Hello,
my name is Jennifer. My husband and I have a small flock of 8 chickens and 2 ducks. All of the chickens are hens - 2 Rhode Island Reds, 1 Red sex-link, 1 Black Sex-link, 1 Barred Rock (orig 2 but a stray dog got one), 2 buff Orpingtons, and 1 marble Orpington. For those of you that name your birds so do we and as they are listed: Dawn, Robin, Stef, Chris, Carlos (my son named that one - lol. The other was Logan), Lucy, Annie, and Talkie. We also have a couple of ducks. I have a big male Pekin named Donald and a Cayugan female named Abby. All of our birds free range during the day (except for Abby) unless we are not going to be around. Thanks to stray dogs we have already lost a bird and don't want to risk it again.
Quite a few of the birds are rescue birds. The Orppingtons were being kept in a small cardboard box together from a family that thought the chicks would be cute for Easter. The kids had lost interest and the parents didn't know what to do with them. Lucky for them my husband came across them and offered to take them. Although these girls were accustomed to being handled they were extremely underweight. It took them along time to feel comfortable to come out of their box (we put the entire thing in a dog run with them for a transition period). Once they gained some courage and our other girls got used to them we put them in the coop. Now they are getting fat and were the first ones to start laying.
My Pekin, Donald, was supposedly a "house-duck" when I got him. He was almost full grown and had just a little of his yellow feathers left. Turned out being a "house duck" to the previous people meant keeping him in a guinea pig cage. They tried to deny it (even though I got the cage with him) but I have xrays showing his scoliosis. Back then we had no clue what to do with him - I ended up with him because I worked for an avian vet. He was too imprinted on people to go to a duck pond but was too messy to be an indoor pet. In a very short time he charmed us and we made a home for him right here.
My Abby girl was relinquished to the hospital for lead poisoning. I offered to keep her at my house since I already had all the birds and I take her back and forth for exam. She has been treated for the poisoning by twice daily injections that I was taught to do here at home. Although she has greatly improved she will never be a normal duck. She has serious balance issues so she has her own enclosure for safety. We spoil her lots, though. Very sweet girl.
So those are my birds. We also have 5 horses, 4 dogs, 5 cats, some lizards, turtles, etc. We wanted chickens for years but waited until we were educated enough and had a safe place for them. We are still learning, though.
Looking forward to getting to know you all,
Jenn
my name is Jennifer. My husband and I have a small flock of 8 chickens and 2 ducks. All of the chickens are hens - 2 Rhode Island Reds, 1 Red sex-link, 1 Black Sex-link, 1 Barred Rock (orig 2 but a stray dog got one), 2 buff Orpingtons, and 1 marble Orpington. For those of you that name your birds so do we and as they are listed: Dawn, Robin, Stef, Chris, Carlos (my son named that one - lol. The other was Logan), Lucy, Annie, and Talkie. We also have a couple of ducks. I have a big male Pekin named Donald and a Cayugan female named Abby. All of our birds free range during the day (except for Abby) unless we are not going to be around. Thanks to stray dogs we have already lost a bird and don't want to risk it again.
Quite a few of the birds are rescue birds. The Orppingtons were being kept in a small cardboard box together from a family that thought the chicks would be cute for Easter. The kids had lost interest and the parents didn't know what to do with them. Lucky for them my husband came across them and offered to take them. Although these girls were accustomed to being handled they were extremely underweight. It took them along time to feel comfortable to come out of their box (we put the entire thing in a dog run with them for a transition period). Once they gained some courage and our other girls got used to them we put them in the coop. Now they are getting fat and were the first ones to start laying.
My Pekin, Donald, was supposedly a "house-duck" when I got him. He was almost full grown and had just a little of his yellow feathers left. Turned out being a "house duck" to the previous people meant keeping him in a guinea pig cage. They tried to deny it (even though I got the cage with him) but I have xrays showing his scoliosis. Back then we had no clue what to do with him - I ended up with him because I worked for an avian vet. He was too imprinted on people to go to a duck pond but was too messy to be an indoor pet. In a very short time he charmed us and we made a home for him right here.
My Abby girl was relinquished to the hospital for lead poisoning. I offered to keep her at my house since I already had all the birds and I take her back and forth for exam. She has been treated for the poisoning by twice daily injections that I was taught to do here at home. Although she has greatly improved she will never be a normal duck. She has serious balance issues so she has her own enclosure for safety. We spoil her lots, though. Very sweet girl.
So those are my birds. We also have 5 horses, 4 dogs, 5 cats, some lizards, turtles, etc. We wanted chickens for years but waited until we were educated enough and had a safe place for them. We are still learning, though.
Looking forward to getting to know you all,
Jenn
