What did you do with your flock today?

[kurby22]

Did a little photo shoot while the chicks were having some outdoor time View attachment 3842065View attachment 3842066View attachment 3842067

That rooster in the middle seems quite sus about his photo being taken He may not like that angle, better on his left side

 

[PopoMyers]

DH took a picture of the peeps last night at close in time. All the chickens were in except these three. They wanted to stay up for a while, but at least were in the enclosure, so he could lock them all in and they could go in to roost when they are ready. Aren't they cute? 12 weeks old now.
View attachment 3840433As I was looking at this photo, I realized we have a dilemma. How did I miss this before? It's obviously not Rose, Blanche and Dorothy! Welcome to the flock Blaine! Hope you can get along with Cooper!

No attempts at crowing yet, I suppose. What breed are these beauties?

 

[ValerieJ]

No attempts at crowing yet, I suppose. What breed are these beauties?

They are Buff Orpingtons. That is my favorite chicken, so it would be very nice to keep this little guy as he grows. Hopefully he will get along with Cooper. Cooper seems pretty laid back and I have had a rooster accept another rooster if he actually grew up in his flock, so I have reason to hope for the best. No crowing yet. They all still sounds like chicks whose voices are beginning to change, get a bit deeper, but still peeping.

 

[ChicksnMore]

It’s been a crazy busy month. I did not have great success (nor did anyone else with chickens) at the Farm Expo and now have too many chickens I can’t seem to sell to anyone I’m afraid I’m going to end up having to send a bunch to the auction and I really didn’t want to have to do that. Most of my pure breeds I know I can sell at poultry shows after they grow out more, but the bantam EEs are much harder.

Sooo, I had to get creative and build a couple coops to put outside that they can grow out in. I NEED the chickens out of my house I found a lady on Marketplace selling homemade garden boxes…and viola! I have two decent sized coops for less than $200 total thanks to all the scrap wood I have from last years coop builds. Here’s the first one before we added the metal roof to the top!

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I’m quite proud of it! Went together in one day, start to finish. Just had to buy the paint, wallpaper and flooring I’ve found that it’s a great way to keep the wood from being a home to mites (when painted and papered) and it’s easier to clean when you spend the bit extra on the wallpaper and floors.

I’m going to finish the second one tomorrow or Wednesday and then I can move out all but about 30 chicks still on heat and I’m sooo excited

County Fair poultry show is this Friday too, so we switch gears from coops and chicks by Wednesday and start baths and bird prep! I can’t wait till May is over and I get to have a couple months of down time

I do have some pretty adorable chicks right now though…people are missing out!

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Great looking quick coop! Well done! I'm with Shetland...id absolutely buy some of those babies from you . Everytime I see a frizzle I grin... somehow I've never gotten one though!

Yesterday while on the back deck talking to my friend I noticed one of my black pullets caught in the netting, and she was stuck mid air as if in a hammock. I rushed down, and DH helped me by cutting the netting away. She had abrasions on the underside of her wing, there was a little blood on a rock nearby. No idea when she had gotten stuck there, but must've been earlier in the morning. Sprayed Vetrimycin on her, rinsed poo off her tail feathers, dried her off and set her down. She was a bit off balance and wobbly, but not for long. I think she must've gotten a cramp, or disoriented from hanging laying on her back. So glad she is ok, and I couldn't tell her apart from the others as the day progressed.

What a good catch! So glad she's ok

Oh gosh! So glad she was O.K.
Ferdy was crowing for around 15 minutes the other morning. I was busy working at my desk so I ignored him until I realised it had been going on too long. When I investigated, I discovered him in the run, stood completely motionless. Turned out his left foot was completely wrapped in netting. It had bound up all of his toes and round his spur. The foot was purple as the circulation was cut off. I cut him free, rubbed his foot to restore circulation and treated his wounds. I feel so guilty as a should know from past experience never to ignore him if he crows other than at his "normal" times.

Don't you love it when animals communicate well? I used to use bird netting to protect my strawberries and one day I found a huge bull snake tangled up in it. I was trying to free it and it was thrashing around like crazy. But when I snipped the first strand that was cutting into it it went dead still, made eye contact and stayed calm and still while I finished. Animals are smart! I think all pets try to talk to us...I bet Ferdys so glad you listen

The door to my hoop coop was getting hard to close, so I raked debris from around the frame and found lots of earthworms. So did my chickens!

