ashncarson, The broody pen was inside the coop so the mom and chickies were within view all the time. Still... I worried. With fear and trepidation, I opened the door and held my breath. Mom immediately left the pen, clucking to the chicks, sweetly calling them out. It was so adorable and I would've enjoyed it if I hadn't been so nervous. Within 5 minutes, all of them were out and the other birds and ducks were coming and going in the coop and didn't even look at the chicks. It was a real non-event. Made me smack my forehead and say "What took me so long! ".Nobody bothered those babies until later on when Mom cut the apron strings and then it was just a "know your place" type of encounter, they would retreat and all would be well.
I think it will be fine, but I'm too nervous to say so. Like birds hadn't done this forever without my help. LOL
Question: Would this be a good time to open up the lid and let the babies come out (they jump on the ledge but go back in) or would that be unfair to the rest of the chickens since mom is so crazy mean to them. I would make them a easier way to get out and then just leave it open for them to maybe go back to at night
We will have most of the chicks maybe another 2 weeks before most of them go to their new home, leaving us with 3 chicks.
I'd leave the lid open and watch for a little while. If those chicks want out and can sit on top they can jump out. They are old enough they should be just fine and if not Mama hen will intervene.
I am trying to decide on which other two chicks to keep. I like my chickens to each have their own look if possible.
Here are some of our current girls. The broody mom looks like the large black one. We have a black one similar to the white one and then a small brown bantam.
Here is one chick, we like her personality, she is very curious and lets up pet her a bit!
but, she is also another orange chicken and i wanted to avoid that. I am thinking she be a buff orp. or new hampshire mix.
She looks like a buff. I can't see her leg color. If they are white and not yellow she is a buff. A New Hamp would be much darker colored.
I really want one to have some Silver Laced look to it, here are the two for that.
#2
I'd go for the second one. The first one doesn't have good lacing for a laced bird and #2 is really pretty.
This girl here (assuming its a girl) is beautiful as well, she has one that looks like a colombian wyandotte, so maybe it has some of that in it?
#3
That beak looks strange but I would say she has some Columbian in her. I love that color pattern. As my son once pointed out. In nature when you have black and white in an animal, the white looks whiter and the black looks blacker. Makes a striking appearance.
Just my opinion though.
The whole clue to keeping excess chickens is the noise level and the neighbors. If the neighbors don't like the smell, the noise, or a crowing rooster you are going to get reported regardless of how many other people have more than their allowed limit. Keeping the coop out of site from the street, offering eggs to neighbors if you have extras, etc all play into what you can get away with. I would quietly check into how much fines are if you are over the limit just so you know what happens if you do get reported.
I was gone all day yesterday. I got a load of feed and then DH and I went to Missouri to pick up my Bobcat. It was nearly 10 PM before we got home. Long long day. I need to get out and figure out how to off load the feed. Chickens are hungry and I have to beat the next darned rain storm. We had a broken brake line on the truck that I get feed on. So he loaded the grain box onto the big farm truck with a dump bed. I don't even try to operate that and it is taller than I am so I have no idea how to get the grain box unloaded. With the feed in the feed box it's too heavy to lift with the tractor so the dump bed will have to be tilted. I just don't know how this is going to work. I'm just thankful it didn't rain last night. What a blessing! I just need to get DH to help me figure out how to shovel the feed off some how.@ashncarson , I really take a liking to that orange chick of yours. I know you don't necessarily want another orange, but she looks like a character.
So, I realized last night, as I was taking some of the littles out of the brooder for pictures, that I really don't know the breed of probably about 50% of the full-bred chicks I have! Some of them are a simple gimme, like the barred rocks or silkies, but others that I either have not watched grow before or I'm just really unfamiliar with are beyond me. I'm sure it would help for me to get my ordering lists out. That would help me narrow down breeds by ages, anyway. I'm gonna post some pictures and number them. If you know what the breed is, let me know!
#1 (We call this one Bugsy, because it has had HUGE eyes since it was itty bitty. It's around 8 weeks)
Not sure what breeds you ordered and the pictures aren't real clear or large. I'm old I can't see! I would say this would either be a sex link or a Rhode Island red.
#2 I have no idea. This is a 5-week-old chick.
Looks like a cockerel. Could be a sex link or possibly a leghorn.
#3 I think maybe Silver Laced Wyandotte. My other (but less likely guess) would be Silver Spangled Hamburg).
It's not a Wyandotte. The leg color is wrong and from what I can see of the comb that is wrong as well. Probably the Hamburg.
#4 Dunno.
Could be a sex link but I'm not sure.
This is Petunia, one of our Silkies.
