Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Folly's place]

Very handsome cockerel! About bare backed hens; if there are a reasonable number of hens for the rooster numbers in the flock, it may be an issue with feather quality in that particular hen. I read somewhere, I think in an old poultry breeding manual, that barebacked hens shouldn't be bred on because they have feather quality issues. I've had a couple that never kept feathers on their backs, didn't appear to be over bred, moved on to 'hen only' flocks, where they did better. Taprock, hope you get that sick fox! Mary

 

[snowflake]

todays eggs, best for some time, but the one in the middle is HUGE brown on left is medium size, the green is large,

they took a long break but are coming back, I think they like this weather lost a hen this week to a hawk, young cooper, let them free range and eat some grass went in the house for a while and the bugger grabbed one. so now they only get to go out only if I am out.

 

[snowflake]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! to all, !!!

 

[snowflake]

My injured pullet is looking better everyday. We've got her a pretty big dog cage in the coop. I tried giving her supervised time with her flock mates but one pecked at her wound. It's pretty obvious still. Is there anything I need to do to reintroduce her to the flock when she's all healed?

glad to hear she is doing better,

Hope everyone had a very happy holiday! Busy busy around here

I don't really want to cull him, he's quite pretty, and it's nice to hear him crow and coo to the girls, but I really can't have him roughing them up so much.

Is it too much to ask that as he matures, he will not be so rough?

I have to agree, roosters that will attack a person has to go, I have neighbors and grand kids, that visit the chickens. can't risk them getting hurt..........I have a real nice ameraucana, mix you can have for free

A cockerel from my bantam Cubalaya project.
"On the watch"

Very handsome guy

 

[zndzant]

@snowflake
Sorry about your loss to the hawk. And thank you for the offer of a sweet roo, but if my boy ends up having to go, I just wont have a rooster. He was supposed to be my second buff orpington pullet, but we see how that turned out. Lol I only kept him because I didn't want to kill him without giving him a chance to prove he could behave.
He has made no evertures toward me since he tried to bump/throw himself at me and ran into the toe of my big ole Sorel boots. I make a point of "herding" him around the run a couple of times each time I go in and he seems to have fallen back into place. But he feels the need to try and rape every one of the girls while I am out there.
And this morning while I was out cleaning, I noticed that my Wyandotte girl is being mean with all the rest of the girls. Ironically, she is the one with the bare back from the boy. And I have even watched her get up and chest bump the roo a few times after he mounts her. We'll see how things shake out but maybe the roo and the wyandotte will have to go. Sadly I dont have enough room to separate them.

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

 

[rachelsflock]

So I've been here in Michigan for a few years and I'm starting to notice a pattern with the cooper's hawk attacks. When exactly are the cooper's hawk migrations? I'm in south eastern michigan and it seems to be right as it gets cold, then shortly after the first of the year for a month or so. Does that check out?

 

[1muttsfan]

All migratory raptors start moving in the fall and spring, but their migration patterns are unpredictable and depend on weather and food supply. In a warm year like this they may hang around for much longer, as long as food is available. Some raptors do not migrate, but might move randomly around a large territory.

 

[RaZ]

Okay, I'll make the first post of 2017.

 

[1muttsfan]

Happy New Year, friends

 

[Flock Master64]

Happy new year