So, these two 10 week old chicks I thought were girls up until this week. Now I'm thinking they tricked me!
The lavender barred Araucana had a flat blackish comb which is now turning a bit red and slightly lumpy. I had another lavender Araucana from a different breeder who crowed at 5 weeks...
I'll go first.
I take more photos of my chickens than I do of my children 😳.
Here are just a few of the flock. My phone gallery is about 90% poultry!
tbf I've got chicks growing up so that's acceptable, right?
😁
I have a mixed bantam flock of many ages including 9 week olds.
Quite a few have been sneezing on and off. Not prolifically but noticeably.
I don't think it's dust, it's not dusty here. Or allergies as it's not pollen season and there is nothing new in their environment.
I don't think it's...
I've got a load of chicks of different breeds and colours, some of whom have muddy coloured irises.
I'm hoping it's a common feature of lavender or mottled or splash or something, not the 'thing that shall not be named".
They were all vaccinated at hatch, and I bought them at 3/4 days old...
Whadya reckon, boy or girl out of these two?
5 weeks old and cute as buttons!
I think potentially the dark one is a pullet, and the white frizzle is a cockerel, based mainly on thickness of legs, size and shape. But I am just not sure. Both sometimes have redder necks if they are warm, going...
I have apparently hatched one of these.
Chick is 3 weeks old. Was all yellow on hatch and growing pure white feathers on wings, chest, back and shoulders. I thought it was a white wyandotte.
But I've just noticed some neck feathers coming in that appear to be buff?
I checked back to my...
Was pretty sure this little chap was a chap at 4 weeks. He is now 5 weeks and I heard a little squawky crow this morning!!
What is the earliest you've had a cockerel crow?
I've got this one Araucana chick (2 weeks old) who has a distended cloaca. She poops kind of caramel brown loose stools, but her vent is often mucked up with dark reddish brown sticky poop and I've had to clean it several times to stop her getting pasty butt. The vent protrudes a bit.
The whole...
I had 6 remaining eggs, candled and viable at day 14, under a broody. On day 21:
1 hatched fine
1 hatched with an umbilical hernia
Day 22 after broody hen abandoned nest with 2 live chicks, I cracked open the eggs:
2 were sloshing with fluid and had quit before developing further
2 had...
Baby Araucana chick hatched last night. Seems to have an umbilical hernia. I think there's yolk in it as it looks sort of yellow and pink. What should I do? It's all dried on the surface but squishy inside.
I started with red sex-links many years ago (Light Sussex/RIR cross). Lost some to egg overproductive issues, so I switched to pure heritage breeds.
Since then, I have kept (some bantam, some large fowl):
Orpington
Serama
Polish
Silkie
Wyandotte
Jersey Giant
Old English Game Bantam
Cream...
Hello happy chickeny folks from around the world!
I have started this thread to chronicle the journey of some Naked Neck chickens I am going to hatch.
I have never had this breed before, so this is a bit of an experiment. I've raised probably 20 or so other breeds before and have been a keen...
My flock was decimated due to a predator recently, and I've been left with 4 hens. 3 of which are mad broody....
So, I have gone a little mad looking for replacement bantam lovelies.
I am only left with a polish, two sussexes and a welsummer. I now have 2 black/lavender araucana, 3 English...
I lost 4 of my 8 bantam hens today and I am devastated. 2 Polish, a Wyandotte and a Silver Sussex all dead and my Welsummer is injured.
I will try and give as much info as I can, so this is a long post. I need to identify the culprit so I know what, if anything, I can do to save the remaining...
I have a chick who injured its wing. Must have got it caught in something on about day 4 or 5. It is raised by a broody with 7 siblings. I saw the wing swollen to about 4 times normal size, bright purple, tight skin and hanging down vertically with a small skin tear at the shoulder. I wish I'd...
I know, they are only tiny. 1 day old. I am assuming these two are the speckled ones in my various colour bantam sussex hatch.
They are the only two chipmunky ones out of light, red, silver and speckled.
Any idea if colouring indicates sex?
Neither have cleopatra eye stripes. One is only...
If any of you hatch sex linked chickens, or become aware any are roosters that you don't want to keep, do you cull them as chicks?
I've been musing on this because it's such a pain raising them up and getting attached to them, and then keeping them too long while trying to rehome them.
I...