Illinois...

[Faraday40]

DD took her little silkie on a field trip to the town Easter egg hunt today.
The line to pet DD's silkie was just about as long as the line to see the Easter bunny. LOL


Here she is with the silkie in her little pet purse.

 

[Junibutt]

Happy Easter everyone (probably 1.75 hrs in advance)

@Faraday40 Oopsie's blue chick has started looking like a pullet compared to her comb at the same age. The chick's stance is also more like a pullet. Do you have Brick's pics at the same age? Maybe that would help.

@ChicagoClucker Congrats on the great hatch and beautiful chicks. Those Silver Laced are making me envious.

Meanwhile I am on Day 16 today. Candled on Day 8 and was down to 7 Choc Mottled (out of 15) and 3 Lav Mottled (out of 6). So took a chance with my broody and gave her all the eggs. She was fine for the first few days but as of yesterday since its started getting warmer, she spends almost 1 to 1.5 hrs off the eggs. I won't be home tomorrow so very nervous about her leaving the eggs. Oh well, lets see.

Candling Results of Day 14 were as follows:

5 Choc Mottled still going strong. 2 quit somewhere around day 5-10
1 Lav Mottled still going strong and 2 may possibly have quit because they were not age appropriate.

@Faraday40 if I only hatch 1 Lav mottled chick, would you be interested in it because I don't have any other lav genes in my chicken so he/she (preferably a she) would be a waste in my flock. Or do you have any lav chicks hatching soon that I could give to my broody when she hatches? Her hatch day is 20th/21st

 

[Faraday40]

Happy Easter everyone (probably 1.75 hrs in advance)

@Faraday40 Oopsie's blue chick has started looking like a pullet compared to her comb at the same age. The chick's stance is also more like a pullet. Do you have Brick's pics at the same age? Maybe that would help.

She (maybe he) still confuses me. By the comb it's an easy female, but those wattles are so darn red. The fact that DD (my rooster detector) likes it, makes me also wonder if it's a slow developing male.


@ChicagoClucker Congrats on the great hatch and beautiful chicks. Those Silver Laced are making me envious.

Meanwhile I am on Day 16 today. Candled on Day 8 and was down to 7 Choc Mottled (out of 15) and 3 Lav Mottled (out of 6). So took a chance with my broody and gave her all the eggs. She was fine for the first few days but as of yesterday since its started getting warmer, she spends almost 1 to 1.5 hrs off the eggs. I won't be home tomorrow so very nervous about her leaving the eggs. Oh well, lets see.

Candling Results of Day 14 were as follows:

5 Choc Mottled still going strong. 2 quit somewhere around day 5-10
1 Lav Mottled still going strong and 2 may possibly have quit because they were not age appropriate.

Sending stron incubation vibes your way.

@Faraday40 if I only hatch 1 Lav mottled chick, would you be interested in it because I don't have any other lav genes in my chicken so he/she (preferably a she) would be a waste in my flock. Or do you have any lav chicks hatching soon that I could give to my broody when she hatches? Her hatch day is 20th/21st

I have hatches on April 26th & May 4th. Both are in schools, but I can snag you a lav, split, or even choc cuckoo (those are from BrickxGodiva) if you want. I also have lavs & choc cuckoos that hatched March 31st.

Here's Oopsie's blue orp chick (named "Jewel" by DD) 6 wks old
She has barely any comb, but He has those very pink wattles hanging down & is bigger than all the other chicks his age.
I'm still leaning more toward pullet since my roos have giant combs at 4 wks, but I can't say for certain.





choc cuckoo orps about 2 weeks old

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I do raise them for their coat, or fiber. It's a lovely fiber that is very soft. I keep saying that I spin it into yarn, but that's not entirely true as I haven't had time to spin any yarn in years, lol. So I'm leaning towards sending my fiber into a mill for processing. Someday, I'll get back to a place where I can work with my fiber. That's the goal.

