Illinois...

[MeepBeep]

With my Welsummers and Black Copper Marans due to hatch on Friday and not expecting a great hatch rate as they appear to have had a rough trip through the mail, air sacks all broken free and 6 of 14 never even started, I started to think further about my plans for next year again...

I have been putting off getting Crested Cream Legbar eggs due to their price and limited lineage in the US...

But, today I can across a breeder that was selling Crested Cream Legbar eggs the are supposedly from some Canadian lineage and not the ever popular Greenfire lineage that most people in the US have... I'm not expecting them to be show quality colors (and I'm not breeding for show) so at least this opens up the door for me to get some Greenfire ones as well and mix up the genetics a bit and work towards a more genetically diverse bird instead of the continued line breeding like everyone else is doing using mostly Greenfire stock...

 

[Faraday40]

Best news to date on Cuddles:
I just saw her eat from the feeder!!!!!

I don't mind checking on her & bringing her in for treats, but practically speaking, I can't do it daily for the remainder of her life.
So glad she's continuing to improve. She's a very special family chicken. She does more tricks than our dogs & is one of a kind.

I can handle the molt & loss of eggs. In fact, if she never laid another egg, we'd still keep her.

 

[Faraday40]

With my Welsummers and Black Copper Marans due to hatch on Friday and not expecting a great hatch rate as they appear to have had a rough trip through the mail, air sacks all broken free and 6 of 14 never even started, I started to think further about my plans for next year again...

I have been putting off getting Crested Cream Legbar eggs due to their price and limited lineage in the US...

But, today I can across a breeder that was selling Crested Cream Legbar eggs the are supposedly from some Canadian lineage and not the ever popular Greenfire lineage that most people in the US have... I'm not expecting them to be show quality colors (and I'm not breeding for show) so at least this opens up the door for me to get some Greenfire ones as well and mix up the genetics a bit and work towards a more genetically diverse bird instead of the continued line breeding like everyone else is doing using mostly Greenfire stock...






That sounds great.

Just a warning that they can be 2-faced. Literally.

Look at them one way & they are the most beautiful chickens you've ever seen.



Look at them at the wrong angle & they appear rather monstrous.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Just a warning that they can be 2-faced. Literally.

Look at them one way & they are the most beautiful chickens you've ever seen.



Look at them at the wrong angle & they appear rather monstrous.


1

Haha, your funny Faraday40. Although, when mine were young, they were as friendly as could be, up to the point of lay. Now that they are laying, they seem to have gotten cranky in their old age of 1 year old. LOL



That is Thelma with the Angry face. LOL She has full wig, great eyebrows and a full beard! Marie is the lower one and the closest one to SOP.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Picture time.....


Don't Bieles know they're too big to fly up into trees?


They're a fun breed, but they always look grumpy to me.

Bieles do look grumpy. Love the pic of the last one, great comb! That would make me smile every time I looked at that chicken.

 

[MeepBeep]

[COLOR=0000FF]Just a warning that they can be 2-faced. Literally.[/COLOR]

Yeah, I'm aware of that, been looking at getting some for well over a year now, their unique looks is part of their appeal as is their double blue egg genes...

 

[Faraday40]

Haha, your funny Faraday40. Although, when mine were young, they were as friendly as could be, up to the point of lay. Now that they are laying, they seem to have gotten cranky in their old age of 1 year old. LOL



That is Thelma with the Angry face. LOL She has full wig, great eyebrows and a full beard! Marie is the lower one and the closest one to SOP.

I like the way Thelma looks with her bushy crest. In March I was nervous about allowing them to free range (AI threat), so I kept them in the run. Cuddles got bored one day & the flock got haircuts. She plucked all the crest, beards, & muffs. Either that or she got jealous of their good looks & decided to even the field.

Mine were a little skittish for their 1st year & didn't really lay in the winter. I decided to keep only one CCL. It was going to be my intelligent & inquisitive Skittles, but after my mom passed, I had to keep her namesake, Dolores, instead. Around 10 months old, they all of a sudden became calmer. Instead of dashing away, they learned to jump up into my lap for treats. They're not snugglers like the orps, but they have more energy to "play games." - Like hiding treats in the trees or playing chicken ping pong ( taking turns calling the chickens to oppos sides of the yard.) The Legbars have more endurance for such things.

Dolores has a HUGE comb now. I worry that it prevents her from seeing well.
Here she is after digging in the mud.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I like the way Thelma looks with her bushy crest. In March I was nervous about allowing them to free range (AI threat), so I kept them in the run. Cuddles got bored one day & the flock got haircuts. She plucked all the crest, beards, & muffs. Either that or she got jealous of their good looks & decided to even the field.

Mine were a little skittish for their 1st year & didn't really lay in the winter. I decided to keep only one CCL. It was going to be my intelligent & inquisitive Skittles, but after my mom passed, I had to keep her namesake, Dolores, instead. Around 10 months old, they all of a sudden became calmer. Instead of dashing away, they learned to jump up into my lap for treats. They're not snugglers like the orps, but they have more energy to "play games." - Like hiding treats in the trees or playing chicken ping pong ( taking turns calling the chickens to oppos sides of the yard.) The Legbars have more endurance for such things.

Dolores has a HUGE comb now. I worry that it prevents her from seeing well.
Here she is after digging in the mud.

Aww sweet girl, her comb doesn't look SO big in this pic. Perhaps just a good angle. I don't have a good pic, but one of the boys from my CCL hatch had a major Comb Over.

 

[chickenlady73]

hi everyone,
new chicken mom here, I've had 3 Rhode Island reds for about 6 months now, starting small.. I've been warned that my addiction will grow.. i had read SO much conflicting info about what is best going into winter that I am TOTALLY confused! I am in Chicago, hoping to hear from somewhere near me, with similar weather, thoughts on freezing water, to heat or not to heat? what type of bedding do you use in your coops? do you give them access to the run everyday in the cold temps? down to what temp?? HELP?? obviously this is my first winter.. I'm a mess.... go easy on me

 

[Cluky]

That is great!