July 12, 2020
This morning my daughter and I went to let the chickens out of the coop. We heard Kylo our Rooster Crowing, then heard Rooster the chick we got as a baby do his crow, then saw him as he came out of the coop crow again. Then we heard a crow from inside the coop. Most the chickens were out so we started looking to see who was missing. "Crow" the darker black chicken came out, another crow from the coop told us it wasn't here, a "Pigeon" came out, another crow in the coop... The only one missing was a CouCou Maran. Yikes we have three Roosters. I guess the good thing is it is a CouCou Maran which if we had to pick one to get rid of it would be one of them. We are going to have to pin down which one it is, verify, the re-home or have it butchered for someones dinner. Three Roosters is at least one too many, especially since we are now down to 12 hens. Yikes!
July 26, 2020
I started wondering if I was wrong but this past week my sweetheart heard the crow of our third rooster. Today my youngest and I heard it again. We will need to separate off that one and find it a new home or give it to someone who wants to cook it up.
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Sure Sign
June 27, 2020
Today I took some of our strawberries that bugs or other animals had tasted before we got to them, out to the chickens. Kylo our Rooster was intermittently crowing, when I got closer I heard an unmistakable echo. My husband described it as a teenage boy with his voice changing. Yep, the one we called rooster. He's a rooster! After several crows I went to tell our children. Sadly Rooster was done by then and they will have to wait to hear the evidence. It is actually nice to have a back up rooster and we are glad that he is coming in young and hopes he accepts Kylo's dominance so that they don't fight too much. We don't want either one to be hurt. We hope with 13 hens there are enough to meet both their needs.
The past few nights my husband has noted 1-3 of the young hens joining Kylo on the top bars in the coop. The rest of the young ones stay with Rooster down low. It will be interesting to watch the dynamics as time goes on.
Today I took some of our strawberries that bugs or other animals had tasted before we got to them, out to the chickens. Kylo our Rooster was intermittently crowing, when I got closer I heard an unmistakable echo. My husband described it as a teenage boy with his voice changing. Yep, the one we called rooster. He's a rooster! After several crows I went to tell our children. Sadly Rooster was done by then and they will have to wait to hear the evidence. It is actually nice to have a back up rooster and we are glad that he is coming in young and hopes he accepts Kylo's dominance so that they don't fight too much. We don't want either one to be hurt. We hope with 13 hens there are enough to meet both their needs.
The past few nights my husband has noted 1-3 of the young hens joining Kylo on the top bars in the coop. The rest of the young ones stay with Rooster down low. It will be interesting to watch the dynamics as time goes on.
Friday, June 19, 2020
Looking back
From when we moved the chicks out to the coop
Poor ugly teenage chick, so much better looking now. This is one we call Ostrich now. She is much better looking.
Chickens
June 19, 2020
I know others don't share our love for chickens but we really do enjoy our feathered friends.
Our chicks have grown and look a lot different from when they were little balls of fluff. We have tried to identify the breeds.
Here are our best guesses, and the names we have given them. We tend to mostly name those of the same breed the same or very similar names.
I know others don't share our love for chickens but we really do enjoy our feathered friends.
Our chicks have grown and look a lot different from when they were little balls of fluff. We have tried to identify the breeds.
Here are our best guesses, and the names we have given them. We tend to mostly name those of the same breed the same or very similar names.
The one in the front I think might be a Speckled Sussex (though not as speckled as some images I have seen that is my best guess)
We named one Rooster and the other two of this breed Ostrich.
One was more dominate, and seemed more interested in checking us out. Generally acting more like our Rooster than any of our hens.
The other two, at least one, twice when we moved them into the smaller outside coop, was afraid of us and when we would open the door, it would stick its head in the slats of the pallet walls or in the hay to hide from us. Apparently unaware we could see the rest of her clearly.
On the left is what we think is a Speckled Sussex, and the right a Black laced, Red Wyandotte. We named her Emu because she is a bit bigger than the others.
Center Front, we think is one of two Blue Laced Red Wyandottes. We call them Pigeon because of the grey color. My Sweetheart really likes the coloring on this one. I really like Emu.
We have three of these, We believe they are Cuckoo Marans, possibly French Cuckoo Marans.
We just call them all Cuckoo
Does that mean we have three French Hens ???
I failed to get a picture of one that is similar to the Cuckoo Marans, but more black.
We call her Crow.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Population increase
The population exploded here last night as we brought home two Nucs of bees.
My Dad was a beekeeper growing up. I don't know that I ever considered keeping bees as a child, but I have investigated it on and off for many years now. Normally I concluded it was too expensive and let it go. With my brother helping/building hives for/with me last fall for a very modest amount we kept costs a little lower. There were still some expenses, like the Nucs and Veils and smoker, but we hope they are investments and that we will enjoy them for many years.
I read a quote about bees - "Instead of always thinking about what we can take out of the hive, we must think what we can put into the hive so that the colony will prosper in health and productivity."
I hope to live by this philosophy and that with a health productive hive we might enjoy some of the sweetness of their labors as well, in time.
This afternoon I realized another advantage of the hive placement. I can sit in the afternoon shade of the shop and watch the bees without interfering in their work.
I am excited and a little trepidatious. I have read as many books from our local library as I could and watched many Youtube videos. It all becomes real though when you pick up thousands of bees and bring them home...
My Dad was a beekeeper growing up. I don't know that I ever considered keeping bees as a child, but I have investigated it on and off for many years now. Normally I concluded it was too expensive and let it go. With my brother helping/building hives for/with me last fall for a very modest amount we kept costs a little lower. There were still some expenses, like the Nucs and Veils and smoker, but we hope they are investments and that we will enjoy them for many years.
I read a quote about bees - "Instead of always thinking about what we can take out of the hive, we must think what we can put into the hive so that the colony will prosper in health and productivity."
I hope to live by this philosophy and that with a health productive hive we might enjoy some of the sweetness of their labors as well, in time.
This afternoon I realized another advantage of the hive placement. I can sit in the afternoon shade of the shop and watch the bees without interfering in their work.
I am excited and a little trepidatious. I have read as many books from our local library as I could and watched many Youtube videos. It all becomes real though when you pick up thousands of bees and bring them home...
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Is there a Rooster in the Clutch?
May 2, 2020
We have one chick that seems larger than the rest. It could just be a breed issue, but she/he makes motions that seem similar to our rooster. It tilts its head to look up at us, stretches its neck up tall to look around. A couple days ago I was cleaning a window by them and was up on a chair to reach it. It seemed that a chick was calling a warning and they would all huddle when they saw me on the chair. They see us frequently by their "cage" but this was different to them I guess. It happened several times as I got up and down from the chair. Time will tell, is there a rooster in this clutch?
We have one chick that seems larger than the rest. It could just be a breed issue, but she/he makes motions that seem similar to our rooster. It tilts its head to look up at us, stretches its neck up tall to look around. A couple days ago I was cleaning a window by them and was up on a chair to reach it. It seemed that a chick was calling a warning and they would all huddle when they saw me on the chair. They see us frequently by their "cage" but this was different to them I guess. It happened several times as I got up and down from the chair. Time will tell, is there a rooster in this clutch?
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Plus 10
April 18, 2020
We did decide to get chicks... well we already did it. We brought home 10 baby chicks. Let the adventure begin.
We did decide to get chicks... well we already did it. We brought home 10 baby chicks. Let the adventure begin.
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