What I have learned about my,
Eight different Breeds of Chickens.
Eight different Breeds of Chickens.
It was early spring, April 15th 2012. I had gone to my local Tractor Supply Store to buy
horse feed only to once again find my self looking down at all the different breeds of little soft fluffy peeps. Year after year I had the willpower to look, then talk myself out of taking two or three home. I had raised chickens as a child. With my fathers help and an old cardboard box we made a homemade incubator, lined with foil, a light bulb and small dish of water then turning the eggs each day. Using the calender I X 'ed off the days, till the day new peeps began to come out of their now to small of a shell.
This time I could not just pass by, I had to hold one and then another. Before I knew it I was hooked, six peeps in a box. I found myself buying food and the necessities a baby chicken would need. It's now been 4 months, my peeps are lovely Hens and Roosters. Oh I also bought five more to total eleven altogether. I will now count them down and tell you what I have learned about my eight different breeds of chickens.
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Breed
#1
The Orpington
#1
The Orpington
I have two Orpington Hens named Ms. Emily and Ms. Bell, they are light golden blond in color. The Orpingtion Chicken is named after a Town in England. Orpington became famous for the breeding of the Orpington Chicken and has the best class of English Chickens to date. There meat quality is excellent. They have a nice appearance, beautiful rich colors, and gentle behavior. My girls have aloud me to pet them and have never offered to bite or peck me. Because of their large size and weight, Orpingtons can't fly, so they make for a nice back yard chicken. I lost three of my peeps so I began looking for young hens to buy. My two girls were three months old when I brought them home, the same age as my flock. It has taken a little time for them to join in due to there sweet nature. The others will try to take advantage, so they keep a low profile.
I would like you to now meet,
Ms. Emily
She likes to lay under the shade of the trees and dust her self.
Emily has not started to lay eggs yet, in another month or two she will.
This is
Ms. Bell
Ms.Bell can be found most time's next to her
sister Emily. At times it's hard to tell them apart so I call them my blondes.
It has been 7 weeks now and the girls are with the flock and doing well.
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Chicken Dusting
Chickens love to Dust them self, they do this to get clean and rid themselves of
parasites, such as mites, fleas, and others. Chickens instinctively know that the
dust clogs the breathing pores of the bugs and this kills them off. They'll find a warm
spot of earth and begin to make a bowl, then lay down on there side and with one leg
out stretched and fluffed feathers, began to dust them self. When their done, stand
back and watch the dust fly, I love to watch them take there dust baths.
********************************************************************Chickens love to Dust them self, they do this to get clean and rid themselves of
parasites, such as mites, fleas, and others. Chickens instinctively know that the
dust clogs the breathing pores of the bugs and this kills them off. They'll find a warm
spot of earth and begin to make a bowl, then lay down on there side and with one leg
out stretched and fluffed feathers, began to dust them self. When their done, stand
back and watch the dust fly, I love to watch them take there dust baths.
Breed
# 2
The
Barred Plymouth Rock
I have two a hen and a rooster, this is the kind of Chicken you may have seen your Grandmother raising in her hen house. The Barred Rock is a quite and mellow breed of Chicken, and adapts quickly to their new home and situations. Ms. Mayme and Elise are friendly and very much like that monkey Curious Gorge. They will watch me as I walk around the yard and if I get on the ground at eye level, they will lower them self as if to say, what are you doing? When Ms. My hens eggs will be brown. I have read that she will produce well in winter and summer and is friendly. At the age of 4 to 5 weeks I noticed that the she was much darker then Elsie, very black and white wile Elsie began to turn almost a dark brown and white. Turns out that the roosters are a little lighter in color then the hens.
Ms. Mayme
She has a loving nature. Ms. Mayme loves to keep her eye on me, when the bread bag
comes out she is one of the first ones to help her self to a healthy bite. I bought her at the age of three months. It took her only 3 days to fit right in with the others. She has popped her head up to see if I brought the bread bag with me. Sorry girl not this time, maybe later.
Meet
Elise
A Barred Rock Rooster. He is so busy watching over his hens, with the help of Easter that he would not stand still for his picture to be taken. Still I think it's a nice shot.
I thought he was a hen till he crowed. He knows his name so well that I did not have the heart to change it. Elise is my favorite rooster and will eat out of my hand or sit next to me for a treat. He also loves to have his head and ears petted and will close his eyes and take a nap.
Bread
Another way to Treat your Birds
My Chickens love bread of all kinds, but their favorite is soft brown bread.
They come up and grab large peaces at a time and even swallow it down
in big peaces. I keep fresh water near when giving them their bread treat.
I have never read that water was needed at the time of feeding, still
it just makes seance that if you eat something dry your bound to need
something to drink after.
I have read that moldy bread is not good to feed to your chickens and truth
be told, if you would not eat it why should they?
They come up and grab large peaces at a time and even swallow it down
in big peaces. I keep fresh water near when giving them their bread treat.
I have never read that water was needed at the time of feeding, still
it just makes seance that if you eat something dry your bound to need
something to drink after.
I have read that moldy bread is not good to feed to your chickens and truth
be told, if you would not eat it why should they?
