Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[flower]

My NN pullets are all laying now, and I have an olive egger! She is the only one with a pea comb (although it is a modified pea comb) and she is also the only one that is birchen instead of black copper (not sure if there is a relationship). Her first couple of eggs were lighter and then got darker after a few test runs. I'm loving my girls' eggs!

Left to right:
First two eggs, Eggs # 3 & 4, her mom's eggs (black copper marans), and eggs from her sisters.


I'm finding chicken math is getting the best of me. I only want green and dark brown layers at this point, but I have WAY too many light brown and tinted egg layers. I suppose I can still sell them for eating and just hatch the pretty ones.

They are gorgeous.

May the force be with you. ​

Up here in NE AZ Navajo country we say " That's some powerful medicine you used!" Darn my little black silkie want to sit again. Isn't it to late for that ? Well I may just get tired of stealing her eggs and or crating her ????

 

[DesertChic]

My little ones are 9 weeks old today, but I had to swap out their leg bands today, and after that, we were all to tired to take weights. But they DID get to roam outside their tractor for the first time today (finally!!!) - a fenced area (best I could do for something mobile). I got some nice photos. I have 6 NN pullets and 7 NN cockerels - making notes on which ones I will keep. I will at least TRY to keep several cockerels, but can't really keep all 7. (Maybe 3-4?) I'll plan to keep all pullets, I think, though there is one that is significantly petite and not terribly friendly that may not make the cut. BTW, the all black pullet? I was wrong - she's not the smallest, she's second largest of the pullets. So, PHOTOS!!! (I hope it is ok to post all these - I adore it when others do, so I'm assuming it's fun for everyone else as well...)

Dispersing from the tractor:


Tons of space and they have to fight over the same square foot of dust bath space - crazy chickens! I can't tell who's head is whose...:

Partridge - I think this is a pullet, and if so, she is the largest of them by far. She has an interesting mahogany hairdo...:

The black pullet was being a photo hog when I was trying to get photos of that dark wheaten one:



Here she is on her own:


Here is the black one with the Rose comb (I think male) - if you look at his wings when spread, he has a few tiny white accents. He's a little bit of a jerk with the others - he's big, but he may not make the cut. We'll see. (One of the black-downed males with red accents in the background perching in the doorway.)



And here's Tank (and a cute photo of him with the black pullet...):



Love my Naked Necks! You know skip the S&G idea, I like these Ideal ones.

- Ant Farm

edit: LEG BANDS! Not legends. Crazy autocorrect...

LOVE your birds! I burst out laughing at the photo bomb. I have a couple birds that always do that when I go out to take photos, and then run away when I try to take pictures of THEM. Silly birds.

Tank's a good looking boy...and has a very intense eye. I've noticed a similar look from the cockerels that I have that turn out to be my best ones at protecting and caring for the girls. I hope he turns out that way too. I really good cockerel/rooster is a very impressive animal, and terribly under-appreciated by non-chicken people.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

LOVE your birds! I burst out laughing at the photo bomb. I have a couple birds that always do that when I go out to take photos, and then run away when I try to take pictures of THEM. Silly birds.

Tank's a good looking boy...and has a very intense eye. I've noticed a similar look from the cockerels that I have that turn out to be my best ones at protecting and caring for the girls. I hope he turns out that way too. I really good cockerel/rooster is a very impressive animal, and terribly under-appreciated by non-chicken people.

I don't have a lot of experience, but I like what I see so far in him, and I have high hopes. He's still half a pound heavier than all the rest, twice the size of a few, and while he's top of the pecking order, he's not a bully and doesn't shove the others around, even when they're shut up in the tractor. It was hysterical to watch him today, because, given the room while ranging, all the boys had more space to "strut their stuff". He has this way of making big giant hops instead of running when he's going after someone (part rabbit?!), and then he just lands next to them and stares them down until they get the message regarding their place in the pecking order. There are some relatively small male New Hampshires that are total jerks, picking fights, already harassing the pullets/trying to mount (at 9 weeks!). They were strutting around, and I found it EVER so satisfying to see Tank, along with the other big NN cockerels, roundly put them in their place (and scare the bejeezus out of them) without them having to land a blow. The NN cockerels are all so well mannered comparatively. On the other hand, I'm ready to eat little NH number 23 for dinner any day now - I don't care how little he is. I may choose to separate the NHs out on their own very, very soon to grow out separately until freezer time, as the NN cockerels haven't really been bothering the girls. (Gotta build something...)

This is crazy little number 23:


- Ant Farm

 

[DesertChic]

I don't have a lot of experience, but I like what I see so far in him, and I have high hopes. He's still half a pound heavier than all the rest, twice the size of a few, and while he's top of the pecking order, he's not a bully and doesn't shove the others around, even when they're shut up in the tractor. It was hysterical to watch him today, because, given the room while ranging, all the boys had more space to "strut their stuff". He has this way of making big giant hops instead of running when he's going after someone (part rabbit?!), and then he just lands next to them and stares them down until they get the message regarding their place in the pecking order. There are some relatively small male New Hampshires that are total jerks, picking fights, already harassing the pullets/trying to mount (at 9 weeks!). They were strutting around, and I found it EVER so satisfying to see Tank, along with the other big NN cockerels, roundly put them in their place (and scare the bejeezus out of them) without them having to land a blow. The NN cockerels are all so well mannered comparatively. On the other hand, I'm ready to eat little NH number 23 for dinner any day now - I don't care how little he is. I may choose to separate the NHs out on their own very, very soon to grow out separately until freezer time, as the NN cockerels haven't really been bothering the girls. (Gotta build something...)

