Once Upon a Farm Flock Adventures

[Iluveggers]

That is so adorable!

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

More chick photos! Because who can ever have enough flooffy goodness. The chicks and Toes have moved to a grass pen now. Toes was being too enthusiastic with her scratching and kept digging holes under the fence in the bark pen. I thought that might happen so already had this as a plan b.

There are still 5 chicks, one is just better behaved and already in there with her.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Round two of autumn chicks. Both Widget and Princess Fluffy Butt have hatched their chicks. I set 12 eggs (all under Widget, I gave 2 of them to Fluffy Butt on Sunday as it's her first time). 10 chicks have hatched! Widget has 8 and Fluffy has 2. I've got 6 partridge rocks and 4 barred rocks. I wasn't expecting such a good hatch rate.... not sure what I'm going to do with so many of them but I will figure it out!

 

[Shadrach]

I've been reading some of your posts on other threads and I was impressed enough to check your flock thread out.
I'll try and keep up.
BYC needs more like you imo.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

I've been reading some of your posts on other threads and I was impressed enough to check your flock thread out.
I'll try and keep up.
BYC needs more like you imo.

Why thank you kind sir! You are most welcome here and I'm glad you've enjoyed my posts! I have certainly enjoyed yours, I always know something interesting will be afoot when I see your name!

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Well, it has been some weeks since I last did a proper update. We have been in the busiest time of year at work, harvest, and I have been flat out keeping all the bowls in the air. Harvest is finished and life has returned to normal. The chickens are tired of eating apples and so are my family haha.

The chicks are now 10 weeks old and 7 weeks old respectively. Toes is STILL hanging out with her giant 10 week old hooligans but it looks like that is almost at an end. They're almost as big as she is. Her springtime clutch (Droplet) she stayed with for only 5 weeks, and that was somewhat reluctantly for the final week. I'm guessing she is staying so long with this lot because it is getting cold, but who truly knows the mind of a hen.

Kowalski, Skipper and Speckle Head have had their 18 month molts, much to their misery. I'll put in a photo of Skipper, she looks very awful. It has cramped her style with chick bullying and food stealing for sure. Skipper is the only one still looking rough, she kept her feathers much longer than everyone else. Princess Fluffy Butt is also due her first adult molt but I doubt she will have it due to brooding. In my experience so far hens have have brooded in the year don't have a full molt.

The flock has been a bit unsettled, the dynamics all went wonky with 3 hens being out with chicks at once, the molting, and the two pullets (Droplet and Kea) not laying yet. Things are starting to settle, Kowalski is acting as though the pullets are coming up fully mature now, and Toes is about to rejoin the main flock. I was expecting eggs from the pullets before now, but I suppose good things take time.

Chicken math has struck me down, I really need to reduce my numbers soon. Most of the chicks will be moving on to other homes (or dinner) so things will be a bit less chaotic and there will be less poop everywhere. I am only keeping 4 pullets out of the 15. I shall remember in future that 15 free ranging chicks and 3 hens at once is too much for the size of my flock and my familys' tolerance of stepping in poop.

The good news is I could sell the pullets 5 times over there is such a demand for chickens here at the moment.

I will get some photos of the younger chicks to share this week, but in the mean time here are the 10 week old monsters and poor fatherless Skipper.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Snapped a photo of Widget and her 8 babies today, busy searching for stray peas in the pea straw.

Two of Toes' chicks that were cockerels went off to be lunch this morning, always a sad moment. They had a good life and a meaningful death in service of feeding a family.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

I have been reducing my numbers as we come into winter, and because we are hoping to go away on vacation for a month. My chicken mathe explosion would be a bit of an ask for someone looking after them all for me! Opal and Boss Lady have found a nice new home where they won't have to be kept penned up away from the rest of the flock. Kea went with them, I figured I had better add a point of lay pullet to sweeten the deal of two old lady hens!

I miiiiight have a sneaky cockerel I thought was a pullet. I hear some very hilarious crowing attempts in the morning, but it could be one of the 4 definite cockerels from the partridge rocks. The potential sneaky cockerel is one of my crosses, so very hard to tell sex due to pea comb and the fact that the crosses are so variable from each other. No daytime crowing from the littles yet so time will tell.

I got very handy today and made a roosting bar floor (inspired by the omlet eglu type roosting floors) to add to the little coop Opal and Boss Lady were using. It's sort of a cross between roosts and a slatted floor. My intention is that Widget's horde will use it as they are well old enough to be roosting, but chickens are not good at getting on board with my intentions.

Toes and Fluffy Butt have returned to the main coop and flock, much to Kowalski's happiness. He almost has all his ladies back on the roost with him! Fluffy Butt's chicks are not amused with the situation however. Her pullet chick goes in and sleeps in the nesting box in the main coop but the cockerel chick just wanders around whining until it's too dark and then sticks himself into whatever hutch is available. I'm sure he will figure it out eventually.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Another update, I found the mystery crower, and he was the crossbreed chick I wasn't 100% sure on. So he has gone off for lunch today. Slowly whittling down those numbers!

In a stunning and unexpected success, Widget and her crew accepted the new coop with the roosting bar floor with no complaints at all.

Three of the chicks have decided that sleeping in the plum tree is their preferred nighttime arrangement. I don't really mind them sleeping in trees it just makes it awfully inconvenient if I need to treat them for anything. They are very impressed with themselves.

Droplet has laid her first egg! A very lovely pale blue-green with white speckles. It was worth the wait, 7 and a half months! She certainly doesn't take after the barred rock side in the maturity speed department. It is surprisingly large for a pullet egg, about the same size as the eggs Toes lays, perhaps she is shaping upto lay large eggs. She is my biggest hen.

The cockerel who gave his life today to feed a family:

Droplet:

Droplet's egg:

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Things are getting closer to normal around here, flock-wise. I'm down to just the 4 pullets I'm keeping (2 barred rocks and 2 partridge rocks) and 4 partridge rock cockerels. There is a bit of crowing in the early mornings but so far no daytime crow battles. I'm still hoping we move to our bigger property before freezer camp becomes essential but it's looking unlikely. I'll have to try again for a keeper rooster in springtime I think.

The great thing about having autumn broodies is they start laying again in the winter! I've finally got eggs again after the great chick raising and moulting months.

Just today I found Droplet in the nestbox deciding to be broody. It really is the wrong time of year (the middle of winter!) So hopefully I can convince her to cut that right out. She was not pleased to be removed.

I've got two of the neighbor's hens spending all day with my flock, and occasionally a nighttime in the covered back section of my run. They're laying eggs for me in the nest boxes so I'm more than happy for them to be here.

The boys:

A chunk of the flock, 2 cockerels and 1 pullet.

Adorable:

Broody Droplet and a neighbor hen:

Winter eggs!