Recent content by batten down the hatches

  1. batten down the hatches

    Roosters at 18 weeks - do they ever grow out of it?

    I have a two-part update: three boys went to the processors' this morning. Our primary and secondary option for excess roosters was to give them to laypeople who would process and keep them, but these were both unable to take them, so we had to do plan C, a small commercial processing farm...
  2. batten down the hatches

    Roosters at 18 weeks - do they ever grow out of it?

    Thank you all for the insights. I will probably remove the top three offenders from the premises, and see how things go with the last three with the changed dynamics. If they are both still being rowdy, we'll go right down to 1. Until we are down to 1 all the other boys will free range all...
  3. batten down the hatches

    Roosters at 18 weeks - do they ever grow out of it?

    I'm unfortunately beginning to have a more serious rooster problem. I hatched eggs this spring and have been thinning the rooster ranks each month or so as specific roosters became aggressive or problems within the flock. I started with 12 and am down to 6. The remaining 6 (1 New Hampshire, 1...
  4. batten down the hatches

    6 week old Cuckoo Maran

    Darn, I really wanted that Cuckoo Maran! This large guy is also starting to feel his crumbles as he bit and held onto my partner, and took a few pecks at me today while moving them. It appears he is on the fast track to roosterdom.
  5. batten down the hatches

    6 week old Cuckoo Maran

    Pictured is a 6 week old Cuckoo Maran from Meyer Hatchery. This was supposed to be a sexed pullet, and in my experience Meyer is pretty spot on with their sexing, but I can no longer ignore the enormous red comb. The chicken in question feathered very early and has a generally hen-like...
  6. batten down the hatches

    Five week old mystery chick with tiny crest

    Thank you both! I thought she looked like a Cream Legbar, too, but she wasn't banded and Meyer is supposed to leg band their Legbars. Maybe she missed leg day at the hatchery!
  7. batten down the hatches

    Five week old mystery chick with tiny crest

    I ordered chicks from Meyer, and along with my specific breeds I had them add 4 mystery chicks. This one has developed what appears to be a little crest recently. I thought it was a bad hair day as the feathers came in, but it seems to be getting more prominent, rather than less. Notes...
  8. batten down the hatches

    Is this a reasonable idea - hatching at home?

    Sure! The breed above was the Mosaic, and I found another breeder a bit further away with Swedish Flower Hen and Cream Legbar hatching eggs, so we made it a bit of an afternoon road trip and also picked up some of those (plus a few Easter Egger eggs from both). The eggs are currently in the...
  9. batten down the hatches

    Is this a reasonable idea - hatching at home?

    Thank you both! I spoke to the local breeder and she is going to set some aside for me in mid-March. I'm so pleased I can get some of this breed right nearby and don't have to have eggs shipped. I ordered an incubator and hygrometers to do some testing before go time. I am really looking...
  10. batten down the hatches

    Is this a reasonable idea - hatching at home?

    Hi chicken fans! I'm getting my first chicks as an adult and put in my hatchery order back in December for an April hatch date. I had many chickens in my youth, but chicken keeping sure has come a long way in 20 years! I'm glad picking up a cheeping box at the post office is still a thing...
See more
Back
Top Bottom