The Hobby Farm has officially begun!

[scratch'n'peck]

They sure are growing. All the chickens are pretty.

My chickens seem to spend quite a bit of time in their chicken run despite the crazy weather here in Michigan. It is just the freshly fallen snow that they find most offensive when it first touches their feet.

 

[newtnn]

Thanks again! I haven't had the guts to let the new girls out free-range yet since I lost two before doing that.
I also read that younger birds aren't quite street-smart enough to realize they need to be cautious and aware of their surroundings, so I've been keeping them cooped for now. They should be acclimated enough that they'd return to the coop, but I'm nervous to take the chance at losing one of them.

 

[newtnn]

Well, yesterday and today I let the girls out to romp around. It went well for the most part, but I think the young ones are a bit too young to realize they need to go to bed when it's dark. Two days in a row scooping them up while carrying a flashlight means I'll let them try free range again later.

 

[newtnn]

Here are a few pictures of them running amok yesterday.

They're kind of hams for the camera huh?

 

[newtnn]

A couple of my Orloffs have decided they want to be eagles instead of chickens.
I guess they look the part, but I'm not sure they have the guts (don't tell them that!)




They're funny birds, but very affectionate and trusting. When they've been free-range they keep an eye out on the sky, and most of them know to put themselves to bed when the sky gets dark (a couple of them like to play tag too much to put themselves to bed)
It's been fun so far! looking forward to seeing how these girls grow up.

 

[newtnn]

Today I let the girls out for a little bit after I threw some kitchen scraps into the compost.
It was all beaks-on-deck and they made sure to gobble up the good stuff.




None of them seem too bothered by the snow/slush on the ground, then again, they seem to think with their stomachs a lot of the time.

 

[newtnn]

Hello all! it's been a while, so I figured I'd update my post. Snow has fallen, winds have blown, and my 8 chickens have been doing a good job of dealing with it all in their own way. Which is, make all sorts of noise when they hear the door open so that I know they're still there and that they want some food, right now, not later, now.
So, for my update, here are my Orloffs as they've grown from day one for me:

The first grouping is when I just brought them home, about 8 weeks old. And the second is when they were about 10-11 weeks old.
And this last group of 6 is just a week or so ago, so 16 weeks old.
They've grown up quite a bit! No eggs from these ones yet, and it seems like a couple of them are roos, but that will be a different story for a different time.


And here are some pictures of my Hamburg, Lakenvelder, and a couple of those Orloffs on their own feet.
I've been getting an egg or two daily since last week, so the older girls have started laying again. A month ago I installed that light you can see in the background of the last picture, I guess the longer days finally kicked in the girls laying habits. It's pretty nice having fresh eggs within arms reach! I look forward to when the Orloffs are old enough to lay, or crow, or whatever. They take longer to mature than most breeds, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

Thanks for following along! I'll post another update sometime down the road.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

The chickens are looking good. It looks like some of your Orloffs are clean faced and others have the beard like my Orloff hens. That Orloff in the first photo has particularly full feathers around the face.

 

[newtnn]

@scratch'n'peck yeah the Orloff people I've been in touch with said that I shouldn't be tooo terribly worried about the lack of beard and muff at the age they are for now, but to keep an eye on it. Hoping that some of them develop a bit more as they mature.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

@scratch'n'peck yeah the Orloff people I've been in touch with said that I shouldn't be tooo terribly worried about the lack of beard and muff at the age they are for now, but to keep an eye on it. Hoping that some of them develop a bit more as they mature.

I should have said above that one of my Orloff hens has a a beard and the other does not at 2 years old. But they are hatchery stock, and I am not breeding them, so I appreciate idiosyncrasies.