NY chicken lover!!!!

[Beer can]

Lucky bc silkies are supposed to be poor layers.  Mine don't lay much at all! If ever and aren't fertile!

I don't know if they will continue, but they started laying earlier than any chickens I've ever had, have been laying for at least a couple months. Got them this spring from TSC, asked for just the ones with five toes. Ended up with five pullets and one cockerel. Definitely not show birds, none have beards, two pullets have no crests, the rest with crests are not that poofy. Cockerels are supposed to weight a couple lbs, he already weighs six lbs.
They are good and fibro though and will suit my purposes, crossing him with one of my white giants.

 

[Purpletie3]

I don't know if they will continue, but they started laying earlier than any chickens I've ever had, have been laying for at least a couple months. Got them this spring from TSC, asked for just the ones with five toes. Ended up with five pullets and one cockerel. Definitely not show birds, none have beards, two pullets have no crests, the rest with crests are not that poofy. Cockerels are supposed to weight a couple lbs, he already weighs six lbs.
They are good and fibro though and will suit my purposes, crossing him with one of my white giants.

That looks like a silkie that was crossed with a leghorn. Very cute!

 

[Beer can]

Make sure mice and chipmunks can't get to your logs - they love mushrooms too! They ate all mine....

I was going to comment on this the other day but forgot. Remembered when I went outside today and saw a dozen chipmunks....Not something I wanted to hear, what kind were you growing and did you have any luck??

 

[Chicken girl 15]

...

I need to have some leghorns in my flock!

My leghorns are great layers of large eggs but the girls are rather small for being a dual purpose. They are 1/2 the size of my Astrolorp girls who hatched the same day. However my Astrolorp girls are not laying for diddle squat. I guess by spring I should know who I'm keeping for what though. Maybe hatch out some BA for meat and some WL for eggs. My Reds are a lousy bunch all around. Small and not so hot at dependable laying.

 

[Beer can]

That looks like a silkie that was crossed with a leghorn. Very cute!

Supposed to be pure bred from hatcheries aren't they? Lol.
Pullets are half his size and so friendly it's ridiculous. Being they are already so big I'm debating whether or not I still want to cross with the giants, I don't want to loose any fibro. Might just breed the 'silkies' themselves and just select the largest for future breeders. Their skin is very black, but I haven't processed any yet, was actually hoping for more than one cockerel so I could see how dark the meat was. I don't want to process the ones giving us eggs.

 

[PhoredaBurds]

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!

Sasha is adorable, it's understandable that u would be proud.

I hear u on working w crests, too. I run into the too-fluffy-crests with the Spitzhaubens. I hatched a couple pullets w/o much crests at all this year that I hope will help for next year. Great names! And very interesting to see such a drastic comb color change between sept & oct. From 22 girls I'm collecting 2-3 eggs per day, lol. The older girls are all molting, a couple of the young hens went broody, and everyone else is still young. Yep, freeloading beggers. They are cute freeloading beggers tho.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Supposed to be pure bred from hatcheries aren't they? Lol.
Pullets are half his size and so friendly it's ridiculous. Being they are already so big I'm debating whether or not I still want to cross with the giants, I don't want to loose any fibro. Might just breed the 'silkies' themselves and just select the largest for future breeders. Their skin is very black, but I haven't processed any yet, was actually hoping for more than one cockerel so I could see how dark the meat was. I don't want to process the ones giving us eggs.

fibro means what? I'm still learning what to look for and what means what.

 

[Beer can]

fibro means what? I'm still learning what to look for and what means what.

Black skin and meat, fibro melanistic, ayam cemani and svart honas are also. Supposed to be very good for you, a 'super food' like broccoli. Lots of antioxidants, cures diseases, prevents cancer, reverses aging process. So they say anyway.

 

[PhoredaBurds]

Black skin and meat, fibro melanistic, ayam cemani and svart honas are also. Supposed to be very good for you, a 'super food' like broccoli. Lots of antioxidants, cures diseases, prevents cancer, reverses aging process. So they say anyway.

It will be interesting to see how that project goes. I vaguely remember seeing chicks from a cemani x bresse project on rarebreeds auction. Seemed like an interesting project. Makes sense to cross the fibro with a larger bird if theyre headed for the table. Keep us posted.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

I'm not sure what the end result will be but I'm crossing my BA and my WL with a silver spitzhauben as well as my Reds with a gold spitzhauben. Come spring that will start. Only a few will be hatched to start, being I'm not sure what will come of them.