Chicken keepers!

[Sal]

On 6/20/2022 at 7:39 PM, laritheloud said:

Also, might I recommend a pair of waterproof shoes kind of like Bogs for stepping into the run area? We have designated chicken shoes we keep outside on the back porch and wear for yard work and doing chicken maintenance!

YES to this!!  Kids & I all got these slip on sloggers which are working pretty well for going in and out of the coop.  We have a dedicated boot tray for them in our mudroom.  I think I might get a pair of actual muck boots or the bog boots for the winter though because that will be better for trudging through snow to get to the coop.

My kids are older (16 and 19) so I don't do much for any extra protection.  They are old enough to be cautious, and are generally pretty good with animals.  I do obsess about hand hygiene, but that was already happening way before chickens (and even the pandemic) so they are very well trained to wash wash wash.  🙂 After 20 years working in a medical lab, you become a germaphobe about certain things...

@laritheloud how exciting that your flock already got an upgrade!  It is a lot of work - but its so rewarding to see them so happy in it after!!  Share some pics! 

I am really wanting to let them out to free range a bit, but with HPAI in our wild bird populations up here, I am really too nervous to do so.  The run will have to do for now!!  Hopefully by late summer/fall we will be in the clear for free ranging again!!  

On 6/20/2022 at 9:02 PM, Torrey said:

They have phenomenally good eyesight, and will clean you of ticks if you allow them... and are willing to be that vulnerable in your chicken coop!

😂 After the "freckle incident" I do not think I would be willing to go this far for tick removal, Torrey, hahahahaha!!  It is a really good idea for the dogs though.  We are working on desensitizing the dogs to the chickens, so maybe someday they can be tick patrol for their furry siblings. 

 

On 6/20/2022 at 9:02 PM, Torrey said:

4-H judges get a kick out of the kids walking their poultry around the fair, acting as poultry ambassadors and educators.

I have a feeling chicken leashes are in our future here... 😂 My kids discovered them on amazon not long ago and are already pestering me to get some...  Honestly, we live on a dead-end street with mostly elderly neighbors who would LOVE this kind of entertainment, so we might give it a shot. 

Honestly - I have enjoyed having my little flock so much these past couple months.  They are so much entertainment, they draw us outside more and more every day, and taking care of them is giving me joy as my actual children grow up and "fly the coop" on their own.  

[Brandon p]

On 6/20/2022 at 9:02 PM, Torrey said:

They have phenomenally good eyesight, and will clean you of ticks if you allow them... and are willing to be that vulnerable in your chicken coop!

My daughter really worked with training the birds for 4-H shows (originally) and then just to see how much a chicken could leanr. One of her friends taught her 4-H bird to play the piano (used cracked corn and cat kibble as the original reward) until the chicken demonstrated an enjoyment of just hearing the different sounds. Our rotts worked as herding dogs, and kept the birds on the property and safe from predators. From mid-march until first frost, the dogs would lay down and let the birds, especially the baby chicks, ducklings and goslings, crawl over then and "preen" them. Better than chemicals any day!

When we moved down to Albuquerque in '09, my kids and old man rott had to adjust to only having a backyard flock. Regularly I would come home from the hospital or school to find hens perched on the back of the couch watching TV with the kids. If they saw something worth eating, they would try to peck it out of the TV. Took one summer for them to learn the TV was like the windows: You could see through, but not touch, lol

Apartment living doesn't allow for any birds, so only aquariums for now... and the trutle... and 2 dogs🤣

If the kids are patient, they can teach the birds to walk on a leash. Either a ferret harness or a cat's figure 8 harness, and one of the "spring leashes" that looks like an 80's telephone cord, to prevent the birds from harming themselves, and a few treats in their pocket, and chickens are bright enough to learn how to heal, how to follow directions on turning left or right, etc. Ducks and geese are even smarter, which requires more consistency from the kids. As soon as the waterfowl decide they are smarter than the kids, they will try the kid's patience, lol!

4-H judges get a kick out of the kids walking their poultry around the fair, acting as poultry ambassadors and educators.

