I cringe at saying this, but when your NN cockerels finally decide they're ready to start mating they'll be just as bad as your NHs in the way they handle the girls at first. In my experience they're typically the most "frisky" first thing in the morning and at dusk. Before I butchered most of my NN cockerels it would get so bad that all of the girls would find a way to perch somewhere on my body as I was the "safe zone" and none of the boys would pursue them once they were with me. My husband came outside one day to find pullets covering my legs, shoulders, arms and head.... All seven of my girls! And the boys just stood watch about 3 feet away, waiting for the first pullet to find her way back to the ground so they could pounce.
It takes a while for those randy boys to develop charm and charisma. If possible, I would highly recommend separating boys and girls as soon as the chase begins...or at least cull as many of the ones you know you won't be keeping to cut down on the number of attacks.
I was watching them all this evening, and I spoke too soon. The NN cockerels are starting to bug the pullets, and Apoc tried to mount Buffy right in front of me - as best I could tell, his technique wasn't all that bad, minus courtship, of course (grabbed some head feathers and climbed on top, no injuries to her) - she was just completely uninterested, squawked, and ran out from under him. Puppy also seemed to be hiding a lot. They are only 10 weeks old (as of tomorrow) - could this be learned behavior from the NHs? (Sweetie was actually ok - maybe she tasted too bad to everyone!
)
Regardless, I really have to get that coop done to house the pullets soon... (sigh)
Once you decide which cockerels to keep, how do you find it the best way to reintegrate them with the ladies? I'd like one flock cockerel/rooster with the girls all the time (protection when ranging, etc.), but will I need to house the others separately? (I'm beginning to get coop-building fatigue...)
@Fire Ant Farm I didn't know you had greyhounds. I saw only one in my life and I fell in love with them. They look like they came from royal family. Wonder if they get along with chickens.
( Do you have some pics, I would realy like to see them, you can send me in PM so we don't go off topic)
Awww, I'm not sure anyone would mind. (Do you guys mind?). Here are photos of my girls. Here in the U.S., it's essentially impossible to get a greyhound puppy, and near 100% are bred for racing. Unfortunately, when they finish their racing career (age 2-4 years), they are destroyed if homes are not found for them (one of the very good reasons why you can't get a puppy - there's so many others needing homes). So adoption of retired racers is how one can get them as a pet. They have to be socialized a bit, from being a working and racing dog to being a household pet, but they are so amazingly affectionate and sweet - they get extremely attached to "THEIR" humans. Daisy (the black one) had a gastrointestinal disease and died at age 9, but Froggy (brindle one) lasted until she was 14, which is very old for a large dog (died this past Easter). They have zero body fat, so must be indoors (cannot be left outdoors in heat or cold). They are like giant cats - they sleep all day, and love to be near you at all times, preferably on a great big cushion. And Froggy in particular liked to sometimes sleep the very unladylike "dead cockroach" position...
All that being said, greyhounds have a very strong prey instinct, and are bred to hunt and chase (and if they're retired racers, also trained from puppyhood to do so). They can't be in an unfenced yard or left off leash, because if they see something (e.g., a squirrel), they will chase, and they will not come back (no matter how much training they've had, you're fighting something like 3000 years of breeding). Froggy once turned a corner so fast in the back yard she got a spiral fracture in her foot. I would never have them anywhere near chickens - that's why I waited until after Froggy died to get chickens. If I still had them, they'd need to have their own secure separate yard.
Aaaannnnd to bring it just a WEEEE bit back on topic - it's extraordinary how similar the Naked Neck pullet wounds I've seen look to greyhound wounds - very thin skin that splits and pulls apart alarmingly easily. But the pullets heal faster...
Everyone has kept growing and their combs haven’t kept up. I’ve gone from thinking I have mostly roosters to wondering if I have any roosters at all! I suppose time will tell! If I have no roosters, that complicates my scaleless project a little, but it would also afford me the opportunity to adopt a mature rooster who has a known temperament. I can't complain of an opportunity to give a roo a home. Otherwise, I am thinking a salmon faverolle roo baby in the spring maybe!
Everyone has kept growing and their combs haven’t kept up. I’ve gone from thinking I have mostly roosters to wondering if I have any roosters at all! I suppose time will tell! If I have no roosters, that complicates my scaleless project a little, but it would also afford me the opportunity to adopt a mature rooster who has a known temperament. I can't complain of an opportunity to give a roo a home. Otherwise, I am thinking a salmon faverolle roo baby in the spring maybe!
I can't help you with gender, but I love looking at pics of your birds!!! I don't think I'll ever get tired of Naked Neck chick photos!!! I love the attitude/pose of this one...
It would require a move to a tropical climate but I would love to have some scaleless chickens, however impractical.
I could have them here but their lives would be miserable (locked up and heated) for a good part of the year and even summertime is peppered with night temps that could be lethal.
Oh yeah he should be very fertile at that age and neck color. Start collecting eggs, put them in a cool-not warm!- place and turn once or three times daily until you have enough to put all at once under the broody. Eggs up to a week old are best for hatching, but up to two weeks old still can have great results, especially under a good broody hen.
Mark the eggs if the other hens still have access to her nest. It is best if she is totally isolated either by her nest shut off from all other birds or the whole cage to herself.... but I understand this is not always possible.
my NNs are in a separate coop and run and only 2 whites are laying, so no problem for the eggs. their eggs are different in size so I know exactly who laid them. fingers crossed that the other one doesn't give up broodiness! I don't have incubator (I decided to keep chickens raised by broodies only).
can you help me define this colour:
he is getting more black spots on his breast but still is mostly mahogany red with orange sheen on hackle and saddle feathers. the pics are not good, he is much darker than it seems (dark red/mahogany).
