During good weather I've been putting the chicks outside in the back yard during the day and bringing them back inside to their cages at night. They are fine in the cages but chickens need to be chickens. They can be real chickens when they're outside. I feel bad enough for having kept them enclosed for all this time.
They all hang together more or less. They peck at the weeds and at the dirt. They scratch around to see if they might find a treat. They're fun to watch. I'd snap a pic but the yard outside my fish room looks like white trash lives here :-[ I have to scoop them up and put them in their inside containers in the evening, before WC. I don't want a nocturnal predator to chow down on them.
Quote from: LizStreithorst on May 12, 2017, 04:06:00 PM
During good weather I've been putting the chicks outside in the back yard during the day and bringing them back inside to their cages at night. They are fine in the cages but chickens need to be chickens. They can be real chickens when they're outside. I feel bad enough for having kept them enclosed for all this time.
They all hang together more or less. They peck at the weeds and at the dirt. They scratch around to see if they might find a treat. They're fun to watch. I'd snap a pic but the yard outside my fish room looks like white trash lives here :-[ I have to scoop them up and put them in their inside containers in the evening, before WC. I don't want a nocturnal predator to chow down on them.
....would they eat crickets if you caught 'em ?....that'd be a hoot watching them hop after them... ;D
I bet they would go crazy for them.
Quote from: LizStreithorst on May 12, 2017, 05:01:54 PM
I bet they would go crazy for them.
+1.....you should see Sassy hop when she's hunting them down.....hilarious :)
I built some yard cages that are just a frame of chicken wire with an open side. The open side sits on the ground so they can peck at the real thing. You move it over a few feet every day so they have fresh dirt and grass.
Don't know if I missed it, but what breed of chickens did you get? Right now I have Spitzhaubens
11 Light Bramah's (1 rooster and 10 pullets) and 2 Buff Brahma's (straight run).
What's a pullets Liz?
Dennis
it's a young female.
Quote from: LizStreithorst on May 13, 2017, 07:43:43 AM
it's a young female.
Thanks Liz, my Gallus gallus domesticus terminology is not what it should be. ;)
Dennis
Quote from: BallAquatics on May 13, 2017, 07:56:56 AM
Quote from: LizStreithorst on May 13, 2017, 07:43:43 AM
it's a young female.
Thanks Liz, my Gallus gallus domesticus terminology is not what it should be. ;)
Dennis
....LOL...I looked it up too...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken)
Nice, the Brahma's are good looking chickens. Back in the day my wife was showing bantam blue Cochins.
Quote from: Mugwump on May 13, 2017, 08:01:27 AM
Quote from: BallAquatics on May 13, 2017, 07:56:56 AM
Quote from: LizStreithorst on May 13, 2017, 07:43:43 AM
it's a young female.
Thanks Liz, my Gallus gallus domesticus terminology is not what it should be. ;)
Dennis
....LOL...I looked it up too...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken)
What a bunch of city slickers, don't know what a pullet is. LOL :)
I've been around chickens all my life and I don't think I've ever heard a chicken called a pullet. But I rarely hear people call female dogs bitches, it seems like only dog people use that word and it always surprises me a little when I hear it. My wife thinks there is something wrong with me because I never pay attention to the gender of animals, I refer to them as 'he' or 'she' randomly and get it wrong half the time.
Quote from: waterboy on May 13, 2017, 10:18:57 AM
Quote from: Mugwump on May 13, 2017, 08:01:27 AM
Quote from: BallAquatics on May 13, 2017, 07:56:56 AM
Quote from: LizStreithorst on May 13, 2017, 07:43:43 AM
it's a young female.
Thanks Liz, my Gallus gallus domesticus terminology is not what it should be. ;)
Dennis
....LOL...I looked it up too...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken)
What a bunch of city slickers, don't know what a pullet is. LOL :)
....I've had pullet eggs....and I knew they were small chickens.....but never knew that the 'small' was was only temporary til they aged and grew to be normal chicken....
...now I learned something..........cool |^|
Dang Chicks have become an obsession :-[ The fish are a burden right now. The chicks are a joy. Every time I scoop them up and carry them in or out 3 to 5 at a time they become more tame. I understand that the Buff's make excellent show chickens. I'm a sucker for entering my best of anything in a show. There is a chicken show at the State Fair the same day as they have the Dairy Goat show. Mine won't be show age yet but I would love the opportunity to talk to the exhibitors and judges.
Has anyone here ever seen the judging of a chicken show. Three judges walk around in white lab coats. They each have a clip board that I guess has score cards on it. They are allowed to consult with each other during judging. It is fun watching them consult. It seems like they are talking about the finer points of conformation but they could just be shooting the bull for all I know.
