- Aug 28, 2014
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Bag it and stick it in the freezer. Melon is especially great for them frozen--it doesn't get as hard as other frozen treats, but freezing helps them cool down faster and helps the melon last longer (in every single way a melon can last). I'm out of my frozen melon and now whittling my way through frozen pumpkin, soups, veggies, rhubarb, anything else I can find. It gives the birds something to do in the shade, helps cool them down, and can help cool and flavor their water, too. Even things I don't much care to eat, I've been freezing for the birds--and I'm going to be doing a lot more freezing from the garden this year!
Ditto on August!
Was it Mr. July?
EE's are shaping up to be a favorite here. Lots of colors available, cheap birds 'cause they're all mutts, smaller body size (good for feed conversion and extremely hot temperatures), very healthy, robust birds. They're a bit more flighty than many, but they can easily be worked with or bred for better temperaments. For instance, I have several dark Brahma/EE pullets here, and they're lovely, easy-going girls.
For temperament, Brahmas and Cochins have been excellent, but they're stupidly prone to scaly leg mites, and it's next to impossible to get rid of them. The Vaseline trick only works oh so far because of the leg feathers. From the experiences of many here, the leg feathers also make them more prone to frostbite. Yuck. They are, however, lovely, good-natured birds who have all been supremely trustworthy with children and minimally aggressive with other birds. They're also big and fluffy, which is a huge aesthetic plus for me.
Wyandottes are about the loveliest chicken God allowed onto Earth. They're fluffy, soft, and mine have all been terrific layers. They have a tendency to be nosy and stubborn, and they can miss flock mates which disappear or die. Eggs were lighter brown but were laid often. Nobody wanted light brown eggs, which is why most of my brown layers were rehomed.
Leghorns. Love 'em. They're perky, active, quick-witted birds who are delightful and beautiful to watch. Miss the big white eggs. will have to get a couple more. All of mine wind up eventually going to jchny2000 because we're buddies, and she likes Leghorns a bunch (which makes them good pick-me-up gifts).
Welsummers. Rooster was quite capable of being and doing everything a rooster needed to be or do. Beautiful birds, well camouflaged, good mothers, talkative and sassy. Lay lots of big darker brown eggs with tons of speckles. I'm a huge fan of speckles, and a likely infusion of Welsummer blood in my EEs led to lots of pullets which lay speckled eggs! Oh no--not merely brown speckled eggs--I mean they lay green eggs with purple, gray, blue or even white spots!
Marans. I have one BCM pullet,and she lays anything from milk chocolate to brick red. Love picking her eggs up. She's a delightful pullet who gets along well with everyone, and my daughter claimed her, so she's staying. Her name is Savine.
Bielefelders. Have three baby boys, so I'll have to keep everyone updated. From the look of things now, this breed is a crele Brahma with a stylish (frostbite-y) single comb, clean legs, and dark brown egg genes. I suppose, if they had the best of both worlds, they'd be enormous dark-laying striped Chanteclers, which is something I may just have to breed for. Pea combs are more sensible in the cold but don't seem to so adversely affect birds in the heat either.
I'm going to vote for boy on this one. The harder I yell "boy!" the more likely it should be to turn out a girl. It looks to be getting streamers, but I'm going to hope that it's still too young to tell, and that those streamers are actually a budding 'fro-puff.So this is the only Silkie we have and I am hoping it is a girl sk I can keep her. She is 7-8 weeks. Any idea if pullet or roo??
I have to be careful with poults, too. They're not typically assertive enough to bully their way to enough food and water when they're mixed with chickens.
