Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

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How much longer before I can make an entire new chicken, do you think?

Won’t be long now!

 

[featherhead007]

'Yo habla espanol" & you didn't ask them the breed?

Those birds look very much like BSL's but ruralmouse will best ID. They are pretty & look indeed a lot like Ponypoor's Sophia. You should probably call one of them Sophia

I will call out “Sophia”! And who ever comes running towards me will be Sophia!

 

[SimpleJenn]

She really got high up ~ hopping on the steps or flying up?!

I didn't see her get up there but she could easily do either one!

 

[featherhead007]

Dakota!!. She’s one chick that can get on my nerves. Spills her water, just to see how mad I can get! Pecks and scratches her feed everywhere. Prefers my turkey sandwich to her chicken feed. I can’t leave the room without her complaining about it!

 

[featherhead007]

Dakota!!. She’s one chick that can get on my nerves. Spills her water, just to see how mad I can get! Pecks and scratches her feed everywhere. Prefers my turkey sandwich to her chicken feed. I can’t leave the room without her complaining about it!

In my house, it’s “Dakota want a cracker?” Then “silly hooman, of course I want a cracker! How dumb can a hooman be? Can’t you see that I’m pecking at the package?”
Me: “you need to learn patience!”
Her: “shut up hooman and give me another cracker!”

 

[Labsandchickens8]

If you don't "habla" how did they know to give you their hens?

How do you say "throw them over the fence" in Espanol?

 

[Labsandchickens8]

Welbars say 200/year & Welsummers 220-230/year. I pay no attn to projected claims though... each bird is different. Each year hens lay 20% less than their pullet year, & 20% less each successive year.

As we are aware, hybrids are egg-exhausted usually by age 5. They use up all their egg cells fast/early in their laying career.

Broody heritage breeds lay less eggs per year but will lay well into age 8 to 9 years ~ even if it be only a handful by then. Our broody Silkies have layed into their 7th year. Our long-lived Silkies usually stop laying by 6th year. Bantams are not prolific layers. Even some duck breeds only lay 50 eggs/year. But that's a plus for less health issues.

Each pullet chick hatches w/a certain number of egg cells & a hybrid layer exhausts those eggs early in her career while a less prolific layer won't lay prolifically to exhaust all her eggs till much later in her lifespan. My friend's Australorp layed a stray egg at 8 years. No telling what cycle each individual hen has till she's in our possession.

We had to re-home our bully Marans & wanted to replace w/ Wellies or Welbars for dark eggs but timing was never opportune. Beautiful, mostly calm birds.
Welbar ~ such pretty hens
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My Welsummer is top of the pecking order but not a bully really. She lays a fairly dark egg, rarely speckled, which is what I was most excited about.
Maybe black sex links have Welsummer breading in their background? She was a fairly good layer until she started molting. No egg in over 2 months. This is Cornelia (female version of the Corn flakes rooster, Cornelius, a Welsummer.)

 

[Ponypoor]

I will call out “Sophia”! And who ever comes running towards me will be Sophia!

Hope it doesn’t turn out to be a Lord Sophia….. of the Mountbatten Sophia’s

 

[Ponypoor]

Hmmm. At the moment none. All mine are on strike at the moment.
In Spring/Summer about 4-5 a week.
She has gone broody a couple of times but gave up with encouragement.

Freys has Rhodebars which I almost bought instead of the Noirans. But I was leery of how much of a production breed they were.

Still, the Noirans lay as many or more than the Rhodebar apparently.

 

[Ponypoor]

Broody, tiny bubbles, makes for interesting conversation.

Thanks

Now I have THAT song in my head….

Tiny bubbles, in my wine…..