Michigan

[bethanyrae]

My son found my one little Silver Penciled Plymouth Pullet hanging from a foot that got caught in the fence today. I'm so sad....she was so pretty. I wish I'd been out there at the time! And I wish my boy hadn't come upon her in the dark like that. He was going to climb the fence after closing up the coop when we got home after dark. Sure startled him pretty badly.
I had gotten her from Wynette. She was 16 weeks old. This is a pic of her at 8 weeks. Wish I'd had something more recent....

Now tomorrow I've got to figure out that fence rail they like to go up and perch on.

bethanyrae

 

[keyt1969]

I'm a little...

About a month ago, I answered an ad in Craigslist for a guy who said he had about 50 chicks. When I called, he said they were barred rocks and Aracauna x RIR. When we got there, there was another man purchasing some chicks and the guy selling them told him they were hatched in May. I didn't think anything of it because #1 - I was sick #2 - it was very hot #3 - I was excited about getting more chicks. When we got home it was getting dark so we put them aside for the night. It wasn't until we put them in the run with everyone else it hit me - they were too small to have been hatched in May. That was when I took pics and posted them here and several agreed they were about a 2 month size.

Well, so far 3 of the 8 have died. One was mysteriously found dead under the laying box. The other two were found flattened the other day, one in the morning, one mid day. Aric was out there all day and didn't see any predators, but they were fine the previous day and that morning.

So, while thinking about it and going through the Meyer Hatchery catalog I realized, they are probably bantam BR and Aracauna (Americauna?). In the month we have had them, there has been NO growth whatsoever. Plus, if they had hatched in May, they would be pretty much full grown by now! Here's my thinking though, if you are selling them as full breed chickens, you wouldn't mistake them as being hatched in May because in August they wouldn't be so tiny! UGH.

The guy had them in a run with lots of bushes and weeds. He said that was to keep the predators out. Maybe. But in the process of keeping them there, a few of them lost a lot of their feathers and look pretty funny!

They aren't mean or anything, but I already have enough bantams that I won't get rid of, so I don't want these! So I am willing to give them away if anyone wants them!

These pics were taken the day we got them about a month ago.I guess they have grown a little but not as much as they should have so that's what makes me think they are bantams!

If you are interested in taking them, I have 3 of the BR and 2 of the others. The guy I got them from said they were Aracauna x RIR but I dunno anymore. I'm still fairly new at this chicken thing and I just wanna focus on the bigger ones we have plus we have 10 chicks that will soon be taking up space. I'd like to trade all 5 for one good laying hen if possible...or maybe something else (still looking for a mallard because my bf's daughter wants one!) you might have....just NO roosters!!!

 

[Opa]

What's with thunder waking me up? I thought we weren't supposed to have storms until this afternoon. Rain will certainly impact my plans for today. I need to clean all the chicken coops and having to dodge rain drops will make it much harder.

 

[Mom 2em All]

Good Morning everyone!

Today should be a great day for me to catch up on everything. No work. No kids' practices for their various activities, no doctor appointments..just a dirty coop that needs to be cleaned and winterized and a ton of laundry to do.
Husband leaves this afternoon to go hunting. House to myself..yay me.
Maybe I will just sit here and do NOTHING all day.

 

[Opa]

I know from experience that doing nothing feels great, but it is much harder to do than most people think. You have to be very carefull or you will do something and have to start all over trying to do nothing.

 

[maggiemmm]

So it is raining downstate too? Suppose to cut and pull invasive species today with the Conservancy- but not when it is raining. I let the chickens out and they looked at me like

it is raining !! Are you crazy lady?? They went back in . The ducks on the other hand were delighted. Think I will stay in and read a book..maybe even have a little woodstove fire and cocoa.

 

[KrisRose]

Quote:
Keyt-my turkeys tried to flatten one of my hens that was a bit under the weather and couldnt run from them. I am wondering if your adult ducks are running with these chickens and could be killing them.
Also did you check there necks to see if there are bites on them? Weasels? Or perhaps a dog shaking them?

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
If it's someone's abandoned easter duckling it is most likely a Rouen, not a mallard. Rouens are much more common, easily obtained from most feed stores, etc. Mallards are not as common. One very easy way to tell is to take a look at his toes. Is he missing one? If he's not missing a toe he's not a mallard. Domestic mallards must be toe clipped for identification and generally come from the hatchery that way.

 

[wyliefarms]

Good Morning!

I am finally caught up on the posts. Not enough hours in the day to get all my computer time in!

Now I am off to get some housework done. Picnic is cancelled that we were suppose to go to today. So the day freed up

Sarah

 

[Olive Hill]

keyt - They look like young standards to me. They just look like they've been stunted/ are unthrifty. Are they in with your bigger birds? How much square footage do you have per bird? How many feeding stations do you have? I wonder if they're not getting pushed back from the feed and possibly picked on/left out, myself. Mixed size and ages flocks can work well, but you need ample space and, especially, plenty of space for everyone to feed. And when there are smaller birds you sometimes even need feed out of sight of the bigger birds.