Sophie, my Maran hen, she has never been a good layer, I get a egg from her here and there
Mindy, she is an Ameraucana, she was not part of the original Ameraucan batch, she must be 3 years old I think, lays an occasional green egg
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Still pecking
I still have 2 of my original Ameraucanas , now 5 years old.
Kori is 4 years old, she is the only one of my original Barred Rocks left, the other 3 all developed large internal tumors and died. Kori is funny, she always follows me around and makes a funny squeaky sound as she goes about her business, never seen another chicken making sounds like she does.
Mrs. Daisy, formerly known as the mystery chicken, she still lays a beautiful green egg almost every day
One of my 5 year old Ameraucanas, she still lays a large green egg several times a week, and she even continues to lay now when she is going through a slow but steady molt
Whitney, one of my 4 Welsumers, she is 3 years old now, I still have to bring her inside every night so she can catch up on eating as she still has problems with that and can only eat things that are a certain size and consistency. She doesn't mind sleeping inside on a shelf in the laundry room, but she loudly demands to go outside every morning. If I don't get to her fast enough, she jumps off the shelf and will then sit on top of the crate that I use to take her outside. It's funny because she will sometimes go all the way around it, to look how to make the "taxi" take her outside.
Carmen, she is my flightiest little hen, she lays a egg almost every day and goes broody like clockwork, very annoying, but can't argue with nature
Big Bertha, I still have 3 of my original Black Jersey Giants, they are now 4 years old. Big Bertha is huge, even larger than my other Black Jersey Giants. This summer I got a call from a guy in our food co-op telling me he had to re-home his 3 hens. Turned out he had 2 Black Jersey Giants, 4 years old. I am pretty sure they are "sisters" to my others, meaning they probably arrived with the same shipment, my old ones and those 2 adopted ones do hang out together sometimes, and they sure act the same. Funny how things go sometimes.
Bruna, I think she is 3 years old now
Sunday, January 22, 2012
New Arrivals,
the feedstore had a few pullets and I couldn't resist, since they all were the types I liked, I just had to get them. They all seem to be around the same age, my guess is around 5 months old, so should start laying any day.
The nice thing about getting pullets that are almost at point of lay is that I won't have to put in all the labor of raising baby chicks. As cute as baby chicks are, in our climate it's a real challenge to raise them. The last groups I raised in the garage, at night I had to worry about freezing temperatures and during the day it got too warm for them to be in the garage, then when I took them outside, I had to bring them into the garage at night because it was getting too cold at night, so lots of work shuttling chicks back and forth, not to mention the worries.
Meet Ruby, one of my new pullets, I really do not know what breed they are, my Mexican neighbors always seem to have chickens that look like this. Ruby looks a lot like my Ms Daisy, so we will see what she looks like when she is all grown.
And here is Carmen, she is the same type as Ruby. Carmen has the color of this type of chicken that I have wanted for a long time, every since I saw my neighbor's chickens. Carmen has already figured out that she can fly up and perch on the dividers in the barn. She is actually a bit darker in real life than it appears in these pictures.
Carmen and Ruby
Carmen showing off
Carmen on the move
Another view of Carmen the pretty girl
And here is Sugar, she is one of the other two girls I got, I am guessing she and Cookie are Ameraucanas, hopefully I am right and they will be laying lots of pretty colored eggs
Cookie, she seems to have lost some tail feathers during her stay at the feedstore, she will be pretty when those grow back, she has very pretty coloring
Sugar in the front and Cookie in the back
the two of them showing off, these two arrived today and really settled in quickly, however they stayed close to the barn all day and never went over to the perimeter fence. Carmen and Ruby left the barn this morning and spent all day along the perimeter fence. I was a bit worried that they wouldn't go back to the barn in the evening, but they all did and they seem to be accepting of each other's presence. I had originally brought home Ruby and Carmen and also a rooster with another hen, but the rooster's little hen took offense to the other females and attacked them and the rooster backed her up, so I put the two of them back in a crate and took them back to the feedstore, then today I went back to get Sugar and Cookie.
Looking forward to when they are all grown up
My Pretty Girls Sugar and Cookie
the feedstore had a few pullets and I couldn't resist, since they all were the types I liked, I just had to get them. They all seem to be around the same age, my guess is around 5 months old, so should start laying any day.
The nice thing about getting pullets that are almost at point of lay is that I won't have to put in all the labor of raising baby chicks. As cute as baby chicks are, in our climate it's a real challenge to raise them. The last groups I raised in the garage, at night I had to worry about freezing temperatures and during the day it got too warm for them to be in the garage, then when I took them outside, I had to bring them into the garage at night because it was getting too cold at night, so lots of work shuttling chicks back and forth, not to mention the worries.