My not sure how your 4H worked but ours allowed the kids to enter 4 of each type of poultry chicken, turkey, ducks(calls were included) pheasant and so on. There are so many people that are not involved not understand. This was for judging of conditions the birds and how close they are to meet the standard of each bird. Then they would pick one to but judged on how they handle them and generally knowledge of the birds which is actually a lot even for the young kids. It’s cool to listen to a 5-6 know what every part of the the bird and cuts. It’s a lot. That year the young’s entered a quail, seabright, Mille Fleur d’Uccle Bantam, and a bramha. A bramha that is close to standard is big. So I my son was carrying about this giant chicken around like it was nothing. A side note there was an even smaller girl showing a Malay(look them up). Both my boys enjoyed the fair and 4h with chickens. One was great at winning buckles and the other collected ribbons. The belt buckles were awarded for the knowledge,and ribbons For meeting breed standards. The oldest sold his last two black bantam Cochins for over 4 figures. He one best in show 6 years in a row. He aged out and had no need his younger brother did want them( most of the time the birds were auctioned off and then offered back to the children. It was common for a the birds to sell for the price of food for 4-6 months. Some rare bird specially peacocks we’re sold and the buyer took them. This was supposed to be about the leash, they will walk in them. Roos don’t tend to like them and getting them in depends on how to deal with there spurs( I’m not going to discuss this and I would suggest no-one in here does. It can be a super touchy subject and who wants a strike in a fish forum because someone go bend out of shape over Roo) Yes things like this do happen. Message the person if you want to discuss. As long as the leash is the right size they work. One last thing. If you walk then on a street or concrete make sure the temperature is not super hot

[Hobbit]

On 6/21/2022 at 8:42 AM, Sal said:

for trudging through snow to get to the coop.

OMG @Sal 😂

I love these. They hold up REALLY well! Basically daily use for 3+ years now and they’re still waterproof! 😍

[Sal]

On 6/22/2022 at 12:33 PM, Hobbit said:

OMG @Sal 😂

I love these. They hold up REALLY well! Basically daily use for 3+ years now and they’re still waterproof! 😍

😍 TOO FUNNY!  I didn't realize they had a tall boot option, but I am definitely going to get some for the winter months!!

[Sal]

Swooping in with a little update!  The girls are now 12 weeks old and nearing full size, I would think.  They are still working on growing those combs and wattles, and their "voices" are starting to change from little baby peepers to grown ass chicken ladies.  I think we are still about a month or more away from having fresh eggs, but I am in no rush.  We are going to open the nesting boxes up in about 2-3 more weeks.

 

We started letting them "free range" inside our fenced in back yard space a couple weeks ago, and they are really loving it!  

We have a large, overgrown patch of raspberries in the back yard that they are LOVING pecking through.  They gobble up the raspberries fresh off the bush.

 

Here's our sweetest girl, Tammy - she is the cuddliest and most docile chicken ever!

 

Our mean-mugger Brandy who is actually quite the lap chicken as well, but is really only interested in food, not love.  LOL. 

 

And Miss Matilda, who always looks this terrified, but we love her all the same. 😂

 

Anyone getting any eggs yet from this years babies?? 

[Brandon p]

On 7/26/2022 at 11:54 AM, Sal said:

Swooping in with a little update!  The girls are now 12 weeks old and nearing full size, I would think.  They are still working on growing those combs and wattles, and their "voices" are starting to change from little baby peepers to grown ass chicken ladies.  I think we are still about a month or more away from having fresh eggs, but I am in no rush.  We are going to open the nesting boxes up in about 2-3 more weeks.

 

We started letting them "free range" inside our fenced in back yard space a couple weeks ago, and they are really loving it!  

We have a large, overgrown patch of raspberries in the back yard that they are LOVING pecking through.  They gobble up the raspberries fresh off the bush.

 

Here's our sweetest girl, Tammy - she is the cuddliest and most docile chicken ever!

 

Our mean-mugger Brandy who is actually quite the lap chicken as well, but is really only interested in food, not love.  LOL. 

 

And Miss Matilda, who always looks this terrified, but we love her all the same. 😂

 

Anyone getting any eggs yet from this years babies?? 