Ilroost, please tell me all you know about chicken shows :-*
When the kids were here we would hold some of the chicks at night as we were sitting watching TV or whatever. Those became really tame and as adults they let you pick them up easily. There is only one goose that tame because it got held more.
I could do that.
I have already figured out which Light Brahma chick is my rooster. It's the same as with fish. The more you look at them the more subtleties you pick up. My rooster is slightly larger and walks taller and more proud. I'd love to get him to trust me well enough that I could show him.
They say that the Buff Brahma's are the knock out show chickens but I don't see it so far except that their color is so pretty.
The Brahmas are nice looking birds. I have a real old hen that's a Silver Laced Wyandotte that look good. I only have the one, it way outlived all its siblings.
Chicken shows are a lot like dog shows. They check for color, how straight feathers are, ect. I loved going to the shows because you meet up with friends you only see once or twice a year. I won grand champion once with a white bantam cochin rooster.. My handle on here is from my chicken days. Ilroost is short for Illinois Rooster. Wallace what breed of geese do you keep? I have a pair of brown Chinese geese now days. A quad of Spitzhauben chickens and a pair of blue muscovey ducks. Also here at the zoo lol is 4 female pygmy goats and 2 pot belly pigs. Also have a cockatoo that I have had for around 23 years
Quote from: ilroost on May 13, 2017, 09:53:04 PM
Chicken shows are a lot like dog shows. They check for color, how straight feathers are, ect. I loved going to the shows because you meet up with friends you only see once or twice a year. I won grand champion once with a white bantam cochin rooster.. My handle on here is from my chicken days. Ilroost is short for Illinois Rooster. Wallace what breed of geese do you keep? I have a pair of brown Chinese geese now days. A quad of Spitzhauben chickens and a pair of blue muscovey ducks. Also here at the zoo lol is 4 female pygmy goats and 2 pot belly pigs. Also have a cockatoo that I have had for around 23 years
We have about 8 Sebastopol geese and one Canada honker. The honker can fly around near the ground but apparently has never figured out that he is capable of going up in the sky. The Sebastopol males are very crabby right now because its nesting season, and they go after my shins when I walk by.
A new goat showed up yesterday, a little grey buck. He coughed in the car all the way home and then stopped when he got here. huh
We have pigs off and on. Definitely not pets, they go into the freezer when they get up to about 280 lbs.
Quote from: ilroost on May 13, 2017, 09:53:04 PM
Chicken shows are a lot like dog shows. They check for color, how straight feathers are, ect. I loved going to the shows because you meet up with friends you only see once or twice a year. I won grand champion once with a white bantam cochin rooster.. My handle on here is from my chicken days. Ilroost is short for Illinois Rooster. Wallace what breed of geese do you keep? I have a pair of brown Chinese geese now days. A quad of Spitzhauben chickens and a pair of blue muscovey ducks. Also here at the zoo lol is 4 female pygmy goats and 2 pot belly pigs. Also have a cockatoo that I have had for around 23 years
....Bob and the rooster...... |^|
(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t34.0-12/18470949_1615467365143513_13180311_n.jpg?oh=e4f7e0a36ac2e73eebbeb49aee7a14dd&oe=591ABF63)
Liz a friend at work his son and wife show chickens maybe there is something on their website that may help
http://www.padillas-peeps.com/
Thanks Jon
Quote from: GeorgeG on May 14, 2017, 10:42:59 AM
Liz a friend at work his son and wife show chickens maybe there is something on their website that may help
http://www.padillas-peeps.com/
Very interesting, George. Thanks.
A casualty. I came home from running an errand in town and I heard the sound of a chicken in distress. I ran to look and all my chicks but 3 were outside of their fenced yard. As I was rounding them up and putting them back, I found where they got out. It was where the dogs discovered an armadillo digging a hole along the fence and went crazy and dug a deeper hole in the wee hours one night months and months ago. I knew that place was there but had totally forgotten it. I got them all safely back in their yard but one is missing. I haven't found the body but I know that Big Head got ahold of it. It was one of my two Buffs.
..poor thing......that sucks..........I hope he pops out of the brush and surprises you... |^|
You were right. It was hunkered down somewhere keeping still. I heard the sound of a frustrated chick. It was trying unsuccessfully to get back with it's buddies. Everyone is safe and secure. Phew...
Quote from: LizStreithorst on May 15, 2017, 12:14:02 PM
You were right. It was hunkered down somewhere keeping still. I heard the sound of a frustrated chick. It was trying unsuccessfully to get back with it's buddies. Everyone is safe and secure. Phew...