Meet Ruby, one of my new pullets, I really do not know what breed they are, my Mexican neighbors always seem to have chickens that look like this. Ruby looks a lot like my Ms Daisy, so we will see what she looks like when she is all grown.
And here is Carmen, she is the same type as Ruby. Carmen has the color of this type of chicken that I have wanted for a long time, every since I saw my neighbor's chickens. Carmen has already figured out that she can fly up and perch on the dividers in the barn. She is actually a bit darker in real life than it appears in these pictures.
Carmen and Ruby
Carmen showing off
Carmen on the move
Another view of Carmen the pretty girl
And here is Sugar, she is one of the other two girls I got, I am guessing she and Cookie are Ameraucanas, hopefully I am right and they will be laying lots of pretty colored eggs
Cookie, she seems to have lost some tail feathers during her stay at the feedstore, she will be pretty when those grow back, she has very pretty coloring
Sugar in the front and Cookie in the back
the two of them showing off, these two arrived today and really settled in quickly, however they stayed close to the barn all day and never went over to the perimeter fence. Carmen and Ruby left the barn this morning and spent all day along the perimeter fence. I was a bit worried that they wouldn't go back to the barn in the evening, but they all did and they seem to be accepting of each other's presence. I had originally brought home Ruby and Carmen and also a rooster with another hen, but the rooster's little hen took offense to the other females and attacked them and the rooster backed her up, so I put the two of them back in a crate and took them back to the feedstore, then today I went back to get Sugar and Cookie.
Looking forward to when they are all grown up
My Pretty Girls Sugar and CookieThursday, March 24, 2011
My Annual Chicken Count, My 4 Year Old Hens, Only 3 of my original 10 chicks are surviving, lost one rooster after a fight with the other rooster, one rooster I re-homed because he was so brutal on the hens, I lost 5 of the hens to various illnesses. It took time to learn how to treat chicken illnesses. I miss the ones I have lost and I glad the younger ones are having a better chance at a longer life. When I first got into chickens, I really never saw anywhere to do PREVENTIVE healthcare like regular treatment for coccidiosis when they are young other than giving them medicated feed. I have since learned thatit is important to worm and treat for external parasites on a regular basis and since I treat mine regularly for coccidiosis as well, they have all been doing a lot better. Over time I have also developed a much better eye for something not being right, just spending a few extra minutes a few times a day to observe flock movement will often reveal a hen that is a bit off, if one doesn't come running when I show up, I take note and watch her more closely the next time I check on them to see if it was just a one time thing or if there is something going on. Being slow to come for treats or not showing much interest to eat in a chicken is basically a medical emergency and if not treated right away they go downhill fast. In my experience they do not recover on their own, so without intervention they will die. I have treated several of mine for illness and the majority have recovered and resumed normal life and laying eggs. So it's well worth it to have medications on hand to treat a sick hen. I have also taken several of them to the veterinarian if I needed a second opinion or a prescription medication. 
Pearl, she is the Queen of the flock, she never misses anything and is always handing out pecks to her flock to remind them who is running the place, she resumed laying eggs after her first serious illness over a year ago, I never know for sure which eggs are hers unless I see her in the nestbox, but it seems like she lays an egg every other day. Not bad for a 4 year old hen.
Pearl is always on the go
Buffy my Buff Orpington, hasn't laid an egg since she injured her leg as a young hen, my guess is that she may have suffered some internal injury to her egg laying organs when she fell of the roost, I didn't see it when it happened, but my guess is that the rooster who was not nice to the hens knocked her off
Buffy again, she is always on the go, but she moves pretty slow, doesn't limp, just moves slower than she used to
Tippy and Pearl, Tippy is a Barred Leghorn
Tippy is quite a character, she sometimes produces an egg, but it does not have a real shell, she hasn't done it lately, she seems to feel better when she doesn't have this egg laying problem.
Pearl, she is the Queen of the flock, she never misses anything and is always handing out pecks to her flock to remind them who is running the place, she resumed laying eggs after her first serious illness over a year ago, I never know for sure which eggs are hers unless I see her in the nestbox, but it seems like she lays an egg every other day. Not bad for a 4 year old hen. 
