Wild... Wonderful... farm life in Almost Heaven

[CorinneP]

Good Morning and Welcome Julie .. I Just got some Leghorns And am excited about adding them to my Little compared to your Flock ! I Just allowed my Broody Hen sit It is sooo cute.. I Did have to give her her own Spot with them as The other Hens were too aggressive.. But I Love going out and seeing Her Babies crawling on her back and tucking under her wing. It so Happened she started hatching her Babies (I say Hers Lightly as she Stole several Eggs had a nice variety under her ) On the Day She Started Hatching them My Son came back with two Baby Chicks about 5 days old from a Farm Market .. We put them in with her she immediately adopted one and refused the other .. She Also Hatched and discarded a Weak Chick That I luckily saw and grabbed up and brought in and gave some extra TLC and kept in my incubator over night .. The Next day with the Chick seeming Healthy I took her back to Momma who accepted her right back in : ) It HAs been quite an experience : )

 

[DDNONIN2016]

Hello and welcome from Ohio....so glad you joined us. Neat story about your farm

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

 

[GerbilsOnToast]

@CorinneP - Don't expect the Leghorns to act *quite* like other chickens... Every Leghorn is Alpha, and they can be pretty vicious. At start of lay, be very vigilant - these birds are the reason hen cages were invented to begin with. Free Range isn't the cure; I lost 15% to cannibalism when the last newbies started laying - as often outside as in. I have seen (these) hens continue pecking themselves once blood is drawn, yelping and jumping with each bite, but still going at it. I had to make a straight jacket, and suspend one from the greenhouse ceiling in it, to stop her. Pine Tar is the only thing I've found that dissuades them, but if you aren't around when someone lays a jumbo egg, it may be too late very quickly. Blu-Kote will disguise the red once it's scabbed over, but if the scab gets knocked off, it's game on again. The only reason I have them is the same reason grocery store eggs always used to be Leghorn eggs - they lay their little hearts out, and they eat only about half what a RIR or BO does. Husband says I must show a profit, and Leghorns are really the only bird that can do it on an Omega-3 diet. (Flax seed is $80 / 50lb bag and I won't charge what I wouldn't pay).

I have four (of my original six) old ladies that still lay nearly every day; the eggs are huge and misshapen, but I haven't the heart to cull them, and besides... WE need some eggs, and while people love the dinosaur sized ones, they don't want the uglies, so that's what I use. The old ladies are also pretty good teachers for the later flocks, things like coming when I call them and even coming back into the house at night worked out much better after I put them together. Mostly mimicking, (or fear of missing out on treats?) but it works! The RIR's are sweeties, and the BO's are beautiful and serene - but the Leghorns have convinced me that chickens really are what happened to raptor type dinosaurs.

 

[Kevin565]