Wierd bump on head ? Chick breed?

[NatJ]

Updated pics @ 4-5 weeks

Looking good! And yes, one definitely looks like a Spitzhauben

 

[Rdh1223]

Looking good! And yes, one definitely looks like a Spitzhauben

Yes they all seem healthy, one is missing in the pics because she's so afraid of everything it's hard to get a pic that's not blurred. To soon to tell cockrell/pullet? No signs of red yet but I think that the one in the last pic might be...

 

[NatJ]

Yes they all seem healthy, one is missing in the pics because she's so afraid of everything it's hard to get a pic that's not blurred. To soon to tell cockrell/pullet? No signs of red yet but I think that the one in the last pic might be...

I'm not sure. I think another few weeks should make it more clear.

 

[Rdh1223]

Little yard time while I work on the coop

 

[Rdh1223]

Snowball !​

 

[NatJ]

Snowball !​

Pretty Spitzhauben pullet!

Thanks for updating. It's fun to see how they grow and change

 

[Rdh1223]

Sad to report that a raccoon dug under the tractor around 5pm yesterday and killed all of our chickens. The raccoon didn't make it either. I guess they aren't strictly nocturnal. Wife and kids are very upset and I'm not doing much better. Thanks to everyone who took an interest in this thread and my tractor build thread, hate to have such disappointing news .

So the coop tractor has been transitioned to a standard coop/run and will be getting a 1 x 2 14 guage apron at either 18 or 24 wide depending on what's available ? Or is regular 1/2 hardware cloth sufficient?

I tried to find the breeds I had or atleast the fancier looking ones and didn't have much luck, was going to try to put another very similar flock together to try to make it up to my kids but haven't had any luck. If anyone has a suggestion I'd be grateful. Specifically looking for the Starlight Green egger, prarie bluebell egger and my snowball silver Spitzhauben. The rest are pretty available.

 

[AinaWGSD]

I'm so sorry your family is going through this 1/2 inch hardware cloth is generally considered the "gold standard"

 

[NatJ]

Sad to report that a raccoon dug under the tractor around 5pm yesterday and killed all of our chickens. The raccoon didn't make it either. I guess they aren't strictly nocturnal. Wife and kids are very upset and I'm not doing much better. Thanks to everyone who took an interest in this thread and my tractor build thread, hate to have such disappointing news .

So the coop tractor has been transitioned to a standard coop/run and will be getting a 1 x 2 14 guage apron at either 18 or 24 wide depending on what's available ? Or is regular 1/2 hardware cloth sufficient?

I tried to find the breeds I had or atleast the fancier looking ones and didn't have much luck, was going to try to put another very similar flock together to try to make it up to my kids but haven't had any luck. If anyone has a suggestion I'd be grateful. Specifically looking for the Starlight Green egger, prarie bluebell egger and my snowball silver Spitzhauben. The rest are pretty available.

That is a very sad situation

I tried to find the breeds I had or atleast the fancier looking ones and didn't have much luck, was going to try to put another very similar flock together to try to make it up to my kids but haven't had any luck. If anyone has a suggestion I'd be grateful. Specifically looking for the Starlight Green egger, prarie bluebell egger and my snowball silver Spitzhauben. The rest are pretty available.

As regards putting together another flock, maybe look at what chicks are available locally, and ask if the kids have a preference. Or even take the kids into the store and let them each pick one or two chicks.

Sometimes it is good to try to match the breeds you had and liked, but other times it works better to get different breeds next. Instead of seeing a constant reminder of the one you lost, and maybe feeling that the new one isn't as good, having a new set of breeds can feel like an exciting new thing.

If you do want to get specific breeds, you could consider ordering chicks directly from a hatchery. I think Starlight Green Egger and Prairie Bluebell Egger are only sold by Hoovers, and I see that they also offer Spitzhaubens, so you might start by looking at their website.

For any "Egger" type chickens, they will probably have a variety of colors and patterns in their feathers, so it may not be possible to match the exact appearance of the ones you had before. But it does mean if you buy more than one, they may look different from each other, which makes it easier to give them names and keep track of them.

If you don't want to order directly from the hatchery yourself, you could ask your local store if they are willing to order the chicks for you, added to their order. Some stores will do this, and it lets you avoid hatchery minimum orders (because your chicks ship with the store's chicks, so there are enough total chicks to ship safely.)