Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

What a great pile of leaves for them!

Yes indeed, and there are lots more where they came from. I go into the woods wielding my pitchfork and a big sack. I can't see anything but leaves, but as you can tell the chickens find all sorts of fun things in the heap.

 

[featherhead007]

Yes indeed, and there are lots more where they came from. I go into the woods wielding my pitchfork and a big sack. I can't see anything but leaves, but as you can tell the chickens find all sorts of fun things in the heap.

I think you buried a loaf of 9 grain bread under there, (To make the chickens act that way)

 

[featherhead007]

I had bought two new pullets from a local feed store, but they were sick (I didn't know) and infected my whole flock. Five have survived, but It wasn't easy, getting them well.

I lost BEN under mysterious circumstances, and Rocket, broke her leg recently. The rest died of respiratory illness.

 

[MaryJanet]

Looking good Fat Bird!

Treacle always looks handsome.

He's got wonderful colouring.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

A short word on dust bathing: It's OK to be near your birds while they dust bathe, but don't do what I just experienced. I was close,,,, two hens got up and shook the dust off (Doing the shake)
I was fairly covered by spraying dust and sand, (All over me, even in my face) I guess I knew it was coming, so it serves me right, to be that close I guess.

You should have taken a selfie for us!

 

[MaryJanet]

Sorry about that. Something strange happened.
Does this work better?

Wow! How they've grown RC!

 

[BY Bob]

You still are. It's just you're a mother as well. Don't forget this.

Well said Shad.

 

[MaryJanet]

Well said Shad.

Yep.

 

[BY Bob]

This is a pic of my Sunday lunch (Subway -yumm)
This is before I take it Outside, and get it stolen by my chickens!
View attachment 2395618

They will do that

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

perfect sense to me...




yes and no, as the Blue or White and the Brown coating genetics are separate. Blue and white are the only shell colors, but the Blue gene can be either Dominant or recessive. Chickie Hawks daughters get the blue shell in about 50% of their population, and they all get the Brown from both him and their mother, so they lay varying shades of green or brown. (I’m wondering how it will go if I add Sapphire/Hyline reds to his pen? Hopefully we will see this winter or early spring +20 weeks!)

In some breeds like the CCL the blue shell gene is dominant, and is passed to all their offspring. But the blue or white shell gene is separate from the genes that go into putting the “brown” coating on. Brown on blue shells gives a green, and on white shells... some shade of brown. Anywhere from light tan to dark chocolate Marans colors. That’s why my breeder uses a CCL Rooster (Dominant Blue/Blue) over leghorn hens (White/white) to get my Sapphires as guaranteed blue Layers (Dominant Blue/white). If I cross my Sapphires to my Marans I get either tan, mint, olive or brown depending if the hen passes on her Blue gene or the white to her chicks. The brown coating genetic stuff I don’t fully get, but it seems to pass on as a dominant trait, at least in all my pairings. I don’t think you can breed a brown layer and a white layer and get white shells from their offspring.

edit to add: each chick gets two sets of the blue or white egg genes, one from each parent.

This is fascinating, but really complicated. Why are blue eggs so unusual then. I mean, all my life all store eggs are white or brown.