run the redlights.

Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.
Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.
On the day that you were born
The angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue.
- The Carpenters

rated M18 explicit contents not suitable for young kids
Before we can start breeding chickens, we need to have a basic understanding of how their reproduction cycle works.
Obviously, to breed chickens successfully, we need both male and female birds. The male has a pair of testes attached to his kidneys. These produce the sperm which pass down tubes called vas deferens to small sperm sacs near the cloaca. The sperm are held in these sacs until mating occurs.
The female has a far more complex role in reproduction. Her major reproductive organs are ovaries where the egg yolk is formed. The yolk consists of the female sex cell surrounded by fats and proteins encased in the viteline or yolk membrane. The yolk is released into the oviduct funnel or infundibulum. If the hen has been mated by a male and sperm are present, it is here that the egg is fertilised. The stringy threads or chalazae which hold the yolk centrally in the egg are also added here. The yolk remains in the funnel for about 15 minutes before passing into the section called the magnum. It takes about 3 hours to pass through the magnum and during this time, the egg white forms around the yolk.
The egg then passes into the isthmus where the inner and outer shell membranes form around the egg. This takes some 1 1/4 hours. From here it passes into the shell gland. The egg stays here for some 21 hours while the shell forms around the yolk, white and membranes. Finally the egg is ready to be laid and it is expelled through the oviduct with the larger end coming through first, tapered end last. The egg is wet when first laid but as it dries, it becomes harder and brittle. The complete process takes about 25 to 26 hours. Hens rarely lay after 4pm and any egg formed after that time is usually held until the following morning to be laid. Once the egg is laid, the entire process begins again.
As with all birds, a sexual liaison must occur between male and female for fertilisation to be achieved. Unlike pigeons, chickens are polygamous creatures, so one male will happily mate with lots of hens, the ideal ratio being about 5 females to 1 male. There is little tact or ceremony on the part of the male. He selects the female (usually the closest one to himself) droops one wing to the ground, circles her then grabs her by the back of the head and climbs on her back. Balancing himself by flapping his wings, he lowers his tail and places his vent in direct contact with that of the hen, where the passage of sperm from his cloaca to her oviduct takes place. The entire sex act takes less than 15 seconds and it appears the most satisfying thing for the female is fluffing the feathers and shaking the body immediately afterwards.
Once sperm has been transferred, they swim along the mucous lining of the oviduct until they reach the infundibulum where they fertilise the ovum as it passes through from the ovary. It takes some 7 to 10 days for the sperm to travel and that explains why it normally takes that long after initial mating for fertile eggs to occur. Conversely, a hen may still lay fertile eggs some 10 days after being mated for the last time.
Finally, none of this occurs until the correct lighting and weather conditions prevail. It is only when daylight hours reach a certain length and the temperature rises that birds will breed, (usually Spring). These conditions act upon the birds' pituitary gland and promotes sexual activity. It is this same reason why most hens stop laying completely through the winter months. This is all known as the biological breeding clock.

for more infomation, log on to http://members.iinet.net.au/~greggles1/reproduce.html
this is where we got all our infomation from... =)

let your heart out.

One of the most difficult tasks for the backyard chicken breeder is that of sexing young chicks.Modern commercial hatcheries use a variety of tricks that allow them to determine the sex of every chick from the moment it hatches. The most common way they do this, involves the cross breeding of birds of particular colours which result in male chicks having different colour down than female chicks. This is known as sex-linked crossing. I shall explain some of the more common sex-linked crosses in this article as well as give some pointers on sexing pure breed chicks.Basically there are five different methods of determining sex in day old colour-crossed chicks.Group 1This is the classic gold/silver cross. Mating a gold male such as Rhode Island Red, Buff Rock, Buff Leghorn, Buff Orpington, Red or Buff Sussex to hens which are silver, such as Light Sussex, Light Brahma or pure White Wyandotte, results in all the cockerel (male) chicks having whitish grey or pale brown down, whereas the pullets (females) have reddish-brown or buff down.Group 2Uses the hens mentioned above with black red type males like Old English or Modern Game, Welsummer, Brown Leghorn, Dark Cornish or Barnevelders giving very similar results, except the female chicks have brown stripes and markings. The male chicks have a lighter greyish colour with black and grey markings.Group 3Involves non-barred males such as Australorp, Black Leghorn, Rhode Island Red or Ancona mated with barred females such as Plymouth Rocks or Cuckoo Leghorns. The resulting chicks are all black or dark brown with varying degrees of white underneath, however whereas the females have dark brown or black heads, the males all carry a whitish spot on the back of their heads.Group 4This relies on leg colour to determine the sex of the chicks, but as leg colour is not always clearly defined in day old chicks, it is not as reliable as the above methods. Mating dark legged males such as Silkies, Minorcas or Campines to females with light shanks such as Sussex, Leghorns or Wyandottes gives male chicks with pale legs and female chicks with dark legs.Group 5Uses feathering as a guide. Mating an early-feathering male such as an Ancona or Leghorn to hens of a slow-feathering breed like Sussex or Rhode Island Reds will result in male chicks which have very short flight feathers which do not protrude past the downy wing coverts and females which show definite wing flights which show clearly past the wing coverts. This method requires inspection immediately after hatching, before the males feather growth "catches up" to that of some late hatching pullets.
Of course, all these methods are completely useless to the serious breeder of pure breeds of chickens. In these cases, it takes a little longer to determine the males from the pullets, particularly with heavy breeds. It is usually a simple matter to pick light breed males at about a month old. They sport much larger and brighter head furnishings and are usually far more precocious than their sisters. With heavy breeds it is sometimes easy to determine the pullets by their faster and more even rate of feathering. Males feather more slowly and in a more patchy manner (but this is not always the case with some strains).The best method therefore, is by observing the chicks' behaviour. Startle the chicks by sailing a hat or similar soft object over their heads and watch their reactions. The cockerels will instinctively stand erect with their heads upright and will emit a peculiar warning chirruping sound. The pullets will tend to crouch down low and remain silent.
The following table shows the most common differences in development between the sexes of heavy breed chicks at 5 week of age.

