First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[duluthralphie]

Jessica, I am nearly dying! I am so glad to see you say it! My own DW simply says I am whining a lot!

I felt good enough to go watch Chicken TV today for a little bit. It is sunny and almost 50 degrees so it is a great summer day here!

The boys are al misbehaving!


I had to separate Ernie and Ed several times, I let them fight for a little thinking they would settle. I was getting too violent so I separated them. Then they walk about 20 ft about and start bragging how they kicked the other ones Butt and If I had not stopped them the other one would be sorry....

Next thing you know they are head to head again..... Stupid birds..... I hope they will be okay, they are not in the same coop but Ed is trying to move into the main flock a tad. Ernie is having nothing to do with it... Nameless just ran off and let the two fight..

Ole snuck off the other direction with some hens. Sneaky little buggar he is!

The toms are going at it all day long again. Around and around, neck wrestling, snood pulling, jumping at each other. JJ was on the other side of the fence from me and the one that always wants to attack me, So I decided to get into the fray. I used a net caught him. He was no happy. I pulled him from the net holding him by his feet. Then I got him upright and put him under my arm holding his wings down , while I petted his head, monkeyed with is snood and generally made him submit to whatever I wanted. I held him for a good 10-15 minutes just talking to him and petting him... Hopefully he will learn I am his boss! If not we will do this again.


Even Bert got into the fighting today. Bert is not aggressive ever, but today he was. Bert and Ray (the legbar or as MM calls them " the diamond encrusted chicken") had a fight. I have pictures for you It was so funny. They both seem to think they are pretty tough, as long as there is a fence between them!






I ask you does Bert look like a lazy chicken here?

 

[mountain mom]

So funny! Don't let Bert pull out any of those diamonds!

Spring is in the air... the boys are all fighting for the ladies attentions.

I know I have mentioned wanting to get the Orloff chicks. Now I am second guessing. Maybe just add another Wyandotte or two (I have gold laced and blue laced red) or Salmon Faverolles, or a cute little Silkie. Or maybe none at all and just wait for my turkey babies. I can't believe I can't make up my mind!

I need to get out to the coop and fill in some spots where the girls have tried to dig to China, add some new straw to the run, create a designated dust bath area.
I also need to get my meatball coop and run all squared away. It is "removeable" so I need to get it all put together.

Really, I would like to just watch the girls and enjoy the sun.

 

[mountain mom]

Pearl has laid a couple weird eggs the past 2 days. When she started laying, her eggs were normal. A bit of a roughness to them that the other eggs didn't have, but otherwise what I thought of as normal.
Yesterday and today she laid weird eggs. Yesterday there was a large rough patch on the top, along with the egg not being symmetrical. There were a couple flat spots. Today, there is a complete flat side, lots of roughness and wrinkles.




What does everyone think? They are not soft, but they are certainly weird.

I realize there may be nothing wrong, and stress or since she is a relatively new layer could be the reason. Just curious.

 

[Dandelioness]

I had a black sexlink lay an egg like this once. Whatever it was, resolved itself. I hope that is the case for Pearl, too.

She's your CX, right? So cool that she's laying.

 

[duluthralphie]

I got a coupe eggs like that a month or so ago..

When I saw it in the nest I thought it would be soft, it wasn't. Looked like yours...



BTW Bert is upset with me tonight. I made him go to bed earlier than he wanted too. He cannot hide his emotions worth a darn.

 

[mountain mom]

She is my CX... which makes me a tad worried. I hope tomorrow brings a normal egg. Weird eggs happen, but not usually consistently unless there is something going on.
I also need to put in a lower roost for her, she can no longer make it 2 feet off the ground...

Chickens certainly don't bury their emotions, do they?! I bet Bert wanted to strut in the empty yard for a bit longer.

 

[nj2wv]

I think that happens when it gets stuck and the next egg is next to it while it forms. The deposits could be too much calcium.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Mountain Mom: Sunny laid several eggs like that. She hasn't laid any eggs in a while though. She goes in the nest and comes out singing but no egg. I thought maybe I needed to add oyster shell. I even had some and never gave her any. I think I'm a real tool sometimes.

Ralph: My roos in my last batch fought terribly toward the last couple of weeks. They would bloody each other up so bad that I had to separate the main aggressors from the group entirely. It was horrible. I would bet if you weren't so roo heavy that Bert wouldn't be getting so cocky. That's a bit of a pun. Haha!

UPDATE:

My chicks are 3 weeks old today!! I still have 307 and have only lost 5 since delivery. I'm proud of that! They are getting so big and getting their feathers in. Too cute!!

