Colorado

[Percheron chick]

I would pick up a small bale of alfalfa. Toss them a flake every few days. It will give them something to do plus keep the yolks orange. One bale will last 6 hens about 2 months.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I agree with giving them some alfalfa. Lots of good things in it for them to have to work to find.
When mine get bored they scrape food out too.

Side note..... Keeping mine in for a few days did cause the humidity to rise dramatically. Easy enough to fix with adjustable vents.
I opened a few of the many that I had closed to keep that nasty wind out and 2 of the large windows. Of course I will have to close those tonight ( windows not vents).

For those that don't know my coop is 8 x 14 with 22 chickens in it. It is a walk in coop with the peak being about 8 foot up.

No frostbite here yet..... Now I am worried a bit though.

I spread a bale of straw in the run and let them out this afterrnoon. Noone is willing to set foot in the icky white stuff.

Hanging in there waiting for spring!

 

[Robilyn81]

I think the lazy Welsummer has finally kicked in! Of course she lays her first egg the day it's 3 degrees out . She hatched April 18.

 

[lomine]

Beautiful egg @Robilyn81 . It's so dark! I think Welsummers are such pretty birds. They are on my list of wanted breeds. Where did you get your Welsummer?

We seem to have made it through the most recent cold snap. I was worried about my ducks because two of them decided to start molting last week. Luckily, it seems they still had a good amount of down. I thought they had molted with the other duck based on all the feathers laying around before but I guess not. It must have been the warm fall weather that threw them off. It's a good thing my run is covered and wrapped in traps otherwise I might have needed to bring them inside.

 

[Robilyn81]

Beautiful egg @Robilyn81
. It's so dark! I think Welsummers are such pretty birds. They are on my list of wanted breeds. Where did you get your Welsummer?

Thanks! I have been waiting for these lovely dark eggs! I got her from the local feed store, Poudre Pet & Feed, in FoCo. I think they order from either Meyer or Cackle.

 

[Mtn Margie]

Breakfast ought to taste better tomorrow!

 

[lomine]

Thanks! I have been waiting for these lovely dark eggs! I got her from the local feed store, Poudre Pet & Feed, in FoCo. I think they order from either Meyer or Cackle.

I'll keep that in mind. I'm always reading about how "hatchery" Welsummer and Marans don't lay the nice dark eggs. It's nice to know that's not the case for everyone. I like the idea of getting from hatcheries or feeds stores so you can get a variety of breeds. Plus I want an egg basket full of different color eggs. I've already got white, light brown, and blue. Now I need green and a dark brown.

 

[Robilyn81]

I'll keep that in mind. I'm always reading about how "hatchery" Welsummer and Marans don't lay the nice dark eggs. It's nice to know that's not the case for everyone. I like the idea of getting from hatcheries or feeds stores so you can get a variety of breeds. Plus I want an egg basket full of different color eggs. I've already got white, light brown, and blue. Now I need green and a dark brown.

My hatchery birds have all been lovely, including this girl, who gets lots of compliments! I would like to try some local breeders too, though. Especially if I can learn to process the extra cockerels you'll get that way.

 

[lomine]

My hatchery birds have all been lovely, including this girl, who gets lots of compliments! I would like to try some local breeders too, though. Especially if I can learn to process the extra cockerels you'll get that way.

I can see why she gets so many compliments. Her lacing is absolutely perfect. And such a cute face. GLW are also on my list, or maybe SLW. I go back and forth.

My birds all came from the Elizabeth County Feed Store. My Blue AMs came from what the employees called a small hatchery. I'm assuming my EE and Wyandotte came from hatcheries since they were sold as sexed pullets. This is my Splash Laced Red Wyandotte, River. She was the first to lay an egg. She was a bit of a loon but has really mellowed since she started laying. Before I had to tell her multiple times that if she didn't get her act together she'd go to the soup pot.

Her red is supposed to be maroon but I love the copper color mixed with gray. She is definitely the looker of the group. I can't seem to capture it correctly in photos.

 

[Robilyn81]

I can see why she gets so many compliments. Her lacing is absolutely perfect. And such a cute face. GLW are also on my list, or maybe SLW. I go back and forth. My birds all came from the Elizabeth County Feed Store. My Blue AMs came from what the employees called a small hatchery. I'm assuming my EE and Wyandotte came from hatcheries since they were sold as sexed pullets. This is my Splash Laced Red Wyandotte, River. She was the first to lay an egg. She was a bit of a loon but has really mellowed since she started laying. Before I had to tell her multiple times that if she didn't get her act together she'd go to the soup pot. Her red is supposed to be maroon but I love the copper color mixed with gray. She is definitely the looker of the group. I can't seem to capture it correctly in photos.

she's beautiful! I love the laced reds, and I really like the splash! I've thought about getting some. My Welsummer is named River she is great, especially now that's laying, but she is a total wuss! Lol