Growing my little flock

[fuzzi]

On a lighter note...Miss Chungus continues to improve and loooooooves those really expensive and really stinky cans of moist bugs. Nice red comb, happy sounds, doing really well on her first day off of meds.

(Side note: there are no shavings in there because I have had to keep an eagle eye on her poo through this process and it gets cleaned up fast; the crud that is in there is from her destroying a treat block)


I think I'm too nervous to try stripeys again...with my luck I'd manage to get another batch of oops-all-barred-rocks!

I got my Dominiques from Cackle, am pleased with their temperament.

THIS is laid back:

Tamar is sitting on six eggs, is as noisy, assertive as a broody can be. But she's allowed two chicks to rest nearby.

And Lydia is being adopted as a pseudo mom when Martha can't fit all the chicks under her anymore. Lydia was cool with it.

 

[DonyaQuick]

I got my Dominiques from Cackle, am pleased with their temperament.

THIS is laid back:
View attachment 3824610Tamar is sitting on six eggs, is as noisy, assertive as a broody can be. But she's allowed two chicks to rest nearby.

View attachment 3824613
And Lydia is being adopted as a pseudo mom when Martha can't fit all the chicks under her anymore. Lydia was cool with it.

That is certainly the temperament I’m looking for…how big are they? My Vanilla Bean boy is about 8lbs and still growing slowly so I’m expecting he might reach 9. He’d flatten my smaller hens. He’s super wide and his feet are also massive compared to my other roos (he leaves tracks the same size as the wild turkeys here).

 

[fuzzi]

That is certainly the temperament I’m looking for…how big are they? My Vanilla Bean boy is about 8lbs and still growing slowly so I’m expecting he might reach 9. He’d flatten my smaller hens. He’s super wide and his feet are also massive compared to my other roos (he leaves tracks the same size as the wild turkeys here).

Dominiques come in standard as well, mine are bantams.

Here's the standard information:

https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/dominique-chicken/

 

[alinas2010]

Great writing! I am really enjoying following your journey to growing your flock. I don’t have any roosters, only because we’re not allowed to in the city. Someday I would love to have a bachelor flock though. Until then, I’ll have to just follow along and live vicariously through you!

 

[DonyaQuick]

Oh lord...mistakes were made last night! I decided to top up feeders for the distributed bachelor boys later in the day than was smart (evening time is gremlin time). Somehow I walked straight out of the house to the coops in my very fuzzy house slippers. I don't know why, but ALL of my roos have a thing for those slippers - Vanilla Bean especially - so I make an effort not to wear those around the boys. Because of my wardrobe negligence and sturbbornness at not wanting to go back to the house to change footwear once I was out there, both feet got violated and one arm is now peppered in "rooster kisses" - which is to say beak-shaped marks from over-excited boys despierately wanting to cling onto me. Perhaps it's time for different slippers...

On the plus side: Chungus has transitioned to being back outside with her flock during most of the day and the cockerels do seem to be calming down very slowly...at least when fuzzy slippers aren't involved.

 

[2ndTink]

I need to find out whether Mt Healthy "pads" orders for <6 with cockerels when it's going to a state with annoying rules like NY...if they don't, that would be a good option to have on the table. I don't think I want to get another batch from TSC or another feed store looking for big hens since Hoovers at least seems to be on the small size for standards. I'd also have to get 6 if I did it from a local store...

Miss Scruffy is getting more broody by the day though...if she decides to stick to it, I might just have to see if anyone in midstate NY has giant cochin hatching eggs. Scruffy's comb hasn't flopped yet and she still comes out for morning hug time, but today it was turkey mode at morning hug time and some random broody screams. Oh, and this situation until the roosters kicked her out mid afternoon LOL (Scruffy is the white one):
View attachment 3824460

I'm not sure if they'd pack with cockerels, you could call and ask them. I've read on some hatchery websites that they'll do extras of whatever you already purchased, so if you bought all pullets the extra should be a pullet also. But it would be safer to call them.

The hatching eggs would be AWESOME! I'm definitely not biased about hatching

 

[2ndTink]

Oh lord...mistakes were made last night! I decided to top up feeders for the distributed bachelor boys later in the day than was smart (evening time is gremlin time). Somehow I walked straight out of the house to the coops in my very fuzzy house slippers. I don't know why, but ALL of my roos have a thing for those slippers - Vanilla Bean especially - so I make an effort not to wear those around the boys. Because of my wardrobe negligence and sturbbornness at not wanting to go back to the house to change footwear once I was out there, both feet got violated and one arm is now peppered in "rooster kisses" - which is to say beak-shaped marks from over-excited boys despierately wanting to cling onto me. Perhaps it's time for different slippers...

On the plus side: Chungus has transitioned to being back outside with her flock during most of the day and the cockerels do seem to be calming down very slowly...at least when fuzzy slippers aren't involved.

Oh my, I have no words, again

 

[DonyaQuick]

Decisions, decisions...

 

[2ndTink]

Decisions, decisions...
View attachment 3827601

So true!

 

[DonyaQuick]

Great writing! I am really enjoying following your journey to growing your flock. I don’t have any roosters, only because we’re not allowed to in the city. Someday I would love to have a bachelor flock though. Until then, I’ll have to just follow along and live vicariously through you!

Roos are totally hard mode like everyone says, at least standard sized ones sure are, but I do love 'em. I think my husband wondered for a while what insanity I'd fallen into trying to do a bachelor flock, since basically all of my roos/cockerels went through a husband-biting phase, but I think Vanilla Bean at least has won him over lol.