Twinflower Poultry
Chirping
- Jul 2, 2020
- 25
- 92
- 69
Hey everyone!
I'm restarting my flock of chickens, and I thought it would be fun to share updates/stories/pics/etc as I progress with my flock.
So, what chickens are currently in the flock?
I have lots of different breeds (and may end up getting more) that are all living together. I have one Icelandic who somehow survived all by herself over the winter while we were living in the city. I thought a raccoon had gotten all of my chickens (raccoon problem is solved now), but one hen is a true survivalist who didn't even let us know she was there until we moved back.
I decided to get mixed breeds instead of keeping up with purebred Icelandics like I had been doing in the past (I might tell that story later in more detail) and the first few I got were a free gift from some friends. They don't know what breeds they are but guessing some Bantams and Silkies in the mix...?
Unfortunately the raccoon got a couple before we realized we had a raccoon problem, which explained our missing birds in the past. My guess is that one of the hens found the leftovers of some eggs the raccoon had been snacking on the night before, and that's how the terrible act of egg-eating began within the flock... Yeah, our hens were eating their own eggs. One hen (the main culprit) would lie in wait as the others laid an egg so she could eat it. She even went so far as to dive under hens that were beginning to sit on a batch of eggs to get to them.
That was a huge no. We butchered that hen (after figuring out that it would be too difficult to train her out of eating the eggs) and we butchered a few other egg-eaters also. Turns out the meat was really tough, so who knows how old those birds were. But the problem stopped and instead of dozens of eggs going unseen, we now have dozens of eggs under broody hens!
So, problem solved. I'm still concerned they might end up eating their eggs again, like if a hen steps on one or if the ones we kept go back to old habits... But I think I'm being overly worried. (If anyone knows how to train chickens out of eating their own eggs, I'd be really curious to know if there is a good way....)
So, in summary, one Icelandic and three who-knows-what breed hens and a who-knows-what rooster. After solving the egg-eating issue, I purchased some more birds.
They are:
11 chicks in the teen stage from a Barnevelder rooster. (Hens were a Lavender Orpington, Blue Australorp, Wyandotte, and possibly a Leghorn).
2 Black Stars (already laying - one lays eggs that look as big as duck eggs!)
2 Jersey Giant pullets (about sixteen weeks now).
1 Speckled Sussex cockerel that was (ahem) SUPPOSED to be a pullet. Hasn't crowed yet but I'm pretty sure that "she" is a he.
1 (adorable) Buff Orpington chick (two weeks old when I got him/her - now about a month old).
Future birds:
I plan on getting a Ameraucanas, Welsummers, and Marans. I'm thinking about getting ducks
This week I'm expecting 16 chicks. (But you know what they say, never count your chickens before they hatch!)
The hen has barely left the nest, and I'm pretty confident that they'll all hatch out well. But she's stubborn enough that I haven't been able to check the eggs, so we'll have to wait and see.
I do have another couple hens that are tag-teaming on the same batch, and I'm concerned that some of the 21 eggs won't hatch. (Question: if the eggs don't have a hen on them for half the night once, will they not hatch?) If they do hatch, they're due the last week of August
On this thread I'll be posting pics, updates, stories, etc. about the flock.
Pictures of individual birds coming soon!
I'm restarting my flock of chickens, and I thought it would be fun to share updates/stories/pics/etc as I progress with my flock.
So, what chickens are currently in the flock?
I have lots of different breeds (and may end up getting more) that are all living together. I have one Icelandic who somehow survived all by herself over the winter while we were living in the city. I thought a raccoon had gotten all of my chickens (raccoon problem is solved now), but one hen is a true survivalist who didn't even let us know she was there until we moved back.
I decided to get mixed breeds instead of keeping up with purebred Icelandics like I had been doing in the past (I might tell that story later in more detail) and the first few I got were a free gift from some friends. They don't know what breeds they are but guessing some Bantams and Silkies in the mix...?
Unfortunately the raccoon got a couple before we realized we had a raccoon problem, which explained our missing birds in the past. My guess is that one of the hens found the leftovers of some eggs the raccoon had been snacking on the night before, and that's how the terrible act of egg-eating began within the flock... Yeah, our hens were eating their own eggs. One hen (the main culprit) would lie in wait as the others laid an egg so she could eat it. She even went so far as to dive under hens that were beginning to sit on a batch of eggs to get to them.
That was a huge no. We butchered that hen (after figuring out that it would be too difficult to train her out of eating the eggs) and we butchered a few other egg-eaters also. Turns out the meat was really tough, so who knows how old those birds were. But the problem stopped and instead of dozens of eggs going unseen, we now have dozens of eggs under broody hens!
So, problem solved. I'm still concerned they might end up eating their eggs again, like if a hen steps on one or if the ones we kept go back to old habits... But I think I'm being overly worried. (If anyone knows how to train chickens out of eating their own eggs, I'd be really curious to know if there is a good way....)
So, in summary, one Icelandic and three who-knows-what breed hens and a who-knows-what rooster. After solving the egg-eating issue, I purchased some more birds.
They are:
11 chicks in the teen stage from a Barnevelder rooster. (Hens were a Lavender Orpington, Blue Australorp, Wyandotte, and possibly a Leghorn).
2 Black Stars (already laying - one lays eggs that look as big as duck eggs!)
2 Jersey Giant pullets (about sixteen weeks now).
1 Speckled Sussex cockerel that was (ahem) SUPPOSED to be a pullet. Hasn't crowed yet but I'm pretty sure that "she" is a he.
1 (adorable) Buff Orpington chick (two weeks old when I got him/her - now about a month old).
Future birds:
I plan on getting a Ameraucanas, Welsummers, and Marans. I'm thinking about getting ducks
This week I'm expecting 16 chicks. (But you know what they say, never count your chickens before they hatch!)
The hen has barely left the nest, and I'm pretty confident that they'll all hatch out well. But she's stubborn enough that I haven't been able to check the eggs, so we'll have to wait and see.
I do have another couple hens that are tag-teaming on the same batch, and I'm concerned that some of the 21 eggs won't hatch. (Question: if the eggs don't have a hen on them for half the night once, will they not hatch?) If they do hatch, they're due the last week of August
On this thread I'll be posting pics, updates, stories, etc. about the flock.
Pictures of individual birds coming soon!
