Meyer Hatchery Chicken pics anyone??

[daniellea2912]

I know this is a little off topic for this thread but I figured some of you have a lot more experience with molting than I do (my oldest chickens are around 18 months so this is their first hard molt). One of my EE hens, Beardie, really molted hard, for a week or 2 she was basically half pin feathers and bare skin. She has mostly regrown her feathers so that her skin isn't showing any more, but still is regrowing quite a bit underneath. For about a week during the worst of it, she didn't eat as much and spent most of her time napping or standing with the other molters. I weighed her 2-3 weeks ago because I was worried she was loosing weight (shes a very fluffy feathered chicken normally, like a BO, so I think she just looked thinner due to loosing all the floofyness) but she hadn't lost more than a few ounces. She seems to be more interested in food the past few days, but is still a little pickier than usual. I picked her up yesterday and she felt pretty thin, so I weighed her again... down 3/4 of a pound since i weighed her 2-3 weeks ago

Is this normal during molt? I have started supplementing her each day with high protein snacks, she will always eat a little then is ready to go back out and graze in their pasture. I had a fecal sample checked and all was well there. Like I said for about a week she didn't eat much but lately she seems much hungrier and more interested in treats, but not quite back to normal. Should I be worried something else is going on?

 

[NanaLynn]

Speaking of molting. My chickens that are molting do look a little thinner too, but I have not weighed them. @Daniellea92 I imagine if the thin chickens appetite is getting better that she should gain more weight soon unless there is something else going on. I hope she improves.

Here is Izzie, both her and Minnie our leghorns look pretty bad with their molts. The others look much better. We have not had a white egg in 5 to 6 weeks from our 56 white egg layers. Even our polish is molting now.


I discovered that my chickens love rose petals. Guess they must taste good.


I finally let them out for a little free range time. They've been locked in for a long time.


I look forward to getting back on here soon. I'm still keeping up with all the posts but between work and remodeling, there's no time. We had to call in an electrician and a plumber for problems we've been having with the kitchen. One expense after another and one problem after another. Once it's done, I'll be so happy. The sink has been out for 2 days now which makes cooking at home very difficult.

Happy Chicken keeping to everyone!

 

[christine9]

I know this is a little off topic for this thread but I figured some of you have a lot more experience with molting than I do (my oldest chickens are around 18 months so this is their first hard molt).  One of my EE hens, Beardie, really molted hard, for a week or 2 she was basically half pin feathers and bare skin.  She has mostly regrown her feathers so that her skin isn't showing any more, but still is regrowing quite a bit underneath.  For about a week during the worst of it, she didn't eat as much and spent most of her time napping or standing with the other molters.  I weighed her 2-3 weeks ago because I was worried she was loosing weight (shes a very fluffy feathered chicken normally, like a BO, so I think she just looked thinner due to loosing all the floofyness) but she hadn't lost more than a few ounces.  She seems to be more interested in food the past few days, but is still a little pickier than usual.  I picked her up yesterday and she felt pretty thin, so I weighed her again... down 3/4 of a pound since i weighed her 2-3 weeks ago  Is this normal during molt?  I have started supplementing her each day with high protein snacks, she will always eat a little then is ready to go back out and graze in their pasture.  I had a fecal sample checked and all was well there. Like I said for about a week she didn't eat much but lately she seems much hungrier and more interested in treats, but not quite back to normal. Should I be worried something else is going on?

I've noticed my girls just seem miserable while molting. Their combs and waddles are a little pale. I haven't noticed they are eating less, but then again I did just add the little ones to the group. I've switched everyone over to grower/finisher to hopefully help with integrating and the extra protein. This is my first hard molt experience too.

 

[autumnhearth]

Amelia


Morgaine the Marans


Morgaine and Clara


Morgaine, Clara and Amelia waiting for Baby to lay her egg


Victoria the Silver Grey Dorking striking a pose

 

[christine9]

Amelia Morgaine the Marans Morgaine and Clara Morgaine, Clara and Amelia waiting for Baby to lay her egg Victoria the Silver Grey Dorking striking a pose

Your girls are beautiful, but especially Victoria! And I now I need more natural roosts!

 

[autumnhearth]

Your girls are beautiful, but especially Victoria! And I now I need more natural roosts!

