Starting a hatch September 21....hatch along?

[itsren]

No snow here. Just lots of rain. We did have huge hail a couple of days ago that turned our grass white for half a day.

Post a picture of your rooster, too. Maybe we can help I.D. him.

 

[cochins1088]

We are supposed to get the first snow this Sunday. It was below freezing for a while, but it suddenly got nice again with 60 degree weather. I love the snow so I"m getting excited. Time to bring out the snowmobiles!

I still need to take pictures of my 2 little guys, I took a few but they are all blurry. I'm sorry about your poor little chick, it's heart breaking to lose them, especially in that way.

I haven't seen a single egg in 3 days from my 13 hens. Some are molting and coupled with the cold weather they just stopped. They don't lay in the winter, I can probably count on my fingers how many eggs I find each winter. Cochins are more for show, they aren't the best layers.

 

[FarmMomof3]

I have about 27 chickens and i usually get 5-7 eggs a day... So either they aren't laying or they are laying somewhere i haven't found. it drives me insane.

I have Danish Brown Leghorns, DarkStars and ISA Crosses. I'd love to have some "pretty" birds.. but we need them for egg production and so only get the breeds that are dependable in that way.

I think 4 of the 5 new roosters we have (yes I'll need more hens it seems) are really small and might be of a banty breed. we were told that they were 7 months old.. but they might be 7 weeks. they are SMALL. I have some pictures.




I couldn't get any closer without having them scatter on me. I'll put my extra zoom lens on tomorrow and see if i can get better pics.
As you can see.. there is a larger one.. we think he's about 18 months old and then 4 smaller ones... they all hang out together.. they won't go near most of the other hens even though there is only 1 other rooster on the farm. they have maybe 2 hens that hang out with them, or at least tolerate them. it's odd. I was expecting a bit of a cock fight and then once everything was settled all the guys to break into smaller units with their harem of girls.. but Nope. these 5 just hang together. they sleep together, eat together.... I can't get them to go into the chicken house either I've tried a few times now to catch them and put them in.. but every morning when i let them out they refuse to go back in again. Looks like I'll have to turn my dog's house into their sleeping quarters.. since the dog refuses to use it now that it's been commondeared by the roosters.

 

[cochins1088]

Well my cochins seem to be very seasonal. In the middle of summer, I can get 10 eggs a day from my 13 hens and I average 6-8 per day, but they slow down to maybe 1 or 2 eggs a day in the fall and when winter hits, nothing. My chickens are strictly for pets though, the eggs are just an added bonus. I mean, we feed the cats, dogs, and rabbits too and they don't give us anything in return but love. Well, the chickens give us eggs and love. They are so sweet! And people look at me like I'm crazy when I talk about snuggling with my rooster, that is why I love this site! hahaha.

 

[itsren]

10 days old today. I'm beginning to suspect I might have a brooder full of roos. I sure hope not! I can't have roos where I live. They're mutt chickens, so I have no clue what these will turn into. The only thing I know is dad's a Salmon Fav. They hatched out of, in order, an olive egg, a brown egg, a cream egg, and another brown egg.