Cockerel
5 Weeks of Age
Pullet
Medium size, pinkish
Comb
Small, yellowish
Sturdy, long
Legs
Finer, shorter
Stumpy, curved
Tail
Longer, straight
Downy with thin line of stub feathers down centre
Back
More advanced feathering along centre & flanks
Feathering poorly advanced
Side of neck, crop & flanks
Feathering well advanced
Bare, showing wing covert quills
Wing bows
Covered with small feathers
Erect and alert
Carriage
Lower set

more infomation coming up next...

let your heart out.

it had been quite sum time since I blogged...

sigh* life have been as it is right now..boring,uneventful,lifeless,dead.preoccupied with pw and spa, well my so called, post-exam activities..which is sooooo inviting...Anyway, jus finish spa today, one word to sum it all up-sucky...as usual my spa..(helpless me)..

My actions have been monitored lately..restriction plus curfews to abide to..they are starting to distrust me..doubting my words..how sad can it be..how evil..they haven't been exactly pleased with my result and my dad is over-concious about nothing but that pathetic result slip..I'm not exactly satisfied either..Perhaps,they're right.. I should start mugging now?
Looking at the bright side..maybe my life hasn't been that uneventfully lately..went k box with abi.ser..(ser n her favourite oldies,eg.abba,carpenters..)..baked cookies which are not quite suitable for human consumption..hee a lot more madness..a lot more fun..hope i'll be granted permission for class chalet?*fingers crossed*
gaining enlightenmen...t

praying very hard for everyone in my class,the twins too...hopefully, we will all promote and see each other in 05s10 next yr again...and be the coolest and most united class..(famous for our non-stop laughters n giggles)... i really can't imagine how will it be like if someone you know for the past 7 mths or more is no longer there in the class...hai..i should stop being a pessimist...clinging on hopes..cos i still believe there are hopes if we believe...

shall end of with a hymn..
the hymn i used to sing in sec sch...found it meaningful..(they say by singing hymns..one is praying double)
god will make a way
when there seems to be no way
he works his ways we cannot see
he will make a way for me
he will be my guide
hold me closely to his side
with love and strength for each new day
he will make a way
he will make a way...

let your heart out.

hee..promos finally over after days of intensive mugging..cant believe it..can cum online finally..hahaha..blowing dust off my blog (~~ ''')

went out wif abi n serene today...actually supposed to hav more ppl but lu decided to watch sum andy lau show n eloped wif dat stupid siameng gc..n erica haiz..n nobody was free
=( except the twins n their wife...haha..anyway had a real fun time..we went to orchard for lunch at cafe cartel..window shopped n watched corpse bride..such a nice n sweet movie..haha..i luv emerly n dat skeleton doggy..such a nice ending...anyway the die..die..die soundtrack was really appropriate and interesting..all of us are hooked on to it now..i swear i'll find the lyrics..the aftermath of promos ..
dan after that we went to kino..hehe..ser n i went there to shop for tarot cards cos we were despo..wanna ask if can promote..k we were a bit too free la n out of our mind...den twin abi still terrify us abt the horrors of tarot cards..took us abt 30mins before we decide to buy anot...stupid sotong=P..haha..anyway, we went to the library to played tarot cards till 8 plus den hav our dinner...hehe..really had a great time today looking forward to tmr...continuation of the madness...better enjoy cos my days are numbered=X

let your heart out.

abby
twin abi
amelia
javiour
erica
jiamin
cheryl
weili
ireta
zhige
dhash
minfeng

Designer: x
Image: x
Brushes: x x
Font/Wings: x