So yes, they are raised primarily for their fiber. In South America, they are also used for meat, but they are not a traditional meat animal. Although, I've heard it's very good. I just can't bring myself to do it yet. Then again, if the boys act up again and try me on a bad day.... xD

Otherwise, they are a fun animal to raise. They're easy on fences, easy to feed, easy to maintain. As a species, they are gentle and curious, though not terribly cuddly. They are friendly in their own way, though very reserved.

Well thank you for the info. I think they are adorable, so hope you will post some pics of them. I will have to ask my son if he tried Alpaca meat. He spent almost 2 years traveling in South America, and guess what he brought home for me? A beautiful Alpaca blanket throw.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Happy Easter everyone (probably 1.75 hrs in advance)

@Faraday40 Oopsie's blue chick has started looking like a pullet compared to her comb at the same age. The chick's stance is also more like a pullet. Do you have Brick's pics at the same age? Maybe that would help.

@ChicagoClucker Congrats on the great hatch and beautiful chicks. Those Silver Laced are making me envious.

Meanwhile I am on Day 16 today. Candled on Day 8 and was down to 7 Choc Mottled (out of 15) and 3 Lav Mottled (out of 6). So took a chance with my broody and gave her all the eggs. She was fine for the first few days but as of yesterday since its started getting warmer, she spends almost 1 to 1.5 hrs off the eggs. I won't be home tomorrow so very nervous about her leaving the eggs. Oh well, lets see.

Candling Results of Day 14 were as follows:

5 Choc Mottled still going strong. 2 quit somewhere around day 5-10
1 Lav Mottled still going strong and 2 may possibly have quit because they were not age appropriate.

@Faraday40 if I only hatch 1 Lav mottled chick, would you be interested in it because I don't have any other lav genes in my chicken so he/she (preferably a she) would be a waste in my flock. Or do you have any lav chicks hatching soon that I could give to my broody when she hatches? Her hatch day is 20th/21st

And a Early Happy Easter to you also! I have my fingers crossed for your hatch

. Hang in there, I am excited for your Choc Mottled.

 

[Junibutt]

And a Early Happy Easter to you also! I have my fingers crossed for your hatch

. Hang in there, I am excited for your Choc Mottled.

Thanks!

Here's Oopsie's blue orp chick (named "Jewel" by DD) 6 wks old
She has barely any comb, but He has those very pink wattles hanging down & is bigger than all the other chicks his age.
I'm still leaning more toward pullet since my roos have giant combs at 4 wks, but I can't say for certain.





choc cuckoo orps about 2 weeks old

SHE sits like a pullet but HIS wattles are very confusing. lol.

I promised DW no brooders this time. Thus cannot have any chicks that are not adopted by the broody. Otherwise I would have loved to add the lav to my hopefully not lone lav mottled chick.

 

[Justjered]

https://www.facebook.com/jeredhedrick/posts/10154844870104843

Check out our new back yard chicken farm page.

 

[jnckids]

Happy Easter!

 

[Junibutt]

Happy Easter!

Cuteness X2

 

[Junibutt]

Lazy Hen Problem:

I have a chocolate orp that will be 2 years old next month. However she has been becoming progressively lazy over the past 6-8 months. It started with her becoming broody last fall and since then, she is either not roosting, or just sleeps in the nesting area (which is closer to the floor). Since the weather has been nicer I placed their water in the uncovered portion of the run and have noticed that unless its absolutely necessary, she won't even climb up and down the ladder to get to the water.

No signs of sickness
Poop is normal
No weight loss (in fact she is the heaviest orpington I have)
Toe nails are huge indicating lack of scratching activity for an extended period of time.
Tail is up on some days and down on others.
Lays jumbo eggs for couple of weeks in a row and then takes a break for a few weeks.

No signs of arthritis, she doesn't have a limp or any awkward gait. I am thinking she is depressed since I gave away her half brother last year. Do you guys think that's a possibility?

I would let her stay and be a freeloader but she is kind of mean to others. Unless she gets her act together, I will probably have to re-home her at the processing shop. She is free if someone thinks they have the time and energy to fix her issues.