Pearl is always on the go 
Buffy my Buff Orpington, hasn't laid an egg since she injured her leg as a young hen, my guess is that she may have suffered some internal injury to her egg laying organs when she fell of the roost, I didn't see it when it happened, but my guess is that the rooster who was not nice to the hens knocked her off 
Buffy again, she is always on the go, but she moves pretty slow, doesn't limp, just moves slower than she used to 
Tippy and Pearl, Tippy is a Barred Leghorn 
Tippy is quite a character, she sometimes produces an egg, but it does not have a real shell, she hasn't done it lately, she seems to feel better when she doesn't have this egg laying problem.My 3 Year Olds,
I got 8 Ameraucana hens 3 years ago as young pullets, sadly only 4 of them are surviving. We lost one to an accident the first year, one got sick and died and the other two died suddenly within a week of each other, one I found when I came home for lunch, the other one died over night and I found her in the morning, this happened late summer when it was not so hot anymore, luckily it was just the 2 of them and nobody else had a problem. All 4 of them are still laying eggs, one of them lays a large olive green egg, the others lay lighter blueish green eggs
This is Stella, she is the biggest one of my Ameraucanas and she has no beard or ear muffs.
The 2 Year Olds,
This is Stella, she is the biggest one of my Ameraucanas and she has no beard or ear muffs. 
The 2 Year Olds, I am happy to say that of all the hens I got 2 years ago all are still with us, Daisy the mystery hen, the 2 Buff Orpingtons, 4 Barred Rocks and 4 Black Jersey Giants
Daisy is the mystery hen, she is quite a bully towards any younger hens, and does not like to be handled, but she is a prolific layer and lays a very pretty smooth green egg of a good size especially since she is not very big
The larger Buff Orpington
that's her again
this is Chica, she is smallish and requires special care, I always sit with her on a bench when I give everybody scratch and sunflower seeds, I let her eat in peace with me watching over her otherwise she doesn't get her share, she can't see well and there is one Ameraucana hen who always interferes with her eating if I put those treats out. Chica sometimes gets a bit blue on the tips of her comb, but his has been ongoing so maybe she has a heart or respiratory problem.
One of the Barred Rocks
Another Barred Rock, this one is a very noisy hen, always running around cackling about something, she seems to take whatever she has to say very seriously, I just haven't figured out yet what she is always talking about.
Big Bertha, one of my Black Jersey Giants, she is HUGE, I am guessing she weighs 10 to 12 lbs, she is bigger than any of the other Jersey Giants
The 1 Year Olds,
Daisy is the mystery hen, she is quite a bully towards any younger hens, and does not like to be handled, but she is a prolific layer and lays a very pretty smooth green egg of a good size especially since she is not very big 
The larger Buff Orpington 
that's her again 
this is Chica, she is smallish and requires special care, I always sit with her on a bench when I give everybody scratch and sunflower seeds, I let her eat in peace with me watching over her otherwise she doesn't get her share, she can't see well and there is one Ameraucana hen who always interferes with her eating if I put those treats out. Chica sometimes gets a bit blue on the tips of her comb, but his has been ongoing so maybe she has a heart or respiratory problem. 
One of the Barred Rocks 
Another Barred Rock, this one is a very noisy hen, always running around cackling about something, she seems to take whatever she has to say very seriously, I just haven't figured out yet what she is always talking about. 
Big Bertha, one of my Black Jersey Giants, she is HUGE, I am guessing she weighs 10 to 12 lbs, she is bigger than any of the other Jersey Giants 
The 1 Year Olds, last year I got 2 Buckeyes, 2 California Whites, 1 Delaware, 1 Ameraucana, 2 Marans, 2 Golden Laced Wyandottes and 4 Welsummers. We lost one, Foxie to a tragic accident when she fell behind a crate, she was only missing for a few hours, but when I found her she was dead.
