I named this guy Elwood.
He’s 18 weeks now.
He’s very tall with long legs but much more solid than he seems.
He’s very strong too.
He was sick for a while and stopped crowing for about a week or two.
Some sort of respiratory illness has hit my flock.
I’ve lost 5 birds: my bantam porcelain D’Uccle, Jack
my matriarch red sex link, Red who would’ve reached her 3rd birthday this month
one of my 5 month old Barred Rocks, Shadow who had recently started laying and was the friendliest girl
and I lost 3 chicks
one OE pullet and 2 55 Flowery pullets.
I got the 55 Flowery’s because they’re an auto sexing breed and I wanted sexed pullets so I could see if my broodys would adopt them.
I got the OE for the same reason: they are sex linked pullets created by crossing a Black Copper Marans rooster over Blue Cream Legbar hens.
I started with four 55’s and eight OE.
Three OE are blue and five are black but getting brown splotches as they feather out.
But my broodys didn’t want them.
One of the 55’s I just found dead one morning and the night before one had been pecked hard by one of my hens.
I don’t know if it’s the one that was pecked though.
The other one was sick as well as one of my blue OE chicks. They both died.
So I’m down to 9 chicks from 12.
I said all of that because my plan is to put Elwood, my NN cockerel, with these new chicks when they start laying.
According to Greenfire Farms, where these 55 Flowery’s were sourced, they will lay an extra large white egg.
They also have gorgeous multi colored speckled feathers (their “flowers”) and my breeding goal is beautifully feathered NNs that lay large eggs.
I have the same goal with the Olive Egger pullets with the blue feathers.
I just want interesting colored NNs and I want to see if I can keep the green egg color or even see what other colors I could get.
OR I could put Elwood with my pullets that have already reached POL.
I have 1 barred Rock, 1 buff Orpington, 2 EE (one lays mint green
& one lays light brown
), 2 black sex links, and 2 mixed pullets: Australorp/?? and Australorp/EE.
The two mixed pullets are black.
I’m trying to stay away from breeding black birds since it’s such a dominant color.
The black sex links might work? Since they’re actually a mix of barred and red parents.
I’ll post pics of the 55’s and the OE soon.
