Illinois...

[Molpet]

Hi Everyone! Have been away for a while due to work.

I have 2 Blue Jubilee cockerels and 1 Jubilee pullet hatched Jun-17th form Papa's Poultry's stock. Let me know if anyone is interested before I decided to have them processed. My crazy neighbor is at it again with calling the cops over and over.

I just want to window shop...pics please

 

[Faraday40]

Had to do some fluff trims today. Of course before Mr Dummy went back to the coop, DD insisted he stay for some cuddles. He's such a good boy!

 

[chickendreams24]

Hello all. It's been a while since I've been on.

@Faraday40 I know we talked but again I'm so terribly sorry about Princess Laya
It's always amazed me how she managed to give me my little Jasmine(Jazzy) among all the other black chicks she had the one tiny little white light. Jazzy is such an interesting girl, not our most friendly but a great foragers and predator savvy. With her speckled coloration almost like a flea bitten gray(in horse terms). This last summer we hatched a beautiful little white pullet with more distinct black spots and I'm nearly certain she is Jazzy's(lol we have no other white birds except my white sport legbar hen).

Hi Everyone! Have been away for a while due to work.

I have 2 Blue Jubilee cockerels and 1 Jubilee pullet hatched Jun-17th form Papa's Poultry's stock. Let me know if anyone is interested before I decided to have them processed. My crazy neighbor is at it again with calling the cops over and over.

I too would love to see pics! How much are you asking?

 

[Faraday40]

I'm trying to figure out which male to keep - - for now. I will use one of them for breeding until I can find a more prefect candidate.
I have my old man blk/lav split roo (aka: Mr Dummy-pants), who will stay on as a pet. He's not really doing his job fertilizing the flock, but I trimmed & can still hope.



Here are the two choices:

One of the great grandsons is the lav roo with the leakage. He's nice in many ways (impressive size, nice comb, good feather quality, decent shape, gentle temperament, quiet crow, and nearing maturity ...... but has a lot of gold leakage. I seriously have never seen so much gold! He looks like an Isabel Orp. This guy is nicknamed: "Dinner"

OR
Another one of the great grandsons is a blk/lav split, who does not show any gold leakage. He's nice in many of the same ways (except younger, so I don't know about the crow and it will be a while before mating), but his mama is a mauve (aka Oopsie). If I breed him to my lav hens, 50% would be lav. Also, it would likely improve feather quality, and he was a very early-blooming rooster. It's a very nice trait to keep. However a strike against him is that his beak has a splotch of white on the left side. Because he's 9 weeks, I believe it is there to stay. Also I'm not sure how much those mauve genes will muddy things up. This guy is nicknamed: "Hope."


Any advice on which one would be genetically better?

 

[bellaisa]

I am hoping I am not making a mistake. I have ordered 6 more chicks; increasing my flock size to 18. I have a 6 by 8 converted shed and a 10 by 40 run. The birds free range in the evenings and weekends on 5 acres. I am hoping I do not have problems with overcrowding. I keep hearing the 4 sq feet per bird and I will be at only a little over 2 1/2. The chickens spend very little time in the coop; even in the extreme cold we have had most of them chose to be outside.

Any advise? I will have the chicks in a sun room for the 1st few weeks with a heating plate; and then they will be moved into the coop in a look but don't touch area.

 

[Faraday40]

Please help me identify tracks if you can:
Found some little tracks around the coop - and they did not look like the common squirrel, rabbit, skunk, possum! I think they may be from our old terror: the fox. (Neighbors have also been claiming they saw a "cougar" or "bobcat" around. Since we live in the suburbs, it could also mean a very large cat.) Although it could be a cat.... but we rarely have cats enter our yard due to how much our dogs like to chase them.

I really didn't like seeing that the animal tried to claw under the coop

I also saw some tracks romping away. Our smaller dog's 3" footprints erased the trail, so I'm not sure how many critters ran through here & how many times. I only know that our big dog (Great Dane) was not involved.

