The Old Folks Home

[pennyJo1960]

@Bunnylady makes one scratch your head at least
what the F

 

[Alaskan]

When I posted about the sections in my coop, I left out a section.  There will be one remaining 8 x 16 section, which I will divide into 2 - 4 x 16 sections.  Yes, they will be narrow, and long, but great for what I intend to use them for.  They will serve me well for those times the hens are getting bare backed, and I want to pen a single rooster until the hens feather back out, or when introducing newly feathered chicks into the coop environment, or to hold an older hen until I cull, or if one needs to recuperate from an injury.  I use large cages for this now, but have often thought how much nicer it would be if they actually had a designated area for this in my coop.  Since I had to do everything from scratch here, I went ahead and planned it that way.

When I was just starting out... some old breeders told me that often it is actually the hen's fault that she gets bare-backed, due to soft feathers.

Over the years watching my flock, I rather think that it is true.

Last year I even had a set of 2 males with two females... and those males were working on some serious one-up-manship... but they never messed up the back feathers. They did pull out feathers on the back of the head...so after awhile needed to be split up.

Anyway... maybe another factor to select for when breeding.

 

[Beer can]

My giant hens were bare backed this summer so I trimmed a couple of the roosters toenails and blunted the spurs hoping it would help. He had plenty of hens at the time cause I have a bunch of EEs with them so was puzzling. Then they grew back. I guess they were just going through a hard molt. Odd thing was the one hen that was dirty white light grey as a pullet and turned white as it got older the back feathers that grew back in were the grey color, looked weird. Same thing, now she's all white. I don't think you're supposed to breed them but she's huge almost as big as the rooster and I only ended up with two hens after predators culled and culling one myself with a dislocated hip.
Hatched mostly cockerels so I only have three new pullets to add to that flock and they look awesome!
I'll hatch a few more this spring but I think I'm going to hatch a lot of naked necks, those birds are awesome! The cold weather doesn't bother them at all, must have hot skin cause they're always outside.

 

[Alaskan]

It always boggles me that people keep saying the naked necks do fine in the cold.

Crazy birds.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Yes, while hosting the hatch a long I use both my phone and tablet to keep up with the thread when away from a computer.

I am nearly always connected sadly enough....Gotta watch the stress level.

The two years that I did it I got up an hour early to try and get my keister together so I could project outwardly that I knew what was going on... and then another hour at night and I always felt behind.

for doing it

When I was just starting out... some old breeders told me that often it is actually the hen's fault that she gets bare-backed, due to soft feathers.

I have noticed that a few of my hens get it more than others do, but those hens tend to not ever decline advances.

It always boggles me that people keep saying the naked necks do fine in the cold.

Crazy birds.

Uhm... because they do fine in the cold?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Mine didn't want to come out of the coop this morning we have less than 1/2 inch of snow
my 20 month old barred rock lead hen and Blue my cockerel came out everyone else standing
in the door like hey you going out?

Naw not stepping in that are you? NO WAY I AM NOT STEPPING IN IT

 

[drumstick diva]

Beer Can it probably is the naked skin. They used to call Mexican hairless dogs, the 'living hot water bottle' - great lap warmers.

 

[bruceha2000]

Mine didn't want to come out of the coop this morning we have less than 1/2 inch of snow
my 20 month old barred rock lead hen and Blue my cockerel came out everyone else standing
in the door like hey you going out?

Naw not stepping in that are you? NO WAY I AM NOT STEPPING IN IT

But we'll happily eat the snow that falls off your boots in our run!

 

[microchick]

We had around two inches yesterday morning. 6 of my 20 month olds piled out of the coop, bribed by the promise of bread if they did. When one of my 3 mo old OEGB cross pullets saw the bread started to fly off the ramp, she saw the snow and instead of landing in it, turned in mid air, tried to land on a sloped sheet of old plywood that I have propped against the building as a rain shelter for them, discovered it was covered with that evil white stuff also, pivoted on one foot and managed to land back on the ramp.

That was the last time I saw her outside all day yesterday....probably the last time she'll show her beak with snow on the ground.

 

[Beer can]

Batch of chickens I had three-four yrs ago, still have some, were the dumbest ever. I decided to chase them out of the coop, they didn't go down the nice wide path I had snowblowed to the grass. They freaked out and flew out into the three feet deep snow in all different directions...
I left them there till I got done shoveling off part of our roof. They never moved or made a peep, I figured their legs were going to freeze. I had to trudge through the snow and pick up each one of the motionless birds that never let me touch them before and carry each one back...
Hung a big cabbage in their coop that winter, three weeks later I took it down, then they decided to eat it. Hung up they avoided it like it was some sort of monster.