The last time I posted was after the April show. Now its time for the fall show on October 15-16! What happened in between then and now? We went from heavy solid rain, which lasted to the end of June, to the hottest and most sunny summer I have experienced since moving here. And I was busy all the time hatching chicks. I had a very poor hatch this year! Lots of non-fertile and dead-in-shell.

I always take about 24 eggs from the "yard" to put in my incubators. I may not know who the hens are but I am sure of the rooster since there is just one "yard rooster" at a time in the yard. There are cockerels in the yard also, but they generally aren't ready to breed at this time.

Then I put breeding pairs together to try and get certain traits that I want to see.

From the "Yard" I hatched the best rooster that I have had yet, and I also hatched a black cockerel that looks just like his father. It takes a while for chickens to show their type, and in the beginning I didn't think this black rooster was very good but as he grew he got a lot better. I sold him wondering if I was making a mistake or not. Anyway the wheaten cockerel pictured here is the new cock on the block. He has really good type but he is very wild. I was thinking of taking him to the show but I don't think he will be calm enough by that time. This is an ongoing problem. I need to make sure that all chicks go through a taming process before they are placed in the yard. Usually they go from the "baby brooder" in my computer room, to the bigger brooder cage in my kitchen, and then to the yard where they are placed in a cage in the hutch with a heater. That way they can be introduced to the other chickens with out being bullied and in about three weeks I move them out of this cage directly into the hutch and yard.

I really don't put any time into training and posing my chickens. I am totally lax in that area and need to do better.

The hen I am going to take to the show is "Honey". She is not spectacular but a good type, and also very tame. How did she get that way? I don't know!!