Peeps in Europe!

[Martaals]

It's been a while since I was last on here... About time I show my face again!
Our 3 chicks are growing well, they're almost 8 weeks old by now and no longer fitting under "mom's" wings, as the broody is a Wyandotte bantam and the chicks are all Brahma x Brahma/Barnevelder
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This picture is from a couple weeks ago, they've grown in quite a few more feathers since then! But I do wonder if I need to put up a heat lamp for them, now that it's starting to get a little colder especially at night...

And how do you guys go about introducing a hen with chicks back into the flock? Right now she's in a small rabbit run inside of the indoor run. They can see eachother through the wire but that's it.

Speaking of our chickens' liveing area... we're working on expanding our indoor run some more. The new part will be 2.90x4.70m and we'll build a door connecting it to the other indoor run. It'll be used mainly just as extra space, but it'll also come in handy to keep the young roosters separated from the rest of the flock at some point in the near future.
Right now, they have a 2.5x3.5m indoor run, a coop that's about 2.5x2m and the outdoor run which is at least 18m2... But they deserve more space! And we can't let them out into the garden every day, so adding another indoor area was the next best thing.

My broody is normally the leader of the flock, and maybe that's why, but I just supervised and gradually let them out in the same run and it went super smooth.

The two coops are in the same run/garden, so they had already seen each other always during the day when the hens are out. I followed the lead of the broody, at some point she was starting to make clear that she wanted out of the small coop and she was being very particular guiding the baby chicks around the world, it was the cutest thing. In the beginning I closely supervised (more for my cat than for the other hens, the hens were not allowed near the chicks by the mama hen, and they respected it completely). But again, perhaps because she is the leader normally. The chicks learned quickly that if there was food, they could just chase off the other hens because mama hen was right behind
Quite funny to see. Eventually they were just all eating and chilling together.

 

[Silkie Princess]

How are the chicks doing @Skyle ? I am incubating myself but I am starting to get worried about the eggs hatching! 5/10 were not even fertile and 3 eggs are dark inside. Probably dead Then I have 8 more eggs that I am hoping they will hatch One egg is from my show quality hen I bought like a week ago and I've got no matching rooster. The egg had visible growth till day 5. Now it's day 8 and it looks the same

 

[Skyle]

How are the chicks doing @Skyle ? I am incubating myself but I am starting to get worried about the eggs hatching! 5/10 were not even fertile and 3 eggs are dark inside. Probably dead Then I have 8 more eggs that I am hoping they will hatch One egg is from my show quality hen I bought like a week ago and I've got no matching rooster. The egg had visible growth till day 5. Now it's day 8 and it looks the same

I'm so sorry about your eggs, I hope all the others keep growing big and strong and I wish you a great hatch

Here there are the chicks. Unfortunately one of the button quails died some days after the hatch, eating and drinking but seemed to not growing at all
The other two quails are very fast and fly pretty well. It's a bit tricky to take a photo of them, if I don't keep them on my hand they don't stay still

About the chickens, I'm guessing that the two mixes are a couple and the bantam cochin is a male (according to a drawing I saw which explains how to sex the bantam cochins according on how they feather out)

 

[BDutch]

I found a new home for my rooster Kwik. A lady who has two laying hybrids likes to have my kind rooster for company.

 

[chickengr]

I have to either sell or butcher some of my chickens. not easy to sell as feed price get higher every month so people give up keeping chickens. I hate butchering but I have no choice. I have a beautiful naked neck cockerel and I really feel sorry to butcher him. I hope to sell him. rehoming here means giving someone supper for free.

 

[abpatchy]

View attachment 2875173
I found a new home for my rooster Kwik. A lady who has two laying hybrids likes to have my kind rooster for company.

I am sorry you had to rehome him... he was beautiful!!!

 

[abpatchy]

I have to either sell or butcher some of my chickens. not easy to sell as feed price get higher every month so people give up keeping chickens. I hate butchering but I have no choice. I have a beautiful naked neck cockerel and I really feel sorry to butcher him. I hope to sell him. rehoming here means giving someone supper for free.

yes, feed prices are going up so fast!! Not nice...I have made up my mind, that I will not raise the really bad roosters until I can butcher them. Either I sell them for butchering.. or kill them and give them to a wildlife park in the area (for free). We can't eat that many chickens! And there is no room in the freezer for that many. But it is a shame that rehoming means supper for someone else. But we have that issue as well. Before I give them for free to someone else to enjoy...I'll have supper myself.
I hope you get to find him a home where he can live a little longer. And maybe you get a little money out of him.

 

[abpatchy]

Since Friday I cleaned out two coops, added thick fresh bedding... and washed 16 chickens... 15 are going to show next weekend. One hen ended up losing a feather while she was in the water. And I noticed that she was missing some more... so she won't be going. I'm glad I had an extra one.
I do hope I don't get too many disqualifications... Not sure if I am excited anymore...more sick to my stomach... I don't have a good feeling... kinda scared I am missing faults.
7.5 weeks until the show in Hannover... but I think it might get cancelled... not due to covid... but because of the bird flu... There have been cases again up north. Not nice!
Well, wish me luck! At least the judge will be the breeder I got my chickens from. He just happens to be a poultry judge as well...and for local shows the use local judges. At least I will get an honest opinion...

 

[Maiahr]

@Silkie Princess can you post pictures of your Silkies? I have one Silkie hen (black) and two roosters (one black and one white). The roosters are lonely as the hen is a hatching machine - lays 6 eggs and goes broody. She has done this ever since she started laying eggs. Despite of that I have never been able to hatch Silkies, as every time something happens with the eggs - one time another rooster, large size, mated with the Silkie hen and the chicks had nothing to do with silkies. The next time I didn't take mama out for a walk for two days while she was broody and she pooped in the nest and killed all the 6 eggs. Now she is broody again (this time under a small coffee table in the launge room), but she broke 3 of the 6 eggs, argh!! So will see.
I still have a problem with the cats, but a new trap is coming on Tuesday...

@chickengr sad you are far away, otherwise a friend of mine is looking to buy naked necks and he asked me to hatch for him, but I can't find NN eggs now.
I have a 2-month old Freezle rooster that I want to re-home.

Those of you with LF Cochins, how big your roosters are? I have 4 young Cochin roosters, hatched this year and I was wondering what to expect (I have not had LF Cochins before).

@abpatchy will you be taking Sussex to the show?

 

[abpatchy]

@Silkie Princess can you post pictures of your Silkies? I have one Silkie hen (black) and two roosters (one black and one white). The roosters are lonely as the hen is a hatching machine - lays 6 eggs and goes broody. She has done this ever since she started laying eggs. Despite of that I have never been able to hatch Silkies, as every time something happens with the eggs - one time another rooster, large size, mated with the Silkie hen and the chicks had nothing to do with silkies. The next time I didn't take mama out for a walk for two days while she was broody and she pooped in the nest and killed all the 6 eggs. Now she is broody again (this time under a small coffee table in the launge room), but she broke 3 of the 6 eggs, argh!! So will see.
I still have a problem with the cats, but a new trap is coming on Tuesday...

@chickengr sad you are far away, otherwise a friend of mine is looking to buy naked necks and he asked me to hatch for him, but I can't find NN eggs now.
I have a 2-month old Freezle rooster that I want to re-home.

Those of you with LF Cochins, how big your roosters are? I have 4 young Cochin roosters, hatched this year and I was wondering what to expect (I have not had LF Cochins before).

@abpatchy will you be taking Sussex to the show?

No, I don't have Sussex.. I have Sulmtaler. @Erba has Sussex. Maybe you thought of her?