Cackledoodle
In the Brooder
- Sep 25, 2024
- 5
- 53
- 44
Hello! I started chickening (
) last spring with 6 sex link hens, 3 reds and 3 blacks. Unfortunately, within the first 6 months one disappeared while free ranging.
I did well with the remaining 5 through the winter and spring this year and then all hell broke loose.
I ended up with northern fowl mites in the heat of this summer which were a nightmare to get rid of.
I finally got the coop and chickens cleared, thank God.
Next, one of my red and one of my black girls started jumping the fence during the day and apparently having trysts with the neighbor's rooster.
I noticed I was getting less eggs, but chalked it up to the mites.
Oh no, not the mites. One night Dahlia, the black sex link, didn't come home. I did a search and found her in a bush near the driveway sitting on fifteen eggs!
I made the decision to let her sit. I built a secure enclosure around her and fed and watered her every day.
I candled the eggs and kept the ones there I felt were viable (13).
During this time, something got into my remaining hens enclosure and got one of my black sex links. It was my first predator attack.
The next week, another one of my reds who was fine the night before died the next morning in my arms from unknown causes.
That left me with three original girls.
My broody mama ended up hatching 9 of her 13 eggs at the very end of July. One Unfortunately got trampled
.
I could tell very early on that out of the 8 left, 6 were roosters
. Their combs and wattles grew so fast and pinked up so quickly.
I planned on keeping one rooster and figured I'd have the 5 girls and the boy.
Once again, plans were thwarted when something tore into my welded hardware cloth and took my last and favorite original red sex link, Rosie, one of rooster babies, and killed and left one of the two female babies.
This brings me to today. I currently have two original black sex link hens, five 8 week old roosters and one 8 week old hen. When I lost the latest birds, I purchased 4 more chicks from Tractor Supply that are now about 4 weeks old. I believe they are Sapphire Sky chicks even though I was told Sapphire Gems. They are all starting to get their little mohawks .
If you read this novel, thank you and I'm happy to be here! Here is a picture of the rooster I plan on keeping.
) last spring with 6 sex link hens, 3 reds and 3 blacks. Unfortunately, within the first 6 months one disappeared while free ranging. I did well with the remaining 5 through the winter and spring this year and then all hell broke loose.
I ended up with northern fowl mites in the heat of this summer which were a nightmare to get rid of.
I finally got the coop and chickens cleared, thank God.
Next, one of my red and one of my black girls started jumping the fence during the day and apparently having trysts with the neighbor's rooster.
I noticed I was getting less eggs, but chalked it up to the mites.
Oh no, not the mites. One night Dahlia, the black sex link, didn't come home. I did a search and found her in a bush near the driveway sitting on fifteen eggs!
I made the decision to let her sit. I built a secure enclosure around her and fed and watered her every day.
I candled the eggs and kept the ones there I felt were viable (13).
During this time, something got into my remaining hens enclosure and got one of my black sex links. It was my first predator attack.
The next week, another one of my reds who was fine the night before died the next morning in my arms from unknown causes.
That left me with three original girls.
My broody mama ended up hatching 9 of her 13 eggs at the very end of July. One Unfortunately got trampled
.I could tell very early on that out of the 8 left, 6 were roosters
. Their combs and wattles grew so fast and pinked up so quickly. I planned on keeping one rooster and figured I'd have the 5 girls and the boy.
Once again, plans were thwarted when something tore into my welded hardware cloth and took my last and favorite original red sex link, Rosie, one of rooster babies, and killed and left one of the two female babies.
This brings me to today. I currently have two original black sex link hens, five 8 week old roosters and one 8 week old hen. When I lost the latest birds, I purchased 4 more chicks from Tractor Supply that are now about 4 weeks old. I believe they are Sapphire Sky chicks even though I was told Sapphire Gems. They are all starting to get their little mohawks .
If you read this novel, thank you and I'm happy to be here! Here is a picture of the rooster I plan on keeping.
. And that is a cutie ya got there 
Do you use chicken wire? Also, I LOOOOVE your rooster, he is soooooo adorable.
