North Carolina

[DvanderSlik]

Hey Raleigh (Central NC area) folks! Are you interested in giving a second chance to a production hen or two? There is a new (very small) placement network that is trying to give a second chance to "spent" productions hens. Check out this blog post from the Tour D'Coop: http://www.tourdcoop.com/blog/2013/04/hen-rescues.html

 

[BHep]

Look like hens to me...........the comets are hens for sure. De-beaked come fro a hatchery here in NC , I can't remember the name. Of course they are wet.
And I must say one thing.. QUARANTINE !!!!! ALL NEW BIRDS SHOULD BE QUARANTINED A MINIMUM OF 30 DAYS BEFORE ADDING TO YOUR FLOCK OR RUNNING THE PROPERTY.

Apparently they decided they didn't want to be in the coop and have taken to roosting on my patio!
Their feathers are wet because they were running around in the rain instead of going inside, so that could make it more difficult.
ALL are the size of my 3 month old pullets, and smaller than my 6 month old pullets and 18 month old hens.

Okay so here's what I got, give me your expert opinions....

"10 month old LAYING Barred Rock" No comb, no wattles, bright red it's a cockeral my guess would be 8 weeks....



"Pair of Comet Hens" About the size of my 3 month old pullets so if these are over a year they are TINY as my hens and even 6 month laying pullets are bigger. No signs of crowing. Also, were debeaked (which I don't condone at all) and they never mentioned this in the auction. Guesses???






Pair of RIR hens (same size as the others shown and my 3 month old pullets)






This is a pair of black australorp "chicks", was supposed to be 1 male & 1 female, but whatever they are they are the same sex.... No age given




And the straight run Welsummer & Hamburg chicks

 

[dutchbunny83]

Look like hens to me...........the comets are hens for sure. De-beaked come fro a hatchery here in NC , I can't remember the name. Of course they are wet.
And I must say one thing.. QUARANTINE !!!!! ALL NEW BIRDS SHOULD BE QUARANTINED A MINIMUM OF 30 DAYS BEFORE ADDING TO YOUR FLOCK OR RUNNING THE PROPERTY.

OH NO!!!!!
This is the first time adding birds other than chicks from the brooder.
I don't even think that's possible, I don't have another pen set up and all my hens free range.
You don't think the barred rock is a hen, do you? I've had more barred rocks than any other breed, and with wattles and a comb that size they were all still yellow. And there's no way it's 10 months old, my pullets are 6 months old and double the size with much bigger combs and wattles that just turned red maybe a month ago.

You think both comets, both RIR, and both australorps are female?

 

[dutchbunny83]

I can build a chicken tractor tomorrow, though that's not going to do me any good tonight.
And anything airborne can still spread.
Now I'm all worried.
30 days seems like a long time for them to be stuck in a little chicken tractor...

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

OH NO!!!!!
This is the first time adding birds other than chicks from the brooder.
I don't even think that's possible, I don't have another pen set up and all my hens free range.
You don't think the barred rock is a hen, do you? I've had more barred rocks than any other breed, and with wattles and a comb that size they were all still yellow. And there's no way it's 10 months old, my pullets are 6 months old and double the size with much bigger combs and wattles that just turned red maybe a month ago.

You think both comets, both RIR, and both australorps are female?

I'm not very good at sexing I do know Beth and RF (ramirezframing )
are very good at it and right most of the time........good luck with your
new birds and do find a means to quarantine from your flock.......always
best to be safe.

 

[Matt A NC]

Dutch, you have a bunch of Hens and I think the aussies are pullets as well.

Matt

 

[dutchbunny83]

YAY! What I wanted to hear. Though I'm pretty confident the Barred Rock is a cockeral, I'm glad all the rest are a bunch of girls. They looked like it to me, but wanted to be sure because they were jumping up on each other and getting aggressive like I've only seen roosters do.

About this quarantine, is it too late???
Should I just leave them since they've all been together a few hours or do you think building a chicken tractor in the morning is a good idea???

I've never added adult birds before I just thought if they were all healthy they could all run the yard....

 

[atmaclean]

OOhh...I'd like to know everyone's thoughts on this as well!!

Chicken Hatch latest update: Mama, I believe, is finished sitting. She was off the nest today sitting in the grass with her SIX new babies. There are (I believe...one is questionable) 2 English Orpingtons (technically 3, but one did not make it...), 2 SFH (one of these is questionable as it's not as brown as the other one, but has more yellow...so I am unsure if it's one or not, but I am saying it is...LOL) and 2 Super Blues (one of these is HUGE compared to the others...just big and fluffy and yellow!!). Not THAT bad of a hatch rate since this is a first time broody mama. 7/12 eggs hatched...DH said if we had an incubator, we could have thrown the other eggs in there to finish... LOL, I think he wants us to get an incubator...so yes, I'd like to know what SMALL (say max of 10 eggs, but able to do duck eggs too) incubator would you all recommend?!?

I have the Brinsea mini advance and LOVE it! It is SOOO easy. However, it only holds 7 eggs at a time so if you want to do huge batches, it isn't the one for you. I also have the Little Giant sytrofoam incubator from Tractor Supply with a turner and it has the fan to move the air. I've used it for years with great results - it is just too big for most of my hatches. I do use it if I have several different breeds going in on a staggered hatch or if I find a big nest of guinea eggs. I can then lock down the different breeds in the Brinsea or the Turn X. I also have a Turn-X incubator from Lyon Technologies. I have locked down a LOT of eggs in it with really good success. I have not incubated eggs in it because I'm not real keen on the turning mechanism, but it is great for lock down and hatching. My favorite of them all is the Brinsea I got last December. It is by far, the easiest I have ever used and automatically turns the eggs on whatever interval you tell it, keeps the temp at whatever you set it to, counts down the days to hatching and there is also an alarm if the temp goes up or down 1-3 degrees from what you set it at. It also has a cooling feature that allows the eggs to cool off which simulates the mother getting off the nest for a brief time. You can choose to use that option or not. Anyway, I just love the ease and consistency of it.

Best of luck with whatever incubator you choose. It is just so fun to watch them develop and then hatch!

Angela

 

[The Howards]

Hey Raleigh (Central NC area) folks! Are you interested in giving a second chance to a production hen or two? There is a new (very small) placement network that is trying to give a second chance to "spent" productions hens. Check out this blog post from the Tour D'Coop: http://www.tourdcoop.com/blog/2013/04/hen-rescues.html

It says link not found when I tried it.

 

[atmaclean]

Hey Raleigh (Central NC area) folks! Are you interested in giving a second chance to a production hen or two? There is a new (very small) placement network that is trying to give a second chance to "spent" productions hens. Check out this blog post from the Tour D'Coop: http://www.tourdcoop.com/blog/2013/04/hen-rescues.html

I emailed the person - are the hens located in North Carolina?? (I hope).... I'd love to take a couple and let them !