I have five chicks, 6 weeks old this week. Four are purebred SS bantams, black chick is a Sussex/Dominique cross, so a boy.
They all look male to me but I have hopeful doubts about blue band.
Blue band on left, purple on right
L-R: Blue, purple, lime, black (boy)
Blue in middle
Blue in...
:ya
I'm Egg-cited!
Martha's recent brood appears to be all boys...
:barnie
...so eventually they will need to be rehomed.
I was wondering if she'd go broody again, she's been such a good momma.
But now my Dominique Tamar is broody, sitting on faux eggs.
:yesss:
So I ordered her some.
I...
Speckled Sussex bantams
Hatched 4/8/24 (2 1/2 weeks)
Purple
Blue
Obviously a boy... Dominique/Speckled Sussex
And hatched on 4/11/24 (2 weeks)
Green
L.C. (Little Chick), injured and found unconscious day 2 and 3, so still behind the others developmentally
What do YOU think?
:pop
For those who were attacked and injured by their own rooster, please respond.
My rooster attacked me in the face, just missed my eye. I'm not keeping him, but would appreciate input from others.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fuzzis-chicken-journal.1550586/post-27531561
I have 8 bantams consisting of three Speckled Sussex hens and one roo (hatched 2/27/23), and four Dominique pullets (hatched 4/12/23). Two of the Sussex have already gone broody three times.
My hoop coop is 16'x8' (128 sq ft.) and my flock stays contained within. The next time one of my hens...
I lost my head rooster/cockerel last week.
I looked at photos of Joel, to try to figure out when he started to decline.
November 3, 2023, full body, nice tail.
November 25, 2023, tail looks smaller.
December 9, 2023, still decent tail feathers
December 16, 2023, looking smaller, tail...
Found this article online, goes into studies about what makes the best, most nutritious eggs...backyard chickens!
But the author also writes about the free-range and cage free eggs we see in the stores, and what those terms really mean:
https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/well-being-eggs
Before...
Informative article about how one couple has "homesteaded" over the years, including practical advice about buildings, loans, etcetera:
https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/homesteading-finding-a-home
I still would like to do this. It's not possible at this time... but I can dream.
I'm getting eggs! The pullets are 20 and 26 weeks old and the one egg I've been getting every other day has increased to three.
As I was making scrambled eggs I noticed that after I beat the eggs with a fork the yolk was sticking to the bottom of the bowl. I needed a rubber spatula to scrape...
I live in eastern NC, USDA Zone 8a, aka a hot and humid climate. I built my hoop coop this Spring, and it appears to be holding up pretty well...
...except for the tarp on top, despite the fact that it's supposedly a "heavy duty" tarp.
The hem, including the grommets, ripped:
Original...
When I got home from work today one of my bantam cockerels was up on a roost, not putting weight on his right foot, and panting. He's 16 weeks old.
My first thought was bumble foot, I've read about it here on BYC. So I got a small container of warm water, added epsom salts, grabbed an old bath...
I had a free shade cloth offer through Am.azon, and thought it might be worth requesting for my hoop coop.
It just arrived, and I am trying to figure out how to get some use out of it.
It's long enough to cover the hoop all the way to the ground on both sides, and it's 6' wide...but there are...
After a SR of Sussex turned into 7 males and 3 females I decided to order sexed chicks from Cackle Hatchery. I ordered five, they sent six, all healthy.
They're almost 5 weeks old, and I am wondering if I have one, or even two male chicks. Care to help?
Two of the chicks have lighter plumage...
My straight run of ten Speckled Sussex bantam chicks wound up as seven cockerels and three pullets. I need to rehome most of the boys.
They were hatched on 2/27/23 from an NPIP AI free certified hatchery. All are healthy, and have been handled by me.
I'm in Pitt County, NC.
Here are some...
I bought a straight run of ten Speckled Sussex bantams. Seven are cockerels. They're eleven weeks old and I've been hearing some attempts at crowing.
Here's my question: in a flock as I have with several males, will they ALL start crowing or just the dominant one(s)?
The Speckled Sussex bantam boys are just shy of ten weeks, and I need to start rehoming some of them. I can't wait until they get their adult plumage, so I'm going to choose by conformation, those that are the closest to the standard in body type, combs, shanks, etc.
I know they're not show...
I was talking with a coworker this morning, showed her photos of my bantam chicks. She mentioned that she has three retired RIR hens (standard) who occasionally give her an egg. She offered to take a cockerel because she likes having a rooster around.
The cockerels are now 8 weeks old, do you...
All my chicks have made it clear whether they are a pullet or a cockerel, except this one, the last unsexed Speckled Sussex bantam:
Next to one of the cockerels:
The comb is smaller than the cockerels, but larger than the other two pullets.
One of her female siblings for comparison...