Our introduction to keeping chickens, the high's, the lows and pics of our journey.

[Wrightsx4]

Good morning!!! What beautiful new pics! They're growing up...
My "boys" have decided as of Friday they wanted to remove any question we may have had - they're crowing. Barely 7 weeks and the beautiful awful first crows have begun. Probably responding to our big roosters' crows. Two were on my "not quite sure" list but leaning toward male. I think we still ended up with more pullets.

 

[Bens-Hens]

I think we are right on the fence, 6 boys and 6 girls. If that's the case we might just have to do another hatch to end up with my desired 12 eggs a day! Dang...what a shame [nudge nudge wink wink!]

Crowing at 7 weeks Pam that's amazing. Our 12 week old's have not yet crowed, I have heard a couple of odd noises from there, and they seem to have out grown the peeping sound but still no proper neighbor waker! But, as you say, ours do not have any influence as to what a crow sounds like, I am in no rush to let them hear one either!

My plan, [yet to be discussed with Alicia in detail] is no move the young birds in with the older birds next week (8 weeks old) I hope to get them to spend some time near each other over the next week, maybe some supervised time together in the same area. Going to read up on joining flocks again. I would like to keep them separate longer but I fear that they will outgrow the mobile coop too soon with 12 of them in there. They might just have to get used to it.

At the same time, the two larger roosters may come out, or perhaps a week later, not sure if leaving them in there is better or to separate to establish a new pecking order in the same disturbance. Maybe I am reading into it too much.

Are you planning another hatch in the near future Pam?

 

[NovaAman]

I'd leave them to keep mingling in the yard for a week... Then put them together at night... See what happens...

Nice truck. The chickens are ALMOST big chickens now. 12 weeks already. Wow how time flies! Doesn't seem like 7 weeks for the others already either!

My brooder babies are 3 weeks now. Another week and a half to go on the bator. Tuesday I'll be candling again...

 

[Wrightsx4]

I hadn't planned another hatch until next year but Betty had other plans - and I enabled her, lol. Since my big coop will be maxed out once these all grow up and are combined, I don't foresee a hatch soon. I need to do some remodeling to accommodate all these. I have 12 layers right now, adding another 12ish from the young ones, plus assuming Betty hatches some pullets. We'll figure out which roosters to keep, and cull the rest before winter. Trying really hard to not get attached to the boys...
Or two selected older roosters will be "ended" (as my DD prefers to call it) today or tomorrow

Oh - I should have clarified... I'm using the word crowing very loosely. It's the noise that turns into crowing. Recognized only by knowing what my other roosters did. The weird caawww sound accompanied by wing flapping. You can see them preparing the sound before it comes out sometimes. With the last bunch I denied it - oh listen to the funny chirp...yeah, that's a precrow. Lol.

 

[Wrightsx4]

Nova - I'm doing first candling in a little while when I pull Betty off the nest!!!! Did I miss it, did you do yours once already?

 

[NovaAman]

Oh man... Let me find my numbers, but it was another 11 eggs out. I put in a silkie and a serema. Silkie egg was fertile, serema egg not. So, 10 shipped eggs and the serema were not good. There was no development in most of the white yokos, so only 4-5 of those left.... Down to 24-25 eggs within.

 

[NovaAman]

 

[NovaAman]

What the!

 

[Wrightsx4]

Betty's definitely better at this than I am... 7 eggs with veining, 4 with obvious movement. 7 out of 7 developing - with shipped eggs. Of course they aren't hatched yet, but I sure didn't have those kind of numbers! I should've given her the ones with detached air cells too, not that we need that many more this Spring.

 

[Bens-Hens]

One day I will have a broody hahahahaha

Sounds like you ladies are getting some great results! Glad to hear it. Time for me to do my morning chicken rounds before heading off to work. I will get a few more photo's next time they are all together for a supervised meet and greet!