Where did those photos get off to? I made the last post from my new smartphone and they showed in its' web browser. Mmmm. Will have to see what's up.
In other news.... we have chickies!!!
Over the weekend I built a makeshift brooder coop on the back porch and installed 16 Buff Orpington pullets and 10 Americuna (hopefully) pullets. An old timer at tractor Supply showed me how he'd been taught to sex chicks by behavior and all ten do the "girl thing." (Cross your fingers!) There are Orpingtons in the flock I'm keeping for the neighbor and they are lovely birds. The Americunas are an Aracuna cross bred to lay larger eggs. They lay blue and green shelled eggs so, if all goes to plan, the eggs I sell will be a mix of white, tan, brown, and blue.
Because the brooder coop is decidedly NOT a Fort Knox style structure Mr. Rufus has been put to work minding the coop at night. With the aid of an electric blanket set on high, he seems to really enjoy his work. Indeed, he seems to understand that he's doing a job that I consider very important and has not barked without cause (admittedly, "cause" was a cat) any night he's been out. He'll continue to sleep out until the chicks are big enough to go into the main coop.
Perhaps Mr. Fuzzy will post some photos for you. Right now I'm packing for a long overdue trip to visit my mother and brother.
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3 comments:
So, what counts as girl chick behavior?
Yes, I'm curious about what girl chicks do that distinguishes them...
More chickens! Auracana and Buff Orpingtons are mostly what we have now since the fisher cat thinned the flock back in January. A good neighbor who thins her large laying flock regularly offered us over 3 dozen 2 year old hens which created chaos in the hen yard and house for what seemed like weeks. Things have settled down a bit as we have thinned the gift hens down to a more manageable number. In the fisher cat raid we lost our feisty turken, a barred rock and all but one of the lovely young Americanas that the good people at the Seneca Longhouse gave us in September as wee chicks. Darn! They were almost ready to start laying too... It looks like I'll have to get some new chicks in the spring if I want to have eggs in quantity next fall. Meanwhile we serve the tastiest chicken stew here on a weekly basis!
Okay.. you got my curiosity up ~ what's the girl thing??
I'm trying to convince my Dear Hubby that I NEED to raise some chickens. We buy fresh eggs every week and I would love to be able to just go out to the coop and collect my own.
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