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Exotica

Exotica

C'est La Vie
Aug 16, 2015
427
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Baldwin Park, California
My Coop
My Coop
Hey!

Since I'm posting here, it must be quite obvious that I am new! About two weeks ago I purchased four Australorp's and a Barred Plymouth Rock from a local feed store. They are such cute little things! Very tame already as I make sure to handle them everyday and they are currently kept inside the house.

I have a few questions!

1) I will let them roam freely around my backyard when they are older - is this considered free range? I'm planning to supplement with feed that contains animal protein.

2) My backyard is mostly grass with lots of shrubs and some dirt/sand areas - is this okay? Can they thrive if it's mostly grass?!

3) Athena, my Barred Plymouth Rock is always off doing her own thing or the flock tends to move on without her. Will she have problems in the future? ): She does regroup with tem after a bit but can tend to be a loner.

4) When can I expect them to start laying?

5) I never plan on consuming them - but let's say they die of old age, is it possible to eat them after they are dead years down the line? Or if I check the body and everything is okay if they have passed earlier.. is it okay to eat? Somehow I still feel like this isn't right, but I just want to know.

6) My Australorp's are barely feathering in and the small feathers on their wing near their neck are brown and black. It's as if the feather is black with brown stripes.. Is that normal? I bought them from the local feed store so I doubt they're breeder quality.. but does this mean they are mixed with something?!

Sorry for all the questions! Here are some pictures of all my girls! :)







^ Athena, the Barred Plymouth Rock



^ My sweet Papillon mix (that I shaved down for the summer) with the chickies!


^ Toki, once again demonstrating what a great big brother he is!



^ Athena sleeping on my lap :)


^ Athena and Chanel the Australorp both sharing me!


^ Willow, Skye, and Marry Poppins the Australorp's sleeping on my little sister &little cousins hands after being tired out from exploring!
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Great intro! Love all your pics! The ones with them sitting on your lap are just priceless! Reminds me of when my hens were babies!
love.gif


It looks like your dog is doing good with the chicks. Be careful though as dogs are natural chicken hunters.
 
Thank you for the welcome!! <3 What a sweet community! Glad I joined! I know I asked a lot of questions haha but I'm just curious -
my Australorp girls have these brown/black feathers. Is that normal? does that mean that they are mixed?

 
Welcome to the site
frow.gif


I have australorps also, they are almost 6 months old now, I was trying to remember if they had bits of brown on them as their feathers were growing in. I want to say yes this is normal for them, as they age their feathers look black sometimes iridescent at others, I've seen greens and almost purplish colors on them now, they are very pretty. I can answer a few questions but am by no means an expert. Hopefully someone with more experience will answer for you as well.

1) I will let them roam freely around my backyard when they are older - is this considered free range? Yes, we do the same, they run around every night for 4-5 hours then put themselves up in the coop at dusk. I'm planning to supplement with feed that contains animal protein.

2) My backyard is mostly grass with lots of shrubs and some dirt/sand areas - is this okay? Can they thrive if it's mostly grass?! They will be thrilled to run around the yard and scratch up your grass:) I think the point (for us anyway) is entertainment for them, as your feed will provide most of the nutrients they require? At least that's how we look at it, all the old salad, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers etc get fed to them as treats, but they still run into the open coop door to get pellets from the feeder while they are roaming around in the yard.

3) Athena, my Barred Plymouth Rock is always off doing her own thing or the flock tends to move on without her. Will she have problems in the future? ): She does regroup with tem after a bit but can tend to be a loner. We have one that doesn't seem to be worried about losing track of the others also, she's the dominant hen though so... I'm not sure about yours but I'm confident they will work out the pecking order themselves :)

4) When can I expect them to start laying? Around 6 months? Our buff rock started one day with a pretty small egg and has been laying every day since. A couple of the australorps are working on regularly producing and some haven't started. All but the buff are 5 1/2 months old, and since the buff started around 6 months, I suspect the austra's wondered what the heck was happening and started up themselves. We've had a couple yolky spots in the boxes I just cleaned out and the next day was an egg.