Awww, I'm not sure anyone would mind. (Do you guys mind?). Here are photos of my girls. Here in the U.S., it's essentially impossible to get a greyhound puppy, and near 100% are bred for racing. Unfortunately, when they finish their racing career (age 2-4 years), they are destroyed if homes are not found for them (one of the very good reasons why you can't get a puppy - there's so many others needing homes). So adoption of retired racers is how one can get them as a pet. They have to be socialized a bit, from being a working and racing dog to being a household pet, but they are so amazingly affectionate and sweet - they get extremely attached to "THEIR" humans. Daisy (the black one) had a gastrointestinal disease and died at age 9, but Froggy (brindle one) lasted until she was 14, which is very old for a large dog (died this past Easter). They have zero body fat, so must be indoors (cannot be left outdoors in heat or cold). They are like giant cats - they sleep all day, and love to be near you at all times, preferably on a great big cushion. And Froggy in particular liked to sometimes sleep the very unladylike "dead cockroach" position...
All that being said, greyhounds have a very strong prey instinct, and are bred to hunt and chase (and if they're retired racers, also trained from puppyhood to do so). They can't be in an unfenced yard or left off leash, because if they see something (e.g., a squirrel), they will chase, and they will not come back (no matter how much training they've had, you're fighting something like 3000 years of breeding). Froggy once turned a corner so fast in the back yard she got a spiral fracture in her foot. I would never have them anywhere near chickens - that's why I waited until after Froggy died to get chickens. If I still had them, they'd need to have their own secure separate yard.
Aaaannnnd to bring it just a WEEEE bit back on topic - it's extraordinary how similar the Naked Neck pullet wounds I've seen look to greyhound wounds - very thin skin that splits and pulls apart alarmingly easily. But the pullets heal faster...
Love the pics! We have a greyhound rescue group in the Tucson area (because we also have a greyhound race track) and I've seen first-hand how wonderful these dogs can be. One of our customers has a beautiful Greyhound rescue named Danny Boy. She sometimes brings him by the shop just to visit with me because we bonded very quickly. She's told me that if anything happens to her, she's asked that Danny Boy be brought to me to be cared for since I'm the only other person he's really latched on to. I take it as an honor.
I never considered it was a "danger" message. The girls do grow quiet and attentive, but there's no apparent sign of distress over anything. Hmm....I'm going to have to observe these actions more often to see if I can locate anything that may be alarming them. Interesting...
That's so sad! Fortunately this is definitely not the case with my boys. They act this way from time to time, but there's no sign of physical distress or illness of any sort, and in a short time they're back to their usual behaviors. It almost appears at times as if they're begging for attention from the girls. Still....just to be on the safe side, I'm going to examine those boys the next time I see them behave like this again...just in case there is a physical problem I haven't noticed. Thanks!
Awww, I'm not sure anyone would mind. (Do you guys mind?). Here are photos of my girls. Here in the U.S., it's essentially impossible to get a greyhound puppy, and near 100% are bred for racing. Unfortunately, when they finish their racing career (age 2-4 years), they are destroyed if homes are not found for them (one of the very good reasons why you can't get a puppy - there's so many others needing homes). So adoption of retired racers is how one can get them as a pet. They have to be socialized a bit, from being a working and racing dog to being a household pet, but they are so amazingly affectionate and sweet - they get extremely attached to "THEIR" humans. Daisy (the black one) had a gastrointestinal disease and died at age 9, but Froggy (brindle one) lasted until she was 14, which is very old for a large dog (died this past Easter). They have zero body fat, so must be indoors (cannot be left outdoors in heat or cold). They are like giant cats - they sleep all day, and love to be near you at all times, preferably on a great big cushion. And Froggy in particular liked to sometimes sleep the very unladylike "dead cockroach" position... All that being said, greyhounds have a very strong prey instinct, and are bred to hunt and chase (and if they're retired racers, also trained from puppyhood to do so). They can't be in an unfenced yard or left off leash, because if they see something (e.g., a squirrel), they will chase, and they will not come back (no matter how much training they've had, you're fighting something like 3000 years of breeding). Froggy once turned a corner so fast in the back yard she got a spiral fracture in her foot. I would never have them anywhere near chickens - that's why I waited until after Froggy died to get chickens. If I still had them, they'd need to have their own secure separate yard. Aaaannnnd to bring it just a WEEEE bit back on topic - it's extraordinary how similar the Naked Neck pullet wounds I've seen look to greyhound wounds - very thin skin that splits and pulls apart alarmingly easily. But the pullets heal faster... - Ant Farm
What can I say other then beautiful. About puppies, here are not almost impossible to find but apsolutely impossible. Here is hard to get even a retired one, but we have a great greyhound adopting agency (they get them straight from Spain, but the proccess is very, very long) Only part I didn't know about them that you wrote is that they have so thin skin. I probably wasn't paying attention about it. No matter what, I will always love their look ( I would love to say personality, but I didn't have them, YET)
It would require a move to a tropical climate but I would love to have some scaleless chickens, however impractical.
I could have them here but their lives would be miserable (locked up and heated) for a good part of the year and even summertime is peppered with night temps that could be lethal.
I jave the same problem here. They couldn't be outside more then two-three months. Even tough I have to say I "cooled down" on them. When I first saw Rudy, I was crazy about scaleless chickens, and even I still like to see them, I passed the will of having them.
