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BROWNIE STILL CLUCKING TO HER JUVENILE BROOD
Brownie with her brood of five juveniles and Ralph. Ralph is coming into good feather but is a good 45 days behind the games of similar age and sex. Brownie offspring are nearly as big as she is and well into process of molting from juvenile feather set into the first adult set. The harem stands tight like shown except when feeding although Ralph tends to stand a little apart and out in the open. Loafing sites are much more consistently located in locations that are warmer than average. Ambient temperature was in the middle fifties with a nice breeze. This means they are operating at a temperature that is lower than optimal so they are already doing what they can to conserve energy.
Weights were determined for Brownie (1260 g), stag-1 (1009 g), stag-2 (1236 g), pullet-1 (834 g), stag-3 (912 g), and pullet-2 (974 g). Her non-breeding weight for winter should be about 1450 with empty crop so she is underweight. She is also turning over her body feathers for a second time since summer. Last year I thought same occurred with her and other hens similarly watched. The body feathers kept for the very short time were darker than the feathers coming back in. These new feathers will fade from exposure over the next 8 months making transition to the darker intermediate set more evident. The cocks do not seem to do this. Last year the tail feathers were also turned over twice but that may have been a function of the extreme heat of the summer.
Brownie with her brood of five juveniles and Ralph. Ralph is coming into good feather but is a good 45 days behind the games of similar age and sex. Brownie offspring are nearly as big as she is and well into process of molting from juvenile feather set into the first adult set. The harem stands tight like shown except when feeding although Ralph tends to stand a little apart and out in the open. Loafing sites are much more consistently located in locations that are warmer than average. Ambient temperature was in the middle fifties with a nice breeze. This means they are operating at a temperature that is lower than optimal so they are already doing what they can to conserve energy.
Weights were determined for Brownie (1260 g), stag-1 (1009 g), stag-2 (1236 g), pullet-1 (834 g), stag-3 (912 g), and pullet-2 (974 g). Her non-breeding weight for winter should be about 1450 with empty crop so she is underweight. She is also turning over her body feathers for a second time since summer. Last year I thought same occurred with her and other hens similarly watched. The body feathers kept for the very short time were darker than the feathers coming back in. These new feathers will fade from exposure over the next 8 months making transition to the darker intermediate set more evident. The cocks do not seem to do this. Last year the tail feathers were also turned over twice but that may have been a function of the extreme heat of the summer.
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