Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Not being able to see them real plain I would think you have two barred rocks and two buff orpingtons, however the buff colored ones could be something else if they have yellow rather than white legs. If the legs are white that is pretty much a given they are orps.
This rainy weather isn't going to be good for chicks cause it takes them a while to learn what it is and have the sense to come in out of it. Rain hasn't hit here yet but I have a pen of young birds that I am concerned about when it does. Hopefully they'll figure out its much nicer inside. I have others that need to be moved outside but not until this weather is a little more stable.

 

[Trish44]

@JiltdRoyalty Welcome to the thread & BYC! I'm just southeast of you at Winfield. I agree with danz on the chicks in your pic & also being frypan special they will most likely be roosters. They figure people are going to butcher them eventually anyway so it doesn't matter if they're roosters or pullets.

I have another hatch in progress today, about half of them hatched overnight & the other half are just beginning to pip. I'm hoping there are some in this hatch that I can fill orders with. I have 10 Mille Fleur Leghorns in my other brooder that are getting pretty good sized if anyone would be interested in those. They're a hard to find color & are really pretty. The hens are Mille Fleur & my rooster is Buff because I couldn't find a MF rooster at the time. I really need them to go because my brooder is full. Here is a pic of the adult hens, they were a bit younger when this was taken.

 

[HEChicken]

I have another hatch in progress today, about half of them hatched overnight & the other half are just beginning to pip. I'm hoping there are some in this hatch that I can fill orders with. I have 10 Mille Fleur Leghorns in my other brooder that are getting pretty good sized if anyone would be interested in those. They're a hard to find color & are really pretty. The hens are Mille Fleur & my rooster is Buff because I couldn't find a MF rooster at the time. I really need them to go because my brooder is full. Here is a pic of the adult hens, they were a bit younger when this was taken.

How old are they? I'd be interested in the pullet in this picture as I think she would work well for my project. I'll chat with you about it by PM

JiltdRoyalty, welcome!

Well, it is finally raining here and contrary to predictions, it is coming down in a slow, gentle enough rain - so far at least - to actually soak in and do some good. I am doing the happy dance for sure

And, since it is not only a Sunday but a RAINY Sunday, I'm thinking whipping up a batch of cookies and having the oven going sounds just about perfect. Mmmmm cookie dough.....

I got a bunch of seeds planted in the garden the past two days in anticipation of the rain so now I can sit back and wait to see what comes up.

I'm nearing the end of bottle feeding the kids. The older two will be 10 weeks old on Tuesday and the younger four are only a week younger. I had said all along that I'd do the bottles until they were 10 weeks old so we're starting to taper off. Interestingly, the older doeling is self-weaning. She is the one I nicknamed Miss Piggy because she was always first to run to me and would be eager to finish any if the other two didn't drink all of theirs. Yesterday she only drank about half of her morning and noon bottles. She did drink all of her evening bottle but this morning just sniffed at it and walked away. Her timing is perfect as she is sold and will be picked up tomorrow, so, since she is losing interest in milk anyway, I don't feel so bad about separating her from her mother. Her brother will really miss her when she's gone. Even though all 6 kids are only 8 days apart in age (and the younger two sets of twins were born only hours apart), they retain the twin bond from being in-utero together. The six kids will all play together but when its time to lie down and rest, they separate into the three sets of twins. Each twin pair will lie touching each other - but some distance from any of the others. So this doeling's brother, who will be staying and raised for meat, will sorely miss her in the next few days. I feel bad about that but when the other three does leave, there will just be the two bucklings and I'm hoping the two of them will bond, in the absence of their sisters, to make up for the loss.

 

[JiltdRoyalty]

HEChicken, im guessing your talking about goats?

 

[HEChicken]

LOL - yes. Isn't it funny that every species of animal has a unique name for its offspring, except goats and humans share the word "kids"?

That reminds me of a friend of mine who recently asked me "Oh - and how are the kids?" I told her they are doing great and started to detail what they're up to in school. She stopped me gently and said "I meant the goat kids. I like your human kids just fine. But right now what interests me is the goats".

 

[JiltdRoyalty]

Got some good news! My Broiler chicks went into the outside coop about eight or nine days ago, but weren't using the hutch part of the coop, just the run. The weather was decent, so I didn't worry about it. Yesterday with the High winds and the rains we were expecting I was very concerned. Last night just after dark, I went out and they were all huddled under the ramp up to the coop. I put each one inside the coop from the outside nesting boxes and they stay there all night. Of course, I checked three times throughout the night. This morning by sun up they were back in the run. Was wondering if I'd have to do it again, but when I just got home from the store they were all up in the coop again! So glad I don't have to worry about that anymore

 

[HEChicken]

For creatures with tiny brains, I am constantly amazed by how fast they can learn. I sometimes have to teach juveniles to get on the roosts, if they were brooder raised and didn't have a mama to show them. The first night is chaos as I pluck them from their group nest on the floor and place them one by one on the roosts. Some will jump down and have to be lifted up again several times that first night. By the second night, several of them have made it up onto the roost by themselves. And typically by the third night they all have it figured out.

 

[JiltdRoyalty]

So, is there a natural instinct to roost? Or is it a learned/taught behavior?

 

[HEChicken]

It is a natural instinct. But sometimes juveniles don't want to compete with the mature birds by getting up on the roosts so keep with the habit of nesting on the floor, since that's all they could do as chicks. But they retrain really easily and, left to their own devices, they'll all eventually get up the nerve to get up their for the first time on their own anyway. I don't like them sleeping too long on the floor as they get the bedding in that corner too wet to try out, so I speed the process along by training them when I feel they are old enough.

 

[JiltdRoyalty]

Seems every post leads to a new question. So, how do you train a chick to roost?