2018 Newbie Chat!

[llombardo]

I Now have 12 girls out there. I have put the second group with his last group. Some pecking but it's amongst the 4 older girls. Unbelievable that they are now pecking each other. Dorothy and Blanche have taken the lead. I put Rose out there to help Sophia. The 4 older girls are using the top part of the coop and the 8 others are using the other roosts(I added one) they still want to squeeze all together but they are realizing the other roost is there. 5 can fit comfortably on the one and 3 on the other. Some may say it's tight but observing them it's fine. It will have to do until I can build the other coop. They go in and out during the day-a couple at a time. The older girls are using the best boxes. The most amazing thing is that they all go in on their own at night, they bicker like sisters and thrm settle nicely. The older 4 never went in on their own, so it must have been because of the older two girls.

I wonder if I put the teo older girls in there if the pecking order would reverse and maybe they wouldn't be bullies?

 

[CannedMonster]

My little Diamond is an egg layin' fool, lol. She hasn't missed a day since her first week of laying. Are all cochins like that?

My two that are laying (Pippin & Lil Red aka Cricket) each lay an egg pretty much every day. They may take a day off each week I’m not sure.

 

[CannedMonster]

This is Jack! Or Little Jack as I call him.
He’s my porcelain D’Uccle chick that almost died a couple of months ago.
As you can see he’s doing great. He’s been crowing for a few weeks now and he feels he’s the biggest rooster in this neighborhood...just ask him, he’ll tell ya!
At 9 weeks he’s even dancing for my LF teenagers occasionally.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

This is Jack! Or Little Jack as I call him.
He’s my porcelain D’Uccle chick that almost died a couple of months ago.
As you can see he’s doing great. He’s been crowing for a few weeks now and he feels he’s the biggest rooster in this neighborhood...just ask him, he’ll tell ya!
At 9 weeks he’s even dancing for my LF teenagers occasionally.

View attachment 1769078

View attachment 1769080

Gorgeous boy! He is so handsome - love his colour
So glad he's doing well.

 

[CannedMonster]

This is Buffy, my Buff Orpington.

This is Shadow (BR)... I think lol. I can only tell her and Betsy apart by their behavior. Shadow will usually run up to me and doesn’t mind being picked up although lately that seems to be changing. I’m going to have to put leg bands on them soon.

Betsy (BR)

Ginger (EE)

Mary Anne (EE)

Raven (BSL)

Maggie (BSL)

The only way I can tell Raven and Maggie apart is by their eyes.
Ravens eyes are darker.
I don’t know if they’ll stay that way or not but right now they’re identical...right down to the white claw they both have on each middle toe.

So those are my LF teenagers.
I’ll try to post my bantam teenagers tomorrow and hopefully get some photos of the broody raised chicks.

 

[CannedMonster]

Gorgeous boy! He is so handsome - love his colour
So glad he's doing well.

I am in love with this little man.

Today when I got home from work and went outside he was crowing a bit.
Then when he saw me he ran all the way across the yard to me!
And I rarely toss them treats so he just wanted to see me.
When he gets close to me he does this thing where he’ll crouch and stand very still and wait for me to pick him up.
When I do pick him up he stands on my arm stiffly and trembles all over.
I’m tempted to think that he’s scared but if he was he wouldn’t approach me on his own.
I think he’s just excited.
I enjoy him so much!
I’m so glad I saved him.
I’ve waited a long time to have a bird that enjoys my company instead of just tolerating me.

 

[Viksceeks]

New here! Can anyone help determine what bred these little guys are? Especially the little black one. I'm thinking serama maybe? It's about 3weeks. Also does the white one look to be a cockerel??

 

[CannedMonster]

New here! Can anyone help determine what bred these little guys are? Especially the little black one. I'm thinking serama maybe? It's about 3weeks. Also does the white one look to be a cockerel??

Yes the white one is a cockerel.
There’s a barred Plymouth Rock, what looks to be an Easter Egger and a red sex link perhaps?
I’m not sure about the black one.
There’s several breeds that are solid black.
Australorp and Jersey Giant to name two.

 

[llombardo]

So the 12 are doing pretty well so far. Some pecking but nothing alarming. Rose(older EE) is still trying to figure it out, but she is stilling laying everyday so I can't imagine she is to stressed.

I still think little one may be a bantam. She is still a lot smaller and her feet are so tiny. She does her own thing and holds her own. I Make sure they have a bowl of wet feed and all feeders and waterers are deep enough for her because of her beak. I do hand feed her treats on her own because the others can grab them much faster and to be
honest I feel bad for her, so she is slightly spoiled. I've trimmed her feathers so she can see twice now.

We are back to filling everything up at night and changing all waterers, spraying down the run to remove all poop. The weather has been perfect chicken weather IMO. They all seem happy. Gotta get the remaining 4 situated.

 

[CannedMonster]

Has anyone ever heard of a 5 week old chick trying to breed a hen??
One of my two NN chicks has been chasing my adult girls and I actually got video of it jumping on Charlotte and doing exactly that!
Charlotte does squat very easily- even if I just hold my hand over her.
I will try to post the video as soon as I can but it was amazing and this chick was very persistent and aggressive about its “attentions”.
It was chasing Cricket earlier and pecking at her as she ran away and I just thought it was being aggressive but usually she will beat up any bird trying to do that to her and especially a chick.


I also have a new addition to the flock. My co-worker has 3 chickens and she decided to get 3 more chicks a few weeks ago.
One chick is bigger than the other two and she feels it’s being too much of a “spaz”.
She doesn’t feel it will work out in her flock.
Personally I didn’t find anything weird about the chick when I watched the video she showed me.
So I told her I’d take it and put it with my flock.
I feel bad for her because she’s by herself and I can’t put her with any of my other birds.
I am going to put her either in a crate or the small coop/run so they can all get used to each other before I let her out with them.
I don’t know what breed she is because my friend doesn’t know.
I think she may be a white Plymouth Rock? A Leghorn? She’s white with yellow legs/skin.