Raising Chicks has been a Joy

[Maiahr]

So these are my 3 weeks old Leghorns. I think the first one is a cockerel, he has yellow legs though, I don't know if this is normal. The second one in my opinion is a pullet, she had black legs when she was small, now they are white. They are wild.. they fight like roosters.

 

[Grandmas Coop]

So these are my 3 weeks old Leghorns. I think the first one is a cockerel, he has yellow legs though, I don't know if this is normal. The second one in my opinion is a pullet, she had black legs when she was small, now they are white. They are wild.. they fight like roosters.

they always go through a "who's the boss" stage, they are establishing the "pecking order"

 

[Grandmas Coop]

Oh they are so cute, Sorry I didnt answer right away it has been nuts around here, How have they turned out?

 

[Grandmas Coop]

Well, with the new year upon us I am thinking about the to-do list for the coop. I will have to prioritize based on the weather. #1 January and February --- will be get the coop ready for our February snow! This photo was 2-9-19. It snowed from the 3rd to the 13th
I ran out of feed because we had not had this much in over 10 years and didn't expect it.
So....I made some with my trusty grinder SEE page-13 .Oats, Flax,amaranth, Millet, uncracked buckwheat, barley, dried peas, kelp, sea salt, and lots of frozen kale ** I am going to put the peas;wheat;buckwheat;barley in the grinder** ....
BUY EXTRA FEED, and nesting box chips, put an extra shovel by the run gate to keep the snow moved (so i can get the gate open Lolo)
I am going to need to do a poopie butt SEE page 13 wash on the hens. It will help keep then more comfortable and any snow from building up back there. Last year I locked them in for 3 or 4 days recourse it was to nasty outside, maybe I will get a flock block and extra apples or something so they wont go coop crazy.
I will not have a tarp over the run,, the snow was to heavy and it was murder to keep it off, this is Dec. 2018


Well thats enough to-do for now,
Have a great day and stay warm!



Ziva 1 year and 2 months Tony 2 months and one week

 

[GrayChickens]

Yes,, so far they are just as sweet as the , Australorps, Buff Orpington and Bard Rocks

Whaaa! That's so cool (I might get some myself.... )

 

[Maiahr]

This is what they turned out.. One is very calm and likes relaxing on my hand. Aaaaand I went downstairs a bit earlier this morning and he is crowing! They are not even 3 months old. I initially could not believe but I don't have anybody else who would crow so I stopped at the pen and observed and indeed one of my two Leghorn boys is crowing at 10 weeks if age! He may have started earlier but I cannot hear them upstairs, just this morning I went to feed them earlier than usual.

 

[Grandmas Coop]

OH how cute!!! I miss having a rooster, but the hens dont. roosters are wired for 2 jobs, protest the flock and fertilize eggs. dont be shocked when he tries to run you off. 10 weeks is right. I would have to go back a few pages and find when the hens laid their first egg. So do you have a coop? are they not outside?

 

[Maiahr]

So you say 10 weeks is right for the cockerels to start crowing? I didn't know that... Thanks. I don't have an outside coop as I never intended to keep chicken (I hatch and give away for free to elderly people - it is a charity thing I am doing). These just happened to stay with me longer than usual but I'll give them away too. We have winter here now, so all the chicken are outside free in the garden (no fence, no enclosure) during the day, but when the temperature drops to 5-6C they go inside, I have a room for them, kind of like a garage with lots of windows. It drops to - 5 -10C during night, so they stay in the room where it is warmer.
BTW I have 3 neighbors with Leghorn hens but none has a Leghorn rooster, don't know why they are not preferred.

 

[Grandmas Coop]

So you say 10 weeks is right for the cockerels to start crowing? I didn't know that... Thanks. I don't have an outside coop as I never intended to keep chicken (I hatch and give away for free to elderly people - it is a charity thing I am doing). These just happened to stay with me longer than usual but I'll give them away too. We have winter here now, so all the chicken are outside free in the garden (no fence, no enclosure) during the day, but when the temperature drops to 5-6C they go inside, I have a room for them, kind of like a garage with lots of windows. It drops to - 5 -10C during night, so they stay in the room where it is warmer.
BTW I have 3 neighbors with Leghorn hens but none has a Leghorn rooster, don't know why they are not preferred.

well roosters tend to stress out the hens with the non stop mounting and feather pulling, they can really claw up the hens backs. so, a lot of folks dont like to mess with them.

 

[Cryss]

Since 1 rooster needs 10 hens (generally) having too many roosters can cause damage to the poor hens. Plus roosters can be dangerous to people especially children. Once hormones hit them they start protecting their ladies from anything that comes near and isn’t a chicken. Like me. Since nothing else gets into the coop or run but me I’m the thing that the ladies need to be protected from. So I got attacked every time. My rooster now has a bachelor pad.