I tried to get a picture but the hens insisted on checking out the freshly raked soil.
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I had a bucket of debris, and decided to use it as a side dressing for my recently planted iris. Their new garden bed soil is mostly clay.
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I can picture their excitement that mom did some dirt scratching for them! Especially since you don't send them flying off and on while you're scratching like hens do

I refuse to use it where I can’t monitor it at least 3 times a day. Years ago, I found a hedgehog hanging upside-down in pea and bean netting. It had dislocated a hip and the netting had badly cut into it's stomach. I did what I could then took it to the vet the next day. He put some stitches in and de-flea'd, de-mited and dewormed. I had to keep him for a week or two before setting him free because of the stitches and by the time I could let him loose, he'd decided he much preferred living in comfort to the wild! I had him - and later his lady friend - for 10 years. That was a happy ending but I've witnessed too many wild birds die in bird netting over the years.

I'm the same with bird netting...I've never used it for chickens because of my experiences with trying to protect fruit with it. These days I just let the birds eat the fruit and try to beat them to it.

Did a little photo shoot while the chicks were having some outdoor time View attachment 3842065View attachment 3842066View attachment 3842067

Adorable! I so love the beetle sheen on that last bird!

They are Buff Orpingtons. That is my favorite chicken, so it would be very nice to keep this little guy as he grows. Hopefully he will get along with Cooper. Cooper seems pretty laid back and I have had a rooster accept another rooster if he actually grew up in his flock, so I have reason to hope for the best. No crowing yet. They all still sounds like chicks whose voices are beginning to change, get a bit deeper, but still peeping.

Pretty babies! I've had such good luck keeping multiple roos...I'm betting Cooper will handle it well

 

[ChicksnMore]

I've been enjoying having my angel home for a bit! Things are settling into routine again.

My kittens Boo and Tink have decided that my water glass is the best water... just like my kids when they were babies . I started using covered cups to keep them out and they'd cry and cry at me. So I finally gave up and gave them their own water glass sitting where I used to put my cup all the time. They got so excited they now kneed and purr like they're nursing while they drink "my" water . They won't touch the water dishes set out for them unless it's an emergency. They're such adorable goofballs.

Birds are all doing well. I have some new peas and geese hatched. My grow outs are all growing fast. I need to re-home some again but it's hard picking who goes. I usually sit with the young birds for a bit when I feed them their daily mash treat. I just plop right in the dirt and watch them go crazy over their treat. It's such a pleasure but it does make letting them go harder too. Nothing like a trip to the feed store to inspire me to re-home some though

My extra Hamburg hens are still here and decided to go broody. I've been too busy to deal with running an ad for them but think I'll be doing that soon. Here's the silly non-broodies all crammed together to brood

 

[MaeM]

Today I spent some time with my chickens and I witnessed this behavior.

It's getting cold in here and this hen isn't fully feathered below her wings. Would you say she's cold? Or just resting?

 

[fuzzi]

Chicken Math strikes.

In March I had 7 hens.

In April I added five chicks.

As of today I have added seven more. That's 19...NINETEEN!

The April chicks are all cockerels so they'll be headed to the auction, June or July. That will help.

Oh, and they're bantams. That also helps. Some.

 

[ValerieJ]

Chicken Math strikes.

In March I had 7 hens.

In April I added five chicks.
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As of today I have added seven more. That's 19...NINETEEN!

The April chicks are all cockerels so they'll be headed to the auction, June or July. That will help.

Oh, and they're bantams. That also helps. Some.
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They are all so adorable!!!

 

[ValerieJ]

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Today I spent some time with my chickens and I witnessed this behavior.

It's getting cold in here and this hen isn't fully feathered below her wings. Would you say she's cold? Or just resting?

Wow...IDK...She looks a little under the weather in this photo.

 

[PopoMyers]

View attachment 3843767

Today I spent some time with my chickens and I witnessed this behavior.

It's getting cold in here and this hen isn't fully feathered below her wings. Would you say she's cold? Or just resting?

Can't remember where you are located. Is she acting normal and eating otherwise? Hope she is not ill. How old is she?