BYC Café

[FortCluck]

Where are you moving to?

Near Amelia... Pretty much same area just 20-30 minutes closer to where we are. Closer to my parents because I'm inseparable with my dad

 

[FortCluck]

and no joke about mine and my dad's relationship, we have to text each other every day or we think there is something wrong

 

[sourland]

@CapricornFarm left some pastries over at the Birthday Chat. I brought them over here and brewed another pot of coffee.

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning, Cafe folks! I'll have a cup of that jo, Shadrach! Thanks!

I'm managing cockerels these days. I have two, and I only have 10 hens and pullets. Not sure how this will work out in the end, but I really love them both and want to keep them.

Pippi Longshot was a single hatch from 13 BO hatching eggs that were mishandled by the post office. Not wanting him to come into the world all alone, I bought 3 LO straight run chicks to cheer him on. And they did. I could hear him cheeping through the crack in his egg, and then I could hear one of the LOs cheeping back to him. When he finally got out, and wandered over to the teddy bear and mirror, he knew immediately that was not where the cheeping was coming from. He looked up at me through the incubator glass, stood on his tippy toes, and cheeped until he fell over backward, time and again, saying "let me out...where's that cheeping coming from? I know it's not this bear!"

I thought I had 2 LO cockerels and 1 pullet. Pippi was a mystery in the beginning. It turned out I have a cockerel in each color. Perfect. Mad Hatter, Abby and Alice are the LOs.

At 21 weeks, Mad has taken the lead, and was really always in the lead. To keep the peace, and to give Pippi a better cockerel experience, I've begun moving him into the pen with my 8 hens each day. The girls are teaching him some manners, and he is learning his cockerel skills. All is well until bed time when he starts looking for a hole in the fence to get back to Mad's safe house, and I have to herd him around to the gate...in the freezing rain. Pippi finally tried to crow yesterday. Too funny. Mad has been crowing for a long time, and is quite a vocal guy actually.

Having 2 cockerels in that hormonal crazy stage is a handful! I am prepared to have a bachelor pad if I need to, but I'm hoping eventually all my chickens will live together in harmony. Perhaps that will happen when we have our new walk in coop. I don't know. What do you think? Will I have to raise more pullets to make this work? I'm hoping to never raise chicks again myself. I want my hens to do that. Wishful thinking?

I'm currently experimenting with housing arrangements myself Valerie. I gave my son my Faverolles cockerel and we sent 2 to freezer camp over the weekend. This leaves me with 5 pullets and a cockerel 6 months or older and 12 chicks, 6 of which are cockerels.

For now everyone is housed in the main coop together, and they all roost on the same level. My coop is walk in with a pop door. So far if I leave both doors open before they go to roost it has been going well. I'm prepared to make adjustments to the mini coop in Spring if needed to have separate housing, but I'm waiting to see what happens as the chicks grow before I do that.

I hope you keep us updated with how things are going!

 

[ValerieJ]

I'm currently experimenting with housing arrangements myself Valerie. I gave my son my Faverolles cockerel and we sent 2 to freezer camp over the weekend. This leaves me with 5 pullets and a cockerel 6 months or older and 12 chicks, 6 of which are cockerels.

For now everyone is housed in the main coop together, and they all roost on the same level. My coop is walk in with a pop door. So far if I leave both doors open before they go to roost it has been going well. I'm prepared to make adjustments to the mini coop in Spring if needed to have separate housing, but I'm waiting to see what happens as the chicks grow before I do that.

I hope you keep us updated with how things are going!

I will, and I'd like to follow your progress too. I've not been successful with cockerels and roosters in the past, and have tried both. This time I'm determined to keep both of these so that my hens can ultimately produce all my new chicks in the future. I'd love to breed both the lavenders and the buffs. I can easily keep them separate, but they all have a more interesting life when they can roam all the pens and coops at will. Time to go let Pippi in with the hens now. I've been procrastinating because I look out the window and see wet sloppy white stuff all over.

 

[ronott1]

Making themselves at home in Bucket Boy's place.
View attachment 2001369

How funny!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Beautiful tank! How fun! Can't wait to see all the fish!

Thanks, me either!

 

[ronott1]

I'm currently experimenting with housing arrangements myself Valerie. I gave my son my Faverolles cockerel and we sent 2 to freezer camp over the weekend. This leaves me with 5 pullets and a cockerel 6 months or older and 12 chicks, 6 of which are cockerels.

For now everyone is housed in the main coop together, and they all roost on the same level. My coop is walk in with a pop door. So far if I leave both doors open before they go to roost it has been going well. I'm prepared to make adjustments to the mini coop in Spring if needed to have separate housing, but I'm waiting to see what happens as the chicks grow before I do that.

I hope you keep us updated with how things are going!

Best wishes on your housing project!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning cafe than @sourland for the coffee and pastry we actually have slush excuse for snow dogs had ball rip and tear

 

[FortCluck]

For my fish tank ...
View attachment 2001412
Hubby already has the freezer full. I plan to get community fish so hopefully they all get along. Livebearers, tetras, catfish, loaches and the like. The tank may not be cycled yet so I am only getting a few.

Looks awesome