What did you do with your flock today?

[Shetland lover]

Today the flock and I did a lot of whining about the chilly weather. This will be the theme for the next several months I am sure…. None of us likes the cold.

My ones moulting esp do not like the cold, a couple of them grabbed some solar rays.
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My Ferdy is an absolute pussy - he hasn't been out of the sheltered, covered run or the coop since he started moulting
Everyone else is happily free-ranging. Even Pru and Clara who currently resemble naked necks rather than bantam cochins.

 

[Ponypoor]

My Ferdy is an absolute pussy - he hasn't been out of the sheltered, covered run or the coop since he started moulting
Everyone else is happily free-ranging. Even Pru and Clara who currently resemble naked necks rather than bantam cochins.

The boys here stay away from the bad girls who like to pick at their pin feathers. Esp my poor old Polish Roo.

 

[Shetland lover]

The boys here stay away from the bad girls who like to pick at their pin feathers. Esp my poor old Polish Roo.

Poor boys! Fortunately I don't have any feather pickers. I do have a hen who will fight and stomp on my two boys for any perceived transgression. I love her, keeps the boys getting too big for their britches

 

[Jenbirdee]

I was covering up some of the lower ventilation for winter weather and moving things around, came across a couple dozen crickets hiding behind some bins ! So I called the ducks over They all ran over and chase them everywhere lol yum yum

 

[PopoMyers]

Welcome!
Sounds like you've been having great fun!

I only have 7 chickens (5 hens, 2 roos). Technically one more than our local authority allows.
But...6 of them are bantams so they only count as half a chicken each, right?

You have 1 chicken, according to the chicken math calculations.

 

[PopoMyers]

That was handy being able to get them from someone local to you.

This year I bought some Noirans (a BC Marans hybrid from France), they have feathered feet, so hilarious when they run seeing those ‘winged’ feet.

All the Marans ones I bought last Spring from Jenks have feathered legs, but right now in molt they are naked.

So yesterday, an EE hen was seen mounting one of the CM hens (poor thing, she is molting and couldn't have felt too good with all that) and another hen came and pecked at the CM's head while she was still squatting. Had never noticed this behavior before. Were they showing the cockerels who's boss, or demonstrating how it supposed to be done?

 

[PopoMyers]

Hi, new to this thread. At the moment I have 30 birds, 15 OG hens all 1 to 2 yo, and 15 pullets/cockerels, hatched July 1, purchased from Cackle. I had ordered 7 Ameraucana pullets and a cockerel, all black, and 7 Dominique pullets. But the Doms didn't hatch so I FOOLISHLY lol accepted 7 BA pullets instead. They gave me extras so I ended up with 21 black chicks which I gave to two broody hens to raise.

Only later did I realize what I had done. A coyote got 3 of them, but I now had 18 lively, active ALL BLACK youngsters racing around the property that I could not tell apart, except eventually I was able to identify 3 BA cockerels (recently processed). I know I have at least 2 Am cockerels, maybe as many as 4, which I can spot as they go racing by, by their cute curved tails. But when DH and I crept out to the coop the other night to band the cockerels, all tails looked pretty much the same. I think I've marked at least two pullets as cockerels, lol.

Did you know BA and Ams have the same color legs??? Yeah neither did I.

Last night we went out and tried again. This time I looked closely at their legs, though they didn't want to stand up and let me look. Sure enough, I found one that hadn't been banded! And he's a big, handsome fella, too. Very manly. He may be my keeper.

But what I really enjoyed doing was handling the ones that insist on roosting in the poop trays. The first night I picked them up, they squawked and screamed in terror and at least two threw themselves head first out of my hands, flapping hysterically until I was able to football them and fold their wings against my body. Tonight I was able to pick them all up without the hysterics and gentle them, soothing them with voice and hands, and place them where I wanted them on the roost. I'm hoping one more night of this will teach them to roost on, not under, the roost bars, while at the same time teach them not to fear me handling them. I think it's going to be a great adventure!

Now if they all just didn't seem to have floofy faces! I know there have to be at least a few Aussies in the bunch!

How much fun! Little girls and boys growing up under your watchful eye. Hopefully they have stayed on the roosts by now. More adventures to post, for sure. Welcome to this thread.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How much fun! Little girls and boys growing up under your watchful eye. Hopefully they have stayed on the roosts by now. More adventures to post, for sure. Welcome to this thread.

Thank you! I've had to go out for three nights or so to convince them there is room for them on the roosts and they are allowed there. Most are getting it.