BOOMBA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |^|
All's well that ends well... |^|
Its good to hear that the little thing survived. :)
Glad you found the chick Liz! With all the political BS, it's nice to hear a story with a happy ending. ;)
Dennis
Quote from: BallAquatics on May 16, 2017, 06:37:07 AM
Glad you found the chick Liz! With all the political BS, it's nice to hear a story with a happy ending. ;)
Dennis
+1 |^| yup...
I used to rustle them up every night and put them in their inside homes for their own safety. They must have gotten together and discussed strategy because en masse when I went to scoop them up they all ran in different directions and made gathering them impossible. For 5 days they've been in the yard outside the fish room that looks like white trash lives here day and night. I leave the door to the fish room open to them in case of rain or predators. I have food and water there for them as well. They still prefer being outside, thank God, but they like being in the fish room enough that I know I'll have to hose down the floor in another week.
I think that maybe white trash lives here. I don't care.
..I've started reading an interesting book by Nancy Isenberg titled White Trash - The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. It's really interesting and we didn't have it in our history books while going through the grades! ...Originally when America was discovered and settlers were sent over, there was the overt intention of keeping a class system....It's a laborious read for me but I'm sticking with it.... ;)
...plenty of time to read tomorrow while flying and with layover going to Richmond for the funeral...and back...!
..travel safe, Ron....
Quote from: Ron Sower on May 18, 2017, 09:37:26 PM
..I've started reading an interesting book by Nancy Isenberg titled White Trash - The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. It's really interesting and we didn't have it in our history books while going through the grades! ...Originally when America was discovered and settlers were sent over, there was the overt intention of keeping a class system....It's a laborious read for me but I'm sticking with it.... ;)
...plenty of time to read tomorrow while flying and with layover going to Richmond for the funeral...and back...!
I wonder if I qualify because I put my own self in a lower class. I was raised upper-middle but it was never comfortable for me. I have always gravitated toward the working class.
But even the working class doesn't have 10 dogs, god knows how many fish, and 13 chickens allowed access to the fish room. The fish room is warm and humid, even with the exhaust fan going. The floor gets wet as I work the tanks. We've had rain showers and we're forecast to have 5 days of rain on the way!!! It will not be at all pleasant in the fish room with 13 chicks shitting all over the floor.
I sound a lot like white trash to me.
Quote from: LizStreithorst on May 19, 2017, 06:43:24 PM
I sound a lot like white trash to me.
Do we experience the world as it really is ... or as we need it to be? - https://www.ted.com/talks/donald_hoffman_do_we_see_reality_as_it_is (https://www.ted.com/talks/donald_hoffman_do_we_see_reality_as_it_is)
Up To 90% Of Your Perception Could Be Made Up Purely By The Brain - https://braindecoder.com/post/up-to-90-of-your-perception-could-be-made-up-purely-by-the-brain-1104633927 (https://braindecoder.com/post/up-to-90-of-your-perception-could-be-made-up-purely-by-the-brain-1104633927)
Dennis
Back to chickens. They've been out free range all day. I just put them to bed. I thought I'd snap a few pics. I hate that I missed the one of all 13 of them gathered around their new feeder. That's when I ran for the camera and when I got back they were all doing different things. The handsome one on the perch is my rooster.
..nice pics |^|...wow, they're getting so big !!!! :o
I ordered my cheeps a toy. I bought them two of these: https://www.jefferspet.com/products/the-chicken-swing?trk_msg=02Q65CE6F684L2QV7MP7NDF87O&trk_contact=SC9BML9PA6BL3EU7B1THQ9NK8S&trk_sid=M3NMV0LS0G4L1956ULSJ8S7UVC&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=The+Chicken+Swing&utm_campaign=05%2f25%2f2017+LIV+Poultry&utm_content=05%2f25%2f2017+LIV+Poultry I'll hang them from the rafters so they will have something to play with during the times they're inside their house.
I was building a small pen for them. Bought and paid for all the materials. Got post holes dug and posts in place. But I've been letting the chicks run free all week. The dogs pretty much ignore them except for Big Head who is still fascinated buy them. He's outside beside their house when I let them out in the morning. When I come home from work he's watching them play outside. It's rather worrisome. The few times I've seen a dog so fascinated by a smaller animal the dog ended up killing it.
None of my other dogs show any interest in my chicks. I was afraid that Bruno who resembles a sight hound would make them run so he could catch one. Nope. I thought that Roxy, Big Head's litter sister would want to wipe them out. Nope. I was worried about Blackie who is related on the sire's side to Big Head and Roxie, though you would never know if you saw them. Blackie ignores chickens.
