Our introduction to keeping chickens, the high's, the lows and pics of our journey.

[Fancychooklady]

Looks like Bens on holiday. King George says, what you lookin at Willis?

 

[Bens-Hens]

I was editing my long post Lisa! No holiday, just lost the net for abit. Go back one page for the latest news.

 

[ozexpat]

I was editing my long post Lisa! No holiday, just lost the net for abit. Go back one page for the latest news.

i was thinking your behavior was abnormal. it must have been an issue in life. i am glad its ok though.

I also have 2 wry tail girls. very strange. they are mutts and will probably end up as adobo



on the roo front, this guy was on his way to the pot.

i ended up with 5 from 8 RIR roos but I sold one for $35 am keeping 3 and giving one to my father in law

Happy New Year from the CocoBeach Poultry gang

 

[Fancychooklady]

Oh Ben, that really must of put the wind up you. Your not the Lone Ranger though, I've lost 6 chooks in the last month and it really does take the shine off chicken keeping. But onward and upward , I don't really have much time to mourn the dead when the living are sitting on the window sill waiting to be fed. Sounds harsh I know, but I know that I have done all that I can for them.
Fingers crossed you are not being hounded by the dreaded M.
We had howling winds here last night. This morning there were gates open and roos in the wrong pens. George and blue were going at it and my little white Silkie roo had blood pouring out of his skull cap. This afternoon everything was back to normal.
I have a little chuckle every time I envision you lurking around with that hatchet.

 

[Bens-Hens]

i was thinking your behavior was abnormal. it must have been an issue in life. i am glad its ok though.

I also have 2 wry tail girls. very strange. they are mutts and will probably end up as adobo

Yeah things were just a bit full on, I visited your thread this afternoon and saw your fantastic chrissy vist pics, didn't have a chance to post. You Coco Beach family is something special and look great in the new get up. Good job Mark.

Oh Ben, that really must of put the wind up you. Your not the Lone Ranger though, I've lost 6 chooks in the last month and it really does take the shine off chicken keeping. But onward and upward , I don't really have much time to mourn the dead when the living are sitting on the window sill waiting to be fed. Sounds harsh I know, but I know that I have done all that I can for them.
Fingers crossed you are not being hounded by the dreaded M.
We had howling winds here last night. This morning there were gates open and roos in the wrong pens. George and blue were going at it and my little white Silkie roo had blood pouring out of his skull cap. This afternoon everything was back to normal.
I have a little chuckle every time I envision you lurking around with that hatchet.

I was pretty convinced it was Mareks, but I have never seen a bird recover from it, and I have read very few cases of others making a recovery, especially in a day and a bit or isolation, some seem to take weeks which gives me some hope that it's not. We have 8 non vaccinated birds spread through our flocks that I am using as 'canary in the cage' so it is unusual that we have not had a case with any of those yet, but a vaccinated bird limped???? WHo knows, tomorrow it will go back with the others.

There was not much lurking when I did get the hatchet, the words, brandish, stomp, muttering and scour come to mind though.

I did get some pictures this afternoon before heading out for training. I just have to transfer them and load them up.

Insert loading icon here with pleasant waiting music.

 

[Bens-Hens]

OK so here we go, please excuse the floor, I was taking pictures instead of racking out the pen. Started out once a fortnight, then once a week now it needs to be done every two or three days!


Our two rascals on Christmas morning, Riley on the left was not feeling the best and had a temp right over Christmas so no smile there. I swear they eat like horses these two and both get wormed regulalry hahahaha. They had a great time. The elf hat plays music and the tip flops in time to the tune.


I have been helping out a friend. They needed this cubby house pulled down, moved from one side of the river to the other, and put back together. The entire time I was grinding my teeth thinking "This would be perfect for our chooks in my yard" hahahaha Might have to steel the design and start to stockpile some materials as I really like the cubby chook house design.


Installed in the new yard. This incedently is the same family that has our old chook Late'.


Rosie and her Rock chicks, now looking great but I fear they are both males. One has red at the base of it's comb and the other may also be getting some colour. Seems I am expert at raising healthy cockerels.




Speaking of cockerels, our other two suspect roo's.....except I don't think there is much suspect about these guys.


Mr Light Blues Brother


Mrs Wry Tail


Australorp cockerel with very impressive comb and wattles for 10 weeks.


She always makes me smile


The Wellie we have chosen to keep.


A Mrs 'Lorp


Curly's baby. Has a black pea comb and black face, but I am weary of the comb as it looks very wide. Holding off judgement until we see some pointy feathers coming in.


Mr FWM


Mr Fav, he is getting brazen now, not as sweet as he used to be....has a toe fetish which is his business until they are my toes. I am not too comfortable with that, especially when he seems to call the others over for a peck.


Mr Kellogs


Dark Blues Brother. He is very dark but can see the lacing. We suspect he is our crower.


Mrs FWM


....and that my friends is all I have to say about that! The other girls are going well, getting 5 eggs a day from them most days which is not too bad considering of the 9 two are broody and one is a lazy bones SPW that only seems to lay after full blue moons.

 

[Wrightsx4]

Happy New Year! Just caught up reading from over the holiday. What a scare Ben! Glad it seems to have worked out well. Too bad - so many roos you'll be unable to keep. I can relate. Of my faverolles chicks, my only female couldn't be sweeter. She could be Baby reincarnated, lol. The six boys - I have chosen one keeper. I gave away two, and three await the soup pot until it warms up enough to do the processing more comfortably (for the humans). Your little fav girl is so cute! Funny how they make us smile. I'm definitely going to add more favs (females!) to my flock.

 

[NovaAman]

your supposed fav boy... He's not a salmon is he.... He should be colored in black with the red coming in on the shoulders and his beard should be black... Did the egg sellershavedifferent colors?


I don't think you have mareks problem. I think more like a jump down injury. Amber did that... She'd drop the wing for balance too. My raccoon attack victim, she also uses her wings for balance since her leg took quite a hit from that rascal. She doesn't roost anymore, but she rejoined the flock. But Amber... She limped for well over a week pretty badly, then slowly started to get better. She's right as rain now.

 

[Wrightsx4]

Here in the U.S. we have salmon favs and rarely white favs, but I know that there are many other varieties - and looking online it looks like Australia has more diversity than we do. I'd love to see him with that white fluffy face as he matures. Very unusual!

 

[Bens-Hens]

On the egg sellers FB page I can only find salmon. I know what you mean about the beard though, his colour seems pretty muffed from what I would expect looking at pics on the net. I did see teh parent flock, but can't recall what they looked like, it was muddy at the time anyway so everyone looked different to normal.

My guess though is that they probably are linked to another breeder in our south, who's roo's have some black, but not black beards. Looks like ours are going to feahter in similar colours.

http://www.freewebs.com/chookloop/apps/photos/album?albumid=10066665