Dixie Chicks

[Amberjem]

Ran out of space...put grow outs in the veggie garden... I have done it before without losses.

Right now the entire top is netted except for a very small spot at the gate, AND it is solid very tall weeds so great for the chickens to hide in. Fenced with wood on the bottom, goat wire and wood along the top edge. So good fencing.

The solid weeds made it VERY difficult for us to count them and keep track of how many were in there.

But I kept listening to them, the pen is relatively close to my bedroom window. I have caught owl attacks before because I hear the chickens scream. But, I never heard anything out of the ordinary.

Suddenly wondered why the feed was going down so slowly....and why they hadn't eaten all of the weeds down.....

Sat still for an hour to count them...

I had put in 32..... I now have 6.


What went in?
17 pure bred black Ameraucana (7 girls, I was going to keep the best 2, sell the rest for $20 each)
4 super fancy shipped eggs dark brown leghorns
2 blue bantam wyandottes (from that shipped bantam order where most died)
The rest I didn't care too much about... Mostly bantam roosters....

man that bites

 

[Amberjem]

welp I have decided to rehome two hens.... the brown leghorn is a lazy layer and sadly the bamadude oliver layer is going as well for poor laying.....both are very wiley flighty birds anyways along with not laying very well..good foragers though..I'm working on narrowing down my breeds to specifics...wyandotte and brahma's ..and any other chickens will be colored egg for identifying purposes...(Like lavender Americana's )

 

[hennible]

I rehomed an awesome muscovy drake this week to keep the peace. It's great, now no more nightly coop riots and I made $20 lol

 

[Alaskan]

Brilliant!

People downsizing!

 

[Alaskan]

I found someone to come and take all of my extras for free. (Old hens, bunches of cockerels, and my genetic defects)....

But now I am all ooooooh, maybe I should downsize and chunk everything into the "to go box"

So.... I decided/ or am thinking

1. Don't keep the about 8 bantam male wheaten ameraucana that I was going to grow out and figure out which would be a good replacement for my current rooster.... Sure the current roo is HETEROzygous for pea comb, but he has great conformation, great color, and perfect personality.......

2. Get rid of all older hens that don't look good. I have three that just can't get their act together. One has feathers that are too soft so she always looks ratty, one is on the very bottom of the pecking order, and even with lots of space is always pecked on, and one I just can't figure out... Also, there is that one with the bent back that I never got rid of....

3. Could I get rid of the old d'uccle hens? They are horrid broodies, and since they love to "try" to brood, they are poor layers..... Kids might get upset .... Might have to keep those.... I have four....but they are named, kids will know if we go from 4 to 2 ..... Hum...... Maybe keep those, kids have to stay happy since they do all of the work -sigh- (kids that care are right now at camp...can't ask)

4. Get rid of Spitz roo I used this spring, he is bad color, no crest, and fathered a bunch of genetic "oops" (odd noses and toes without toe nails) eventhough he has a perfect personality....still, chunk him, yep. I have two possible replacements, I need to decide if I want to keep both (they are different colors).

5. Since the majority of my grow-outs mysteriously disapeared... I think I only have 2 male standard sized black ams.... They are layed back....maybe I could just keep them without too much trouble... Because I think my Black Am cock is also heterozygous for pea comb.

6. Should I keep the blue am cockerel I was given? He has a great body/conformation and zero leakage and a nice small comb so might actually be homozygous for pea comb, what a thought! I have always wanted blue hens and some splash hens too.... But his personality has been developing into SUCKY. But I want his color. -sigh- Unless someone wants to send me free blue and splash pure bred Ameraucana hens? (Yeah @RavynFallen I have been staring at him so closely the last two days... He bullies the grow-outs he is with and when I turned my back yesterday he attacked me!!!)

7. I have a very cute trio of single comb bantam white leghorns growing up. They are looking stellar show quality! What idiot would keep that little cockerel? What am I gonna do? I will need two more coops!!!

8. The male dark brown rose comb standard sized leghorn...I gotta keep him, so I can hatch some lovely pure chicks... That no one will pay me for... Unless I sell them for $2 each or some other insanity.... But maybe I could hatch out 100 dark brown chicks next year, those things are super wild/flighty. I can try free ranging them and see if any make it...but why? I already have enough eggs to eat...I could sell more eggs, but that takes work.... But he looks promissing.... Could be a stunner... Feet aren't very yellow, but the rest of him should be stellar...hard to get the good yellow feet on a dark brown.....

