What did you do with your flock today?

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Since @ChicksnMore shared, I will too! :)

My show chicken Cooplex is coming along too! The next phase requires skills I don’t have so I’ve paused on it until I feel more confident. I’ve been watching videos on best ways to cut things out of wood with various tools…I have to do all the prep work and then the husband does the sawing. He’s stronger so he has more control and can be more precise. I just have to help him with the details! We have to cut out doors, windows, and then the center wall to divide the coops.

66C8721C-28FF-43F6-B811-22AF75995296.jpeg


I’m now shifting focus to the next chicken show this Saturday! Hoping a couple breeders show up with some birds to sell for my rooster boys! Ruby, the Balls, and my d’Anvers are all going! :)
 
kurby22 said:
Since @ChicksnMore shared, I will too! :)

My show chicken Cooplex is coming along too! The next phase requires skills I don’t have so I’ve paused on it until I feel more confident. I’ve been watching videos on best ways to cut things out of wood with various tools…I have to do all the prep work and then the husband does the sawing. He’s stronger so he has more control and can be more precise. I just have to help him with the details! We have to cut out doors, windows, and then the center wall to divide the coops.

View attachment 3385896

I’m now shifting focus to the next chicken show this Saturday! Hoping a couple breeders show up with some birds to sell for my rooster boys! Ruby, the Balls, and my d’Anvers are all going! :)
Click to expand...
That looks amazing! It's going to be a pretty coop when you're all done I think 😍😍😍.
 
Just had another chick hatch that looks like Snug ❤️
20230125_111651.jpg

They're almost all chipmunk chicks...but the third baby here is one of the kinda calico looking birds. So far all those grow up looking like mottled black breasted red birds!
20230125_111706.jpg

Better pic of that chick. It's brown spots aren't as clearly defined as most are but I'd so love to know what the genes are that makes chipmunk chicks and chicks like this that grow up to look the same.
20230124_231451.jpg
 
kurby22 said:
Ferdy sounds adorable! 🥰 I don’t know why I haven’t had a single bantam Cochin that is sweet and personable! I must have a line of them that’s just not been bred for temperament. I have 6 of them and not a single one is very friendly! Same with my bantam Brahmas—I thought they’d be lap chickens as many have described but mine are not. Not saying I don’t love having them and their dynamic in the flock, it’s just so opposite what I’ve heard from others! And my d’Anvers are just the sweetest birds and love attention and get along well even with too many roosters and everyone told me they would be saucy and slightly aggressive roosters! So interesting to me how clearly responsible breeding makes a difference. Your babies sound just adorable and full of character! 😍
Click to expand...
I think you're right that breeding for temperament makes a huge difference. The breeder I got Sylv from had three strains of bantam Cochin. The millefleurs had been bred to show standard and the roo he used was called 'Snappy' and he really was! He was a biter and i dont think his progeny were very friendly either.
Sylv was very sweet - apart from his fetish for my feet - and was super easy to handle, you could do anything with him except put your hand in the coop when all the girls were in with him. I didn't mind that tiny bit of aggression as he was just doing his job protecting the girls. Ferdy doesn't have a nasty bone in his body. He was handled from day one and I did everything you aren't meant to with a young roo - letting him get on my shoulders, head etc. It looks like Stanley is shaping up to be a little mini-me. Again, I've handled him from hatching. I've never forced them to do anything that frightened them or made them uncomfortable.
The girls have been a little less confident and friendly than the boys but they're from a different breeder. They are handled just the same but I don't think they're from such a friendly line. So genes are definitely important! Having said that, Clara has gone from quite nervous to a real cuddlebug since she decided she's sleeping in Ferdy's coop. I suspect they learn by example. She saw me putting Ferdy to bed every night with lots of petting and cuddles - which she didn't see when she slept in the big coop. Pru doesn't much like being picked up, so i don't unless i have to. She's very food orientated though so I use that to my advantage. She'll never be comfortable with hugs and I accept that.
Sylv's genes are obviously more dominant than Clara's and Pru's.
Having said that, Penelope was an absolute little witch when she was a teenager. I once had to get help to remove her from my lip. She bit it and clung on for grim death! She would bite at any opportunity. Once she went broody for the first time, her personality completely changed. She now squeals to be picked up and loves a cuddle. I guess Sylv's genes won out in the end!
If I was breeding bantam Cochin, I'd definitely use Ferdy for temperament. He'd be no good for showing due the gold leakage on his feathers, as it's clear that trait isn't going anywhere! I've been told if it wasn't for that, he'd probably do quite well in the 'show ring' as he's very close to the breed standard. IDK why breeders can't breed for both temperament AND looks.
 
kurby22 said:
Since @ChicksnMore shared, I will too! :)

My show chicken Cooplex is coming along too! The next phase requires skills I don’t have so I’ve paused on it until I feel more confident. I’ve been watching videos on best ways to cut things out of wood with various tools…I have to do all the prep work and then the husband does the sawing. He’s stronger so he has more control and can be more precise. I just have to help him with the details! We have to cut out doors, windows, and then the center wall to divide the coops.

