Easter Egger club!

[ochochicas]

so would you guys mind giving me your #1 (or more) best piece of advice for making pet quality out of 4-5mth old hens that were raised in a big group & the 5 just came home 3 days ago into a small backyard coop. It's in the negative Celcius temps so please don't suggest just sitting outside with them LOL! I am talking to them when I check them twice a day & I have offered feed in my hand & 1 has taken some layer ration from my mitten bundled hand.

In my limited experience, scratch grains are your best friend. I've been able to socialize almost every wild, unfriendly chicken just by giving them scratch grains every evening. Even my unhandled cockerels come running now when they see me. They are quite cute now that they aren't terrified of people.

The other thing you can do is quickly pet them on the back after they have gone in to roost for the night. They will be calmer then (and sleepy) so they aren't likely to run or get as upset. If they respond well to it, you can put them a little more each night.

 

[ABlovinmychicks]

Hmmm I may have to head to UFA tomorrow for a sack of scratch, (I feed 17% layer ration w/a 2nd feed tub available in the henhouse of DE) but I can make room in my feed tote for a sack of scratch to be used as a "treat/bribe"! When we caught them on Sunday & when I pulled them from the travel tote into the henhouse they didn't fight me holding them they all just "sat there" well maybe Sunshine fought a bit but nothing really that stood out like "oh man I don't think she'd do well as a backyard hen".

On another note everyone is talking about black & white hens being rare?. Speckles I thought was the prettiest of the 5 black & whites they had for sale! maybe I should have just gone for all 5 black & white hens & been the envy of the club LOL (but that said my other 4 girls are pretty cool marked too!)

 

[LBK420]

Larry, Roxie, lucy, alma

Kate
Ashley
Barbara Bush

 

[LBK420]

Laying eggs are exhausting

 

[LBK420]

Mona and miss Kate

 

[LBK420]

Lucy and Bridget

 

[cowhlb]

I used to have an EE named Oakly, but she never laid eggs and sadly she died because she wedged her head under a rock

. But on a higher note we now have 2 new EE and one of them has a dark colored head named, Honey and she lays olive eggs. (And no she is not an olive layer) then my second had a lighter colored head and she lays the prettiest baby blue colored eggs and her name is Kiko.

 

[LBK420]

Batman and Alma
#bestfriends

 

[LBK420]

Mona!

 

[LBK420]

Assassin