Awesome!!! I hope all the eggs hatch and she can have a nice big bunch o kids...
Aweosme!!! She is sooo cute!!!!!!lol we're up to 16 now, and she's gotten remarkably good at fitting most of them under her! That won't last as they get bigger, but she won't be on her own trying to keep them warm, either.
She's been so cooperative, we were even able to set her up on our photo stage and take photos of her with her brood.
X2!!!
Nice chicks!!! Oh and awesome pics!!! LOVE THEM@!!!Happy holidays, everyone! Chickentown has been a hoppin' place, and I have a lot to report. Broody mama Angel ended up with 21 chicks total, of which she still has 15. She's actually been doing a very good job taking care of them--the casualties have all been beyond her control. There haven't been any losses recently, and the babies are feathering out well.
Back in Chickentown itself, we constructed a temporary fence to expand the available space for the chickens to forage during the day. We'd lost a few chickens to foxes recently, including my favorite hen, Sweet Basil, so we made it a priority to add some extra security. The fence isn't solid enough to deter a truly tenacious predator, but it has helped to cut down on our losses quite a bit. Since its construction, our only loss to predators was a young silkie who was killed by a hawk. On the bright side, the hawk wasn't able to get a meal out of it, due to the number of roosters in my flock. After a while, the hawks decided there were easier meals to be had elsewhere, and moved on.
Another hen went broody a few weeks ago--a buff orpington named Sunshine who has been broody once before. I tucked nine eggs under her, and as of current count, three have hatched, with three more on the way. The last three included two duds and a late quitter. The first chick actually hatched on Christmas day, so I'm calling it the vastly imaginative name of "Christmas". It's siblings may likely be named in a holiday theme as well.
From left to right: Christmas the Easter egger, a black copper marans mix, and an unknown mix that hatched from a brown egg.
My husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and of course, chickens were on my list. (So were a few other things, but that's beside the point) Long story short, he ordered me two more Ameraucana cockerels in the hopes that we'll be able to breed them. This will be my third attempt at getting an Ameraucana rooster--the first one was killed by my dog, and when I ordered two males to replace him, they both turned out to be hens. Fingers crossed that the third time's a charm! To fill out the order, we added 8 assorted brown egg layers and 5 mystery chicks. I look forward to seeing what we end up with.
In other news, I am excited to announce that we have decided to add some non-chickens to the population of Chickentown. I was debating between ducks, turkeys, and/or, geese, but ultimately decided that my next endeavor will be Pilgrim geese. I won't be able to order them until late January at the earliest, and won't receive them until at least late April, which gives us plenty of time to set up everything they need. If finances allow, I will also order an assortment of turkeys--the more I read about commercially-raised turkey, the less comfortable I am with eating it.
In closing, here's a few photos from Chickentown.
Honeytoast, a storebought EE
A couple of home-grown hens. An EE mix (left) and a barred rock (right) It's hard to say if the BR is a mix or a purebred.
Spike, our light brahma rooster. He doesn't know it yet, but we have plans to set him up with a harem of large ladies so that he can breed more big babies for us.
My three white leghorn ladies. I started with six, but the sudden cold snaps took their toll on my flock, and I lost several birds, including some of my leghorns.
Anna the Super Broody, out with her latest batch of chicks. She still has 3 chicks of her original 7, despite the less than ideal conditions.
Two cochin mixes from Anna's last brood. She hatched and raised five bantam mutts, of which, there was only one rooster (right) and four hens. They have been wonderful additions to our flock.
David Crowie, a buff-laced Polish crested male, is coming of age and really starting to feather out. Always one of my boldest and friendliest chicks, David had become a little more reserved since being integrated with the rest of the flock, but he still comes when I call his name and enjoys human company. I have plans to breed him to my other Polish ladies, even though I will have to mix colors.
David Crowie and his senior, Aretha Chicken. Although Aretha is going to be three years old next year, I have hopes that we will be able to breed her. My buff laced hen, Chicky Gaga, would be ideal, except that she hasn't laid a proper egg in over a year. It is unlikely I will be able to breed her to David.
Eddie the bantam partridge cochin--ever a flock favorite.
"Peck", a hen hatched back in May by one of the students in my chicken class, went broody and tried to hatch a clutch of eggs herself. Of over a dozen eggs, only one was able to successfully hatch during the bitter cold snap--a leghorn/white rock mix. The chick is a total crybaby, and takes after its biological mother in being skittish and neurotic. If it also takes after its mom in egg-laying ability, I will be ok with that. Peck herself is an excellent broody, and I look forward to giving her more eggs to incubate the next time she goes broody...hopefully with a more ideal weather forecast.
Geisha, my white silkie hen. It's been a wet winter, and her fluff is perpetually muddy as a result.
Danaerys, one of my treasured Ameraucana hens.
Zip, the old English game bantam, tries to catch the eye of one of my black copper marans hens.
Leonard, my bestest pal, is an exchequer leghorn rooster. Still a juvenile, it will be some time yet before I can set him up to breed with my other leghorns.
Clover, a lavender (I think) silkie.
Penny, my female exchequer leghorn. She isn't as friendly as Leonard, but she doesn't have to be, either.
Sesshoumaru, my white silkie roo. I have big plans for this little fluffball.
Armin, a bantam lavender d'uccle/bantam buff cochin mix
David Crowie