I think that my best bet is to finish the 8'X30' run and keep the chickens in it unless I am home. It would be great if Big Head were the chicken protector that he seems to be, but I have serious doubts. I won't have to worry about him doing something that he know's I don't want him to do if I'm home.
Our chickens have swings they don't play with... maybe yours will.
In my experience a dog will kill several birds. Our wirehaired griffin suddenly killed 11 chickens one day. Came home and there were dead birds all over the place. :o
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/7a74d5a727d1e798805655304f00739e/tumblr_oncsk5lez61si8o3zo1_400.gif)
So how are the chicks doing?......any pics?
They are as happy as can be and they always make me smile. I took a pic through the office window a week or so ago. It was the only way I was able to capture all 13 of them in the same shot. I took the pic of the lazy things in their favorite dusting spot earlier today. The one in the foreground is the rooster. See the wattles growing?
...great pics !....they're getting big fast.....how long to maturity huh
They start laying at around 6 months. They're just 2 1/2 months right now.
The chicks, they won't be chickens until they start to lay, have been enjoying all the rain we've had. When it's raining they stay inside the chicken house with well balanced commercial food free choice. When it quits raining they go out and snag the red wigglers that come to the surface if the soil so they can breath. I've watched them hunt for worms. The big ones are better at it that the smaller ones because they know how to find the best food. At least that's what I think. Then the young tender grass crickets hatch out. I've never caught them catching a cricket but I'm sure they do. I bet they catch all kinds of weird stuff that I don't even know about. Life is good now for them.
The chick that I thought was a rooster is a hen. She's my best looking hen. I like her conformation. She stands tall and has almost no back like a show chicken of her breed. I spotted the rooster when he started growing wattles. So far I consider him to be average in conformation. He is still quite young. He might change but I won't count on it. If one of my hens goes broody I know whose eggs I will stick under her.
Quote from: LizStreithorst on June 24, 2017, 04:21:34 PM
The chicks, they won't be chickens until they start to lay, have been enjoying all the rain we've had. When it's raining they stay inside the chicken house with well balanced commercial food free choice. When it quits raining they go out and snag the red wigglers that come to the surface if the soil so they can breath. I've watched them hunt for worms. The big ones are better at it that the smaller ones because they know how to find the best food. At least that's what I think. Then the young tender grass crickets hatch out. I've never caught them catching a cricket but I'm sure they do. I bet they catch all kinds of weird stuff that I don't even know about. Life is good now for them.
The chick that I thought was a rooster is a hen. She's my best looking hen. I like her conformation. She stands tall and has almost no back like a show chicken of her breed. I spotted the rooster when he started growing wattles. So far I consider him to be average in conformation. He is still quite young. He might change but I won't count on it. If one of my hens goes broody I know whose eggs I will stick under her.
Those nice looking chicks are really getting nice and big, Liz. Great job. |^| |^| |^| |^| |^|
.....soon you'll have delicious fresh eggs.....MMMMmmmmm....
I got a nice shot of Mr. Pecker this afternoon.
...very nice..... |^|
The dang chickens have me trained. Just before the 4th of July weekend I went to the feed store and got 50 lbs of dog, 50 lbs. of horse, and 50 lbs. of chick starter. When I opened the chick starter it was "scratch". I looked for the tag and there was no tag. Pissed me off because I know that scratch has little nutritional value and I wouldn't be going back to town for 4 days! I had no choice, I filled their feeder with it.
They Adore that stuff!!!!!! These are free range chicks with good quality commercial food free choice but they couldn't get enough of that crappy scratch. 12 chicks ate 2 1/2 gallons of it in 4 days!
My next work day I went to the feed store, told them what happened, and asked to get a bag of chick starter for the price of scratch. No big deal. The big deal is that I started throwing the chicks several handfuls of scratch after work every day. They love it so much that they will eat it out of my hand! Chickens are afraid of everything. They are easy targets for predators. Mine have the free range of as many acres as they want to explore but I the only open space I ever see them in is in my front yard. I'm happy that they have good instincts but the scratch will help them be unafraid of me. I just wish that when they didn't get their scratch as soon as I get home they wouldn't come to the front door begging for it!
chickens are a hoot.
Well at least you won't have to chase them just scatter some and they will keep following u lol
...I'd love to watch you feed your full crew...I'll bet it's a hoot... |^|
It's fun for a country bumpkin like me. Don't think that city folk would find it interesting.