B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[Kilsharion]

That sounds quite adorable.

I have to wait for my grandkids to be here to get doses of cuteness, like that. Somehow adults saying the same thing doesn't have quite the "awww" factor.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: i agree, i love watching the birds out in the yard... for years i was afraid to let them free range, simply because i didn't trust them to come back. LOL now i wouldn't have it any other way. there will always be birds running around the yard as long as i have a yard for them. 8)

 

[cukooformarans]

That sounds quite adorable.

I have to wait for my grandkids to be here to get doses of cuteness, like that. Somehow adults saying the same thing doesn't have quite the "awww" factor.

yeah, I can see how that would have a slightly different effect! wish I could do the smilies from my iPhone!

 

[cukooformarans]

i agree, i love watching the birds out in the yard...  for years i was afraid to let them free range, simply because i didn't trust them to come back. LOL  now i wouldn't have it any other way. there will always be birds running around the yard as long as i have a yard for them. 8)

Yeah! Ours have always free ranged. I have to admit though that I was a little more nervous about it this time. Probably because I am so excite about the dorkings!

 

[Totalcolour]

Quote:
X2

 

[pysankigirl]

Wow! That is awesome! Maybe I have just never noticed. It was great because my four/year old says she is their chicken mommy (we incubated shipped eggs and she says they have to have a mommy) and the chicks attacked the ant bed after an ant bit her. So now she says they were taking care of their chicken mommy. LOL I don't have the heart to tell her that is just what chickens do!

That's pretty cute!

Yeah! Ours have always free ranged. I have to admit though that I was a little more nervous about it this time. Probably because I am so excite about the dorkings!

I love free ranging. I am trying to figure out how to free range the most chickens at once while still having them not interbreed. The simple thing would be of course to just pen all the boys up in their own separate areas and let the girls run loose most of the time. need to build stuff. need the husband to give me the credit card and turn me loose in Lowes.

 

[cukooformarans]

I am totally with you on that one pysankigirl!

 

[pysankigirl]

So the chicks from the eggs I got from Craig Russell are starting to feather out a bit. These are Dorkings, but in non-standard colors. I have separated them into several colors and banded them
it will be interesting to see what colors they develop into. I have NO IDEA how to sex them, however...LOL. honestly, by the way the feathers are growing in, most look like females to me. (I am not this lucky, so I know I must be wrong)



two are featherring out white like this, but have slightly buff down.



the clear banded group. I have about 8 of these colorations



yellow group....have about 6 of these



red/green group I have about 7 of these. I banded the ones with more reddish down with the red bands, but they seem to be feathering in the same as the green, so...



I only have one of these....really dark. definitely a girl, though!

and of course, I had to take this picture:

 

[pysankigirl]

I am totally with you on that one pysankigirl!

I am thinking that that is really the way to go. pen up the boys. occasionally pair a particular boy and a girl or two in a "love shack" and collect eggs. The girls are the ones that need the most nutrition from scratching for insects anyway.

But I do like having one roo out there with them to call warning. that is the quandry.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: i agree... my roosters do have a job besides fertilizing eggs... they help the girls find the tastiest tidbits and protect them from any predators they see (flying). with such a large area (they cover about 2-3 acres of open and wooded mountainside), they break up into smaller groups, each one has a roo and a general area they wander.