Recent content by skw9

  1. skw9

    Rooster Flocks!

    Oh, I see. Yes, Now that you mention it, I remember reading somewhere about that distinction. I think they actually must be Easter Eggers, since they are so varied in all their colors. When I bought them, I remember the sign saying that they were Americanas or Ameraucanas, but I can't...
  2. skw9

    Rooster Flocks!

    My pullets are Americaunas and Rhode Island Reds. I read somewhere that these two breeds are not very broody, but I thought I would give it a try anyway. I suspect chickens are like people in that they all have unique personalities.
  3. skw9

    Rooster Flocks!

    Your rooster looks a lot like my cockerel. Is it a red sex link? I also have 9 pullets. I am just starting out with chickens, but I am thinking about letting a broody hen raise some chicks for me. I would want to keep the roosters. We have a lot of room, so I think I can make it work. My...
  4. skw9

    My cockerel will not let his hens forage during the day.

    I started bringing them out in the backyard to forage when they were 3-4 weeks old. I enclosed them in a portable circular fence made of flexible hardware cloth. I just tied the two ends together with zip-ties. I put them back in their brooder in a shed at night. When they were about 6 weeks...
  5. skw9

    My cockerel will not let his hens forage during the day.

    You must be right, because the rooster never allows the hens to be visible from the air. In fact, he only allows them to forage under our backyard trampoline. I was always curious about that. As of yet, we do not have a coop, but we do have plans for it when time and money permit. I am...
  6. skw9

    My cockerel will not let his hens forage during the day.

    I have a 20-week-old red sex link cockerel who was anonomously deposited on our doorstep, when he was about 5 weeks old. We weren't prepared for having chickens, so we let him roam the backyard during the day and roost at night in our laundry room on the bar that I use to hang clothes. This...
  7. skw9

    Raising Chickens without a Coop

    Thanks for your input. I think I will consider what you say very carefully. Good to know about not letting them free-range until they start laying.
  8. skw9

    Raising Chickens without a Coop

    Thank you for this sound advice. I actually have a large coop in very large pole barn that was here when we bought our property. There are no trees around the pole barn, so I am concerned that the chicks will be targeted by hawks during the day if I let them out. In my backyard, however, the...
  9. skw9

    Raising Chickens without a Coop

    Most of the acreage surrounding our property is pasture. We have a cluster of trees surrounding our house. The woods beyond our 13 acres is full of armadillos, foxes, coyotes, owls, raccoons, opossums, and hawks. We have three large guard dogs who are constantly roaming our property to ward...
  10. skw9

    Raising Chickens without a Coop

    Actually, I failed to mention that I have three large guard dogs that are friendly to and protective of my chickens, but I am wondering if the dogs could protect the chickens from the owls. Sorry, to show my ignorance, but what do you mean by "backing up some birds in a coop".
  11. skw9

    Raising Chickens without a Coop

    Does anyone have any experience raising chickens without a coop? I have heard that some people have free ranging chickens that roost in trees at night. I am somewhat of a minimalist, and the idea seems appealing to me. My 5-week-old chicks love my backyard which is sheltered by two large...
  12. skw9

    What gender is this chicken?

    Thank you. After your suggestion that he is a red sex link, I googled some images, and it makes perfect sense. Wow, a lot of wrong ideas about my chicken have been righted today.
  13. skw9

    What gender is this chicken?

    I am really not sure what breed he is. I literally found him on my doorstep one day, so I don't know his exact breed or age, but I have been told that he is a leghorn cross.
  14. skw9

    What gender is this chicken?

    I understand :)...That is exactly the way that I took it. It sounds from your post that you like roos, too, since you commented on his beauty, and I wanted to let you know that we are kindred spirits. As it turns out Birb is more like a pet, and we enjoy his personality. It makes so much sense...
  15. skw9

    What gender is this chicken?

    How can you tell? Why are the spurs so small? Thanks for your help. I am not sorry at all, we adore him. He has really become one of our favorite pets, but I am shocked. When we first found him on our doorstep (we live in the country), my thought was that someone was dumping off a rooster...
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