 

[Alaskan]

@RavynFallen here I am, just blowing up your feed next I will be a stalker

Achem... Anyway, from the Am facebook page about toenails...

Well, I was wrong, Jean is right. The Standard does address it - pg .32 of the 2010 APA Standards. Under shanks and toes: "(c) White toe nail in black legged varieties . . . . 1" (point)

Huh, but then this was posted as a link:

http://ameraucanaalliance.org/forum/index.php?topic=519.0

Now I am confused

 

[Outpost JWB]

This morning at 4am, I went outside to check on chickens as normal. It stormed last night, so I was doubtful anything bothered them. I shined the light in the coop because the light inside the coop was out....? I seen there were no chickens on one of the roost poles. Confusing....I flung the door open, shined the flashlight & low and behold, there was a raccoon INSIDE MY COOP!!!!

That raccoon has been dispatched. But not before it killied one of my good laying hens. Red sex link. Not sure if it got anymore. I'll do a headcount tonight. Ugh! I hate predators!

 

[Amberjem]

turkeys are growing the chicks are growing going to integrate them shortly...pretty sure have two toms and a hen

 

[Amberjem]

This morning at 4am, I went outside to check on chickens as normal. It stormed last night, so I was doubtful anything bothered them. I shined the light in the coop because the light inside the coop was out....? I seen there were no chickens on one of the roost poles. Confusing....I flung the door open, shined the flashlight & low and behold, there was a raccoon INSIDE MY COOP!!!!

That raccoon has been dispatched.

But not before it killied one of my good laying hens. Red sex link.

Not sure if it got anymore. I'll do a headcount tonight. Ugh! I hate predators!

oh noooo

 

[Amberjem]

I found someone to come and take all of my extras for free. (Old hens, bunches of cockerels, and my genetic defects)....

But now I am all ooooooh, maybe I should downsize and chunk everything into the "to go box"

So.... I decided/ or am thinking

1. Don't keep the about 8 bantam male wheaten ameraucana that I was going to grow out and figure out which would be a good replacement for my current rooster.... Sure the current roo is HETEROzygous for pea comb, but he has great conformation, great color, and perfect personality.......

2. Get rid of all older hens that don't look good. I have three that just can't get their act together. One has feathers that are too soft so she always looks ratty, one is on the very bottom of the pecking order, and even with lots of space is always pecked on, and one I just can't figure out... Also, there is that one with the bent back that I never got rid of....

3. Could I get rid of the old d'uccle hens? They are horrid broodies, and since they love to "try" to brood, they are poor layers..... Kids might get upset ....

Might have to keep those.... I have four....but they are named, kids will know if we go from 4 to 2 ..... Hum...... Maybe keep those, kids have to stay happy since they do all of the work -sigh- (kids that care are right now at camp...can't ask)

4. Get rid of Spitz roo I used this spring, he is bad color, no crest, and fathered a bunch of genetic "oops" (odd noses and toes without toe nails) eventhough he has a perfect personality....still, chunk him, yep. I have two possible replacements, I need to decide if I want to keep both (they are different colors).

5. Since the majority of my grow-outs mysteriously disapeared... I think I only have 2 male standard sized black ams.... They are layed back....maybe I could just keep them without too much trouble... Because I think my Black Am cock is also heterozygous for pea comb.

6. Should I keep the blue am cockerel I was given? He has a great body/conformation and zero leakage and a nice small comb so might actually be homozygous for pea comb, what a thought! I have always wanted blue hens and some splash hens too.... But his personality has been developing into SUCKY. But I want his color. -sigh- Unless someone wants to send me free blue and splash pure bred Ameraucana hens?

(Yeah @RavynFallen I have been staring at him so closely the last two days... He bullies the grow-outs he is with and when I turned my back yesterday he attacked me!!!)

7. I have a very cute trio of single comb bantam white leghorns growing up. They are looking stellar show quality! What idiot would keep that little cockerel? What am I gonna do? I will need two more coops!!!

8. The male dark brown rose comb standard sized leghorn...I gotta keep him,

so I can hatch some lovely pure chicks... That no one will pay me for... Unless I sell them for $2 each or some other insanity.... But maybe I could hatch out 100 dark brown chicks next year, those things are super wild/flighty. I can try free ranging them and see if any make it...but why? I already have enough eggs to eat...I could sell more eggs, but

that takes work.... But he looks promissing.... Could be a stunner... Feet aren't very yellow, but the rest of him should be stellar...hard to get the good yellow feet on a dark brown.....

with all the downsizing why dont you have room?