View attachment 3385896

I’m now shifting focus to the next chicken show this Saturday! Hoping a couple breeders show up with some birds to sell for my rooster boys! Ruby, the Balls, and my d’Anvers are all going! :)
Click to expand...
That's beautiful!
 
PopoMyers said:
That's beautiful!
Click to expand...
Thank you! I hope it turns out as nice as I picture it in my head! :D I know it is a bit over the top, but it's been a really fun thing to work on and design myself. I enjoy building small things that don't require permits and complex understanding of physics and engineering :D Chicken standards are more my speed! Hahaha...I used to do a similar thing as a young kid and never really considered how similar this is to that...I was obsessed with building homes for bees. I would build these elaborate shoebox homes with windows and plants (I was too young to know that I was actually killing bees). I will need to scale back if I am going to make more of the coops myself, all the added fun stuff adds up haha!
 
Shetland lover said:
I think you're right that breeding for temperament makes a huge difference. The breeder I got Sylv from had three strains of bantam Cochin. The millefleurs had been bred to show standard and the roo he used was called 'Snappy' and he really was! He was a biter and i dont think his progeny were very friendly either.
Sylv was very sweet - apart from his fetish for my feet - and was super easy to handle, you could do anything with him except put your hand in the coop when all the girls were in with him. I didn't mind that tiny bit of aggression as he was just doing his job protecting the girls. Ferdy doesn't have a nasty bone in his body. He was handled from day one and I did everything you aren't meant to with a young roo - letting him get on my shoulders, head etc. It looks like Stanley is shaping up to be a little mini-me. Again, I've handled him from hatching. I've never forced them to do anything that frightened them or made them uncomfortable.
The girls have been a little less confident and friendly than the boys but they're from a different breeder. They are handled just the same but I don't think they're from such a friendly line. So genes are definitely important! Having said that, Clara has gone from quite nervous to a real cuddlebug since she decided she's sleeping in Ferdy's coop. I suspect they learn by example. She saw me putting Ferdy to bed every night with lots of petting and cuddles - which she didn't see when she slept in the big coop. Pru doesn't much like being picked up, so i don't unless i have to. She's very food orientated though so I use that to my advantage. She'll never be comfortable with hugs and I accept that.
Sylv's genes are obviously more dominant than Clara's and Pru's.
Having said that, Penelope was an absolute little witch when she was a teenager. I once had to get help to remove her from my lip. She bit it and clung on for grim death! She would bite at any opportunity. Once she went broody for the first time, her personality completely changed. She now squeals to be picked up and loves a cuddle. I guess Sylv's genes won out in the end!
If I was breeding bantam Cochin, I'd definitely use Ferdy for temperament. He'd be no good for showing due the gold leakage on his feathers, as it's clear that trait isn't going anywhere! I've been told if it wasn't for that, he'd probably do quite well in the 'show ring' as he's very close to the breed standard. IDK why breeders can't breed for both temperament AND looks.
Click to expand...
I don't know why either! It really is a crucial component, especially if you are going to sell their babies! It sounds like you have had your share of grumpy cochins so I feel a bit better haha. It's not just me! :D I have found that the three OG hens I have are mellowing out a lot. They peck me less and like to sit with me a bit more often. Molly is my friendliest girl and she will sit on me, but is NOT a fan of me touching her! Brie, my baby girl from Emilio and Molly is really sweet and more friendly than her parents, but Ariana Sushi is a bit of a butt head in his juvenile state! My husband calls him Satan 2 :D (Satan has been lovingly given to Ruby the bantam Brahma). When Ruby is scared he lashes out, so I don't blame him. He also is now king of the bantam flock after a nasty fight with Rolly and Bruno and that has mellowed him significantly. He hasn't tried biting at me in weeks. Bruno moved himself to the big chicken run and seems to be fitting in okay with Spider and Emilio for now...once the mating season kicks in, I'm not sure how things will go. Might be time to rearrange things again. Once the Cooplex is finished I will have an extra coop and run at my disposal that I may use for a naughty roo or two. The d'Anvers are all the same color family right now and I am getting some black hens from the breeder when I go to the Fresno show in late February. My boys need more ladies! I am not going to do any serious breeding this year, just some test batches for fertility. Anywho, I love hearing about your flock, they sound so entertaining and well loved! :love
 

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