This is Hattie McDaniel, she is ~3 months old and came as part of a colorful egg layer mix from Meyer Hatchery. I got both part Americauna and part cream Legbar Easter eggers in the same batch. Do we think Hattie a full cream Legbar or a mix?
Most of my hens are nearly 3 years old and starting to slow down, so I got some chicks in May from Meyer Hatchery. It was my first time getting mail-order chicks and I was very impressed with the health and quality of the chicks. I started with 27, and only lost one Polish chick about a week...
I've had a small chicken flock for about 5 years now and am considering adding coturnix quail, mainly for meat. I have already worked out the housing, but given the size of my yard it isn't practical to keep them very far from my chickens. I have already read this very informative thread on...
I'm curious about how many folks on BYC have automatic coop doors. I love mine and it seems like most folks I know use them, but I figured it might be interesting to see what folks on BYC are doing. If you're interested, take a few seconds to answer the poll!
Six 8-week-old pullets. Guaranteed female, no males. Hatched on 20 May at Meyer hatchery and raised in my backyard. I ended up with extra because they did so well. They aren't vaccinated but they've been fed medicated starter/grower. $20 each.
1 Easter egger
3 white leghorns
2 barred Plymouth...
Hi there, I've got one Polish that I'm unsure of sex. It's tougher to tell on this one since it's been on the bottom of the pecking order since it was 2 weeks old. It doesn't seem to be growing big wattles like it would if it were a cockerel, but the way its feathers are sticking straight up are...
I have a batch of 6-week-old chicks that have been outside for several weeks now and generally doing well (I'm in Florida so it's been plenty warm). Yesterday I noticed that one of the Easter egger chicks was moving a lot slower than the others. She has poop on her back feathers, but I think...
These chicks are 6 weeks old and are part of a colorful egg layer assortment. Are they both olive eggers? I first noticed their cute little crests coming in a couple of weeks ago. I realize that all "egger" are mutts of various sorts rather than true breeds.
Hi folks,
These chicks are 6 weeks old and were ordered from Meyer Hatchery. Unless there was a mix-up on their end, they're both barred Plymouth rocks. Is the chick on the right a pullet? I initially was pretty sure it was a cockerel because of the amount of white in the barring, plus it was...
I believe this chick is the extra "meal maker" from my order at Meyer Hatchery. She is 5 weeks old. The breeds I ordered were barred Plymouth rocks, Polish, white leghorns, and a colored egg variety pack. I think she is a black sex-link, do others agree?
Hi folks,
I've had chickens for several years and am contemplating adding coturnix quail, mainly for meat since I don't have the space for meat chickens. I like the idea of keeping the quail on dirt so they can scratch and exhibit more of their natural behaviors. I live in North Florida, so we...
Hi folks,
I currently have 26 2-week-old chicks. Yesterday, I noticed that one of the Polish chicks was getting her head feathers plucked out and it was starting to get a bit bloody. I took this as a sign that it was time for them to graduate them from the indoor brooder to my outdoor grow-out...
I have a backyard flock, including a 2.5 year old wyandotte whose feet are pictured below. Note the nail overgrowth and raised scales. She's the only bird with overgrown nails, everyone else's are a much more normal length. Their run is large and they spend plenty of time scratching.
I went...
I finally gave up on my 'milder' attempts to break my GLW, Betty White, of her broodiness, so it is off to broody jail for her! If only I had known she would go broody before getting some new chicks in May, but I will keep it in mind for next summer to see if she might adopt some chicks.
Today my gold-laced wyandotte, Betty White, made a strange sound that I can only liken to honking a couple dozen times today (see video below). It's hot and humid here, but the flock has plenty of access to both water and shade, and I haven't ever heard any of the other chickens make this noise...
This is the beginning of a little experiment to raise a group of Florida's feral street chickens! So far so good. I started with 8 last weekend, though one that was particularly weak didn't make it through the first night. The remaining 7 look great! It will be interesting to see what I end up...
Betty White (named because she is a golden girl, a GLW), laid her first egg today! Her adorable pullet egg is pictured next to a typical egg from my red sex link for scale.
Today is the day the new girls are officially part of the permanent flock. I purchased a group of 16 chicks in October from my local Rural King, and they all survived and are ALL PULLETS! I think I may have used up all my luck for the year 😂 I gave some to friends and sold the extras, keeping...
Hi all,
With all the talk about avian flu, I was having trouble finding a good resource aimed at backyard poultry keepers from a reputable source. Here's a great fact sheet I found from University of Minnesota Extension...