You just can`t stop those Nankins,

[Rog]

    Most of my Nankins are still free ranging. With some Dutch cockerels and a few Nankin cockerels that will be culled. I don`t set up breeding pens untill late March and start setting eggs the last of April. I do have one pen with a trio of Nankins in it that have been there all winter. Rosecombs. Got the cock bird last fall and he is one of the better rosecomb cocks I have seen. So I kept him seperate with a couple hens. Was feeding and watering this evening and one hen was missing. The pen is 4' wide and 4 ' long by 8' high.  Now this pen has three shelves in it. One 16" high I but the feed and water on to keep it off the floor. The second shelf is enclosed with a wire front and door. I can use it for a hen with chicks or even a setting hen . The top of that shelf is the 3rd shelf and is the poop catcher for the high roost. I found the missing hen. She is on the top shelf setting on 7 or 8 eggs. So it looks like I may have some early chicks this year. Early for me anyway.   Rog

[Mousy]

I think all mine are laying now. So I'm playing on splitting them into breeding pairs today. I've had one pair set up for 2 weeks so it's just the other 2 I need to set up.

Mousy.

[nankin3]

Rog: That little hen has some determination.lol I Just got my first egg of the year early last week in the last few days they have been laying everyday I am so wanting one of them will to go broody. As soon as I get the eggs I have in the incubator now out, I will be loading it up can't wait to have some new chicks!!!!!!

[Lordcluck]

Ive just placed my first dozen Nankin eggs in the incubator, I'm quite pleased with the size of my birds, so any earlier hatching would risk an increase in size in my stock, and we all know how big and feathery UK Nankins can be!!!
Incidentally, there was a trio of Nankins amongst the sales birds at the Reading show last weekend ( Result posted in show results sec). They were GINORMOUS!! the cockerel was a nice colour, but the size of a sussex bantam, and the hens though correspondingly smaller, were high in their wing carriage and more of a wheaten OEG colour than Buff.

[nankin3]

Lordcluck: Good luck with the hatch let us know how it goes.

[nankin3]

 How is everyone's hatching going so far? I hope to have my first Nankins of the year coming out of the bator next Sunday as they were little slow to start laying I guess do to all the cold weather we have had here this year. They are in full laying mode now, I just wish at least one of my hens would go broody.
Danny

[franciscreek]

Danny I picked up a group of birds from Don Cable a few weeks ago. When we caught the birds Don noticed one of the hens was on a dozen eggs. He offered me the eggs and told me not to expect much as the group had been to a show or two and not been together all the time. I made the 5 hour drive home and set them in the incubator. A couple weeks later I ended up with 11 chicks out of the 12 eggs. I was thrilled. My first chicks. Two of the three hens are sitting eggs now. What great little birds.

[nankin3]

 Franciscreek:  Wow!! How much better could that have worked out? Glad you had such good luck with them. They are the greatest little birds without a doubt to have around unlike some of my other breeds they each seem to have thier own little personalities.
 Danny

[Lordcluck]

Well, the first hatch was average, seven out of the twelve set emerged, now two weeks old and growing like little weeds! second hatch came off yesterday, with better results, not sure of numbers yet as they are still drying in the hatcher, with a mixture of millefleur Pekins, black and cuckoo Rosecombs and silver Sebrights.