YO GEORGIANS! :)

When we can we try to sit out in the yard every afternoon with the 15 week old chickens while they semi free range in the yard. Last night my husband and I were sitting there talking when we heard one of our hens (Blondie) scream on the other side of our gas tank about 4 feet from where we were sitting. We were not able to see on the other side of the tank from our sitting position. When she screamed I jumped up and ran around the tank to find Ace (I believe our head rooster) biting the hen on the back of her neck. She lost a feather in the process. He let go but we were puzzled as to why he did this. This morning I was again sitting outside with the 15 week old chickens when I noticed the same rooster, Ace do what I can only describe as a dance beside the same hen he had bit the night before. Remember we are new to raising chickens so we have no clue what is going on. What does this mean? Do I need to separate them?
 
When we can we try to sit out in the yard every afternoon with the 15 week old chickens while they semi free range in the yard. Last night my husband and I were sitting there talking when we heard one of our hens (Blondie) scream on the other side of our gas tank about 4 feet from where we were sitting. We were not able to see on the other side of the tank from our sitting position. When she screamed I jumped up and ran around the tank to find Ace (I believe our head rooster) biting the hen on the back of her neck. She lost a feather in the process. He let go but we were puzzled as to why he did this. This morning I was again sitting outside with the 15 week old chickens when I noticed the same rooster, Ace do what I can only describe as a dance beside the same hen he had bit the night before. Remember we are new to raising chickens so we have no clue what is going on. What does this mean? Do I need to separate them?
I've never had roosters but I'm fairly certain Ace was trying to make some Ace/Blondie babies...
 
Oh yes. Ace is just doing what roosters do. You will know who his favorites are when they lose feathers on their backs. That's why some people use chicken saddles.
When we can we try to sit out in the yard every afternoon with the 15 week old chickens while they semi free range in the yard. Last night my husband and I were sitting there talking when we heard one of our hens (Blondie) scream on the other side of our gas tank about 4 feet from where we were sitting. We were not able to see on the other side of the tank from our sitting position.  When she screamed I jumped up and ran around the tank to find Ace (I believe our head rooster) biting the hen on the back of her neck. She lost a feather in the process. He let go but we were puzzled as to why he did this. This morning I was again sitting outside with the 15 week old chickens when I noticed the same rooster, Ace do what I can only describe as a dance beside the same hen he had bit the night before. Remember we are new to raising chickens so we have no clue what is going on. What does this mean? Do I need to separate them? 



I've never had roosters but I'm fairly certain Ace was trying to make some Ace/Blondie babies...
 
When we can we try to sit out in the yard every afternoon with the 15 week old chickens while they semi free range in the yard. Last night my husband and I were sitting there talking when we heard one of our hens (Blondie) scream on the other side of our gas tank about 4 feet from where we were sitting. We were not able to see on the other side of the tank from our sitting position. When she screamed I jumped up and ran around the tank to find Ace (I believe our head rooster) biting the hen on the back of her neck. She lost a feather in the process. He let go but we were puzzled as to why he did this. This morning I was again sitting outside with the 15 week old chickens when I noticed the same rooster, Ace do what I can only describe as a dance beside the same hen he had bit the night before. Remember we are new to raising chickens so we have no clue what is going on. What does this mean? Do I need to separate them?

It just means he's trying to breed with them, and show he's dominant (a hen who is dominant over a rooster, won't let that rooster breed with her).
 
GAH! Curse the nieces and nephews for taking another thing of mine. This time it's the video camera, which I was just looking for to get a video of the geese and ducks playing in their freshly-cleaned-and-filled pool. It's one of those vinyl-bottom, flimsy-sided pools that collapses on itself easily when it's not full. So I had to fight them all morning to stop STANDING on those flimsy sides to get it to actually fill up. They wanted to play in whatever water was in there right then!


But once it filled up, and I called them over to it, they were splashing, diving, and playing all crazy kinds of ways! The funniest though was when the geese dove the front half of their bodies down, like they were foraging or looking for fish, and they didn't have the right balance so they continued to flip over until they were belly up! Suddenly you saw a head poke back up from the water, and then they rolled sideways to straight up again, lol! Oh but I wish I could SHOW YOU ALL, instead of just posting about it. Grrrr!


What's really cute is to throw some canned green beans in the pool with the ducks!
 
Oh yes. Ace is just doing what roosters do. You will know who his favorites are when they lose feathers on their backs. That's why some people use chicken saddles.

It just means he's trying to breed with them, and show he's dominant (a hen who is dominant over a rooster, won't let that rooster breed with her).
Aren't they too young for that though? The girls haven't even started laying yet.
 
I am getting excited! Only three more weeks before I start gathering duck eggs to hatch! Then another week after that and I will be looking for chicken eggs to add to the bator with them! Hope there will be some good ones available at that time! I guess it is pointless to look at eggs on ebay/craigslist now. It is killing me! WANT THEM NOW! hahhaha... ok, I admit it.....I am addicted!

Still haven't figured out if my young hen is an egg eater or not. No real change in the amount of eggs I am getting. Only 10 today. Only one brown egg out of 7 brown egg laying hens! No white eggs out of 2 white egg laying hens. It's just so frustrating not to be getting eggs.....and most of these hens are less than a year old!
 
Have one new chick from a friend. The chick is about 6 weeks old. Seemed fine when I got it. Now it is all hunched up. Any ideas? No bloody or runny poops. Should I treat it with something? What? Could it be just stressed? All her other chicks are fine and all my other chicks are fine, Chick eats and drinks, but then just sits all hunched up again. I have it by itself.
 

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