SKchickenmama
Hatching
Hey folks!
Our family has been homesteading in Saskatchewan since June, and as part of that crazy, whirlwind experience, we have acquired some lovely feathered friends to add to the mix. Now there are my husband and I, our 5 and 7 year old boys, two cats, and our 11 chickens.
We first were given 8 hens from a friend of mine since they weren't integrating well with her new flock, but were still young, good layers (I think they are about 18 months or so now). We took 8, and someone else took 5. I am a little unclear as to the breed, but I think they may be a plymouth rock mixed with red rock? In the past week, we took on the other 4 (one died) to bring our flock up to 12. Unfortunately, Chicken Soup died this week (my 5 year old named her - can you tell?). She never had laid any eggs, had a tiny pale comb, and kept to herself, so we weren't surprised to see that she didn't make it.
Now we are at 11 hens. They are super social! They like to follow me around in the yard and keep me company. However, they are a little nasty to each other sometimes, and there are a couple that could use some more feathers (not entirely due to molting, I'm sure). Some days we get lots of eggs, but lately production has tanked, likely due to the colder weather (below freezing most days), and changes to their location/group dynamic, etc. Now I'm happy if I get 4 or 5 eggs per day, but at least the new pecking order has been established and they seem quite content.
I will try to post some pictures soon, but it supposed to be nice out here today, so I'd better get some work done outside first
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Nice to meet all of you wonderful knowledgeable people! I have already learned so much from your posts, and I'm sure I will have many, MANY questions for you in the future!
Our family has been homesteading in Saskatchewan since June, and as part of that crazy, whirlwind experience, we have acquired some lovely feathered friends to add to the mix. Now there are my husband and I, our 5 and 7 year old boys, two cats, and our 11 chickens.
We first were given 8 hens from a friend of mine since they weren't integrating well with her new flock, but were still young, good layers (I think they are about 18 months or so now). We took 8, and someone else took 5. I am a little unclear as to the breed, but I think they may be a plymouth rock mixed with red rock? In the past week, we took on the other 4 (one died) to bring our flock up to 12. Unfortunately, Chicken Soup died this week (my 5 year old named her - can you tell?). She never had laid any eggs, had a tiny pale comb, and kept to herself, so we weren't surprised to see that she didn't make it.
Now we are at 11 hens. They are super social! They like to follow me around in the yard and keep me company. However, they are a little nasty to each other sometimes, and there are a couple that could use some more feathers (not entirely due to molting, I'm sure). Some days we get lots of eggs, but lately production has tanked, likely due to the colder weather (below freezing most days), and changes to their location/group dynamic, etc. Now I'm happy if I get 4 or 5 eggs per day, but at least the new pecking order has been established and they seem quite content.
I will try to post some pictures soon, but it supposed to be nice out here today, so I'd better get some work done outside first
Nice to meet all of you wonderful knowledgeable people! I have already learned so much from your posts, and I'm sure I will have many, MANY questions for you in the future!
