NY chicken lover!!!!

[Chicken girl 15]

I'm still getting 10-13 a day. All 5 leghorns lay and some of the red's and some of the astrolorp.

 

[Pyxis]

Are your chickens still laying? I swear; mine are on strike!

Mine are! At least two cemani hens are laying, and the CCL pullet in that coop just started up too. In the main layer coop, some of them are laying, I don't know who.

 

[boskelli1571]

Are your chickens still laying? I swear; mine are on strike!

I'm averaging around 10/day. That's from 23 girls, some of whom have stopped laying earlier this year d/t old age. Of my banties only 1 is currently laying as far as I know - they are all over the place!

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

I'm averaging around 10/day. That's from 23 girls, some of whom have stopped laying earlier this year d/t old age. Of my banties only 1 is currently laying as far as I know - they are all over the place!

Sounds like they're going through seasonal depression. Not enough vitamin D with the dreary weather.

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

Every thing I type is delayed and it's only on here that it seems to happen.

Have you tried clearing out your cookies or doing a virus scan?

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

Wow, she's very pretty! I love her colors.

 

[Pyxis]

Sounds like they're going through seasonal depression. Not enough vitamin D with the dreary weather. 

Actually, egg laying is a hormonal thing in chickens, and they aren't triggered to lay eggs unless they are receiving about 14 hours of sunlight a day. Without it, their hormones don't trigger egg production. So you are kind of right They also stop laying while molting, which a lot of birds are doing this time of year.

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

Actually, egg laying is a hormonal thing in chickens, and they aren't triggered to lay eggs unless they are receiving about 14 hours of sunlight a day. Without it, their hormones don't trigger egg production. So you are kind of right

They also stop laying while molting, which a lot of birds are doing this time of year.

Well it makes sense. I'm dealing with it something awful and it's only the beginning. I did hear that molting stops them as well. It looks awful painful. I think it was someone on here that mentioned even the pullets can molt a little which a few of my girls are. I think someone also mentioned that those end up correlating with the ones that lay the most. It will be interesting to test that theory. I have the lights on in their coop until my husband gets home. I hope it will help them some. If not, I'm not planning on pushing them. They won't be ready in my opinion until the end of December. They could surprise me though.

 

[myfivegirls]

Went out this morning with my camera..My Swedish Flower Hen it just too funny! The minute I come out she is at my feet and acts like she wants to get picked up. She loves to sit on my arm. The kids said I should have named her "Parrot" instead of "Sasha". When I was waiting for the kids to get off the bus she must of heard me because she came running from around the house. Picked her up and she got on my arm..Then proceeded to climb her way up so that she was siting on my shoulder till the bus came. She sat there for at least 15 minutes or more... Silly Chicken!!

What a beautiful SFH. I have never seen such a large and beautiful crest on one before. I had a shoulder chicken that was an ameraucana. Unfortunate a hawk got her one morning. I was so sad. SFH is on my list. I was planing to drive to PA to get some hatching eggs just not sure when. I want to get the 3 breeds I have coming under way first. Hoping for another shoulder chicken.

No, you probably haven't seen other SFH like her, because that big of a crest is too large for what the "unofficial standard is". I'm sure it happened before, but it seems to me that in Sweden these double-crested wouldn't have survived the predators as well, so most likely didn't survive long enough to breed themselves. It's the result of breeding crested to crested, and she actually has a vaulted skull like the Polish breed. I didn't realize it would happen in just one generation, I thought it'd take breeding crested to crested over many generations. That's why I'm now using only non-crested SFH roosters. One person I sold hatching eggs to around the same time that Sasha was hatched, ended up with another "double-crested" chick. Live and learn - it's part of life!

Anyways, I think Sasha looks adorable and I'm glad she found a good home.


On the home front, everything is going well. Some of the pullets have begun to lay, which helps with those who are molting or decided to take a break this winter. Still have lights, but not keeping them on as long, since I'd prefer the breeders to lay a little longer during the hatching season, rather than lay all winter & take a break come spring. Which has happened before, so I'm giving it a try. Hopefully, there's enough young pullets that won't be affected by the shorter daylight hours that will keep up the demand for eating eggs.
The turkeys and ducks are growing, as well as, the remaining roosters that I have to choose who to keep over the winter. The jakes were displaying to the jenny yesterday, and it was so funny to watch them strut around & fan their tail feathers. Of course, she was not impressed and tried to ignore them while eating grass. Hopefully the two jakes will be fine together until they extra one fills out enough & we have room in the freezer.

