PrettySpeckleds
In the Brooder
My family and I made the decision to become chicken owners several months ago. After doing some research I decided that I really wanted some Speckled Sussex hens. We began building our own coop, mostly from pallets and wood scraps. Before we were finished with the coop I located a Speckled Sussex rooster who was in need of a new home. We had not planned on having a rooster but something told us we needed to bring this guy home. Cranberry will be 2 in November and was in need of his own ladies. We began looking for pullets, hens, but found nothing!! Then I spoke to an old friend who had 2 speckled sussex and a leghorn who she was getting rid of. . .and within a couple of days, Cranberry had 3 beautiful 2 year old ladies to call his own!
We kept the hens separate from the rooster. The 2 sussex consistently layed eggs for 3 days (Bruna was a morning layer while Helga preferred the evening). The leghorn has not laid a single egg (he previous owner said she rarely layed). We have not had any eggs for several days since introducing the rooster to the girls. We kept him in a separate area next to the girls so they could all get used to each other but I guess we are still experiencing some stress from the inclusion of him into the flock.
We are super excited to be entering the world of chickens. One day we may even consider hatching some eggs. We have heard from a few sources that they have had trouble hatching speckled sussex - the chicks are fully formed but do not emerge from the egg. Is this something we should expect in the future?
We look forward to learning more about being chicken owners.
We kept the hens separate from the rooster. The 2 sussex consistently layed eggs for 3 days (Bruna was a morning layer while Helga preferred the evening). The leghorn has not laid a single egg (he previous owner said she rarely layed). We have not had any eggs for several days since introducing the rooster to the girls. We kept him in a separate area next to the girls so they could all get used to each other but I guess we are still experiencing some stress from the inclusion of him into the flock.
We are super excited to be entering the world of chickens. One day we may even consider hatching some eggs. We have heard from a few sources that they have had trouble hatching speckled sussex - the chicks are fully formed but do not emerge from the egg. Is this something we should expect in the future?
We look forward to learning more about being chicken owners.
