Texas

[texsuze]

Blanche, my oliver egger, is wrapping up her molt--just a couple fluff feathers dropping each night. Had her every-six-week beak trim today, she being a crossbeak. What a good chicken!

Penny, my BA, looks like the remains of a feather duster that some animal chewed up. Pin feathers showing on her neck(one side only) and bum fluff pin feathers coming in "crop row" formation on her backside. All primary larger feathers are gone, floating around the barn and pasture. Her comb and wattles are half their normal plumpness and she spends the day under the purple sage (cenizo) bush hiding. Same scenario last year at this time. She doesn't want to eat much, which has me worried. Always something to fret about, though.....

 

[RUNuts]

I’ve had a terrible time with hatches this year.
Hatch 1 are all 3 cockerels out of 19 eggs started. Fertility issues.
Hatch 2 9 out of 18 hatched & lost 4 due to dogs.
Hatch 3 9/18 hatched & lost all 9 due to gnats & dogs & rats. I didn’t see that happening but the rats moved in suddenly.
Hatch 4 broody abandoned & 5/6 weren’t fertile & last little guy didn’t make it.

I’ve had different problems this year. I’m thankful for the chicks that i do have. Remember to keep a positive attitude & learn from the mistakes.

Molting has interrupted the laying here too. 1 egg a day for the last month from 6 hens. This too shall pass.

 

[Hensintexas]

Scruffy cranky hens and apparently determined to drag it out as long as possible with staggered starts. Really girls, you're all the same age why is this one just now starting when that one started a month ago?! Nobody is getting sweaters when the cold front blows in!

I would think they'd be better off moulting in August when it's hotter than blazes, who needs feathers then?

Oh, no kidding!!

 

[Hensintexas]

Blanche, my oliver egger, is wrapping up her molt--just a couple fluff feathers dropping each night. Had her every-six-week beak trim today, she being a crossbeak. What a good chicken!

Penny, my BA, looks like the remains of a feather duster that some animal chewed up. Pin feathers showing on her neck(one side only) and bum fluff pin feathers coming in "crop row" formation on her backside. All primary larger feathers are gone, floating around the barn and pasture. Her comb and wattles are half their normal plumpness and she spends the day under the purple sage (cenizo) bush hiding. Same scenario last year at this time. She doesn't want to eat much, which has me worried. Always something to fret about, though.....

I hope Penny feels better. Bless her heart, that’s got to be miserable!

 

[Hensintexas]

I’ve had a terrible time with hatches this year.
Hatch 1 are all 3 cockerels out of 19 eggs started. Fertility issues.
Hatch 2 9 out of 18 hatched & lost 4 due to dogs.
Hatch 3 9/18 hatched & lost all 9 due to gnats & dogs & rats. I didn’t see that happening but the rats moved in suddenly.
Hatch 4 broody abandoned & 5/6 weren’t fertile & last little guy didn’t make it.

I’ve had different problems this year. I’m thankful for the chicks that i do have. Remember to keep a positive attitude & learn from the mistakes.

Molting has interrupted the laying here too. 1 egg a day for the last month from 6 hens. This too shall pass.

I’m sorry about the hatches. So far, rats haven’t bothered us, but the hawks and coyotes are always around. Our girls are staying in the chicken yard for the time being. They usually go in and out if they want, just not right now. The up side is they get lots of kitchen scraps.
Like you, our 13 aren’t laying much, either. One can hope, right?

 

[RUNuts]

Hatching is always a gamble. out of 21 hatchings, I've got 8. Out of 8, 3 are confirmed cockerels and I'm pretty sure 2 more are. 3 pullets this year. Enough. I'll count my blessings and eat gumbo.

The hens are molting. Big fluffy chickens are running around looking bedraggled and thread bare. Big change. Feathers everywhere.

Chicken zen is in full swing watching the flock dynamics change again with the rooster and 3 cockerels removed. The 12 week olds are the bottom of the pecking order and growing fast.

While a large flock is a joy, how many is comfortable for you? I'm settling on 3-7. 3 if pullets are all are laying most days and I can keep up with the eggs. 7 is nicer to socialize with but that is a lot of eggs. My two older ladies are contributing to the compost cycle and scratching the weeds. They are pets at this point. Let's see where we go. Cheers.

 

[Hensintexas]

Hatching is always a gamble. out of 21 hatchings, I've got 8. Out of 8, 3 are confirmed cockerels and I'm pretty sure 2 more are. 3 pullets this year. Enough. I'll count my blessings and eat gumbo.

The hens are molting. Big fluffy chickens are running around looking bedraggled and thread bare. Big change. Feathers everywhere.

Chicken zen is in full swing watching the flock dynamics change again with the rooster and 3 cockerels removed. The 12 week olds are the bottom of the pecking order and growing fast.

While a large flock is a joy, how many is comfortable for you? I'm settling on 3-7. 3 if pullets are all are laying most days and I can keep up with the eggs. 7 is nicer to socialize with but that is a lot of eggs. My two older ladies are contributing to the compost cycle and scratching the weeds. They are pets at this point. Let's see where we go. Cheers.

We just have the 13 hens. Our RIR rooster threw himself in front of a hawk 6 months ago and we haven’t tried to replace him. He did keep the squabbles down.

7 of our 13 are older, so their laying is sporadic. I like to have enough eggs to share with our youngest daughter and her family. With their molt, I’ve done good to get two eggs a day for the past month, so not much sharing going on. (sigh)

 

[RUNuts]

We just have the 13 hens. Our RIR rooster threw himself in front of a hawk 6 months ago and we haven’t tried to replace him. He did keep the squabbles down.

7 of our 13 are older, so their laying is sporadic. I like to have enough eggs to share with our youngest daughter and her family. With their molt, I’ve done good to get two eggs a day for the past month, so not much sharing going on. (sigh)

The sharing will return. Gives everyone a break from eating so many eggs. And makes everyone appreciate them more when they are available. Good back yard eggs!