Utah!

[pfrosty]

I should have taken the egg out. She already smooshed or tried to eat it. Ooops. At least I got a pic before the egg carnage.

 

[RJSorensen]

Well this morning I let the flock out of the coop, after a one day sequester session. Boy, talk about 'flew the coop' they just jumped and flapped their wing and made a break for the door when I let them out. Today is Rooster Cogburn's first day to free range with the other birds. I was a bit worried, not knowing what he would do… but he more or less just took off with the hens. By eleven this morning he was cock of the walk at my place. It is as if he had lived here, he is just awesome. He is like a kid in a candy store with ten dollars to spend.

In the attached photo, he is watching over the hens near the fish pond this morning. He just looks so good, and is eating from our hand, which we feel is really cool. Especially for a bird we did not raise. Pfrosty must have hand feed him prior to us getting him. So it looks like we have it made in the shade, and as hot as it has been and or going to be that is very good.
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We let the sprinklers water the bushes at night, and in the heat of the day, the birds just hang out and chill under them. I am so very lucky to be able to let them out every day. And they do enjoy laying in the cool places we have for them. I also have setup water stations round and about the place.

Best to all and your birds in the heat,

RJ

 

[RedIII]

RJ, that is a good looking flock! I'm glad Cogburn is fitting in so well.

Silly, lol! I'm glad you found your hen, but sorry about the chick. Were you on here when my BR let herself into the neighbor's house?

Sundance, too funny about your new Silkie mom. Cute.

Well I'm sitting outside in the shade with my babies, at the moment. I have another baby acting sick, and I'm about ready to give up on breeding. It's not like I neglect my animals or don't clean up after them or care for them or whatever. I'm really frustrated by the high mortality rate I have with chicks. I have been thinking lately of selling my Icelandic flock, because I'm just so tired of losing so many babies. Everyone else that has gotten chicks to hatch from my eggs seem to have nice, healthy birds. I must be doing things wrong, and danged if I can figure out why

 

[sundancenbare]

I went to the farmers market in downtown Salt lake today. BTW if you haven't been to it take the time to go. Its at pioneer park downtown and huge. many vegie and home goods vendors farmers crafts music. a very pleasant way to spend some time. when I came home it was pretty funny. The silkie had one chick and the fcbm hen had one chick. Silkie still in the corner of the coop and the fcbm was walking her baby around the yard clucking and calling it. to her. really cute. i guess she decided she wanted a baby after all. The silkie baby is sitting next to the silkie by the water I put our for them, I guess it will be an interesting couple of days for them to work out the babies

 

[RJSorensen]

@RedIII

I think I have seen pictures of your Icelandic birds, I think them a awesome breed, and it is marvelous that you have found enough of them to have a flock. I am sorry you are having bad luck with them. It must be very frustrating to 'want' to do something with them, and yet are blocked in every move to do so. Yes, that would not be good at all.

I also find that the harder I try to do something, well, it just gets harder to do. Some sort of weird cosmic interference at work here. I wish I had advice for you… I just don't. But I suppose that you will know what to do here. I would suggest that perhaps you should just take a break for a while. Then when you are mentally rested, and not fit to be tied, pick it up and just go again. I think that is what has been good for me when faced with a dilemma like yours.

Anyway thanks for liking RC, we are loving watching him,

RJ

 

[sundancenbare]

RJ, that is a good looking flock! I'm glad Cogburn is fitting in so well.

Silly, lol! I'm glad you found your hen, but sorry about the chick. Were you on here when my BR let herself into the neighbor's house?

Sundance, too funny about your new Silkie mom. Cute.

Well I'm sitting outside in the shade with my babies, at the moment. I have another baby acting sick, and I'm about ready to give up on breeding. It's not like I neglect my animals or don't clean up after them or care for them or whatever. I'm really frustrated by the high mortality rate I have with chicks. I have been thinking lately of selling my Icelandic flock, because I'm just so tired of losing so many babies. Everyone else that has gotten chicks to hatch from my eggs seem to have nice, healthy birds. I must be doing things wrong, and danged if I can figure out why

Hy whit, try using a broody to hatch them. It seems all my chicks do better being raised by broodies

 

[RedIII]

Thank you both for the suggestions. I think I'm feeling frustrated about a lot today, so that's making me feel more discouraged about the breeding.

RJ, thank you. I raised all of my Icelandics from little babies. It took a while to accumulate the flock I have now. I have some lovely pictures of them, but I need my computer to post them and I don't have internet here right now. Sorry. I love showing off my Icees.

 

[RedIII]

I have a question for anyone who deals with vaulted breeds. Can you physically feel the vault on the chicks or adults? I'm referring to the skull, not the feathers.

I ask because we've had a quandary show up on the Icelandic thread. Someone there has a chick that sure looks vaulted, but they said the skull feels normal. And on Berrytangle Farms' site, they have a picture of a vaulted Icelandic hen. This isn't part of the breed description.

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[kunzlerfam]

We found a home for our rooster. A guy in Syracuse took him in. Said he'd been wanting a rooster but hadn't got around to it.

 

[Iluvmysilkies]

Yes, I have 2, I had 4 but 2 were roosters. I had 2 White Porcelain, and then by dark blue/black partridge and then another partridge rooster. I still have 1 porcelain, and the dark blue/black partridge. They both have amazing muffs, and crests. They are super fluffy.

Do you have pics of your dark blue/black partridges? I'd like to get an idea what she's probably going to look like as an adult