- May 25, 2015
- 145
- 4
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I have been reading a lot on here lately so I wanted to join.
I raised chickens for the majority of my young life and took several trophies home for best of the breed at the county fair. I've had millefleurs, silkies, and a variety of mixed bantams as well as the leghorn cross x, black giants, rhode island reds, and a few other varieties growing up. I also raised ducks, and had a failed raising of guineas (I had three - they were 6 weeks old when I got them and flew away from me). I also rescued a stranded mallard and paired him with two pheasants, but sadly I was not prepared for them and so they did not make it.
Consequently, I haven't owned any poultry since then, over 5-6 years ago.
But I felt the urge to get back in the game, as I used to enjoy it so much.
I bought guineas, pheasants, and chickens at an auction. Of the 6 guineas, one died after a week. I have no idea what happened. Of the 5 pheasants, 1 died from being squished I guess, and two of them broke free of the cage overnight and flew to Sheol.
Of the 22 chickens I bought, 21 of them are still with me and 1 is being raised by a friend with an abandoned mallard she found.
So I now have 28 birds… I'm very sad about the pheasants, they deserved better from me. That is why I now moved them outside to a rabbit pen with a heater - one they cannot escape from and freeze to death.
Anyway, my pheasants, chickens, and guinea young are all living together in a rabbit pen. I had a scare this morning as one of my guineas was stuck with both wings over its head in the food dish. They emptied it out last night and this brave little toaster decided to climb in and spend the night! It's doing okay now.
My chickens are all blue cochin/mille fleur mix as far as I know. I look forward to their adult versions.
I will be asking a lot of questions, and posting a lot of stories about these birds. It is an interesting flock already, and I ask for prayers for my two remaining pheasants! I would like them to be a male and a female for breeding purposes. I hope my guineas are 1 male with 4 females. From the chickens (somewhere between 3-4 weeks old), I believe I've already identified 13 females, 4 males, and 4 mysterious ones. I could be wrong. I hope for more females for the eggs and to limit the male violence, although there already appears to be a lead cockerel. He was raising the alarm while the others hid when my cat approached the pen. I took a video. It was quite amusing. Also, it was interesting to observe the difference in pheasant behavior (at just over a week old). The pheasants did not go in the coop area with the rest, but ducked down to "hide" out in the open. I am curious to see how well they integrate, especially now that it is just the two of them...
I raised chickens for the majority of my young life and took several trophies home for best of the breed at the county fair. I've had millefleurs, silkies, and a variety of mixed bantams as well as the leghorn cross x, black giants, rhode island reds, and a few other varieties growing up. I also raised ducks, and had a failed raising of guineas (I had three - they were 6 weeks old when I got them and flew away from me). I also rescued a stranded mallard and paired him with two pheasants, but sadly I was not prepared for them and so they did not make it.
Consequently, I haven't owned any poultry since then, over 5-6 years ago.
But I felt the urge to get back in the game, as I used to enjoy it so much.
I bought guineas, pheasants, and chickens at an auction. Of the 6 guineas, one died after a week. I have no idea what happened. Of the 5 pheasants, 1 died from being squished I guess, and two of them broke free of the cage overnight and flew to Sheol.
Of the 22 chickens I bought, 21 of them are still with me and 1 is being raised by a friend with an abandoned mallard she found.
So I now have 28 birds… I'm very sad about the pheasants, they deserved better from me. That is why I now moved them outside to a rabbit pen with a heater - one they cannot escape from and freeze to death.
Anyway, my pheasants, chickens, and guinea young are all living together in a rabbit pen. I had a scare this morning as one of my guineas was stuck with both wings over its head in the food dish. They emptied it out last night and this brave little toaster decided to climb in and spend the night! It's doing okay now.
My chickens are all blue cochin/mille fleur mix as far as I know. I look forward to their adult versions.
I will be asking a lot of questions, and posting a lot of stories about these birds. It is an interesting flock already, and I ask for prayers for my two remaining pheasants! I would like them to be a male and a female for breeding purposes. I hope my guineas are 1 male with 4 females. From the chickens (somewhere between 3-4 weeks old), I believe I've already identified 13 females, 4 males, and 4 mysterious ones. I could be wrong. I hope for more females for the eggs and to limit the male violence, although there already appears to be a lead cockerel. He was raising the alarm while the others hid when my cat approached the pen. I took a video. It was quite amusing. Also, it was interesting to observe the difference in pheasant behavior (at just over a week old). The pheasants did not go in the coop area with the rest, but ducked down to "hide" out in the open. I am curious to see how well they integrate, especially now that it is just the two of them...
So sorry for your losses.
