Well, this morning I sold the buff chantecler trio that I've been wanting to find a new home for (perfectly nice chickens, two thumbs up on the breed, just too "functionally redundant" with my sussexes to be worth keeping) plus a trio of speckled sussexes that did not make the cut for breeding this year, the roo because of body type and slightly iffy disposition and the hens because they are the poorest layers.
(I am keeping the other 'reject' sussex hen Maudie, even though I honestly am not sure she is laying much [if at all
] despite being only six weeks from her first birthday... just because Maudie is my special buddy and always follows me around going "crrrrrrrrraaawwwwwkkkkkkkkk" and telling me I'm doing everything wrong, LOL. I figure it is ok to have her in with the 'real' breeding sussexes because even if I never do get around to trapnesting, she is not likely to contribute many eggs and thus not many chicks to the next generation
)
So, six gone, seven left: I'm down to Pants and his four 'good' sussex hens, plus Maudie, plus the weird little campine hen who I keep because she is a decent layer and has become Pants' inseparable little companion.
I will un-split the sussex pen this afternoon so they can re-expand into all that space, but the chantecler pen will be empty til this spring's chicks are ready for it. Which is kind of good b/c that's the pen with the greenhouse-style plastic-covered run that I use to heat the coop and I have some big lettuce seedlings in the basement that would probably *really* appreciate going into containers out in that run. Oooh, maybe I will have fresh lettuce in April, that would be cool!
I don't exactly have regrets about selling the chickens, certainly not the sussexes (Itchy came at me with his feet the other day, and again when we were catching him this morning) and I suppose not even the chanteclers because while I liked them a lot they just didn't really fit with what I'm trying to do here.
I know they're just chickens, and it's not like I wouldn't have *eaten* the sussexes if not sold, but still, I will miss them.
(Anyone goes to the Mt Forest sale (Ontario) next month, I wouldn't be shocked if Itchy and his girls are there
, although I kind of got the impression the buyers were probably going to keep the buffs to breed from.)
Thank you for letting me get that off my chest,
Pat
(I am keeping the other 'reject' sussex hen Maudie, even though I honestly am not sure she is laying much [if at all
So, six gone, seven left: I'm down to Pants and his four 'good' sussex hens, plus Maudie, plus the weird little campine hen who I keep because she is a decent layer and has become Pants' inseparable little companion.
I will un-split the sussex pen this afternoon so they can re-expand into all that space, but the chantecler pen will be empty til this spring's chicks are ready for it. Which is kind of good b/c that's the pen with the greenhouse-style plastic-covered run that I use to heat the coop and I have some big lettuce seedlings in the basement that would probably *really* appreciate going into containers out in that run. Oooh, maybe I will have fresh lettuce in April, that would be cool!
I don't exactly have regrets about selling the chickens, certainly not the sussexes (Itchy came at me with his feet the other day, and again when we were catching him this morning) and I suppose not even the chanteclers because while I liked them a lot they just didn't really fit with what I'm trying to do here.
I know they're just chickens, and it's not like I wouldn't have *eaten* the sussexes if not sold, but still, I will miss them.
(Anyone goes to the Mt Forest sale (Ontario) next month, I wouldn't be shocked if Itchy and his girls are there
Thank you for letting me get that off my chest,
Pat
