Post Office gal called at 7:30 AM. I have noise!
This came from Mt. Healthy hatchery, in Cincinatti, IN.
2 boxes of babies.
50 Ameraucanas, 50 Black Australorps, 50 Buff Orphingtons, & 50 Silver Laced Wyanddottes.
I am going to do photos once a week to show progress.
Bernie
Winter babies! Rainbow Eggs, have fun- Post Office truck became a cluck! cluck! truck!!! usually raises eyebrows at drivers whose trux are 'crowing down the road' Good little birds you have there.
You should have a rainbow of eggs to sell by May!
That is the plan.
They look really healthy and have a nice area to grow up in. Good luck with the eggs!
FLUFFY BUTTS!!!! I love baby chicks!!!
Oh thanks a lot! No way do I want to take care of babies during the winter but after seeing your picture..... things could change! LOL
Our idea is to have lots of eggs when Farmers Market starts May 4th.
Last year we figured the old hens for eggs early & pullets mid summer. Old hens gave up to early!
I though that you were starting earlier this year - and more variety too!
The Gold Stars didn't do good this year. I think they had some genetic issues. Lot of them developed bad legs & things like that. Figured maybe some standard chickens would do better. We have a couple Americanas & one Silver Wyandotte with no problems.
Gold Stars I think are bred for cages. They don't try to fly, won't go in nests off the floor, & seldom go on roosts. Strange bird!
Well your traditional breeds may not lay as many eggs initially as the hybrids, they should keep laying for longer. I'll be interested to hear how they perform for you.
I once got White Rocks from Mt. Healthy, they were some of the nicest birds Ive ever had. Great layers.
That is just too awesome!
I'm thinking of Jersey Black Giants, or a mix of them and another large, docile breed. We are enlarging the chicken run right now but don't want them delivered until spring. They need to be docile to get along with my current three Brahmas who are verrrrry docile. Any suggestions? I only want 15 total so Mt Healthy sounds like a good fit for my order....I'm not selling eggs, but just share with friends.
I had not heard of Mt Healthy. i will check them out. I ordered a catalog from Eagle Nest yesterday.
My Jersey Giants have all been gentle, calm and friendly ladies. They have been more susceptible to Marek's disease than the other breeds, however (?). Another reliably docile breed, in my experience, has been the Buff Orpington. My Barred Rocks are all friendly but tend to pick on younger birds. Most of my Ameraucanas have been civil in their behavior to other birds but not reliably people-oriented. Many other breeds that I have kept have some individuals that are very sweet and others not so much, with no breed-specific consistency of character. Many of the larger, calmer breeds do not lay as prolifically as the light, flighty ones, but are much more pleasant to live with. Have fun rebuilding your flock!
They have been here a week.
Really growing. Have you lost any? How long will they stay in that pen?
Only 3 or 4.
They will stay quite a while. Opening the far door doubles the size, but that part isn't heated.
Thanks for the tips, Porkpal. I'll see if Mt Health vacinates for Marek's.
Country, are the black Australorps docile? I like dark or buff colors for my hens and they seem to attract less attention from our local Red Tailed Hawk family.
Another week has gone by.
A little flying going on now. Whole bunch are scardy cats.
They are really growing. Thanks for the pictures.
This is stage I start to really like the little dears. They really start to develop their individual personalities and, to me, they start to really be fun to watch! Your's are really doing well!
Another week has passed. They are growing fast now.
Starting to show their colors. You are brave getting them so early. Where are you going to put them when they are considerably bigger? Mn is pretty cold in the winter isn't it? Will you have to heat it? I would think. Doubt they would have their winter coats?
They really are growing. Do they use their little roostlets?
That door opens to double the size of the room. They should be fine.
They are using the roost.
Are the Gold Stars, Golden Comets, Red Star, Cinnamon Queen all really the same "breed" of chicken? If they have problems I may have to change my order.... I loved my RIR's and they were great layers but they got so nasty they had to go to camp.
They are all hybrids produced as sex-linked offspring, but are not identical. Most are a cross of a white breed hen ( Delaware, Silver laced Wyandote, White Plymouth Rock) with a red breed rooster - either Rhode Island or New Hampshire Reds. The pullet chicks are colored like their dads, the roster chicks more like their moms - hence the ability to guarantee the sex from day one. I don't know if they tend to be nasty; none of my Red Sex Links are bad (sired by Rhode Island Reds) but neither are my Rhode Island Reds; however I know those often have a reputation for aggression as you found.
Gold Stars are a New Hampshire hen & a California White rooster. Pullets are hatched red, cockerels are white.
I like this mixed bunch better already.
Here is link to Hoover's Hatchery. Shows some different Hybrids.
http://hoovershatchery.com/baby-chicks.html
I like the black sexlinks best. RIR and barred Rock if I remember correctly. Great layers and well behaved.
I thought I had an example of sex-linked coloring, but I now think I was wrong. I had two mixed breed naked necks hatch around Halloween. One was almost white, and one a dark chocolate. First I figured they were just going to grow up different colors. Then, they both began to turn red. Now, they're almost indistiguishable, but with minor differences, so I still know which is which. I also had been thinking one was a pullet, one roo, but now I'm thinking both roo. Guess I'll know eventually *g*
I have had Ameraucanas that changed colors dramatically as they matured, I did not know there were other breeds that did the same. Pullets, however, are notorious for turning into roosters.
All the sex-linked hybrids seem to involve a rooster who is either a Rhode Island or New Hampshire Red. What is so magic about these breeds? Anyone know?
Got me.
Didn't get a picture last week, so here they 2 weeks older than the last picture.
My son said they are eating us out of house & home!
Cats were basking in the sun.
They are getting big!
That looks like some chilly basking...
The cats are almost a cute as the chicks...
enjoying seeing the progress on your babies...
I just found my little bantum "Jap" had hidden away to hatch an early brood. 6 chicks w/two eggs to go. I had to run out and get a heat lamp & chick starter 'cause I sure wasn't planning on this!
I have a Jersey Giant/Buff Orpington cross rooster that is the nicest & gentlest rooster I have ever had (in my 15yrs with chickens of many breeds).
Have a red sex link hen - they are supposed to be broody so I figured I'd get chicks from her. She has the largest eggs I have seen in my life. Anywhere. She's nice & loves to run for a treat. The big deal with sex links of course is that you can tell if they are male/female at birth 'cause their color is linked to their sex.
Tam
