What did you do with your flock today?

[Roosterfeather]

My 80 year old aunt in WA makes tea with it.

What?!

 

[BDutch]

Chickens aren't supposed to have very good bowel control, so be warned!

I always thought they do have bowel contol, bc they dont poop while walking. They very much ‘sit’ before pooping . A pose like standing on a french toilet.

Im happy with my bunch living outside except with the fact that they often poop on the terrace when they are set free.
Would be great if I can train them to do so in hedges and the flower beds.

My 80 year old aunt in WA makes tea with it.

If the stinging nettle is still fresh (spring) its great for detox- tea. You need gloves to harvest it. But dried or boiled they don’t sting anymore. Its also a great vegetable for a light soup.
Some Dutch farmers even make cheese with stinging nettle.

 

[kattabelly]

One word of caution over installing a pond. Gladys' sister, Alice, had a very large tapit, which covered her eyes. I had to trim the feathers away from her eyes regularly as she was forever tripping up and falling face first into our water feature. In hindsight, she could easily have drowned. I'm definitely not saying don't put a pond in - just make sure your bird's vision isn't obscured.

Yeah I'll be keeping an eye on them all and giving them a trim if they need it. Only one out of my six does so far and one's not tappit at all (sorry, minor point - "tappit" is an adjective, so calling those head feathers a tappit is like saying a cream legbar has a crested. I know lots of people use it that way but I have a thing about it )

Mine hatched with some extremely tame and friendly Barred Rocks and I think that's rubbed off on them. They're all fairly relaxed about being picked up so far and a few will choose to jump up on me themselves. I don't think I've seen them squabble the way chicks usually do yet either.

 

[MROO]

If your husband only has a bad feeling with the commercial hybrids you could try something completely different?. Buy a few bizar looking chickens and don’t tell your husband these are chickens

These are not chickens: they have 5 toes, a black skin and sleep in nestboxes.
View attachment 4187140

Funny! Y'know, that's how the first Silkies that came to Europe were billed - as Chicken/rabbit hybrids ... and all the nobility wanted them!

 

[MROO]

pretty sure they also have a brain cell on time share

Oh. Good. Heavens. I LOVE this. I am SO stealing the term ... Thanks!

 

[RebelFord81]

Finally got my stubborn flock of ducks to come out of their enclosure lol

 

[Shetland lover]

Yeah I'll be keeping an eye on them all and giving them a trim if they need it. Only one out of my six does so far and one's not tappit at all (sorry, minor point - "tappit" is an adjective, so calling those head feathers a tappit is like saying a cream legbar has a crested. I know lots of people use it that way but I have a thing about it )

Mine hatched with some extremely tame and friendly Barred Rocks and I think that's rubbed off on them. They're all fairly relaxed about being picked up so far and a few will choose to jump up on me themselves. I don't think I've seen them squabble the way chicks usually do yet either.

I didn't hatch mine so perhaps mine weren't handled much in their first weeks?
I'd love to get some Shetland hatching eggs but I can’t risk any more cockerels.

 

[kattabelly]

I didn't hatch mine so perhaps mine weren't handled much in their first weeks?
I'd love to get some Shetland hatching eggs but I can’t risk any more cockerels.

Maybe, although I'm not sure how much difference that makes in the long run. I'm pretty hands-on with mine but IME they usually forget they were tame and used to being handled after a few weeks and you have to go through the whole process again as they get older, at least to some extent. This hatch haven't done that yet though...

They're really difficult to sex compared to a lot of breeds, so for now I'm just enjoying not knowing how many spare cockerels I'll need to deal with one way or the other I'd rather not find out until they're big enough to be worth eating!

 

[RcoM]

Today is raining hard and is meant to do so for a week! So I let them out of the coop into the backyard. They are hanging out under the boat, then under the old Ute (or in it) and in the old little brooder coop. Sometimes they try the tree shelter. My logic is that at least they aren't standing in a wet, muddy, poo-slippery coop. They seem to be bonding too with the older ones. It's a rainy day hang out party!