NY chicken lover!!!!

[Gramma Chick]

My first V-day chick hatched tonight! Had 10 more pipped before bed!

AWWW....Im POOPED ! what breed is this cutie ?

 

[Gramma Chick]

Wayne Mahar said on the News yesterday ...Its so cold out... everyone should bring in their pets
" my husband turned around to me & said YOUR NOT BRINGING IN THE CHICKENS "

I said Why not ?

 

[Lapeerian]

AWWW....Im POOPED ! what breed is this cutie ?

Welsummer crossed with Partridge Rock roo is this one. 20 eggs made it to lockdown.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: Congrats !
sounds pretty..any pics of adults ?
Anything like this ?

 

[joycemay]

Hi --- the "cutie" in the picture is my honey, Kenny, black polish bantam rooster....he always has been and still continues to be my best pet! He is 2 years old now.

The reason I mentioned that I only open the coop door every few days is that the temperatures where I live have been below in the teens and below zero for the entire winter.
There are huge mounds of snow in the yard and felt if the chicks/roos come out, they might get frostbite or disoriented with all the snow and not remember where their coop door is. In the nicer weather, Spring through Fall, I always have the coop door open and they all free range. You brought up a good point in that he might be mad that I am invading his space....Thanks for your suggestions - appreciate it.

 

[joycemay]

Hi ---- thanks.....joycemay

 

[joycemay]

Welcome from Saratoga Springs, NY!!!

 

[horsekeeper]

There are huge mounds of snow in the yard and felt if the chicks/roos come out, they might get frostbite or disoriented with all the snow and not remember where their coop door is.

I scatter some hay over the snow in front of the coop doors to help with depth perception and protect their feet when it is so cold and icy and most of the flock pop in and out all day to get some fresh air. They like to sit on the hay and sunbathe. Even today when the wind chill was 20-30 below. They wander around and find a place protected from the wind to mingle back and forth between the four coops. The geese and ducks are into everyone's coops thinking everyone else has something special to share. All the water pans are outside so the coops stay drier, a necessity with waterfowl messing around taking bathes and flinging water every whichway.

They check out the hay for little dried goodies like bugs and seeds and scratch it around some. In the spring it helps keep their feet cleaner and out of the endless mud. I prefer hay or leaves because it breaks down quickly and can be raked up for the compost pile better than straw. Anyway, all the animals (including me) do better when there is a visual clue about where the ground is when everything is white.

 

[Purpletie3]

Good Advice H -
here is some Rooster advice from
Beekissed

How about "how to never have a rooster attack you"?
In all my years of raising chickens, I've never had a roo that I've raised come at me. Sure, maybe one or 2 have given me the eye, but that is as far as it goes. And this is why.....I never, I mean never pick up or cuddle with a cockerel, Unless I have to for a medical reason or for safety's sake. Theirs not mine.
I always am the boss. From day one, as soon as I see that there is a cockerel I am keeping, I let it know I am the boss. If I see it looking at me oddly, or come at me a little, I start to go after it. Usually its just walking towards it & yelling. They soon learn not to even think about attacking me.
I've had Silkie roos I bought from other people, almost always be attackers. I don't know what it is about them. Napolean complex...dunno.
Anyway, it works for me. I prefer to not have a situation happen rather than have to fix it.
BTW, I do walk into my pens and all my roosters, will walk up to me, around my feet, etc. They are not really afraid of me, they just respect me. Well, that is unless I have my big net in my hands, then they all run like crazy! LO
Quote:

I'm going to give you a clue on "rooster speak"....holding him down doesn't mean anything to him. If you'll watch how roosters interact between dominant ones and subordinate ones, there is rarely any, if ever, holding a bird down for a long time when there is an altercation. There is very quick flogging, gripping by the back of the head and flinging him away or getting him down and giving some savage pecking to the back of the head or neck. No holding him down and nothing else. That's a rooster on a hen maneuver, not rooster on rooster.

Because your rooster is attacking you, you are the subordinate in this picture. You are getting dominated by your bird simply because you are walking where a subordinate isn't supposed to be walking when a dominant is in the area. What you never see is a dominant rooster getting attacked by a subordinate rooster unless there is going to be a definite shift in power, at which time the sub will challenge the dom and win...or lose. So far you are losing and not even challenging.

If you want to win this battle, you must go on the offensive, not the defensive. He who attacks first, and is still claiming the area when the other guy leaves it, is the winner. Some people never have to go on the offensive because their movements in the coop are so decisive that they move and act like a dominant and a 2 ft. rooster is smart enough to recognize a dominant attitude and behavior...which is likely why he's never attacked your husband. Most men move more decisively than do women and children and they rarely step around a bird, but walk through them.