Thanks. I messaged that pic of her to my husband this morning and texted what a lovely chicken he had. He said I can't have her. When I told him two weeks ago that people were complimenting her, he said "they can't have her" too I think everyone needs a Dorking. And I need more chickens. My sister nearest me goes through two dozen eggs a week. I've been picking up some for her from our CSA when she's running late and I can get there early, but they are running low and didn't have any today. So I am giving her a dozen of mine that I had saved for the neighbor, who also goes through a lot of eggs, but I know she still buys from the store or her daughter's co-worker. I told her it would be awhile until I had enough to supply them, if we could at all. I think once the other two lay I should have two dozen a week, so not enough for my sister or enough to give both neighbors a dozen a week and still have some for ourselves. I want to buy a few started pullets for each of them (that we would raise and keep but the eggs would be their's) but the husband doesn't share the feeling of supplying anyone but ourselves, only giving away leftovers. He doesn't have the communal mindset. Grrr.

 

[christine9]

Oh my gosh! So Peppy caught a bug and called for the girls to come get it. I was so surprised at this change in behavior. But no one came to him. Then I realized he is definitely trying to mate with two of the three older girls. They hide from him when he comes down off his perch! He was doing a little dancing for them today. It seems the change in dynamic is not disrupting things yet. It may even be helping with the integration of the little ones because he pretty much ignores them. But he will squawk a lot if the older ones go after the little ones too much. I guess everyone will adjust as time goes on? It's so interesting to watch these guys!! It's like a soap opera!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Yes, a lot of it's in the shape. That's what defines different breeds when they are genetically the same color (such as Columbian Wyandottes and Light Brahmas). Legbars are also Cream, while the Dorkings are Silver, so there is a slight difference in color. They are both a variation on wild-type partridge, though. Wild-type partridge is one of my favorite patterns, if not my absolute favorite. Wish I had more! There are all sorts of colors that are wt partridge based, like crele, blue silver, dun silver duckwing, isabel, etc. Lots of possibilities but all so gorgeous! And these are just the hens! And adorable is right on Malcolm and Trudi! Now that they've had a chance to clean themselves up after their road trip home and get used to their surroundings, they are looking prettier than ever! (This is a bad cell phone picture, but you can kind of see what I mean. ) Edited to add breeds.

Great explanation on the wild type. I like the silver best also. Where did Trudi and Malcolm fly in from? If you get a pic of them next to your chickens I'd love to see how small they actually are. They look adorable.

They came from a show in central Indiana (we're up in northern Indiana, so it was a few hours of a drive there--not as long as the trip to Meyer's, though!). They are in quarantine, so no pictures with the chickens yet, but hopefully in a few weeks I can try to do that. I'm thinking I'll try and find some common object to pose them with for size comparison.

Speaking of molting. My chickens that are molting do look a little thinner too, but I have not weighed them. @Daniellea92 I imagine if the thin chickens appetite is getting better that she should gain more weight soon unless there is something else going on. I hope she improves. Here is Izzie, both her and Minnie our leghorns look pretty bad with their molts. The others look much better. We have not had a white egg in 5 to 6 weeks from our 56 white egg layers. Even our polish is molting now. I look forward to getting back on here soon. I'm still keeping up with all the posts but between work and remodeling, there's no time. We had to call in an electrician and a plumber for problems we've been having with the kitchen. One expense after another and one problem after another. Once it's done, I'll be so happy. The sink has been out for 2 days now which makes cooking at home very difficult. Happy Chicken keeping to everyone!

I believe it's normal for birds to lose a little weight during the molt. It's a pretty rough process. They also tend to be a bit more mopey in my experience. As long as they are healthy otherwise, eating and drinking, etc., they should be fine. My Light Brown Leghorn, Whiri, is looking very similar to yours. She went from lovely to ragged in a matter of days and is still growing in feathers more than a week later! If I have to pull her out of the nest boxes every night for too much longer, we're going to have a talking-to, though. Good luck with your remodeling!

Thanks. I messaged that pic of her to my husband this morning and texted what a lovely chicken he had. He said I can't have her. When I told him two weeks ago that people were complimenting her, he said "they can't have her" too I think everyone needs a Dorking.

I agree!! Dorkings are such great birds! There's definitely always going to be a space reserved in my flock for keeping them!