Barbie my young Delaware came in the same shipping box as the Buckeyes and the feedstore guy tried to tell me she was a Buckeye, well, the Buckeyes only come in brown, so I knew she wasn't a Buckeye, I guessed Delaware, and I guessed right. It was kind of funny because I didn't get her the day I got the others, but then the more I thought about the yellow chick in the box with the brown ones, I felt I wanted to have her, so I went back the next day hoping she would still be there, and she was, so here she is. She has less barring on her neck than Pearl has, so I can easily keep them apart, she is also bigger than Pearl,
Barbie is a nice hen, she lays the typical nice brown eggs that the Delawares lay
The two Golden Laced Wyandottes are very pretty, so far they lay rather small, pinkish brown eggs, neither is very friendly, oh well, being pretty will just have to do,
Sophie one of the Marans, they came from a breeder in Vegas, when I do get more chickens I definetely want to get more Marans, I really like them
Whitney, my little Welsummer hen that I had to raise by hand, she loves being a real chicken out in the yard, I still have her sleep in the house to make sure she gets enough to eat. She complains loudly in the mornings if I don't take her outside fast enough to join her friends
she is very smart and because I have spent so much time with her, I have learned a lot about chicken language
she is a pretty little girl, all my Welsummers have nice temperaments and are good layers of medium to dark brown eggs, one lays a very speckled egg
Bruna my Buckeye, it still makes me sad that we lost her sister
Mindy, she is an Ameraucana and I got her at the same time as the Marans, but she is actually a year older than they are. She lays a very pretty blueish egg, she is a bit timid around the other hens, but she is smart and gets her share of treats
Welsummer hen, the Welsummers look very much alike, I have 4, I keep them apart by looking at their combs, each one has a different shape
The same Welsummer from the side
My Souzie girl, one of my two Marans hens, she is a very nice hen, not the greatest in the egg laying department, her egg is not very dark and usually has a thin rough shell, but I love her anyway, she has a very nice personality and calm disposition.
more pictures of Souzie, she and Sophie were actually hatched at almost the same time as the Welsummers and Wyandottes and the Hamburg, all around May 10, 2010
the little Spangled Hamburg hen, I wish I had gotten more than one, she seems a bit lost without another one like herself, she is a noisy little bird, running around forever croaking like a big crow
she is stunning and lays a good sized tinted white egg
Sophie, one of my Marans hens, she lays the darkest egg of all of them
Sophie
this is Cally, my two California Whites lay amazingly big white eggs for their smallish size
Nicki, she always had a paler comb than my other California White Cally, her eggs are very smooth and shiny, this is another breed I really like, very alert and active without being flighty
My little Whitney, one year old next month
Barbie my young Delaware came in the same shipping box as the Buckeyes and the feedstore guy tried to tell me she was a Buckeye, well, the Buckeyes only come in brown, so I knew she wasn't a Buckeye, I guessed Delaware, and I guessed right. It was kind of funny because I didn't get her the day I got the others, but then the more I thought about the yellow chick in the box with the brown ones, I felt I wanted to have her, so I went back the next day hoping she would still be there, and she was, so here she is. She has less barring on her neck than Pearl has, so I can easily keep them apart, she is also bigger than Pearl, 
Barbie is a nice hen, she lays the typical nice brown eggs that the Delawares lay 
The two Golden Laced Wyandottes are very pretty, so far they lay rather small, pinkish brown eggs, neither is very friendly, oh well, being pretty will just have to do, 
Sophie one of the Marans, they came from a breeder in Vegas, when I do get more chickens I definetely want to get more Marans, I really like them 
Whitney, my little Welsummer hen that I had to raise by hand, she loves being a real chicken out in the yard, I still have her sleep in the house to make sure she gets enough to eat. She complains loudly in the mornings if I don't take her outside fast enough to join her friends 
she is very smart and because I have spent so much time with her, I have learned a lot about chicken language 
she is a pretty little girl, all my Welsummers have nice temperaments and are good layers of medium to dark brown eggs, one lays a very speckled egg 
Bruna my Buckeye, it still makes me sad that we lost her sister 
Mindy, she is an Ameraucana and I got her at the same time as the Marans, but she is actually a year older than they are. She lays a very pretty blueish egg, she is a bit timid around the other hens, but she is smart and gets her share of treats 
Welsummer hen, the Welsummers look very much alike, I have 4, I keep them apart by looking at their combs, each one has a different shape 
The same Welsummer from the side 
My Souzie girl, one of my two Marans hens, she is a very nice hen, not the greatest in the egg laying department, her egg is not very dark and usually has a thin rough shell, but I love her anyway, she has a very nice personality and calm disposition. 
more pictures of Souzie, she and Sophie were actually hatched at almost the same time as the Welsummers and Wyandottes and the Hamburg, all around May 10, 2010 
the little Spangled Hamburg hen, I wish I had gotten more than one, she seems a bit lost without another one like herself, she is a noisy little bird, running around forever croaking like a big crow 
she is stunning and lays a good sized tinted white egg 
Sophie, one of my Marans hens, she lays the darkest egg of all of them 
Sophie 
this is Cally, my two California Whites lay amazingly big white eggs for their smallish size 
Nicki, she always had a paler comb than my other California White Cally, her eggs are very smooth and shiny, this is another breed I really like, very alert and active without being flighty 
My little Whitney, one year old next month
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