time except maybe winter.

Doug, I would brood the ducklings and chicken chicks separately. Ducklings and adult ducks are very messy. Ducklings will fill the waterers with food and splash and track water and muck all over. They will trample all over the chickens. I have tried keeping duckling and chicken chicks together, when they are small and it never works out well for the chicken chicks. They just don't take getting wet well.

You might looking into getting a few geese. Goslings bonded on children make excellent and protective pets for them. They would follow your granddaughter around all over the place. Geese have a long life span. It's not uncommon for them to live well past 20 and some live past 40.

Keith

Good info, thanks Keith.

It's hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to it would be Speckled Sussex. If you haven't had them before give them a try. This is one of my girls when she was a pullet. She's 6 now.

I like the Rhode Island Reds too Keith. Every one of them is named Penny.
I like the way a hen looks around while she scratches, then backs up a step really quick to look and see if she uncovered something to eat.

I liked the Muscovy ducks. Whistle like a wood duck and can fly low. Supposed to taste good.

In Lakeland Florida, the city has swans in a lake. White, black and gray. They clip the wings so they can't fly. They all reproduce and the city auctions them off starting at $800 per pair. According to a city employee who was eager to tell us all about them.

You're welcome Doug. I am glad to help.

Keith

I have 25 laying hens and I started hatching my own last year. I like the dark eggs from my black copper marans, and I have been using my rooster to bred to my ameraucana and legbars to make olive eggers. The kids enjoy getting all different colored eggs. We just hatched out 20 f2 olive eggers so hopefully late summer I'll get some really dark olive eggs. I also crossed my BCM roo with Rhode Island red hens and got a great hen that lays great and produces a darker egg than the RIR. Fun to mess with

I thought duck eggs were really good for baking, so so for eating.

Saphire Gems =Mucho el' brown eggsO

Si' :

"280 eggs
They lay approximately 280 eggs a year, which equals around 5-6 eggs a week. Due to their body size they are able to lay large to extra-large sized eggs."
...

[quote=330-Trapper]
Saphire Gems =Mucho el' brown eggsO

Si' :

I didn't know you can speak dutch

I thought it was pol-spanglish

Duck eggs seem to have a greater % yolk. I think they make the best scrambled eggs and the wife likes them for cooking.