This is crazy little number 23:


- Ant Farm

I've got a mystery cockerel that has absolutely no finesse whatsoever with the girls, but he's still managed to place himself at the head of his flock of Easter Eggers and barnyard mixes. I'm trying to hold onto him for his positive traits and to do some experimental breeding with, but if he doesn't learn some charm very soon I'll probably have to cull him. Once you see what a really good rooster should behave like it's hard to tolerate the little jerks.

 

[DesertChic]

I think my favorite NN hen has decided to be broody. My son told me she'd gone into her favorite nesting box early this afternoon while I was at work, and when I went out to lock everyone in for the night she was still there sitting on three eggs and a golf ball. I'm starting to think that golf balls trigger broodiness.

 

[Kev]

I didnt know u had Buff chickens Kev. Congrats

Buff as in gloriously, beautifully, shamelessly, and/or European summer beach naked? Yep! I love them!!

I've wanted them sooo bad for decades since seeing them on a news segment...

 

[Kev]

My little ones are 9 weeks old today, but I had to swap out their leg bands today, and after that, we were all to tired to take weights. But they DID get to roam outside their tractor for the first time today (finally!!!) - a fenced area (best I could do for something mobile). I got some nice photos. I have 6 NN pullets and 7 NN cockerels - making notes on which ones I will keep. I will at least TRY to keep several cockerels, but can't really keep all 7. (Maybe 3-4?) I'll plan to keep all pullets, I think, though there is one that is significantly petite and not terribly friendly that may not make the cut. BTW, the all black pullet? I was wrong - she's not the smallest, she's second largest of the pullets. So, PHOTOS!!! (I hope it is ok to post all these - I adore it when others do, so I'm assuming it's fun for everyone else as well...)

I love pictures! The more the happier!

Wise move on keeping more than one cockerel if there's room. Glad it was actually a pretty good straight run sex ratio- feel bad for thinking you'd got almost all cockerels a bit ago lol


Quote:
Hydraturken!


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She is a she and a partridge for sure. A male would be much darker with black all over the breast/.body with duckwing starting to show on wings and some red on the saddles. I'm surprised at this color pattern out of hatchery stock.

You did get very nice birds, congrats! I hope my new hatchery chicks turn out as nice as yours.. no idea which hatchery they came from though.

 

[Kev]

I think my favorite NN hen has decided to be broody. My son told me she'd gone into her favorite nesting box early this afternoon while I was at work, and when I went out to lock everyone in for the night she was still there sitting on three eggs and a golf ball. I'm starting to think that golf balls trigger broodiness.

Daylight hours/temperatures is part of it, for example peafowl are very seasonal layers.. not so rare for peahens to lay a few eggs in the fall after having stopped over the summer. It seems sometimes their bodies are fooled into thinking it's spring time.

 

[Phill98]

@Fire Ant Farm I realy, realy like that partridge one. I had one that looked the same few years ago and she was also the biggest out of the bunch.

 

[hellbender]

My little ones are 9 weeks old today, but I had to swap out their leg bands today, and after that, we were all to tired to take weights. But they DID get to roam outside their tractor for the first time today (finally!!!) - a fenced area (best I could do for something mobile). I got some nice photos. I have 6 NN pullets and 7 NN cockerels - making notes on which ones I will keep. I will at least TRY to keep several cockerels, but can't really keep all 7. (Maybe 3-4?) I'll plan to keep all pullets, I think, though there is one that is significantly petite and not terribly friendly that may not make the cut. BTW, the all black pullet? I was wrong - she's not the smallest, she's second largest of the pullets. So, PHOTOS!!! (I hope it is ok to post all these - I adore it when others do, so I'm assuming it's fun for everyone else as well...)

Dispersing from the tractor:


Tons of space and they have to fight over the same square foot of dust bath space - crazy chickens! I can't tell who's head is whose...:

Partridge - I think this is a pullet, and if so, she is the largest of them by far. She has an interesting mahogany hairdo...:

The black pullet was being a photo hog when I was trying to get photos of that dark wheaten one:



Here she is on her own:


Here is the black one with the Rose comb (I think male) - if you look at his wings when spread, he has a few tiny white accents. He's a little bit of a jerk with the others - he's big, but he may not make the cut. We'll see. (One of the black-downed males with red accents in the background perching in the doorway.)



And here's Tank (and a cute photo of him with the black pullet...):



Love my Naked Necks! You know skip the S&G idea, I like these Ideal ones.

- Ant Farm

edit: LEG BANDS! Not legends. Crazy autocorrect...

I wouldn't discount the smaller gal too soon. She could be your most prolific layer and they have away of having growth spurts. She may never be as big as her mates but she could come very close in a few months.