Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[hendricks115]

I haven't weighed them, but the Rhodebars seem to be larger than the Welsummers and Ameracaunas. The Marans are also on the larger side, but the New Hampshire roos make them all look small! This is one of our free-ranging New Hampshires. We love him! He and his brother are the only free ranging chickens we can easily pick up and hold, the rest have all gotten too wild.

Beautiful boys you have there

 

[hendricks115]

We did the crazy egg dance this morning! Who knew a single egg could make us both jump and click our heels. First one in like 2 months. We have a bantam from our hatch and think it may be her starting to lay. My hubby is pretty sure its from the 4 gallon bucket of grain we fed them from the scottish ale he just started!

 

[SilkieSensation]

Dheltzel, doesn't seem to be a standard, I have 6 that all look about the same, hens are just a little smaller. 2 of the hens have more of a thick silkie like feathering.

Eggs are a little bigger than the bantam Cochin and a light tan color..

Very friendly and vocal birds

They fit in nicely with the bantam Cochin.

The flock that they came from has a few solid colors,

We shall see what the next generation brings

I'd love to see pics of those hens with the thick feathering. Silkies were my first chickens (way back when I was in 4-H), so I always feel a certain fondness for anything like them (except those "show girls" - that's awful, making a silkie with a naked neck - sorry if I offended anyone, birds should have feathers on their necks, or else they look like vultures to me).

We have decided that naked necks are so ugly that they are cute. My son's favorite bird was a smooth showgirl that we hatched.

 

[dheltzel]

We have decided that naked necks are so ugly that they are cute. My son's favorite bird was a smooth showgirl that we hatched.

True, there is a whole genre of animals bred to accentuate what a normal person would call ugliness, but coveted by some - some varieties of fish pop to mind immediately. I am intrigued by the idea of a bird only having half the number of feathers, but the naked necks makes me unlikely to ever keep them. Today, it seems like our chickens can use all the feathers they can get - brrrrrr

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

This past fall I traded 4 pullets (barnyard mixes) for 2 quart jars of awesome honey.   With the current price of raw honey I figured I made out pretty well on the trade and he was happy with the new girls.... win/win!   Barter/trade works just fine for me!

We love to barter around here. My kitchen is the biggest barter we've ever done!

I'm at my in-laws, so they don't have as much as at home, but here are just a few.

That's awesome! Excellent design!

Getting dark, so a little hard for pics. This is one of the hedemora roosters in with bantam cCochin.

Dominique roosters, take two, I will throw in a hen. ( really do not want to process these boys )

Ducks are not impressed with frozen water.

Bunny pile.

Bunny pile = bunny epidemic, right? Haha, forgot to ask while I was out there, I have a sister in law that is interested in rabbit meat.

I'd love to see pics of those hens with the thick feathering. Silkies were my first chickens (way back when I was in 4-H), so I always feel a certain fondness for anything like them (except those "show girls" - that's awful, making a silkie with a naked neck - sorry if I offended anyone, birds should have feathers on their necks, or else they look like vultures to me).

Agreed...

True, there is a whole genre of animals bred to accentuate what a normal person would call ugliness, but coveted by some - some varieties of fish pop to mind immediately. I am intrigued by the idea of a bird only having half the number of feathers, but the naked necks makes me unlikely to ever keep them. Today, it seems like our chickens can use all the feathers they can get - brrrrrr

It is quite nippy out, but my girls know how to line up in the morning to catch those first Rays of sunshine! Looks like a chorus line of chicken butts.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Just want to say I am amazed at my Mama hen. The first day or so, she "let" me hold a chick. Yesterday, I went to clean the cage and I was going to take her and the chicks out. I started to take one chick out and she went NUTS, freaking out and trying to bite me. So, after careful consideration I just cleaned the cage with her and the chicks in it.

It is also very neat to see how hungry she is now that the chicks are hatched. I've been making a scrambled egg for her (and the chicks) to eat everyday. And I think she is doing the broody molt, holy feathers!

 

[fisherlady]

Just want to say I am amazed at my Mama hen. The first day or so, she "let" me hold a chick. Yesterday, I went to clean the cage and I was going to take her and the chicks out. I started to take one chick out and she went NUTS, freaking out and trying to bite me.

So, after careful consideration I just cleaned the cage with her and the chicks in it.

It is also very neat to see how hungry she is now that the chicks are hatched. I've been making a scrambled egg for her (and the chicks) to eat everyday. And I think she is doing the broody molt, holy feathers!

A good broody hen is an amazing creature to watch! Love how they vocalize to the little ones and teach them what they need to know.... if you have space for it you could get a 4 ft kiddie pool (like WalMart sells for cheap) and a bag of play sand, just dump the sand in and then put a feeder and waterer in and set the broody and her chicks in it daily, just toss in some scratch and watch her go crazy teaching the little ones all about how to scratch and probably dust too. If you have wood ashes from a stove you can add some of them in... our hens absolutely love it when I dump a pan of ashes in with their sand box.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

A good broody hen is an amazing creature to watch!   Love how they vocalize to the little ones and teach them what they need to know....  if you have space for it you could get a 4 ft kiddie pool (like WalMart sells for cheap) and a bag of play sand, just dump the sand in and then put a feeder and waterer in and set the broody and her chicks in it daily, just toss in some scratch and watch her go crazy teaching the little ones all about how to scratch and probably dust too.  If you have wood ashes from a stove you can add some of them in... our hens absolutely love it when I dump a pan of ashes in with their sand box.

I would think the broody would jump out, but I guess not if her chicks are there. We have two parrots that are outside their cages most of the day. The one is curious and I can just imagine her sitting on the edge of the pool "observing".

 

[OneMountainAcres]

My little Wynter is hurt!

I have no idea what happened to him. I just happened to notice that something didn't look right when he turned his head. I caught him, cleaned it up (there was almost no blood), blue coated it and have him back to his mother. He seems to be acting almost normal. Maybe a little sore. Nobody else seems to have any injuries. This little guy is 6 1/2 weeks old and he's the one that I've seen stand up to the older flock members. I'm wondering if maybe he threatened the won't bird or something what do you guys think. Is there anything else I should so for him? Or just keep a close eye on it. I feel so bad for the poor little boy

 

[fisherlady]

My little Wynter is hurt!



I have no idea what happened to him. I just happened to notice that something didn't look right when he turned his head. I caught him, cleaned it up (there was almost no blood), blue coated it and have him back to his mother. He seems to be acting almost normal. Maybe a little sore. Nobody else seems to have any injuries. This little guy is 6 1/2 weeks old and he's the one that I've seen stand up to the older flock members. I'm wondering if maybe he threatened the won't bird or something

what do you guys think. Is there anything else I should so for him? Or just keep a close eye on it. I feel so bad for the poor little boy

Their soft skin sure does tear easily.... if you have flushed/cleaned it and blu-coated it then that is the biggest part of the battle. if it is gaping or easily seen when he moves around you could probably use a drop or two of super glue in the center to hold the edges together to prevent it from gaping and showing the red underneath. It isn't a good idea to totally close off a wound (in my opinion) but just one point of glue in the center will act like a suture to help hold the edges closer to each other so they can fill in and heal.
Triple antibiotic ointment can help also, but make sure it is the type without the pain reliever.... the pain reliever is something that can't be used on chickens.

If it helps, we had a young hen with a gaping wound on her side (from an amorous rooster) and with simple cleaning, blue coat and some triple antibiotic it healed in a surprisingly short time. (due to location on her we also placed a hen saddle on her for a couple of weeks)