So cute!!!!I have hay bales stacked as a wind break in each of my breeding pens. Last year we had 70 odd bales that were too wet to shed, so I put them in one of the runs. The chooks loved it , gave them something to do , playing ' king of the castle' and hide and seek. Once I cut the twine holding it together they ploughed it all over for me.
Definitely not too invasiveThose are some cute birds! A flock of two, hey? Are you planning on getting some more? If it's not too personal, what happened to the other three to cause their demise? (Just trying to learn and avoid possible trouble!)
My RIR's are definitely more aggressive than the Buff Orpingtons. We bought all of our chickens at a poultry auction on the same day. The 3 BO's were in one cage, and the 4 RIR's had been raised together too. At first, no-one wanted to mingle. When they did, the RIR's were very pecky with the BO's. Not to the point where any feathers were lost though. I think they were trying to establish their pecking order, and the RIR's came out on top. They sleep on the top roost, even over our cockerel George!
The RIR's are fine to work around but hard to catch! If anything, they will run away when I come near them, whereas the BO's like to follow me around, and come running when they see me. I have heard that RIR roosters are a force to be reckoned with though
I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I got the BO's because they go broody, and I thought I would be able to add to my flock with them. The RIR's I got because they rarely go broody, but are good in the egg producing department. When the other 3 start laying I'll let you know!
I like them all, but I love the BO's nature. They are very funny and so sweet, I would recommend them to anyone. I would like to get a couple more birds to add to the flock but am wary of introducing pests (mites, lice, worms etc) and causing upset for my current birds. If I do add to the flock, I would like to get a couple of Australorps and a couple of Wyandottes. I will have to see how I go convincing hubby to buy me some more!
Krista.
OK so I started off with Agi/Agapeter, Loupe/Quadaloupe(I think that's how you spell it, my sister was learning Spanish at the time so she just HAD to call them Spanish names), and Pepi/Pepita. Pepi was the first to die, and my family thinks that she was just old. After she died, we got two from the RSPCA, Ruby(originally Doris), and Doris(originally Hilda). Unfortunately, they had no idea of the hens' ages, but they said that they were laying, so that's why we got them. Annoyingly, Doris turned out to be the egg eater, and Ruby wasn't laying at all, so pretty much, we got no eggs. About a month after that, Ruby died. We had no idea of how she died, but about a week before, she started looking tired and she wasn't eating or drinking. I started feeding her and gently made her drink, and she happily drank about a 1/4 of a cup with me holding it up. The next day I came out to do the whole thing again and she was peacefully leaning against the wall of the coop nestled in a lot of straw. So that was the end of Ruby, and then about 4 months later, Agi was the same, except she was healthier, she was eating and drinking and digging and running the day before she died. And so now, I pretty much have a mini graveyard in my backyard(yes, my lil sister made paper grave stones) and that was the story. I am thinking of getting more, because my girls are old now(they're not laying anymore). The option of my old girls getting a disease or picking up a new one from the new hens is what my mum's worrying about at the moment, but hopefully I will be able to get some soon. I'm probably going to stick to getting Iser Browns, because they're good layers, good with weather and they're friendly to both humans and fellow chickens. But Australorps and Buff Orpingtons are on my list too.
Krista
The first time, I was new too chickens, so it wasn't that sad I have to admit. The second time was when I was younger, probably about 8 or 9 I remember sitting next to Ruby till about nine o'clock singing to her because I thought she was going to die during the night. 3rd time around was very emotional, everyone except my brothers and dad were crying. I think that's because little Agi was partly alive, and she was taking a long time, so In the end, my dad ended up having to finish her off. Thankfully they're just chickens, though it is terribly sad when they die, but it gives you practise for your cats or dogs or people.Thanks Fancychooklady for that info - it certainly is pretty! I would like to get some silver laced Wyandottes one day to add to my flock. Chickenlover, what a sad story! I do admire you for trying to give a good home to less fortunate chickens, but it must be so sad to lose them. I am a real animal lover and I know I would be devastated if anything happened to my chickens, or my cats for that matter. I have heard the Iser Browns are very good value and lay lots of eggs. I hope you do go ahead and get some more eventually - they are such a delight to have around. I don't know a lot about chickens yet, but I've read on this site that when you get new birds they should be quarantined until you know they are safe and healthy to put with your existing flock. Hopefully that would give your Mum some peace of mind
