What did you do with your flock today?

[kurby22]

Today I went to a Poultry Show and it was so fun! Saw so many pretty chickens! I could not believe the size of some of the silkies and polish chickens!! They were practically large fowl and sooo floofy that you literally could not tell head from tail! Saw some HUGE LF Cochins, Orps, White Rocks and Langshans…was almost intimidating how huge they were! So I thought I’d share some of the pictures I took. Didn’t get many of the big beauties, as the pictures just didn’t do their beauty and size justice! I’ve also decided that modern game chickens are sort of weird and creepy looking Was such a fun morning! I also had no clue how huge meat geese could get! They were bigger than turkeys!

Also Miyuki is finally trusting the dogs enough to come sleep in our laps on the couch and it’s just so fun to snuggle with her!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Today I went to a Poultry Show and it was so fun! Saw so many pretty chickens! I could not believe the size of some of the silkies and polish chickens!! They were practically large fowl and sooo floofy that you literally could not tell head from tail! Saw some HUGE LF Cochins, Orps, White Rocks and Langshans…was almost intimidating how huge they were! So I thought I’d share some of the pictures I took. Didn’t get many of the big beauties, as the pictures just didn’t do their beauty and size justice! I’ve also decided that modern game chickens are sort of weird and creepy looking Was such a fun morning! I also had no clue how huge meat geese could get! They were bigger than turkeys!

Also Miyuki is finally trusting the dogs enough to come sleep in our laps on the couch and it’s just so fun to snuggle with her!

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That is all terrific! What a show and I am glad you enjoyed. We don't get those over here so I really appreciate your share ♡ some real beauties and yes agreed on the game fowl. Yikes poor things lol.
Love the snuggle share too!!!

 

[kurby22]

That is all terrific! What a show and I am glad you enjoyed. We don't get those over here so I really appreciate your share ♡ some real beauties and yes agreed on the game fowl. Yikes poor things lol.
Love the snuggle share too!!!

Yeah it was neat seeing a bunch of these breeds in person after a full year on here of just pictures! I think I will be coveting the self-blue d’Uccles for awhile…sooo pretty in person!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning will go up to banty here in bit .. Then back out to big girls

 

[FrankieDoodle]

I weighed all of my chickens for fun today. I wanted to just do my new birds, but that turned to everyone after I remembered some of my girls were broody/recovering from being broody last time.

Beigie, 4yo cream legbar: 5lbs

Molly, 3yo Brahma: 6lbs
Irene, 3yo GLW: 5lbs
Watson, 3yo speckled sussex: 5lbs

Nugget, 1 1/2yo RIR: 5-6lbs
Beckett, 1 1/2yo black sexlink/BCM mix: 5lbs
Puff Puff, 1 1/2yo cochin: 4lbs
Papa Smurf, 1 1/2yo EE: 4lbs

Santa, 1yo salmon faverolles: 4lbs
Coco, 1yo salmon faverolles: 4lbs
Nikki, 1yo salmon faverolles: 3lbs

Elphie, 1yo black sexlink: 4-5lbs
Os, 1yo EE: 4lbs
(These guys just turned 1yo yesterday!)

Yennifer, 10mo sapphire gem: 6lbs
Geralt, 10mo sapphire gem: 5lbs

Roach, 10mo Polish: 4lbs
Toad, 10mo Polish: 3-4lbs
Phyllis, 10mo Polish (with a bad leg): 2-3lbs

It said that Iris was only 8lbs, but I don’t really believe that. Last time I weighed them he was 12lbs, and I doubt he lost 4lbs in a year. A few of his toes were hanging off the scale, so I think that threw it off. He also feels as heavy as Yen and Gary put together (although less squirmy XD), so that would leave him at 11-12lbs.

