He is definitely a mix. He's too blonde to be a Black Copper Maran Rooster. I would say a French Wheaton Maran. That been said, the missing feathers on the feet eludes to another breed present in his bloodline. That being said, he is a very handsome man.
My Welsummer, hatched on February 2nd of this year, squatted for me today. She's been busy practicing nest building for the last few weeks. at first, I was wondering if it was a ruse. I guess she isn't too young to lay after hearing about your GSL. BTW, when I picked up my lady, I could get...
I thought I'd pass along that Wilco is opening a new location in East Vanccouver WA/Camas location:
http://www.wilco.coop/news/wilco-to-open-new-store-in-east-vancouver-wa-2
So for those of you, like me, who are in the east side of town, we now have a new place to get our feed supplies...
Other advantages to heritage breeds that might not have been mentioned are: For us in the northern latitudes especially, Heritage breeds are much better at resisting cold weather as compared to commercial leghorns. They can sometimes be broody which is great when you want to raise baby chicks...
I have been told, when concerning chicks, the mixed chicks shouldn't have an age difference greater that 10 days from the youngest to the oldest. Thus the youngest chick can be a newborn while your oldest will be 11 days old. The reason you don't want too large a difference is that chicks...
We got nearly four inches of rain today. Four inches yesterday as well. Thus mom is spending a lot of time undercover with her babies. In between the downpours, I was able to take a few pictures from a distance while feeding hens and chicks scratch grains. The babies are realling getting...
You are doing fine. I would put a rock or something into your waterer so the chicks can't fall in and drown. Also, I would use pine shavings for the bedding instead of the towels. The Pine Shavings will stay dryer longer and absorb odors. Cleanup will be a little easier. While your box is...
They could be molting. When my Welsummer starts her molt, she retreats to the nesting box at night. Once her molt is almost over, she returned to the roost. Speaking of which, she is having a really hard molt right now and slept in the nesting box last night.
My nearly white EE lays almost white/very light tan eggs. My Maran lays very dark eggs while the Welsummer lays medium to dark eggs. One of my coworkers who has seen my birds was very confused when I gave him a dozen lighter brown eggs from my Barred Rock and Austrolope. When I asked why, he...
Donrae, great idea did as you said. Micha, there are no more chicks falling out. Mom leads her babied out of the coop around 8:00 am when it warms up a little. She is dilligent to bring everybody back inside the coop at dusk. She then beds in a nesting box for teh night while the babies are...
Yes, that is a rooster. The curved tail is a dead give away. I feel your pain. Two years ago I got the last Delaware from my feed store. It, too, turned out to be a rooster. Last year, I signed up on the list to get Deleware chicks at two different feed stores. Neither of the store's...
I would enter your coop at night and remove the offending cockeral using minimal light. Put him into a dog crate/pet carrier filled with food and water. This should keep him calm during the relocation as long as the transport is kept dark afterward. Give the rooster a few hours of light in...
Unless you have a broody hen that can protect the chicks, i would not integrate any chick unitl they are atleast three months old. Four would be better. If I were you, I would build a chicken tractor in the same area as your bigger layers. You can then house your older chicks when they are...
Update - I put mom and chicks in a dog crate while I was out of town for a weekend. My neighbor kept an eye on them and made sure the crate was clean, and topped up with fresh water. When I got home, I returned mom and babies to the coop's upper floor. Yesterday, nobody fell out, though mom...
Thanks for the replies. Drumstick Diva, other than being very scared, the little chick was OK. Come Tuesday, the oldest chick will be a week old, the youngest will be four days old. I will try another integration/relocation into the coop in a week, during my weekend. Hopefully things will...
My broody hen hatched 11 baby chicks. She is doing a good job protecting the babies from the other hens. Unfortunately, my coop is a two story design with a steep entry board from the base level. Yesterday, my broody hen took the chicks outside for their first day. The hen and chicks did...
I admit I didn't know much about Welsummer's when I got my chick from the clearence brooder of the feedstore. Here in the Pacific Nothwest, they don't seem to be as popular of a breed as Marans. Since I have had her for a year and a half, I can say she is definatly my favourite bird. My...