NY chicken lover!!!!

[boskelli1571]

Wait! It's spring already?!

I'd love to know when it's coming here. This is my third or fourth eggless day in a row, which bothers me because I have five chickens that were born December 2015 and this is their first winter as adults. I thought I read that hens lay through their first winter. So strange. I always thought that meant that chickens lay through the first winter that comes along after they start laying. Technically it's their second winter. So maybe they lay through their first winter after birth, as long as they're laying age? I'm confused. And it hasn't even been that cold here.
Anyway, boskelli, I'm glad you're feeling in a springy mood, and that your cat came back. Maybe he was sowing his wild oats in your neighbor's barn

By the way, what's kasha?

Kasha is buckwheat groats - an old Biblical grain. Lower in gluten, supposed to be good for you - it tastes like wallpaper paste to my heathen palate

The cat is glad to be back - he's very talkative now, can't shut him up!
If your hens didn't molt last year, they should be still laying, although it's a good thing for them to take a break. Do they get >10-12 hours of daylight? That would encourage them a bit. I don't put lights on for mine, I prefer they take a break. Having said that, they did break for about 2 months, now they are laying like crazy, especially the bantams. I found the flock settled down nicely and production increased when I removed all the roosters but George D'Uccle.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Tomorrow I am saying goodbye to 2 EE roosters. In the 7 EE I got in June 6 are boys. The pullet is now living with the main flock and the 6 boys are going 2 per week to a new stockpot. I figure a sweet Turkish family willing to pay $15/head is as good a home as any. Plus I need my small coop for breeding. And all my bantams are being moved into 1 coop,just so happens they will live with the special needs group. Everyone has started squatting again so I figure it's time to separate into breeding groups.
@boskelli1571 I'm happy your cat is now home, I dread one of mine taking off. They become family.

 

[Lapeerian]

It's very likely - the rooster over that flock that is dominant is an OE. Do you have pictures of the girls? I could probably tell you who the parents are

Black poofy cheeks is the obvious one.

AC girl, and I think a blue and splash are Arkansas Blue? Maybe not? Kept the NN and AC roo.

 

[Devona]

Boskelli, I don't know about your heathen palate, but mine must have sugar in oatmeal, corn meal, barley, grits, and just about any other cooked cereal I eat. Otherwise I suspect I may learn what wallpaper paste tastes like.

The hens did molt late in the fall. Not too noticeable, but I saw more feathers laying around than usual. A couple of the dominiques even lost all their tail feathers and looked like little kids again. So I suppose they've called it quits for now. They barely get eight hours of daylight, maybe nine. Plus they haven't gone around the corner to my moms yard in a week. It's been wet and windy. I just hope they didn't stop laying because they're sick, or that something's been stealing their eggs.

The took me by surprise because I had heard that they lay throughout their first winter. Oh well. Do I still continue to give them regular layer feed? Should I add anything else to their diet?

 

[Devona]

Chicken girl, at least you can get a decent amount of money for your Roos. Some folks are desperate to get rid of theirs. Finding this family was a good thing indeed. So do the hens not squat when they're not laying? I never knew about that. Good to know. I thought mine were getting wild suddenly, since they're now running from me.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Chicken girl, at least you can get a decent amount of money for your Roos. Some folks are desperate to get rid of theirs. Finding this family was a good thing indeed. So do the hens not squat when they're not laying? I never knew about that. Good to know. I thought mine were getting wild suddenly, since they're now running from me.

Anyone close enough is more than welcome to help provide cockerels. I only have so many I can sell off. I plan on keeping at least 1 of each breed I end up with.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Well, today the chickens got special treats - Spring cleaning and found an expired box of kasha, so I cooked it up ,added apple peelings and a few other goodies. It was very quiet in the barn while they were all stuffing their beaks!
Kasha would make a good 'once in a while' treat. It's only $3/box and it kept 33 birds very happy

In other news - our ginger cat came back home. Love to know where he has been - he wasn't dirty/wet etc. a little hungry and tired. He has slept most of the last 24 hours ago curled up with his Momma.

Glad... the Cat came back the very next day ...Anyone know that song ?

We were discussing this at our house recently...Most products have a best use by date ...
They are usable after that date ...still good ..
My sister in law brings us down stuff for the chickens ...she wont use because of the date
Info about them
http://www.stilltasty.com/articles/view/5


KASHA - Buckwheat - I wondered about that too.
http://natashaskitchen.com/2015/02/15/how-to-cook-buckwheat-kasha/

 

[Pyxis]

Black poofy cheeks is the obvious one.

AC girl, and I think a blue and splash are Arkansas Blue? Maybe not? Kept the NN and AC roo.

This is not as easy as I thought! The first one is definitely an AC mix - she must be out of Pretty Boy and my black OE girl, which definitely explains the egg color. The second one looks to be out of Pretty Boy with that rose comb and must have been out of my NN hen. Was the barred one a cockerel? I only have one barred bird in my flock, a cream legbar hen, and she's in with the cemanis, so I would expect that her offspring would be much darker, but it looks like he didn't get any fibro. Because of how sex linking works, any of her offspring that are barred would have to be males.

I don't have any ABs but I know Metella does, did you get eggs from her too? If so she could tell you if the splash and the blue are ABs or not. To me they look like they could be.

The cemani pullet in the background is very pretty though, and so is the roo! How is he growing out? I don't see any color leakage which is great. Looks like his comb and wattles might be turning mulberry though.

 

[myfivegirls]

Quote:
Too bad I didn't know, as I sent a batch of young roosters to the auction last month, but the market was so bad I got NOTHING (after they took their commission), except less mouths to feed.
But, if I could "help supply" that family, I'd be more than willing to grow out more roosters. Is that live or processed?
I've done a few for a man who likes them "New York dressed" - aka with the head & feed attached. And last time he requested the intestines too, just cleaned out.
The neat thing is he doesn't like them over 3.5 to 4 lbs which is very easy to do with young cockerels from hatching my own chickens! Many times I think they're "too small",
but when I weigh them, they're just right.

 

[myfivegirls]

@PhoredaBurds - I have a few photos of the Spitzhaubens I got from you last Chickenstock & those that hatched from the "decoy" eggs.
I currently have 3 hens & 1 rooster, though he's probably related to the pullet that hatched out of the same eggs.

This is a Spitz cross out of one of the hens I got from you.


And the one pure Spitz roo.


Taking a ride on the sled!


Spitz pullet

Beautiful gal - not laying yet, but no hurry, she's in a pullet-only coop.




This photo relates to a hilarious story I wrote on my blog - "Are Chickens Really Dumb?"