Do you know where you're getting the new chicks from yet? That may affect some of our suggestions.
I've been pretty happy with my buckeyes for both heat tolerance and decent egg laying. If your pea combed ameracaunas do ok with your heat I see no reason buckeyes wouldn't be able to handle it...
Well, one of the malines cockerels in the garage brooder is starting to find his voice (still has nothing on Lady Amalthea volume-wise yet) and I was worried he would bother the neighbor who's house is right there. But she ran into me at work the other day and asked me "do you have chickens?"...
Um...a lot! There's 36 total out there at the moment and 7 more in my garage that will be moving out once we get the fence up and give those babies a lot more space. We'll be culling cockerels in another month or two, aiming for maybe 20 birds after culling. That coop can't comfortably over...
A run expansion is definitely in order. 12x12 is 144sq ft, which meets the generally acceptable minimum recommended space for 14 chickens. Once everyone is integrated that space would probably be ok, but it's a little tight for introducing new birds to the flock.
That said, I'm currently...
Yay Concord, good job little one! She's precious! Looking at those pictures, with mostly just the last syllable visible, I just realized how cute Cordi could be as a nickname.
With cats, the dog crate is your best option. I have 4 cats and I can't tell you how many times I've found one on the upstairs windowsill that's above my head. I brood in a large plastic bin, but it's in the basement where we can just keep the door shut to exclude the cats and I built a...
I don't know, her coloring looks very similar to a welsummer. I feel like she doesn't quite look like a welsummer, but not so far off that she couldn't be a hatchery quality welsummer.
Nope, both pullets. With combs and wattles that big and red you'd be seeing pointy saddle feathers. Phoebe(? the welsummer) has female specific coloration. They should be close to laying.
Female specific coloring :thumbsup She looks a lot like my olive egger, Limu.She was the first to start laying. She lays a lovely olive green egg.
Best guess is that she's a cream legbar/welsummer cross.
Yep, it depends on the brand. The all flock I use is, I think, about 18% protein. The chick starter is also around 18%. So in my case, the chick starter has the same amount of protein. I have seen some 19% 20% and 21% starter though which would be higher. All flock I've seen mostly 18% or 20%...
Like @Mrs. K says, subflocks like this are perfectly normal. Think of it as how like at a family reunion the kids and teenagers usually hang out with each other instead of with the adults.