North Carolina

[BHep]

Morning...........

Wild & Bunny: May be a Dominique, with that pea comb....could be a mix as well. Either way still looks henish to me.

And Bunny, make that tractor of pen them in a dog crate, may be annoying for a month but better then a bunch of sick , dead birds.


NH: Mama is bringing the babies to the nest at night to sleep, if she is up off the nest I would guess the hatch is done. Just toss those eggs before they rot.

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

Good Morning, Happy Chicken People!

I most definitely concur on quarantine, but I'd suggest you put one of your current birds in with them. If they are carrying something that does not affect them, it's better to find out on one of your birds than all of them. I had to destroy over 100 birds last fall due to an imported mycoplasm. We now have a quarantine house. I change shoes on the way in, and don lab coat and gloves before caring for the birds. Anything that goes into the building stays there until quarantine is over. My flocks can't get near that building and can't get into the poo or anything of the sort. And of course, they are cared for last.

There's my two cents. However, I remember way back when I didn't quarantine and had no issues. It's the luck of the draw.

Looks like a great day coming!

 

[dutchbunny83]

the comets and RIR are girls, maybe younger then the person said. The barred rock doesn't look like a barred rock to me..... is it's comb flat? Or does it look like the RIR's comb? If it is a flat comb its.... shoot.... starts with a 'D' cant'can't remember the name off the top of my head. The australorps look like a pair, they boy in back, the girl up front. If your new birds are already in with your others it is still a good idea to make some sort of seperate pen for them, for atleast 30 days, you can make them a temp run out of plastic fence, just make sure they are locked up in the tractor at night. Check them over real well for mites, treat even if you don't see any, and deworm them, then in two weeks do it again.

Okay, thanks.
My neighbor said he thinks the RIR's are actually production reds and the comets are all hens. Probably just smaller than mine because they didn't free range all day and eat everything in sight like my big fat pullets! Hopefully they still have some years of laying left in them, I was thinking they were heritage breed.
The barred rock has a single comb, like the RIR and other barred rocks. The coloring is very light, which tends to be typical of the roos. Doesn't have saddle feathers yet, but it's tail is poofy instead of fanned and sticks up more. I don't know maybe it's a mutt and they didn't know what they were selling.
But there's no way it's a 10 month old Barred Rock pullet.
It looks exactly like my 10 week old BR roo we had to get rid of for being a roo....
Single comb and wattles. Still very tiny (like the rest of my pullets out there right now that are 12 weeks old) but bright red instead of yellow like everyone else's.
Probably should have WATCHED the first auction instead of getting caught up in bidding, because I didn't know anything about adding adult birds.
Off to Lowe's to get some stuff to throw up another pen this morning. Of course it's raining! Hope it's not too late to separate them.
My flock now free ranges and my yard is small so if it's anything airborne, there's no helping these guys
Wish me luck!!!!

Happy Monday everyone!

 

[greenchickenman]

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

The barred rock (maybe a dominique) is about 16 weeks and i think is female. The golden comets dont get to be very big birds, if they are girls they are about six months or so. Their legs turn a green hue once they are about a year old. The rir looks to me looks actually like a production red, if female she is over six months too. Im just throwing my two cents in because I specialize in breeding those three types of birds. Its easier to sex them when their young though, once they are older its much harder too by pictures.

 

[greenchickenman]

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.

Chicken Rich is definately right about the comets, the boys will be white or have white in them. They are sexlink birds so easy to tell the difference.

 

[Tiddbit74]

Good morning everyone!

I'm sitting at school wasting some time until I get my last test in for the semester, then I have two weeks off before the summer semester starts. Wish I had been able to go to WCA this week. I'm also hoping that this rain will just get out of here. It has been raining on and off all morning so far. I don't want to have to swim to get to the coop today when I get home.

Some of my girls let me hold them more yesterday, which was good. I don't think they were handled much before I got them, so it's gonna take some time. I'm already telling my DH that we need to expand!

Have a great day everyone and stay dry!!!!!

 

[dutchbunny83]

Okay, thanks so much for the help!

My husband has been wanting Rhode Island Reds which is why we picked these up, they're not my favorite. I couldn't tell difference between RIR and production red, just hoping they still have a few years of laying left in them.

I don't know what the Barred Rock is other than it's not a 10 month old Barred Rock haha.
It concerns me that the wattles and comb are such a bright red and so tiny.
In the 50 or so chicks I have raised, the ONLY ones with that much red and still such tiny combs and wattles were always males.
Guess I'll find out soon enough....

 

[dutchbunny83]

So I just get back from Lowe's and about $100 later I have the rest of the stuff I need to make a pen to keep the chickens separated.
However, in this horrible rain they are all huddled together in a pile on my patio (there are TWO coops, I don't know why they insist on my porch which becomes covered in poo!)
Is it even worth it to separate them at this time???
I really wish I knew all this before getting adult birds....

 

[wildriverswolf90]

So I just get back from Lowe's and about $100 later I have the rest of the stuff I need to make a pen to keep the chickens separated.
However, in this horrible rain they are all huddled together in a pile on my patio (there are TWO coops, I don't know why they insist on my porch which becomes covered in poo!)
Is it even worth it to separate them at this time???
I really wish I knew all this before getting adult birds....

yes, it is worth it to seperate, deworm, dust for mites, and watch them to make sure they are healthy . i'm like you, i have a small lot, and my main coop gets to free range, so they can get nearmy quarinteen pens, but i'll still do it because it is safer. try post a pic of the barred rock when it dries off, it'll be easier for us to guess then.

 

[dutchbunny83]

yes, it is worth it to seperate, deworm, dust for mites, and watch them to make sure they are healthy . i'm like you, i have a small lot, and my main coop gets to free range, so they can get nearmy quarinteen pens, but i'll still do it because it is safer. try post a pic of the barred rock when it dries off, it'll be easier for us to guess then.

If he/she ever dries out, what is up with our weather????

I don't know how to dust for mites, might as well do both flocks. Any info on this?

Also, I have heard SO much different stuff on deworming. Several people have said to use Zimecterin Gold from TSC which is actually for horses and use a pea size amount. Some people say one does, some say another one in 10 days.
Also, I've heard anything from 24 hours to 6 weeks on how long you need to wait to eat eggs after treatment.

I have read a TON of books on keeping chickens, but apparently the wrong ones because there wasn't anything on deworming....
Per someone's reccomendation I just ordered The Chicken Health Handbook, should be here Wednesday...