NY chicken lover!!!!

[Sweetpea3829]

I used small sewing scissors (like you use in embroidery) with sharp points so I could trim precisely. Just watch out for any blood shafts and you should be okay. Yes, it is like cutting hair. I found that if I laid the bird on my lap on its side and pinned it down with my arm I could hold the head still so it wasn't endangering its eyes by flailing around. Just start trimming and take a little at a time until you have cleared a good visual field. It made such a difference in behavior when I trimmed the half of the flock that could hardly see. They crowded right in with the rest to eat and stopped crying all the time when the others attacked. Let me tell you, there were some rude surprises for the bullies when the victims could see well enough to fight back!

I cleared out the bantam tub at TSC because I felt bad leaving anyone behind. Ended up with 11 roos, 5 pullets, and one that died the first night. Pinky was the favorite because he was the only one with a little pink comb. He was handled more and grew up to be very sweet tempered. 9 out of 10 of the rest were evil little sh*ts that would attack whenever they could. They have made excellent soup. As someone else said, nothing tastes as good as mean roo.

What kinds do they usually have in those bantam tubs? We stopped at TSC last weekend looking for riding boots for my daughter (ended up at Country Max). It was all I could do to walk away from the tubs of cuteness. I might be persuaded to nab a few bantams though, if there are decent breeds in there.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: I'll bring some to the picnic..

 

[horsekeeper]

What kinds do they usually have in those bantam tubs? We stopped at TSC last weekend looking for riding boots for my daughter (ended up at Country Max). It was all I could do to walk away from the tubs of cuteness. I might be persuaded to nab a few bantams though, if there are decent breeds in there.

That was 2 years ago. Last year I bought six and ended up with a pair of buff cochin bantams, a pair of speckled old english, a golden duckwing old english and a cute little Dutch.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: You can just pull up the feathers & tie with a hair band..I've seen them with 2 like pig tails....LOL

 

[Sweetpea3829]

I'll bring some to the picnic..

Baah, I can't make it to the picnic. I thought about you, though. But I can't make a trip up your way this weekend...we're so swamped its not even funny, between horseback for the girl, and baseball for the boys.

That was 2 years ago. Last year I bought six and ended up with a pair of buff cochin bantams, a pair of speckled old english, a golden duckwing old english and a cute little Dutch.

Do they ever have Silkies in there? They were stupid cute, lol. So tiny and hopping around.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: I have to go to the Syracuse airport Sunday morning 11ish.....Lynzi can you meet there for the silkies?

 

[Tab's chicken obsession]

Another full day. DH is setting more eggs tonight, the last to hatch before chickenstock.

 

[Nuttyfrom6kids]

Aww Lynzi, that's what I thought too. They are about 17 weeks old now. At first I thought maybe the Black Silkie is a rooster too? And Fredo the rooster is "protecting" the frizzle sizzle hen. It doesn't seem to be so because the silkie is not near the frizzle hen when Fredo pecks at the black silkie. Fredo and Chicken Nugget are silkie cochin crosses and they fly, they roost. When they fly up to the "roost", it's a cardboard insert from Christmas wrap, the little black silkie cries to them. It tries to climb up the stick to get up to them but it tips over. It's like the black silkie is the "third wheel" in the mix. When they go into the kitchen, they tend to stay in their large long box. As soon as I put the little black silkie down, they all crowd together in one tiny box in the corner of the large box. They are free to go anywhere but they just stay like that. Fredo in front, watching out, then Nugget, and deepest in the box the black silkie. The black silkie is the only purebred one, and it's much smaller than the other two. I thought if they all hatch together they will be best friends? If the other two are out alone, they will fly out of the large box and walk around the kitchen. Could they be instinctively trying to protect the black silkie because it's a smaller bird?

One of our city neighbors has a lovely rooster. He lives with dogs, no hens. He adores being picked up and petted. When they dogs start to bark, he crows. Very adorable rooster, a bantam, not a silkie. This bird is handled daily, very gentle. I held this bird, he didn't know me at all, and I pet him, and he just looked at me. Not mean at all.

Should we separate the little black silkie from the other two? When she is separated from them, she calls out to them so I put her back in with them.

Had some babies hatch out yesterday and today!

AWWW they are adorable

 

[Lynzi777]

I have to go to the Syracuse airport Sunday morning 11ish.....Lynzi  can you meet there for the silkies?

Yea I can do that, just let me know where. Is there a spot we can park to avoid having to pay? Then again, I think I'm getting syracuse confused with Albany.

 

[Cass]

We cuddle ours every day. We place a towel in the drier and when it's nice and warm, we take one of our chickens, wrap it in the nice warm towel, set it on our lap, watch tv and pet it. They seem to enjoy this and sometimes fall asleep. I still don't know if or why this would be "bad". The chickens seem to like it.

It's not bad. BUT they are chickens and when they become sexually mature the are going to act on instinct, and not remember how sweet and kind you were when they were chicks. (I think you are finding that out right now, based on some of your other posts) If you remember that they are birds, not mammals you will be ok. If a baby bird falls out of the nest the momma bird doesn't even look for it in most cases. Birds are different than mammals. Sometimes I think mammals can count and birds can't; A momma cat will keep going back for her kittens until she has moved them all. A momma hen will stop clucking for her chicks to come on over once she has a couple under her...and only resume clucking if she hears a distress call of a missing chick. If she can't hear the distress call she will just go to sleep and not worry about a missing chick.