The Old Folks Home

[Wisher1000]

Sorry, Chicki.....

 

[getaclue]

chickisoup, I too integrated my two groups of youngsters yesterday, after taking my granddaughter to tea. Did I mention that I took my granddaughter to tea, and we had a great time? LOL! She sat on a bale of hay, while my DD and I switched everyone around in the coop. To date, my rooster has never come after me, and I want to keep it that way, so we caged him while transitioning everyone else to their new living arrangements. I'm glad we did. He was not a happy camper when we got to messing with the youngsters. He's more protective of them than he is of his own hens. Got everyone transitioned. My BA's are not usually loud, but they are very chatty. From the time the adults heard the first youngster squawk, until I got everyone settled before leaving, they were screaming at me in protest of disturbing the youngsters. I have never heard them so loud.

I had originally put the oldest cockerel in with the flock of youngsters. When the pullets would squabble, he would side with the older pullet(s), and chase off the younger ones. DD suggested I put him in the big cage, and let the younger cockerel be in with the flock. The younger cockerel sided with his own pullets, and would back off the older (larger) pullets. He got order established pretty quickly, and everyone seemed fine by the time we left. I can't check on them until 3:00 this afternoon, but there are 3 waterers in the coop in different areas, 2 feeders, then I put another waterer, and feeder in the run, along with feed on the ground in different areas of the run, and couple hay bales for hiding if needed. Even the lowest in pecking order has plenty of access to food, and water.

I had read on one of the forums that a rooster never intervenes when hens fight. That has never been my experience. My rooster(s) want, and keep order in their flock. That is where I got my cue on breaking up hen fights when establishing pecking order. My rooster would let them face off and duke it out for about a minute, as long as there was no real violence, then he would step in between them, and herd one of the ladies away from the other. This was repeated until pecking order was established, and everyone was getting along. I have done it this way when I didn't have a rooster. It works. Yes, you intervene, but not immediately unless there is real violence. You will see when they are facing off, and it begins to escalate, if and when to intervene.

Today I plan to turn the dirt in at least one of the coops, and the run. They like that, as it turns up bugs, and worms for them.

 

[ronott1]

Umm... because she wants to look like a really buff Gerard Butler? I don't know if the female body can do that... but I've been wrong before.


Ron, I picked up some EEs from my feed store this past spring. I got a male and two females. I want some large blue eggs so my plan is to cross them with my large egg laying Andalusians... or a rooster that came from a hen that lays large eggs. Will I get large blue eggs?

It depends on if the EE is Double dominant for the blue egg shell gene. OO is double dominant. Oo is single dominant. oo is double recessive so white.

Answer, you will get some white and some blue. If you work out the genetics, you can get all blue easily after enough generations because blue is dominant.

Good project

 

[ronott1]

@ronott1 So what body type are you aiming at with the Arkansas Blue? It looks chunkier than a Leghorn, but skinnier than a Wyandotte. Maybe like a RIR body?

very nice photos! thanks for posting them.

That is a good question. There is no group working on Standards, so maybe I will just make one up based on what mine look like

 

[chickadoodles]

Sorry Chicki

 

[vehve]

Good grief!!!! 30o Really??? Everything a beautiful crispy white

There goes the gardens. Another year with no month without frost, sigh. Oh well, don't have to worry about finding time to can, again. Might as well just donate my equipment to the charity shop in the town to the south. When I opened the coop this morning my chickens looked at me like "you've got to be kidding me!".
When I look at all those beautiful jars of pickles and apples and tomatoes and........ still left on the shelf from a couple years ago it makes me wonder, "what ever happened to global warming?"

I think they've since switched to "climate change". Sorry about your garden.

 

[chickisoup]

Sorry Chicki

Sorry, Chicki.....

Thanks Wisher and Chickdoodles. Not much had made it with any vigor through the previous frosts anyway and I knew I should have covered last night. Thought about it but then I looked at my sad gardens and figured, why bother? Though I should have tried to save the tomatoes, they were just finally beginning to ripen. Oh well. More time to get the other summer chores done before the weather turns to %$#&. The national weather service just yesterday published their predictions for the next three months and drum roll................. surprise we are supposed to be below normal. Since we have already set a new cold summer record, no surprise.
The upside is it really feels like fall this morning which happens to be my favorite season!!!

@alaskan - by the looks of the forecast, I had better get my painting done today because we are heading back into another stretch of wet weather starting tomorrow, sigh.

 

[ronott1]

I think they've since switched to "climate change". Sorry about your garden.

For us it is warming. Others is cooling. There are also wind changes and rainfall changes.

Last winter was the warmest on record and July was the warmest July ever for the folks living on the California Oregon boarder. They had a lot of 110 plus days.

 

[chickadoodles]

Ron, I am wondering if we are going to be plagued with the polar vortex's all winter this year???

 

[getaclue]

Quote: You can donate your canning equipment to me. I need everything, and the initial cost of getting set up with new equipment is quite pricey.