They most likely won’t get much bigger combs than. The white leghorn and rhode red are more knowknoe for larger combs on chickens 

I tried to ad pic of yours and it won’t let me

[Flumpweesel]

Kicking myself for not taking pictures but my mum keeps chickens and her husband races pigeons anyway from one of these food sources a hemp seed has germinated and she now has an 8ft hemp plant in the their coup. 

The hens love the stuff they have striped all the low hanging branches and if you snap a piece off for them they mob you.

We are currently trying to work out of we should sell CBD eggs

[AquaHobbyist123]

I keep chickens and 2 turkeys. Have 1 rooster, 1 bantam hen, and 7 other hens. Turkeys are 1 Blue Slate and 1 BB White.

Chickens are Salmon Faverolles, Golden Comets, Olive eggers, Easter Eggers, and Wyandotte.

[Flumpweesel]

My mum's chickens and their favourite snack

[John Henry]

My wife bought a couple of baby chicks from TSC this Spring and did a great job growing them up to nearly full sized hens.  The HOA came down on us and we had to relocate them to some friends place in the country.  We will miss them but at least they are now a member of a larger flock.

[laritheloud]

No eggs yet but my Daughter, Betsy Ann, is closest. She has beautiful red wattles and a beautiful red comb, squats for me when I pet her, and she practiced her egg song.

I figure when the oppressive heat simmers down a little she might start laying. I'm hopeful!

 

 

 

[Sal]

On 8/8/2022 at 1:14 AM, laritheloud said:

I figure when the oppressive heat simmers down a little she might start laying. I'm hopeful!

UGH...  YES, this heatwave is miserable!!  Fingers crossed it happens for you guys soon!    We are going to open our nesting boxes up in the next week or 2, but I expect it might be closer to early/mid September before we see any eggs.  We have one that is already doing an egg song like sound, but it seems to be only when she gets spooked by something (my dogs walking by, usually) 😂

[laritheloud]

On 8/8/2022 at 8:37 AM, Sal said:

UGH...  YES, this heatwave is miserable!!  Fingers crossed it happens for you guys soon!    We are going to open our nesting boxes up in the next week or 2, but I expect it might be closer to early/mid September before we see any eggs.  We have one that is already doing an egg song like sound, but it seems to be only when she gets spooked by something (my dogs walking by, usually) 😂

It was the first time I heard the egg song from any of my ladies, so it was super exciting for us. This video is a week old and she looks even plumper and closer to lay now. I keep saying "any time" but of course I'm sure she'll wait until the heat has gone down. She'll be 18 weeks on Wednesday and it's supposed to cool significantly around then. We'll see!

[Hobbit]

Aww so exciting! I’ve noticed the Egg Song can also be the Alarm Song. My roosters even sang it the day we decided to, ah, not have roosters anymore. They don’t have too much room in those little bird brains so I figure they have to reuse circuits sometimes. 😄 

@laritheloud your chickens are so sweet! I wish mine enjoyed pets like that!

[laritheloud]

@Hobbit this is a much more recent development! My chickens were a bit skittish until recently. I heard they often sweeten to getting handled as they approach point of lay/maturity and I’m so happy my ladies trust me enough to pet them. My eggers are still skittish and prefer not to be touched, but they are just fine chilling out next to me so I never force it.

[Patrick_G]

On 8/8/2022 at 8:49 AM, Hobbit said:

My roosters even sang it the day we decided to, ah, not have roosters anymore.

😳

[Brandon p]

On 8/8/2022 at 1:05 PM, laritheloud said:

@Hobbit this is a much more recent development! My chickens were a bit skittish until recently. I heard they often sweeten to getting handled as they approach point of lay/maturity and I’m so happy my ladies trust me enough to pet them. My eggers are still skittish and prefer not to be touched, but they are just fine chilling out next to me so I never force it.

Our kids handled them from the time they where hatched. Even the rooster we had would come when called and hop up in my sons arms. I would handle and give treats when doing so. 

[laritheloud]

24 weeks and 1 day and we finally, finally got our first little pullet egg! We're overjoyed! I'm pretty sure it came from Betsy our sweet Black Australorp. This was the longest wait, that's for sure.

[PineSong]

Ta da! Now you're off and running. Loved catching up on the chickens thread, thanks all!

 

[Hobbit]

Aww congrats!! It’s a long wait for sure. This spring you will be absolutely flooded!!

