Follow my blog. [email protected] This is actually my second flock. 2011 i just had terrible luck and then one night in late winter something got them all except my barred rock rooster. So this year i decided to start again. January 12 i got my order of 25 surprise straight run and 3 black australorpe pullets, as well as 1 that hatched from my previous flock. It turned out to be a barred cockerel. 7 from the order died within 2 days, so i now have 21. I recycled enough tin, hardware cloth, and lumber from family to build a 4'x5' coop with 3 nest boxes, and 2 --5' roosts. I have a 4'x16' run attached to it and a much larger free ranging pen attached to that. I also inherited some feeders that my late grandfather made for his quail operation, but they will work for me also. The chicks are now 6 weeks old and have just been moved to the coop feb. 21. So far i have 3 blakc australorpes, production reds, red sex links , a couple slw's, and i think a couple of cuckoo marans. Thanks to the help of byc members for helping me identify them. Photos later.
An update.
I ordered silkie chicks in April of 2012
and also added 3 ee chicks to the flock, and 10 guineas.
Here are some photos of the chickens at the beginning of summer. I have culled down to 1 barred roo, 1 br hen, 5 rsl hens, 1 rid hen, 3 ba hens.
Then the silkies grew to these
And then in Dec after about a month of laying eggs, 2 of the remaining 3 blue silkie's went broody. My best silkie hen sat on 10 eggs and hatched out 9 of them over New Year's Eve and New Years Day, 3 black, 3 blue, and 3 splash.
The other silkie is siting on 2 lf mix eggs and 2 silkie eggs, and my trusty ba went broody again for the second time this year so she has some eggs under her set to hatch on the 23. Updates to come.
An update.
I ordered silkie chicks in April of 2012
and also added 3 ee chicks to the flock, and 10 guineas.
Here are some photos of the chickens at the beginning of summer. I have culled down to 1 barred roo, 1 br hen, 5 rsl hens, 1 rid hen, 3 ba hens.
Then the silkies grew to these
And then in Dec after about a month of laying eggs, 2 of the remaining 3 blue silkie's went broody. My best silkie hen sat on 10 eggs and hatched out 9 of them over New Year's Eve and New Years Day, 3 black, 3 blue, and 3 splash.
The other silkie is siting on 2 lf mix eggs and 2 silkie eggs, and my trusty ba went broody again for the second time this year so she has some eggs under her set to hatch on the 23. Updates to come.