Delawares from kathyinmo

[finnfur]

No foxes, please. I'm busy enough with coyotes, hawks, and my new eagle buddies.

Oh - What kinda Eagle- them big ones is the worst - they can take a full grow Cock in a heartbeat - even a Mr Fatty.
And they are protected by all branches of the current government .

 

[finnfur]

You just need to arm you chickens

Yes- Democracy is two Fox and a chicken voting on what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well armed chicken contesting the vote.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Oh - What kinda Eagle- them big ones is the worst - they can take a full grow Cock in a heartbeat - even a Mr Fatty.
And they are protected by all branches of the current government .

Big and scary. I'd never seen one here. Never seen one up that close anywhere. He tried to land in Frisbee Field one afternoon when Gust and the chickens and I were out there playing in the clover. I couldn't stop myself from cheering when he showed up. Yeah, that's it. "Cheering." They've been hanging out in the neighbor's trees, observing the property line, I'm sure. Creepy.

Mr Fatty has pretty good cover. Everyone else has some open fields in their area.

Crows are good for the Falcons ... I mean hawks, which are constant and close here ... and maybe the Eagles. But crows look at the chicks like bits of popcorn.

 

[finnfur]

Big and scary. I'd never seen one here. Never seen one up that close anywhere. He tried to land in Frisbee Field one afternoon when Gust and the chickens and I were out there playing in the clover. I couldn't stop myself from cheering when he showed up. Yeah, that's it. "Cheering." They've been hanging out in the neighbor's trees, observing the property line, I'm sure. Creepy.

Mr Fatty has pretty good cover. Everyone else has some open fields in their area.

Crows are good for the Falcons and maybe the Eagles. But crows look at the chicks like bits of popcorn.

Where we are moving from I was walking out the drive way that has a thick stand of pines around it. I heard a rushing noise and a Bald Eagle swooped down right in front of me and scoped up a full grow rabbit and ten more wing beats it was gone with it . Scared me at first till I realized what it was.
I have seen Utube video of a Golden Eagle taking a running fawn at full speed.
They are tough
Edit to add - when we don't have a lot of kitchen scrap treats I pop popcorn. The chickens have their very own popper in the barn. The crows come down and steal some of the scraps, Black crows flying off with white corn in the beak.
I put up with the crows because they are the daytime alarm system for Hawks.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

10-11 weeks seems to be about when chicks in this line start to resemble chickens. I need weights and better photos ...

 

[caychris]

I have one about that age right now Ill have to weight her tonight.

 

[rancher hicks]

Dock

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Here is a photo of a couple of the 11 week old chicks with one of the Delaware hens I used for breeding this year. This past week they've gotten enough nicer feathers that they are starting to look more like chickens. The change is impressive from last week to now.

The black blob in front is one of the Black Copper Marans chicks I got from Zanna and slipped into the nest while this group of Delawares were hatching. You can kinda see the BCM is still a bit ahead in size and maturity, but the Delawares seem to be catching up a bit.

Sorry about the hardware cloth, I was outside the coop early this morning before opening the door. The Teenagers were crowded down at that end, and I saw through the kitchen window it might be a good time to try to catch a photo before they scattered.

 

[caychris]

Here is a photo of a couple of the 11 week old chicks with one of the Delaware hens I used for breeding this year. This past week they've gotten enough nicer feathers that they are starting to look more like chickens. The change is impressive from last week to now.

The black blob in front is one of the Black Copper Marans chicks I got from Zanna and slipped into the nest while this group of Delawares were hatching. You can kinda see the BCM is still a bit ahead in size and maturity, but the Delawares seem to be catching up a bit.

Sorry about the hardware cloth, I was outside the coop early this morning before opening the door. The Teenagers were crowded down at that end, and I saw through the kitchen window it might be a good time to try to catch a photo before they scattered.

Yours appear a bit bigger than the one I hatched. Ill have to double check how old she is.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Yours appear a bit bigger than the one I hatched. Ill have to double check how old she is.

Yes. And get those breeding pens set up so you can hatch more than one.