Older Hens, Rooster, Duck, and Drake (4-5yrs) Looking for Homes (Bozeman, MT)

[vanillachai]

Located in Bozeman, Montana. We will deliver them to you or meet you in town.

I have 4-5 year old chickens and ducks in need of homes. Unfortunately I'm not sure who is still laying, but some of the hens are still laying some eggs. Any of them anyone is willing to take in would be a blessing.

There are 4 Buff Orphingtons, 2 White Beardless Silkie Bantams, 1 White Bearded Silkie Bantam, 2 Easter Eggers, 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte, 1 Black Australorp, 1 Grey-Blue Cochin Bantam. (All hens)
1 Blue Splash Chochin Bantam Rooster, 1 Rouen Drake, and one Cayuga Duck.

Below are a few current pictures of some of them. I can take more of specific chickens/ducks if wanted.

 

[sourland]

These birds are in great condition. Try posting in your state thread. Hopefully you can find homes for them.

 

[vanillachai]

These birds are in great condition. Try posting in your state thread. Hopefully you can find homes for them.

Thank you for the advice! I'll try posting there.

 

[vanillachai]

Fun fact! The rooster is very easy to pick up! He's kind of hilariously bad at avoiding getting held. As long as you approach gently you'll have a small pillowy roo in your arms before you know it! Even when he's feeling defensive towards someone he's so small he can't really do anything and it's even easier to pick him up.

 

[ldirk7]

Are either of the easter eggers still laying?

 

[vanillachai]

Are either of the easter eggers still laying?

It looks like at least one is! I can get back to you on how consistently these two in particular are laying at the moment since they are easy to tell apart from the others.

I do know which is the younger of the two as well.
She was rescued on the loose in town where no one would claim her because it was in an area chickens weren't allowed and brought to us. Unfortunately with the housing market right now neither I nor her rescuer who was hoping to house her in the future can keep her any longer. But she is probably the most people friendly hen of the group! They are all well socialized but she flew up onto my shoulder for comfort when she was younger and getting used to the flock.

 

[ldirk7]

I’m trying to convince my husband to take on this bird- so not a yes right just yet but I’m hopeful. I wish I could help you with more but our coop is built for 8-10 and we would like to still get chicks again in several years from now. We are new to chicken keeping and our flock of 5 is doing amazing, so he is understandably a bit reserved, doesn’t want to rock the boat. We have had a lot of animal stress lately between the addition of a new puppy, and then becoming new chicken keepers so he kind of just wants to be able to chill for a little bit.

How does it go integrating a grown hen into a flock of pullets? I would think it would be easier than integrating into a flock of grown hens?

 

[ldirk7]

Oh, and I know exactly 2 other chicken owners in town (lol), I will put a word out for you but not sure it will go far!

 

[vanillachai]

I’m trying to convince my husband to take on this bird- so not a yes right just yet but I’m hopeful. I wish I could help you with more but our coop is built for 8-10 and we would like to still get chicks again in several years from now. We are new to chicken keeping and our flock of 5 is doing amazing, so he is understandably a bit reserved, doesn’t want to rock the boat. We have had a lot of animal stress lately between the addition of a new puppy, and then becoming new chicken keepers so he kind of just wants to be able to chill for a little bit.

How does it go integrating a grown hen into a flock of pullets? I would think it would be easier than integrating into a flock of grown hens?

I'm very grateful that you are even considering one! No need to feel pressured/bad.

I've never tried integrating a grown hen into a group of pullets myself. I've introduced single grown chickens, a single pullet, and a small group of pullets to a small flock in the past, so it might be a good thing to look into to be on the safe side, but I do feel like introducing any new chickens usually has about the same steps, just more carefully when introducing a single chicken as they are more likely to get ganged up on alone. And of course the pullets should be around a certain point in their growth as well. (apologies, it's been a while so I don't remember exactly how old off the top of my head)

Oh, and I know exactly 2 other chicken owners in town (lol), I will put a word out for you but not sure it will go far!

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Regardless of your decision I wish you the best with your new flock and new puppy!

 

[vanillachai]

Hello everyone! Just wanted to update a little on the eggs. I don't know how much this will help, but this was today's egg batch. (checked just a minute ago around 11:30am)

However, the Buffs and bearded Silkie were feeling nesty until just recently, so they may very well still lay every now and again! The weather has also been very harsh lately. They have plenty of access to fresh water, food, shelter, dust bathing, and ventilation, but nonetheless it's been very hot. I will update again after a few days, checking later in the day if I can about the number of eggs I seem to get daily. Again, not sure how much this will help as I do not know who is laying specifically, but just in case!

One more thing, I included the 5yr olds in the general description, just because I'm not actually sure if we have a 5yr old in the group of buffs. Going by my gut feeling I'd say we don't, but I can't be 100% sure. Most of the chickens are 4yrs, the only 5 year old should be the bearded silkie. Unless there's a Buff...The ducks are 4yrs and the younger of the two Easter Eggers is actually 3 years!