The brooder house happened to have the silkie/sunny's run attached to it. So, we moved the silkies and Sunny to the chicken tractor. Sunny grew up in it. It is like being back home for her. My husband cut a door in the side of the brooder house into the silkie run, so now the chicks can go outside to a safe place. Yay!!

We also smuggled home 24 pullets today and now have 31 happy pullets at home. SO EXCITED!!

 

[Turkeytruff]

I found the nest on the day the babies were suppose to hatch. I had followed her before an knew which way she was going, Everytime I was able to follow her a little further. I found her with 5 babies looked around and did not find the nest..

I brought her and the babies back to the shed...the next day I went out and looked where I had found her and found the nest between two "swamp humps" and under a thorny bush, with 7 drowned chicks in the eggs...


It was a miracle I found it... I knew kind of where it was and it took me a month to find it!

Turkey hens are amazing - so smart and so dumb! I have today purloined 3 turkey eggs from a nest hidden under a pallet in the corner (and left 2 golf balls). Luckily I spotted Queenie, one of my turkey hens pacing around, clearly searching for a discreet place. She’s the one that decided to brood on a piece of plastic on a raised bed last summer in the sweltering heat, so I am glad she’s made a better choice this year! I ended up making a small tree around her of many pine branches....
The 3 Toms are fighting, I have separated out the biggest one because he would kill the middle one. I am planning on harvesting 2 Toms and some roosters this Saturday. Not looking forward to it, but it needs to be done.... My 3 week old MG meaties are thriving and acting like little hooligans - so funny. They dive feet first into their fermented feed, and shriek as if I'm trying to kill them if I put an apple or tomato in there. Until they finally taste it...

I can't contain the excitement!!! Talking about all our soon to be chicks!

It was almost like summer here today... 65 and sunny. In the 70's by Sunday! I am sure we will get more snow at some point, but spring snow does not come with bitter cold usually. Yay!!
I totally have spring fever. I am even enjoying a Gin and Tonic.. usually a summertime drink for me.

Gin and tonic - excellent choice haha!
You must have got the good weather from here; we are back into rain and grey days after 2 days of wonderful crisp clear and sunny days to sucker me into thinking spring is around the corner!
I have a heap of alpaca poo, new potting soil, and packets of seeds waiting for me to get on with planting - aaarrrgh! Someone needs to invent 30 hour days.

Jessica I love your ongoing saga of sneaking out the pullets and putting them in real fields - they are going to be so happy when you get everything set up the way you want it!

 

[duluthralphie]

MM Bert was not upset because he did not get to roam the yard alone like normal. He was upset because he was the second bird into the coop for the night. Because of my feeling a little under the weather, I am not sure if I mentioned I was sick or not? I being a typical male tend to just suffer in silence when I get sick. Unlike my DW who makes sure everyone knows she is not 100%.

Anyways, because I have a most likely fatal illness and did not want to make another trip outside, Bert got locked up about 90 minutes before he normally does, When I opened the door for him and walked him towards it, he actually stopped and looked at the door shook his head in disbelief and tried to sneak past the door. I had to reach down and push him towards it, Which he thought was rude on my part.





Jessica, What is a guy like me suppose to do? All these roosters and not enough pens. I have been trying to get rid of Nameless, but people are not taking him. I have a secret plan to get rid of him, I am thinking of using him as a packing peanut when I send turkey eggs to MM, ( don't tell her, let her be surprised!)
With all the roosters I have I would think there would be more fights, they must know their spots well. Only Ernie and Ed really fight. Bert and Ray must be personal. I have not seen Bert even want to fight anyone else. Ernie got upset with Bert, but that was only when Bert was putting the moves on a hen.

Towards the end of the day even Ernie and Ed were in some kind of cease fire. They were in the same pen without fighting. Ole is a non violent rooster, he avoids the other roosters except Ed. Ed and Ole seem to be friends. When the other roosters get close Ole runs. BUT he is a sneaky one, If there is a lone hen or group with no roosters in it, Ole is right there doing the dance and making his moves. Ole does not enter the main pen.

Turkeytruff , It is hard to do. I have heard of people that delay the day over and over again for their birds. I actually mentioned to my son, he should come help me off the turkeys. I have three I need to do.

My luck will be as soon as I do the three, the fourth one will have an accident and die. I am watching the hens but no sign of nesting yet.


The one I held and petted kept his distance last night, lest he come too close and be subjected to being a lap bird again.