New hen owner

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC, and good luck with your flock.

 

[N F C]

Make yourself at home here and enjoy your flock!

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hi! Welcome to BYC! We're so glad you joined us! We would love to see pictures of your flock if you would like to share any!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi Welcome to BYC. You have some very nice breeds there maybe some pictures when you get time.

 

[house1917]

Some quick thoughts on your hens...

At 9 months they should all be laying- once they adjust to their new surroundings!

If they're true to their breed- they should all be about the same size and temperament. You have 'dual purpose heavy breeds'.

If you purchased them from a big hatchery, you may experience better laying rates than from a small breeder- but lighter colored eggs than specialty hens and overall smaller birds. This is not a bad thing at all- but the data you see online for 'purebreds' may not apply!!

Black copper marans- Typically very easy going, and lay among the darkest eggs of any chicken. Not the strongest layers, maybe 3-4 a week- but definitely pretty DARK brown eggs

Rhode Island Reds- Great utility chickens that lay consistently- they're the 5 eggs a week girls

Blue Splash Marans- Pretty to look at and typically calm- but like their black copper sisters aren't the most productive layers

Americanas- If you got them from a large hatchery they're likely Easter Eggers- not true Ameracuanas. Easter Eggers come in all colors and patterns and are typically solid layers. 5 eggs a week type of hens. If you have true Ameracuanas- they will likely be solid colored (except wheaten and brown red)- and they're decent egg layers typically 3-5 a week.

I've had three of the four- for sure. And I've had Easter Eggers as well. Never had any issues with flightiness or excessive noise- although I had one Black Copper Marans hen who REALLY liked to sing an egg song after laying. Nothing like rooster noise, but noisy for 10 minutes or so!

Good luck with your flock- you're in the right place for all things chickens!!

 

[zacbev]

Hi, thank you everyone for your responses and all the great info!

Some asked for pictures so here are some of our new girls from the day
they came home to our farm. I do have a few more questions:

1. In the second picture with the girls in the transport cage, there is
the small white one, who our kids named Big Bird. Is she an
americanas?

2. Also she (Big Bird) gets picked on very badly and very often. Its
to the point where she get her feathers yanked out regularly and she
spends a lot of time in the coop. She does hang out with the other
two that look like her but are more of a brownish/yellowish color but
even when she is in a group with her friends the other larger chickens
pick on her. Should we be concerned that she is getting picked on like
this? We thought about building a separate coop and yard for her and
her two friends but haven't gone that far yet. The 12 girls currently
have a 10x20 foot fenced yard but they have a temporary coop in the
yard that takes up part of that probably 3x7. We are adding another
10x20 to the yard to give them a 20x20 foot yard and we are building a
permanent coop on the outside of the yard that will be 6x10.

3. Can anyone help with determining which are what breed? We know
which one the Rhode Island Red is...so far we just call her Red.On the
black ones some have copper in their necks and some do not, some have
feathers on their feet and some do not. If I remember right the ones
with feathers on their feet do not have copper on their necks.

Any help with who is what would be great!

Thank you so much for the time everyone has spent reading and
responding, we are so grateful for this place

 

[DobieLover]

Hi, thank you everyone for your responses and all the great info!

Some asked for pictures so here are some of our new girls from the day
they came home to our farm. I do have a few more questions:

1. In the second picture with the girls in the transport cage, there is
the small white one, who our kids named Big Bird. Is she an
americanas?

2. Also she (Big Bird) gets picked on very badly and very often. Its
to the point where she get her feathers yanked out regularly and she
spends a lot of time in the coop. She does hang out with the other
two that look like her but are more of a brownish/yellowish color but
even when she is in a group with her friends the other larger chickens
pick on her. Should we be concerned that she is getting picked on like
this? We thought about building a separate coop and yard for her and
her two friends but haven't gone that far yet. The 12 girls currently
have a 10x20 foot fenced yard but they have a temporary coop in the
yard that takes up part of that probably 3x7. We are adding another
10x20 to the yard to give them a 20x20 foot yard and we are building a
permanent coop on the outside of the yard that will be 6x10.

3. Can anyone help with determining which are what breed? We know
which one the Rhode Island Red is...so far we just call her Red.On the
black ones some have copper in their necks and some do not, some have
feathers on their feet and some do not. If I remember right the ones
with feathers on their feet do not have copper on their necks.

Any help with who is what would be great!

Thank you so much for the time everyone has spent reading and
responding, we are so grateful for this place View attachment 2089128View attachment 2089121View attachment 2089121View attachment 2089122View attachment 2089123View attachment 2089124View attachment 2089125View attachment 2089126View attachment 2089127View attachment 2089128

The white one is an Easter Egger.