I went back inside & grabbed a flashlight & ruler. I would guess the feet are about 1.5".

 

[Faraday40]

I am hoping I am not making a mistake. I have ordered 6 more chicks; increasing my flock size to 18. I have a 6 by 8 converted shed and a 10 by 40 run. The birds free range in the evenings and weekends on 5 acres. I am hoping I do not have problems with overcrowding. I keep hearing the 4 sq feet per bird and I will be at only a little over 2 1/2. The chickens spend very little time in the coop; even in the extreme cold we have had most of them chose to be outside.

Any advise? I will have the chicks in a sun room for the 1st few weeks with a heating plate; and then they will be moved into the coop in a look but don't touch area.

If they are free ranging and have enough roost space at night, I doubt you'll have any problems. If it does get bad, you can always add shelves to create more usable interior space. If it gets very bad (which I highly doubt), you'll either have to build an addition or sell a few pullets. (And if you ordered straight run, then 1/2 will be male & probably not staying permanently.)

 

[Faraday40]

I am hoping I am not making a mistake. I have ordered 6 more chicks; increasing my flock size to 18. I have a 6 by 8 converted shed and a 10 by 40 run. The birds free range in the evenings and weekends on 5 acres. I am hoping I do not have problems with overcrowding. I keep hearing the 4 sq feet per bird and I will be at only a little over 2 1/2. The chickens spend very little time in the coop; even in the extreme cold we have had most of them chose to be outside.

Any advise? I will have the chicks in a sun room for the 1st few weeks with a heating plate; and then they will be moved into the coop in a look but don't touch area.

What breeds did you order?

 

[cavemanrich]

I am hoping I am not making a mistake. I have ordered 6 more chicks; increasing my flock size to 18. I have a 6 by 8 converted shed and a 10 by 40 run. The birds free range in the evenings and weekends on 5 acres. I am hoping I do not have problems with overcrowding. I keep hearing the 4 sq feet per bird and I will be at only a little over 2 1/2. The chickens spend very little time in the coop; even in the extreme cold we have had most of them chose to be outside.

Any advise? I will have the chicks in a sun room for the 1st few weeks with a heating plate; and then they will be moved into the coop in a look but don't touch area.

I agree with Faraday40 that you should also not encounter all that much of a problem , since they free range and have so much run space. I have a very small coop and at times I did have way too many chickens by the 4 square foot rule. My chickens only went in there to lay eggs and sleep. By the time they went to sleep, they were out of gas for any malicious acts. Usually the 4 square foot suggested space applies when chickens are confined to only coop for extended periods of time.
Try to wait until your new chickens are fully feathered out before adding them to your unheated coop. They also will not be cold hardy at that time as well. Spring is just around the corner, so timing is key. If you have to move them into coop and temps are still COLD, I would suggest supplemental heat like the MHP. (mother heating pad) VS a heat lamp. (fire hazard). Other option at that time could be to house them in coop during day, and in sun room during COLD nights.
WISHING YOU BEST.

 

[Molpet]

Please help me identify tracks if you can:
Found some little tracks around the coop - and they did not look like the common squirrel, rabbit, skunk, possum! I think they may be from our old terror: the fox. (Neighbors have also been claiming they saw a "cougar" or "bobcat" around. Since we live in the suburbs, it could also mean a very large cat.) Although it could be a cat.... but we rarely have cats enter our yard due to how much our dogs like to chase them.

I really didn't like seeing that the animal tried to claw under the coop

I also saw some tracks romping away. Our smaller dog's 3" footprints erased the trail, so I'm not sure how many critters ran through here & how many times. I only know that our big dog (Great Dane) was not involved.

I went back inside & grabbed a flashlight & ruler. I would guess the feet are about 1.5".

https://www.artofmanliness.com/2016/01/11/how-to-track-animals-a-primer-on-identifying-footprints/

round tracks are usually cat family, this shot looks roundy