- Apr 17, 2013
- 14
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We got our first egg today... not the prettiest thing, but our first.
We got our five Rhode Island Reds about a month ago but one had a cold that spread to all of them. Antibiotics cleared it up though.
I had chickens growing up and missed them.
But I have people now telling me I can not add chickens to my new little flock! Growing up, I started with the 3 chickens we hatched in school and continually add chickens with NO problems what so ever. I even added Bantam pairs to my coop of Leghorn hens and rooster. The Roosters would have mock fights, but it never amounted to anything... never any contact. It just seemed to be more like play. Additional hens always got along just fine and fell into the pecking order with ease.
I even added chicks hatched in school to the brood a hen at home was raising and they adopted them with no real issues.
I raised chickens for probably 10 years with no problems
Was this all just being lucky? I've wanted to buy some chicks from local feed stores and all are telling me what I just described is impossible. They said there is NO way a hen will adopt chicks and new hens introduced to an existing flock will get pecked to death! No exceptions!
I would LOVE to add some Araucanas to my flock!
Some of the chickens I had as a kid, were feral chickens running around at a friends farm. His dad had many chickens over the years but some had escaped and became like wild pheasants the way they ran around. They were Black, Bantam sized birds with White earlobes and I think they had rose combs but layed Blue or green eggs. We had fun catching a pair for me to bring home!
He said his dad bought the originals looking just like that! But now I can only find that is close to that is the White Faced Spanish, but they don't have rose combs and lay white eggs, Plus their white earlobes are MUCH larger than I remember mine being. Makes me wish I still had some. But this was back around 1980-83
Anyway... I'm rambling.
Hope to get to chat with everyone.
Paul
We got our five Rhode Island Reds about a month ago but one had a cold that spread to all of them. Antibiotics cleared it up though.
I had chickens growing up and missed them.
But I have people now telling me I can not add chickens to my new little flock! Growing up, I started with the 3 chickens we hatched in school and continually add chickens with NO problems what so ever. I even added Bantam pairs to my coop of Leghorn hens and rooster. The Roosters would have mock fights, but it never amounted to anything... never any contact. It just seemed to be more like play. Additional hens always got along just fine and fell into the pecking order with ease.
I even added chicks hatched in school to the brood a hen at home was raising and they adopted them with no real issues.
I raised chickens for probably 10 years with no problems
Was this all just being lucky? I've wanted to buy some chicks from local feed stores and all are telling me what I just described is impossible. They said there is NO way a hen will adopt chicks and new hens introduced to an existing flock will get pecked to death! No exceptions!
I would LOVE to add some Araucanas to my flock!
Some of the chickens I had as a kid, were feral chickens running around at a friends farm. His dad had many chickens over the years but some had escaped and became like wild pheasants the way they ran around. They were Black, Bantam sized birds with White earlobes and I think they had rose combs but layed Blue or green eggs. We had fun catching a pair for me to bring home!
He said his dad bought the originals looking just like that! But now I can only find that is close to that is the White Faced Spanish, but they don't have rose combs and lay white eggs, Plus their white earlobes are MUCH larger than I remember mine being. Makes me wish I still had some. But this was back around 1980-83
Anyway... I'm rambling.
Hope to get to chat with everyone.
Paul
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