5) I never plan on consuming them - but let's say they die of old age, is it possible to eat them after they are dead years down the line? Or if I check the body and everything is okay if they have passed earlier.. is it okay to eat? Somehow I still feel like this isn't right, but I just want to know. No idea, guess if they die of old age and you knew that weren't out in the elements for long? I do know that some folks cull their flock when the girls stop producing and I'm sure they are fine to eat.

6) My Australorp's are barely feathering in and the small feathers on their wing near their neck are brown and black. It's as if the feather is black with brown stripes.. Is that normal? I bought them from the local feed store so I doubt they're breeder quality.. but does this mean they are mixed with something?! Answered above. :)

Good luck!
 
Barnyard Peeps said:
Welcome to the site
frow.gif


I have australorps also, they are almost 6 months old now, I was trying to remember if they had bits of brown on them as their feathers were growing in. I want to say yes this is normal for them, as they age their feathers look black sometimes iridescent at others, I've seen greens and almost purplish colors on them now, they are very pretty. I can answer a few questions but am by no means an expert. Hopefully someone with more experience will answer for you as well.

1) I will let them roam freely around my backyard when they are older - is this considered free range? Yes, we do the same, they run around every night for 4-5 hours then put themselves up in the coop at dusk. I'm planning to supplement with feed that contains animal protein.

2) My backyard is mostly grass with lots of shrubs and some dirt/sand areas - is this okay? Can they thrive if it's mostly grass?! They will be thrilled to run around the yard and scratch up your grass:) I think the point (for us anyway) is entertainment for them, as your feed will provide most of the nutrients they require? At least that's how we look at it, all the old salad, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers etc get fed to them as treats, but they still run into the open coop door to get pellets from the feeder while they are roaming around in the yard.

3) Athena, my Barred Plymouth Rock is always off doing her own thing or the flock tends to move on without her. Will she have problems in the future? ): She does regroup with tem after a bit but can tend to be a loner. We have one that doesn't seem to be worried about losing track of the others also, she's the dominant hen though so... I'm not sure about yours but I'm confident they will work out the pecking order themselves :)

4) When can I expect them to start laying? Around 6 months? Our buff rock started one day with a pretty small egg and has been laying every day since. A couple of the australorps are working on regularly producing and some haven't started. All but the buff are 5 1/2 months old, and since the buff started around 6 months, I suspect the austra's wondered what the heck was happening and started up themselves. We've had a couple yolky spots in the boxes I just cleaned out and the next day was an egg.

5) I never plan on consuming them - but let's say they die of old age, is it possible to eat them after they are dead years down the line? Or if I check the body and everything is okay if they have passed earlier.. is it okay to eat? Somehow I still feel like this isn't right, but I just want to know. No idea, guess if they die of old age and you knew that weren't out in the elements for long? I do know that some folks cull their flock when the girls stop producing and I'm sure they are fine to eat.

6) My Australorp's are barely feathering in and the small feathers on their wing near their neck are brown and black. It's as if the feather is black with brown stripes.. Is that normal? I bought them from the local feed store so I doubt they're breeder quality.. but does this mean they are mixed with something?! Answered above. :)

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you for answering all my questions! You've been extremely helpful<3 They're growing up so fast! I'm currently rushing to buy a coop haha
Good luck with your girls! xoxo
 
ninjawesome said:
Welcome to BYC! What cute chicks you have!
Click to expand...
Thank you! Unfortunately, the guy at the feed store told me they are Australorp's but the brown/black feathering developing on them proves that they are Black Sex Links.
I took the most aggressive one back (Mary Poppins) and he gladly traded a true Australorp chick for me.. then I ended up purchasing two Easter Egger's.


^ Rebel the Easter Egger


^ Bambi the Easter Egger

I have yet to take a picture of Marguex my Australorp because she is a jumpy one!
 

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