Carrying him around also doesn't mean anything to him...it just doesn't translate at all. His environment is that coop and run floor and that's where you need to speak to him, in a language he understands. Because they are quick on their feet and can evade you, you need a training tool like a long, limber, supple rod of some kind...cutting a nice switch from a shrub or tree that will lengthen your reach by 5 ft. really helps in this. Don't use a rake or broom because they are too clumsy and stiff and can put the hurts on the guy when you don't really mean to.

When you enter your coop, walk with decisive movements and walk directly towards your rooster. Move him away from the feeder and the rest of the flock and keep a slow, determined pressure on him until he leaves the coop. The stick will help you guide him. Then...wait patiently while he gets his bird mind around what just happened. He will try to come back in the coop...let him. When he gets a good bit into that coop, take your switch and give him a good smack on the fluffy feathers under his tail if you can aim it well. If you cannot, just smack the floor near him very hard and fast until he hops and runs and keep at it until he leaves the coop once again. Repeat this process until he is too wary to come back in the coop.

Feed your hens. When he tries to come to the feeder, you "attack" him with the switch...smack the wall by the pop door just as he tries to enter. If he makes it inside, pursue him with the stick either smacking the floor or tapping him on the back or the head until he leaves in a hurry. Make him stay outside while you sit there and enjoy watching your hens eat. Use the stick to keep him from the flock..just him. Don't worry about the hens running and getting excited when this is happening...they will get over it. This is for the future of your flock and your management of it.

When the hens have had a good tucker....leave the coop and let him come back in. Go out later and walk through that flock and use your legs to scatter birds if they get in your way...top roosters do not step to one side for any other bird in the flock. You shouldn't either. Take your stick and startle him with a smack on the floor next to him when he is least expecting it...make that bird jump and RUN. Make him so nervous around you that he is always looking over his shoulder and trying to get out of your way. THAT'S how he needs to be from now on in your lives together. Forget about pets or cuddles...this is a language and behavior he understands. You can hand feed him and such later...right now you need to establish that when you move, he moves...away. When you turn your back, he doesn't move towards you...ever.

Then test him...take your stick along, move around in the coop, bend over with your back turned to him, feed, water, etc....but keep one eye on that rooster. If he even makes one tiny step in your direction or in your "zone", go on the attack and run him clear on out of the coop. Then keep him out while everyone else is eating.

THAT'S how a dominant rooster treats a subordinate. They don't let them crow, mate or even eat in their space. If the subordinate knows his place and watches over his shoulder a lot, he may get to come and eat while the other rooster is at the feeder...but he doesn't ever relax if he knows what is good for him. At any given time the dominant will run him off of that feed and he knows it, so he eats with one eye toward the door. If he feels the need to crow, it's not usually where the dom can reach him...maybe across the yard.

If your rooster crows while you are there, move towards him and keep on the pressure until he stops. He doesn't get to crow while you are there. He can crow later...not while you are there.

It all sounds time consuming but it really isn't...shouldn't take more than minutes for each lesson and you can learn a lot as you go along. And it can be fun if you venture into it with the right attitude....this is rooster training that really works if you do it correctly. This can work on strange roosters, multiple roosters and even old roosters...they can all learn. You rule the coop...now act like it. Carrying is for babies...you have a full grown rooster on your hands, not a baby.

That's all great advice for how to deal with a rooster~ Thanks.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Morning all. The ice age is here with a vengence. That being said, everyone pile out this morning. Light snow falling, Caught a glimpse of the rabbit the other morning. It leaves smart pills behind to let me know its around. It likes to check out the silkie pens to see if I spilled anything while feeding them or giving them goodies. I see its tracks in the pathways and on top of the snow. I know the neighbors bassett comes by and tracks it as well. Thankfully she is too short to go into the deep snow to hunt it down.

Welcome to all the newbies on here. We are happy to enable, I mean help, you with your chickens. Or the aquisition of chickens, hatching eggs or any other kind of fowl.

We are friendly like that!

Good advice from beekissed on roosters. Some just never learn, thats why freezer camp, camp crockpot and canning jar camp were invented. Jerk stage is the hardest part to get through. Everyone has their own way of doing things.

Gave the terrorists a cabbage yesterday. Man did those girls hammer it! I will have to go get them some kale tomorrow. They like their greens and it gives them something to do. Ive been letting them out to run around in the paths. I tried that with my silkies but they were happy to stay off the snow on their pine needles. Spring cant come soon enough.

Everyone have a nice day. Im off to work tonight. Lucky me.