I weighed all my birds again a few days ago. Last time I weighed them was in April 2021, so I figured it was about time. I quoted the original post in case anyone was interested. XD

Iris, BCM mix roo: 8lbs

Beigie, CCL hen: 5lbs

Watson, SS hen: 5lbs
Renie, GLW hen: 5lbs
Molly, : 6-7lbs

Puff Puff, Cochin hen: 4-5lbs
Becky, BSL x BCM mix hen: 5lbs
Nugget, RIR hen: 6lbs

Os, EE hen: 4lbs
Elphie, BSL hen: 5lbs

Santa, SF hen: 4lbs
Nikki, SF hen: 3lbs

Gary, SG hen: 5lbs
Yen, SG hen: 7lbs

Toad, Polish hen: 4lbs
Roach, Polish hen: 4lbs

Sonny, possible leghorn cockerel?: 1lbs
Cher, black australorp pullet: .13lbs

There wasn’t a lot that changed, but a few of them got bigger. Yen is huge.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I sold Bolt, Beebe, Ka'ahumanu, Honokowai and 2 light Brahma pullets today. Needed to rehome some good boys and I got lucky again. The best part was it was the cutest couple. Smart, kind and capable w/ respectable space and who wanted the boys so I added some girls to make things right for the boys (and them) I had another person lined up to take some pullets but being I did not commit I won't follow through. I'm gunna miss my sweet handsome roos but things will be easier on Spider and the girls for awhile. (2 buffs and 1 light cockerel... to go?? we shall see...) so quieter here. Looking forward to bedtime and to see how the flock moves to new higher ranking locations.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Yesterday I installed 3 more motion sensor lights, one just outside main coop door, another on the mini/multi coop door and one above the outdoor ish nest box on the multi coop. For when the random hen gets up in the dark to do her thing the light may help guide her. So if I am moving around, the place lights up pretty good and shuts off when I leave. Nice.
Last night I got distracted at their bedtime and forgot to go out and watch as they figured out their new higher ranking sleeping spots... or not. The little light b's regressed back to the nest box that now had a motion sensor light and moths flying around and everybody else stayed the same. The coop just looked more empty, Iike it lost some heart I hope they love their new home. The sweet gal texted me last eve and said they seemed pretty happy and had lots of admirers at the farm. They were the talk of it with their size and beauty ♡
This morning is much more quiet and that may even be appreciated by my husband and/or our neighbors. I do have 1 buff starting his horn croak, a tad higher for a low pitched Brahma... and the cycle will continue. I will always hope for that sweetspot when I don't have to give up a great #2 & #3 for the health of my flock.

Well, today is finally hay day. Our ton kept getting pushed back but... today is the day!??
Tomorrow kittens go in and then I will take then to their new home. Talk about empty over nester. I just may get to some extra projects I have had on the back burner...

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning all. I have one black bird that is still on the floor?
Since the attack. She was in a nest I don't like them sleeping in the nest.. then they poop in it.
But she is still on the floor.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Also! Got some nice lava stepping stones (I still need to set them) to the garden chicken area. Bolt liked them anyways and the chooks did promptly poop on them, so all good. Tomorrow, when we go to town, we will pick up more stones for the front of our house now that DH and chickens approve.

We got our hay this am and it only took us about an hour from pick up to offloaded and stored. Loving the new storage space. Much easier.

Both rsl's are laying so I enjoyed getting 7 eggs yesterday!!
The 2 littles are good. The FTT doing better than the cockerel. I still see him have down moments so I put them together in the roo coop this morning so they don't get picked on and they have free access to softened feed and vitamins without the old bitties bugging and hogging it all. Thinking I want to keep this boy as he is special needs, is gentile (where his bro is kinda a butt) and he and FTT are super close. So, brother BB is still on the market.

 

[FrankieDoodle]

I’ve been stalking the leghorn sexing threads, and I’ve been feeling a bit more confident Sonny is a pullet. Like always, I’m not holding my breath until he either crows or lays an egg (or male feather pattern starts to come in), but it’s been nice being able to think there’s still a chance. Most of the leghorn cockerels have massive red combs before they’ve finished molting their baby fluff, and while Sonny still has a large comb that’s starting to get a little pink, it’s not near the size the obvious roos are.

They’re just a day or two shy of being 6wo. I found a week-by-week size chart for leghorn pullets, and Sonny looks exactly like that pullet in the pictures.

https://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/embryology/ChickGrowthDevelopment17x22.pdf