 

[NotableNancy]

Hey gang, a I have been MIA for a bit. Been super busy with harvest upon us and getting ready for winter. The flock is plugging right along, we have built 6 more nest boxes that where installed into the big coop, Left Eye has just started joining the group this week during free range time and she is laying which completely made her one of the flock. Today we got 21 eggs, most ever, two short of the whole flock laying in a day. The shot of the eggs are all the clean eggs we got in a weeks time, 127, not bad. We have donated 24 dozen eggs to two different non-profits that help people in need and that has been pretty exciting and rewarding. Here are some shots...I am looking for some down time this winter, just a fe more weeks to push through and then we can hibernate....then I can get back to my BYC addiction.

Our soon to be egg label...NoBo stands for North Boulder, Colorado. Haven't decided yet on the size of label, but am leaning towards hang tangs with that logo and our info on the back.


Lastly been tracking feed and I can say we go through roughly 5.6 pounds a day, for 25 chickens. That is about 168 pounds in 30 days, is this also considered a type of chicken math?

Holy cow.... that's a lot of eggs and so colorful! Love the label. Is that to put on the cartons to sell or for your donations?

Wow, so jealous of your eggs. We have 16 hens that are of laying age and getting ZERO eggs. My friend has 23 hens and also getting ZERO eggs. So frustrating.

I just looked at our food consumption also. My 24 birds go through ~100lbs of food in 30 days. That costs me $43. My friend goes through ~50lbs/week for her 26 birds at $30/bag.
So mine cost me roughly 5cents/bird/day. Hers costs roughly 15cents/bird/day. This is a very rough estimate. We both feed organic. Difference is I buy the bulk grains and ferment, she buys ready made crumbles. I say roughly because I did not take into account the cost of the flax seed oil, kelp powder, peas, or lentils because I'm not sure how long they last to add them to the calculations. So far I've had them for months and barely made a dent in them.

How old are your girls of laying age? Hopefully they will restart after molting.

Speaking of molting. My chickens that are molting do look a little thinner too, but I have not weighed them. @Daniellea92 I imagine if the thin chickens appetite is getting better that she should gain more weight soon unless there is something else going on. I hope she improves.

Here is Izzie, both her and Minnie our leghorns look pretty bad with their molts. The others look much better. We have not had a white egg in 5 to 6 weeks from our 56 white egg layers. Even our polish is molting now.



I look forward to getting back on here soon. I'm still keeping up with all the posts but between work and remodeling, there's no time. We had to call in an electrician and a plumber for problems we've been having with the kitchen. One expense after another and one problem after another. Once it's done, I'll be so happy. The sink has been out for 2 days now which makes cooking at home very difficult.

Happy Chicken keeping to everyone!

Awww, Izzie is pretty sad looking. I don't have any major molting going on but I'm afraid it will finally kick in as soon as it gets cold here. My RIR hasn't laid in a few weeks and now finally I'm finding red feathers around. Not a lot though. Maybe just a light molt? And my 2 BA's lay once or twice a week but no molting yet.
Sorry for all the trouble and extra expense in the kitchen remodel. Hopefully the end is getting closer!

Morgaine and Clara


Morgaine, Clara and Amelia waiting for Baby to lay her egg


Victoria the Silver Grey Dorking striking a pose

I

Victoria too!!! And I love Clara with her darker head. Such a pretty contrast against the lighter body. Love the natural roosts too.

Oh my gosh! So Peppy caught a bug and called for the girls to come get it. I was so surprised at this change in behavior. But no one came to him. Then I realized he is definitely trying to mate with two of the three older girls. They hide from him when he comes down off his perch! He was doing a little dancing for them today. It seems the change in dynamic is not disrupting things yet. It may even be helping with the integration of the little ones because he pretty much ignores them. But he will squawk a lot if the older ones go after the little ones too much. I guess everyone will adjust as time goes on? It's so interesting to watch these guys!! It's like a soap opera!

Peppy's growing up! Maybe if he finally moves into the coop to roost with them they will start listening to him. I hope he stays a nice rooster for you!

 

[NanaLynn]

I feed whole pumpkin seeds to my chickens with all the insides. They love it. I plan on buying a few pumpkins to just split open for them once a week too. Last year my daughter and her friends carved some for Halloween and she brought me all the insides and later after Halloween we tossed in her carved pumpkin. I've heard of people making a mixture of the insides with crushed garlic, red pepper and yogurt and putting it back in the halves of the pumpkin and feeding it that way. Think it was for worming.