Last week was a sad week for me and the flock. I had a sick chicken that I couldn’t help no matter what I tried, and eventually I had to make that hard decision that all fishkeepers are familiar with. 😔 The good news is that our vet euthanizes chickens, even though they don’t treat them. I wanted to pass that info along because it was a lot more humane than any method I would have tried at home. They did an injection the same way they would for a dog or cat. Apparently many vets will do this regardless of whether they treat chickens, which I never would have thought unless someone told me. ❤️

[Sal]

Hi Everyone!!  

YAY @laritheloud  That is so exciting!  Congrats!!  🥳  I am not sure it gets more rewarding than raising these girls from babies, learning how to care for them, giving them everything they need, and then collecting your eggs!  

We are still waiting here too!  A few of our girls are showing signs that it might be soon (squatting, going in and out of the nesting boxes, etc).  I hope we get a few girls laying before it starts to get too cold and they slow down.  Though I have read they can sometimes lay all through their first winter too, so I guess we will see!

@Hobbit I'm so sorry to hear you lost one of your flock. 😢. Sending virtual hugs to you!  Thank you for sharing that information about the vet, I wouldn't have thought that either, but I agree I would rather it be dome humanely with the vet than any other method.  I am so attached to my girls now that I can't imagine losing any of them, so I don't look forward to having to make those hard decisions, though I know with any pets it is usually inevitable.  

As for our update - our flock of 7 are doing really well!  It is starting to get cold in New England at night time (and even during the day, today's high temp is only in the 50's!!) so I am of course stressing about winter and leaving these sweet birds outside.  😂  But we will get through it.  I've been gathering all of my supplies to winterize the run and get as prepared as I can.

We have also started prepping the area that will soon become the run extension/chicken yard.  I think I want to build a few chicken tunnels around the backyard too.  We are definitely becoming crazy chicken people, but thankfully my husband is just as into them as I am. 

I am planning to add at least 4 more babies to my flock next spring, thinking about trying to hatch from eggs this time, but we'll see...  Anyone else expanding?  Chicken math has gotten me BAD.  😂

 

[laritheloud]

I'm so sorry, @Hobbit! We are very lucky that we have two avian and exotic vets within an hour's drive from here. If it's not too far for you, @Hobbit, check out Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital in Aston, PA with Dr. Goodman. I only took my reptile to her so far but she's great and says she treats chickens. It's a little further north than Boothwyn, but it might still be doable for you. I'm planning on taking in fecal samples for parasite testing in October along with another sample from my gecko.

We want to add to the flock in the spring, too, and discussed expanding coop space for the occasion. I have my eye on D'uccles, Cochins, and Salmon Faverolles.... We'll see what we end up doing. 😀 The wait for eggs is totally the longest wait. Betsy looked "ready" for over a month before she actually laid an egg, and she'd been squatting heavily for at least two weeks. We got lots of pets in because of that squatting, that's for sure.

[Sal]

YES!!  Salmon Faverolles are high on my wish list as well!!  I hear they are full of personality.  I want to get a good idea for what my egg colors look like, and add breeds to give lots of egg color variety.  I know I will add at least one dark brown egg layer, and maybe an olive egger too!  Otherwise, I may get a few more orpingtons, because honestly they are just the sweetest chickens ever.

This picture from the other day had me laughing...  it was raining out, and they were mad I wasn't letting them out into the yard...  

My lavendar (below) is closest to being ready to lay I think...  She is the biggest of all the girls, has a big red comb, regularly does the egg song, and is starting to squat!  

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

My friend got 5 chicks around Easter time. She and her husband built them a really nice coop out in the yard.  I got her a silly Peep Show, Live Chicks sign for it. 🤣 Well, as the chicks grew the one started to have curly feathers, and even has feathers on his/her legs as well.  There's a name for that type of chicken, I forget, but I'm sure you guys know what it is.  Pretty neat.  

[laritheloud]

This video is from 3 or 4 days ago, and shows how friendly Betsy can be. She'll act like she's had "enough" then come back and squawk/cluck for attention again. I hope your orpington lays soon! I hear they take their time getting started, so I'd expect somewhere closer to 6 months before she starts. 24 weeks is close to six months as it is, lol!