- Aug 17, 2009
- 12
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The newbies from Oregon would like to know what our feral hen might be. We have looked at every photo of breeds, sub-varieties, etc. we can find but no match. We assume that this means we have some sort of hybride mutt? Huh?
Hen:
Size: small
Age: young (I would guess about 8-9 months)
Color: Black with irridescent blue on back. Uniform white spots around neck.
Eggs: Small (probably at least partially due to the age of the hen), nicely shaped and very uniform (2 inches long by slightly less than 1-1/2 inches in diameter), very light brown (beige/tan), and delicious. At present the hen is laying 3-5 eggs per week.
Miscelaneous: Roosters were much larger than the hen and almost the reverse coloration (primarily white with black spots in the neck area). Both hen and roosters could fly very well (for chickens), and prior to nesting, roosted about thirty feet up in pine trees at night. Birds were very skiddish initially, but hen seems to have mellowed a lot since the roosters went to the freezer and she nested for the first time. No health problems, eats well, and loves worms, cantelope, and tomatoes in addition to commercial feed. First brood consisted of 11 eggs -- two of which did not hatch and one chick that met the neighbors cat and lost. The remaining 8 chicks are thriving at a little over 2 months. Chicks range from black (like mom) to near white (like dad) and gray. Most have lots of feathers on their feet.
I am certainly not an expert at chicken photography yet, but will attempt to attach a couple of photos below. Since I haven't done this before, here's hoping that it works.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Art & Teri
Hen:
Size: small
Age: young (I would guess about 8-9 months)
Color: Black with irridescent blue on back. Uniform white spots around neck.
Eggs: Small (probably at least partially due to the age of the hen), nicely shaped and very uniform (2 inches long by slightly less than 1-1/2 inches in diameter), very light brown (beige/tan), and delicious. At present the hen is laying 3-5 eggs per week.
Miscelaneous: Roosters were much larger than the hen and almost the reverse coloration (primarily white with black spots in the neck area). Both hen and roosters could fly very well (for chickens), and prior to nesting, roosted about thirty feet up in pine trees at night. Birds were very skiddish initially, but hen seems to have mellowed a lot since the roosters went to the freezer and she nested for the first time. No health problems, eats well, and loves worms, cantelope, and tomatoes in addition to commercial feed. First brood consisted of 11 eggs -- two of which did not hatch and one chick that met the neighbors cat and lost. The remaining 8 chicks are thriving at a little over 2 months. Chicks range from black (like mom) to near white (like dad) and gray. Most have lots of feathers on their feet.
I am certainly not an expert at chicken photography yet, but will attempt to attach a couple of photos below. Since I haven't done this before, here's hoping that it works.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Art & Teri
