Chickens on the homestead

[NH Homesteader]

I have no issues with doing it, we just have 20 meat birds and a bunch of cockerels and I don't feel like dealing with that many birds. For hens, I have 4 NH's and 2 undersized Jersey Giants to cull and the NH's are aggressive to my more docile hens so I am annoyed with them. There are only a few hens that get permanent life status here, because we like them enough to keep feeding them!

 

[Hinotori]

I decided that two more pullets have faults bad enough to not keep. That helps with the crowding as well.

I posted about them over on BYC and within an hour they were spoken for. We meet up tomorrow.

 

[sumi]

My landlord promised me some pallets (he can get them somewhere for free) so I can start building a small coop for my remaining 3 hens. I'm anxious to get that done, so I can clean out the shed and use that storage space for fuel for the fire. DS is asking for more chickens, but right now I don't want to take on more birds. Not least because of the lack of proper housing (that I don't mind sharing)

 

[Beekissed]

Took a few pics of a few birds out enjoying the green grass and sunshine today. They are loving the unseasonably warm weather and egg production is peaking out...soon they'll be wanting to start a family, so I spent the day getting the maternity ward cleared out in preparation for setting it up for brooding.

Took some pics of the WR male I have for breeding this season and have been trying to compare him with the silhouette of the Plymouth Rock breed standard conformation...his tail angle is closer than any of the WR males I've had before, so something is going right in that direction.

The hen's tail angle, not so much...need to be a bit higher for the breed standard. They've got the width right but a tad too much cushion on the back and that too straight tail angle. Could be this high tail cockerel will give me some pullets with a better tail angle.

This one's a WR mutt...mixed with BA. Sometimes they make GREAT layers and they tend to have a meatier carcass than the BAs, so I don't mind the mix at all. They can be my utility layers.

Here's a pallet thingy of sorts that I scrounged out of the free pallet stack down at the local feed store, Rural King. I want to make that into a brood nest box unit for my maternity ward...just need to tweak it a bit. That thing is HEAVY.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Ok... I have a random assortment of breeds. We have 2 heritage breeds we are focusing on- Dominiques and Dorkings. Dominiques are a great deal purpose bird, cold hardy amd calm (the hens, that is). We are juat getting started with Dorkings, but they are big calm birds who are supposed to be amazing for meat. We'll know in the fall. Not the best egg layers but they tend to lay in the winter and are great broodies come spring.

Then we have Dark Cornish to cross in for meat offspring. Just starting with them also.

And then there's the layer flock of random birds... Jersey Giants, Easter Eggers, White Orpington and NH's (the latter will likely find their way into a stew pot soon). Oh and what I think is a Partridge Rock and her 2 daughters that are crossed with my Dom roo.

We have our chickens for meat and eggs, tick control, tilling, fertilizer, and entertainment. We enjoy getting random new breeds for fun but are primarily focused on a few heritage breeds.

 

[Beekissed]

NH, definitely different strains of RIR out there. Most of the RIR we had when I was growing up and since then have been sweet, sweet birds with good personalities and moochy around humans. The last few I got from the TSC were not even fit for raising up and were killed while juveniles.

Sumi, did you make that quilt???? It's gorgeous!!!! I think it's so funny that the chicken comes in your window and sleeps on the bed. That's just the sweetest thing.

 

[TexasLisa]

I love your pictures Bee! The chicks are adorable!

 

[sumi]

@sumi wait, did you say RIR are sweet? I've never met one that wasn't mean! They're such good egg layers but I've stayed away because of their unpleasant personalities. Must be different strains!

This was the sweetest pullet in the flock. Total lap chicken. Mine were all lovely, even the rooster.

 

[Cynthiadoz12]

Oh man, it's hard when we lose one of our furry friends.

They can be so friendly, some, just don't want to be bothered with. I don't have too many like that. If any, it's usually the EE's, until they start laying, then become a completely different bird..very friendly.

Yes, I have them come up to my back door, peck, scratch, stare into the door window. So funny..I love it. They hang with my dog too.

 

[Cynthiadoz12]

Nah, they probably don't mind a bit. As long as ya feed em.