I realized the other day that it’s been a while since I talked chicken. Or at least since the news wasn’t bad. If you didn’t already know better you might think we didn’t have hens!
So last night while I was working in the hen shack I took a bunch of photos of the flock. It was a busy evening of cleaning out dirty straw, removing the shelf that they insist on roosting on, adding a new roost bar, rescuing a field mouse from the grain bin, and generally sprucing up the joint.
Two weeks ago today I picked up 4 two month old chicks to replace the three the coyotes got. I probably should have gotten 3 or 4 full size hens, but instead I chose to get two Cuckoo Marans and two bantam Old English Game hens. The banties are for Oscar (picture below) since he’s going to stay for the foreseeable future and Agnes seems to be choosing to accept Steve (finally).
This is Sadie, Ann, Abby and Daisy checking out the new upper roost bar.
Sadie is a bit special needs as due to an accident when she was littler her upper beak is snapped at the end giving her the look of a hen that’s had her beak clipped. Now that she’s got access to crumble all the time she seems to be catching up on weight and size with Daisy. I got the new chicks from someone I know that free ranges his bird almost completely – she has a bit of a hard time foraging for herself (but she’s getting better at it). I didn’t realize that her beak was snapped when I picked her out – didn’t see it until I got home and then I got attached so didn’t go back and exchange her. Hopefully that decision will pay off in eggs someday…
Oscar has grown into a very striking looking little rooster. He’s just finally, at 3 months, learning to crow. After some research I’m pretty sure that this “straight run assorted bantam” is actually a Mottled Bantam Cochin.
This is our other “surprise” rooster, the remaining Golden Laced Wyandotte chick. We’re calling him Felix to keep with the theme of naming in pairs. Of course Vinnie might be a more appropriate name since we’re not planning to keep him long term – he’s most likely to become Coq au vin later this fall.
This is Wilma, the chick that continues to be exceptionally friendly. Her “twin”, Betty, is a lot more black on the chest and also much more shy.
The whole flock out grazing for a bit while I cleaned and hammered.
Steve and his harem, the original city flock. From left, Maisie, Steve, Agnes (white), Lucy (black) and Penny (brown).
The chicks from March continue to act as their own small flock, as do Steve and his harem, the new chicks are seeking safety in numbers and so they’re hanging out together in pairs. Overall we really haven’t had any problems even with their semi-autonomy. The yard is big enough for each group to avoid the others and they all seem happy to share the roosts at night – even mixing it up a bit when choosing their spots.
*****
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Such pretty chookies! I love the look of Wilma. We’re considering bannies next year: have you had problems with them getting picked on?
I love Wilma’s looks too – she’s very striking. The banties seem to hold their own very well. Agnes (my oldest banty) is actually pretty near the top of the pecking order. Oscar seems to be lording it over Felix and the two littlest ones are good at running and hiding so far. I’ve found that with banties their personalities usually make up for any deficit in size and that they’re usually pretty far up the pecking order. Go for it!
So what type of chicken did you say Sadie was? She looks like what I thought was a barred rock..? (I have a two month old that looks just like that. Was labeled as a blue-lace Wyandotte at the feed store where I bought her – but in no way resembles one, Am trying to figure out what she really is).
Sadie is a Cuckoo Maran. They look very similar to Barred Rocks (much more common) and Dominiques (rare). If the feed store had blue-lace Wyandotte’s it wouldn’t be surprising if they had Cuckoo Maran’s as well, they’re trendy right now. They lay chocolate brown eggs.
I’d love it if she was a Cuckoo Maran – although I doubt I’m that lucky. Neither of the two ‘blue lace Wyandottes’ that I bought resemble one in any way. The auracana is hard to miss though. If you get a minute, maybe you could look at the pictures of them that I just posted and venture an opinion? (The pictures are not nearly as clear as yours, but possibly you can see if mine resembles yours suspiciously closely or not?)
Thanks! Tara