Here's a bonus couple of photos.
The first is a pullet who's father was a Swedish Flower Hen rooster &
mother was "Confetti", a bantam millie fluer Cochin.
This gal is one of my favorites.


This young pullet must have recently started laying, as her comb was small like two weeks ago,
but is now much bigger & red. I like her neck feather pattern.


This is the lone survivor of the 3 bantam cochin "started chicks" I got at Chickenstock;


His brothers accidently died one night (a few months ago) when they decided to roost underneath the
hinged roof of their coop. Even after I checked, I somehow missed them & closed the roof.
The next morning, my heart sank when I left up the roof & found his 2 brothers dead,
both of whom were closer to the mille fluer pattern & seemed overall a better choice.
But, this little guy is still keeping up, although highly outnumbered by the other larger roosters.
Recently, though when I re-introduced "Confetti" to the big flock (she'd been with the SFH all summer),
this little cochin cockerel said, "Now, that's a girl my size!" and pursued her, much to Confetti's displeasure.

The last batch of chicks that were hatched by broody hens are getting big & are now roosting with the "big chickens",
alongside their two broody moms, Ellie & Elly May. Nice variety in this small batch, even though they all had the same
rooster "dad".



Good night!

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

No, you probably haven't seen other SFH like her, because that big of a crest is too large for what the "unofficial standard is". I'm sure it happened before, but it seems to me that in Sweden these double-crested wouldn't have survived the predators as well, so most likely didn't survive long enough to breed themselves. It's the result of breeding crested to crested, and she actually has a vaulted skull like the Polish breed. I didn't realize it would happen in just one generation, I thought it'd take breeding crested to crested over many generations. That's why I'm now using only non-crested SFH roosters. One person I sold hatching eggs to around the same time that Sasha was hatched, ended up with another "double-crested" chick. Live and learn - it's part of life!

Anyways, I think Sasha looks adorable and I'm glad she found a good home.


On the home front, everything is going well. Some of the pullets have begun to lay, which helps with those who are molting or decided to take a break this winter. Still have lights, but not keeping them on as long, since I'd prefer the breeders to lay a little longer during the hatching season, rather than lay all winter & take a break come spring. Which has happened before, so I'm giving it a try. Hopefully, there's enough young pullets that won't be affected by the shorter daylight hours that will keep up the demand for eating eggs.
The turkeys and ducks are growing, as well as, the remaining roosters that I have to choose who to keep over the winter. The jakes were displaying to the jenny yesterday, and it was so funny to watch them strut around & fan their tail feathers. Of course, she was not impressed and tried to ignore them while eating grass. Hopefully the two jakes will be fine together until they extra one fills out enough & we have room in the freezer.

Here's a bonus couple of photos.
The first is a pullet who's father was a Swedish Flower Hen rooster &
mother was "Confetti", a bantam millie fluer Cochin.
This gal is one of my favorites.


This young pullet must have recently started laying, as her comb was small like two weeks ago,
but is now much bigger & red. I like her neck feather pattern.


This is the lone survivor of the 3 bantam cochin "started chicks" I got at Chickenstock;


His brothers accidently died one night (a few months ago) when they decided to roost underneath the
hinged roof of their coop. Even after I checked, I somehow missed them & closed the roof.
The next morning, my heart sank when I left up the roof & found his 2 brothers dead,
both of whom were closer to the mille fluer pattern & seemed overall a better choice.
But, this little guy is still keeping up, although highly outnumbered by the other larger roosters.
Recently, though when I re-introduced "Confetti" to the big flock (she'd been with the SFH all summer),
this little cochin cockerel said, "Now, that's a girl my size!" and pursued her, much to Confetti's displeasure.

The last batch of chicks that were hatched by broody hens are getting big & are now roosting with the "big chickens",
alongside their two broody moms, Ellie & Elly May. Nice variety in this small batch, even though they all had the same
rooster "dad".



Good night!

Wow! Beautiful. They're all just beautiful!

I had no idea that time of egg laying correlated to their combs. Hm! I've certainly learned something new. You have me absolutely ROARING at all the names!

Love them all.