Apparently I'm a very appealing "rooster"

[rosemarythyme]

All my hens will squat for me, and I encourage it since it makes them easier to catch. It also has been a pretty reliable way of letting me know who is laying or about to start/resume laying.

 

[TopazMaster91]

They actually are really calm and mellow. They were supposed to be pullets but the hatchery made a mistake.

I definitely would love to see pics of your rooster when you get around to it.

If I ever have the money to build up a big standard sized flock and also a big bantam sized flock (either separated or together), Jersey Giants will be on the list, just for the novelty of their size , so it's good to hear they're docile! Do they do good in heat though? I live in Florida. It's 80-90F 8 months of the year here.

Right now I have three older pullets, BO, BR, and CL,
and five 13-week-old chicks growing up right next to the older ones in a different setup, they can see each other but not touch each other: BTB Japanese Bantam (male), Self-Blue OEGB, two white frizzled Cochin Bantams, and a standard sized Buff laced Polish. We've built a much bigger and better coop nearby that will be home for all of them, once we get them integrated and getting along. We still have to build the huge run for the new coop first too.

My phone is totally messed up so if I borrow someones phone or find a camera to use, I'll upload some pics of all of them sometime .

 

[TopazMaster91]

^
**Edited, just scroll up and read again for more info, oops lol**

 

[FortCluck]

If I ever have the money to build up a big standard sized flock and also a big bantam sized flock (either separated or together), Jersey Giants will be on the list, just for the novelty of their size , so it's good to hear they're docile! Do they do good in heat though? I live in Florida. It's 80-90F 8 months of the year here.

Right now I have three older pullets, BO, BR, and CL,
and five 13-week-old chicks growing up by the older ones in a different setup: BTB Japanese Bantam (male), Self-Blue OEGB, (2) frizzled Cochin Bantams, and a standard sized Buff laced Polish. We've built a much bigger and better coop nearby that will be home for all of them, once we get them integrated and getting along. We still have to build the huge run for the new coop first too.

My phone is totally messed up so if I borrow someones phone or find a camera to use, I'll upload some pics of all of them sometime .

I live in Virginia, it was 100 most of the summer and they had no issues. We had to build a coop to fit the Jersey Giants. Everything we found was too small.

It's not completely done yet, but it's almost done.

 

[TopazMaster91]

I love it except when I’m walking and they get right in front of my feet and do it!

Hahaha Even without them doing that my girls follow me everywhere, run after me weaving between my legs while I'm walking, stop right in front of my feet, in general they make it as difficult as possible for me to walk, lol
I think they believe I have a hidden stash of treats on me somewhere 24/7, and it's their mission to stop me and find it

 

[FortCluck]

I have a hen that flies to my shoulder almost every day and stays there while I collect eggs and do outside chores. Chickens are amazing animals. I have a lot of people tell me they're stupid and not smart, but I disagree.

 

[TopazMaster91]

I live in Virginia, it was 100 most of the summer and they had no issues. We had to build a coop to fit the Jersey Giants. Everything we found was too small.

It's not completely done yet, but it's almost done.

View attachment 1958457

Good to know! I always worry about my bigger girls getting too hot, especially the Buff Orpington with all her fluff, but they seem pretty good about sticking to shade and drinking water so far. Right now it's cooler outside and they obviously love it, they run around and explore more than when it's 95 outside and the sun is beaming straight down.

Nice coop! I'll never get a pre-fab again, total waste of money and effort, far too small and made out of crap material.
Like seriously, the little one we first bought is so small and the new coop we just built is WAY bigger and better built, and only cost twice as much. Should have done that from the start.

 

[FortCluck]

Good to know! I always worry about my bigger girls getting too hot, especially the Buff Orpington with all her fluff, but they seem pretty good about sticking to shade and drinking water so far. Right now it's cooler outside and they obviously love it, they run around and explore more than when it's 95 outside and the sun is beaming straight down.

Nice coop! I'll never get a pre-fab again, total waste of money and effort, far too small and made out of crap material.
Like seriously, the little one we first bought is so small and the new coop we just built is WAY bigger and better built, and only cost twice as much. Should have done that from the start.

We have a prefab that's made of composite wood that I like, but it only fits about 4 chickens so we use it for chicks when we want to add them to the flock.

 

[TopazMaster91]

I have a hen that flies to my shoulder almost every day and stays there while I collect eggs and do outside chores. Chickens are amazing animals. I have a lot of people tell me they're stupid and not smart, but I disagree.

That's awesome my bigger girls don't fly up on me or my lap, but they do hang out with me and let me touch them; the bantams and the Polish though, they jump all over me, let me hold them, they're adorable! Especially the OEGB girl, she's heart-breakingly cute, she jumps on me nearly every time I kneel down, and I can pick her straight up without any complaints. The Polish girl jumps on me often too, lays down on me and lets me stroke her back, but doesn't much like getting picked up.

They're definitely intelligent, and have very different personalities. I feel bad for people who've never known a chicken. You can SEE them thinking sometimes, and they definitely have emotions and feelings. Interacting with them made me want to give them the best lives possible.

 

[TopazMaster91]

We have a prefab that's made of composite wood that I like, but it only fits about 4 chickens so we use it for chicks when we want to add them to the flock.

When we get all of our chickens moved to the new coop, our pre-fab is going to become either a baby chick coop, isolation coop, hospital coop, or maternity coop, depending on whatever we need it for in the future .
It's honestly not TERRIBLE, but I definitely wouldn't recommend someone the pre-fab, it's just too small, and the roosts are so short that one of the three girls sleeps in the nesting boxes and poops in them. Have to clean poop out every day so we don't get poopy eggs.