NY chicken lover!!!!

[vmdanielsen]

These are our babies that hatched this weekend. Babies are so cute!

They ARE so cute! Which(if you know) are the lhXAm crosses( just my curiosity getting the best of me!)

 

[rancher hicks]

Got my girls down for a nap today, so I went down to give the horses more hay. The horses are so coated in mud I couldn't get it all off. Wet chunks of mud yuck! They like to roll in it. Well I got so caught up I forgot my muffins in the oven. Well now I have chicken treats instead of people treats.

Please be more careful.

 

[rancher hicks]

This weather is nice, but still I'm not getting enough eggs from these Dels. I think one of the EE's is or was broody, but I booted her out of th enest and took the eggs.

I have the incu full of eggs. Plus I still have no broody hutch. Why do I keep putting it off? Where am I going to put more chicks? I mean broody hatched chicks. Not to mention they would be mutts. Plus I need her to lay eggs not hatch them.

I don't know why the BR's are not laying. They are certainly old enough and are now on layer pellets. I have customers who want eggs! I need three dozen for tomorrow but only have one.

Lovez - stopped today to pick up eggs I offered her to hatch. I hope they do hatch. I do have some mutt eggs in the incu, they will be cross colors of orps and EE's. or perhaps full EE's.

 

[Nambroth]

I am extremely sad, but I think I need to re-home Gullincambe, the rooster. I'm afraid he's starting to hurt my hens by over-breeding them... he is otherwise so gentle and wonderful, both with me and the girls. He actually saved them from a hawk yesterday and is otherwise such a good boy... I just think he needs more girls than I can have. I can't afford to built another predator proof coop and run right now, and my current coop really will only house 7-8 hens comfortably. I was really hoping he'd get better about this since he is young, but it hasn't gotten any better in the last three months.

If anyone can help me, please let me know. He's beautiful and otherwise a very good rooster!


I wrote an information page up for him here: http://featherdust.critter.net/gullin.html
I cried the whole time I was making it! Mr. Gullin, my buddy. I feel like I failed you. We really do love him and he has so much personality. I feel terrible about this, and yet I feel terrible that my girls are suffering too. I have never re-homed an animal before so this is very hard. My husband and I are attached to him.

 

[trilyn]

Jennifer...I'm so sorry you're going through this-its never easy to rehome a pet. But, have you given any thought to chicken saddles for your girls? He is young, and he may settle down some as he gets older-it could be worth a shot! If you're handy at all, there are several patterns available for free on the internet..just google chicken saddles. Otherwise, there are several people on byc that sell them. Hope this helps a bit..Trish

 

[Nambroth]

Jennifer...I'm so sorry you're going through this-its never easy to rehome a pet. But, have you given any thought to chicken saddles for your girls? He is young, and he may settle down some as he gets older-it could be worth a shot! If you're handy at all, there are several patterns available for free on the internet..just google chicken saddles. Otherwise, there are several people on byc that sell them. Hope this helps a bit..Trish

Thanks! All of my girls have saddles and have had them for quite a while now. He's really roughing up their heads... Pulling the feathers out, and when there are no feathers to grab he is holding the skin and combs instead, which is causing wounds. I know it's the rooster way to grab the back of the head during breeding, and I really hoped that he would mellow out over time and learn not to grab SO hard, but it's gotten worse instead of better. I really feel terrible for my girls. I don't mind some feather loss, but he's harming them at this point now that the feathers are gone. If I could stick him in a time machine for a few months to see if he'd mellow out I would, but I'm at a loss for what to do 'till then.

 

[trilyn]

Ugh...when they start doing that, I rehome them also. Nothing like going out to the coop and seeing bloody combs and ripped out feathers. I rehomed my first EE roo for doing the same thing and I had him with 20 girls!

He is a very handsome boy though...its too bad!!

 

[vmdanielsen]

quiet day....how is everybody? Anything exciting going on?

 

[happyhensny]

I got up this morning it is 16 degrees outside brrr! Good morning everyone!

 

[horsekeeper]

Hi, Annie. Same temperature here. One of those beautiful marans girls I got from you laid an egg for me this morning. They had a hard molt last fall and took a vacation, so this is the first egg in a couple of months since the silkies quit on me, too. The marans hens look so cute when I check on them after work (in the dark). They look like feathered bowling balls with a chicken head peeking out. I've never seen chickens fluff up in such a perfect ball of feathers like that.

Hollie