**************************************************************************************************Breed
# 3
The
Silver Winged Laced Wyandotte
# 3
The
Silver Winged Laced Wyandotte
I have just one Wyandotte Rooster who was picked from the pan fry been. This is a breed that originated in the united States some time in 1870. A docile dual purpose bird. The Wyandotte lays brown eggs and come in many colors. Medium in size with a rose comb and no feathers on there legs. My rooster is larger then the rest and has feathers that are loose and fluffy. The legs are yellow but can also be gray in some silver Wyandottes. They are very vocal, and talk in soft clucks on a regular basis. The breed has been noted for being incredibly friendly and my boy is just that. This is said to be a favorite to people new to raising chickens.
This is my big boy
Easter
So named because he was born on Easter Sunday.
He eats out of my hand and has become the top rooster in the yard.
He often talks to the girls and calls them to eat what ever he has found.
I love the green and purple I find in his feathers.
When he stands in the sun he looks like he has a rainbow for a coat.
If you look closely you can see the green and blues in his neck and tail feathers.
The laced pattern on his chest did not appear till he was 3 months old.
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Breed
# 4
The
Red Sex Link
# 4
The
Red Sex Link
Sex-links are cross-bred chickens whose color at hatching is differentiated by sex, thus making chick sexing an easier process. Sex-links come in many varieties, few of which are a true breed. As hybrids of laying or dual-purpose breeds infused with extra vigor via heterosis, sex-links can be extremely good egg-layers which often produce 300 eggs a year or more depending on the quality of care and feed.
Two common varieties are the black sex-link (also called Black Stars) and the red sex-link (also called Red Stars). Blacks are a cross between a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster and a Barred Rock hen. Red sex-links are a cross between a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster and a White Rock, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Rhode Island White or Delaware hen.
Two common varieties are the black sex-link (also called Black Stars) and the red sex-link (also called Red Stars). Blacks are a cross between a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster and a Barred Rock hen. Red sex-links are a cross between a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster and a White Rock, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Rhode Island White or Delaware hen.
Meet one of the Butt Sisters
Heine Mi Butt
Heine Mi Butt
I do love this chicken breed, with the colors of the red and white.
She is very trusting and friendly.
She is very trusting and friendly.
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Breed
# 5
The
White Leg Horn
# 5
The
White Leg Horn
The origins of the Leghorn are not clear; it appears to derive from light breeds originating in rural Tuscany. The name comes from Leghorn, the traditional anglicisation of Livorno, the Tuscan port from which the first birds were exported to North America
Leghorns are good layers of white eggs, laying an average of 280 per year and sometimes reaching 300–320.[1] They have a good feed-to-egg conversion ratio, needing around 125 grams per day of feed. Leghorns rarely exhibit broodiness and are thus well suited for uninterrupted egg laying. The Leghorn is a light breed that matures quickly; it is not considered a viable meat producer. Leghorns are active and efficient foragers. They typically avoid human contact and tend to be nervous and flighty.
Due to their prolific egg-laying, they are preferred by laboratories for embryonic and avian biological research as well as being the number one breed used for large-scale commercial egg production in the United States.
Due to their prolific egg-laying, they are preferred by laboratories for embryonic and avian biological research as well as being the number one breed used for large-scale commercial egg production in the United States.
Mary
Started laying at the age of 2 and 1/2 months.
Her eggs were very small at first and have become, at 4
months a med to large size egg.
She was the first of my girls to lay an egg. Mary is very very
friendly and tame. She comes and sites in my lap and eats
out of my hand. She knows her name and when I call her she
will come running.
Started laying at the age of 2 and 1/2 months.
Her eggs were very small at first and have become, at 4
months a med to large size egg.
She was the first of my girls to lay an egg. Mary is very very
friendly and tame. She comes and sites in my lap and eats
out of my hand. She knows her name and when I call her she
will come running.
Mary and Elsie 10 weeks old
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Breed
# 6
The
Easter Egg
# 6
The
Easter Egg
My Favorite of all the breeds is the Easter Egg. They are friendly, great layers of bantam size, lay glue and green eggs, and very rarely, even pinkish eggs. Their smaller body size makes them good in the heat and their small pea combs mean they can do well in the cold, there not as susceptible to frostbite. Easter Eggers are hybrids that carry the blue egg gene of the true Araucana breed.
I like to think that the pea comb is kinked to the blue egg laying gene and to the sweetness gene as well. Because this is a hybrid variety "not a breed" even if you have a whole flock of them , you can tell them apart because they come in so many different colors, which isn't always possible with the other breeds.
Lil Bow Peep
is my lil love. She lets me pick her and will lay down in my lap
as she eats out of my hand. She is just a very sweet little hen only about
6 inchs high at the tail.
She also has what is called mutten choops.
is my lil love. She lets me pick her and will lay down in my lap
as she eats out of my hand. She is just a very sweet little hen only about
6 inchs high at the tail.
She also has what is called mutten choops.
UNDER CONSTURTION
PLEASE
COME AGAIN IN A
DAY OR TWO.
PLEASE
COME AGAIN IN A
DAY OR TWO.
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