Checking-In On Peeps - Post Here To Say Hello!

[muddy75]

Been busy growing chicks successfully! Hatching them in the incubator and selling the chicks. Also recently hatched beautiful guinea fowls.

Been busy growing chicks successfully! Hatching them in the incubator and selling the chicks. Also recently hatched beautiful guinea fowls.

Thanks for stopping by for an update! Would love to see photos especially of the guineas

 

[Kiki]

Holding my week old black Austrolarp now as I read this! I had to put N of my MNL trio to sleep over the summer due to reproductive problems , so sad. I brought her home and buried her in my yard. My other two bantams turn 5 in May. Lucy, the one in the photo has stopped laying, Mabel still laying about 4 times a week. I have 2 more week old chicks, one is a bantam Dominique and the other is a full size Golden Laced Cochin. I hold each one by themself for a while each day, talk to them a lot and just place my hand in and near there brooder. Anyone have advice for how to get them really tame? They still seem to want to avoid my hand and touching. So glad you started this chat, I probably wouldn't have posted anything otherwise! Hope everyone is well!!

Time. They will go through a stage where they are scared of you for a few weeks then they will be buddy buddy again.

 

[muddy75]

I've missed getting on here and chatting with all of y'all, but everything has been so hectic lately! I had shoulder surgery a few months ago and then started on all the spring chores. We've had some financial struggles, so I had to sell all the chicks I had hatched but I have more hatching soon! I unfortunately lost my Deathlayer hen with no idea what happened, but I'm incubating her last eggs now. Between the chickens and working, it's been a busy time here.

Sorry for your loss! Good luck with your hatches

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I decided to try and raise my own fresh chickens! Last time didn't work, and I took a long break. Now, I have two Rhode Island Reds, 2 spotted Sussex, Blue plimith?

I'm glad to hear you're giving it another go! Those breeds are fantastic! How are they settling in? Any pics?!?!

 

[Kiki]

On my birthday last year Butterbean the bantam hatched out 13 chicks in my bedroom! Her second attempt building a nest there as the first time my dog ate all the eggs
A couple of weeks before, silver spangled hamburg hatched out 6 chicks outside (which I'm told is very rare). Rarer still, her chicks were commandeered by a broody ayam cemani who saw them and assumed they were hers. So the chicks had 2 mothers for a few weeks before the ayam cemani took over.
A few weeks later a single duckling hatched, who is now brooding on her own nest.
Honourable mentions/obituaries:
A lone guinea fowl returned to the flock after an 8 month absence. It took weeks for the remaining 2 to allow it near them, and they never let it sleep in the coop. Punishment for its desertion. They all disappeared one fateful weekend when the fox went on a rampage, I am hopeful they just flew away.
Indian Runner Duck abducted and eaten. She was a real character and sorely missed.
I could go on, never a dull moment!

Sounds like you've got your hands full of chicks.
How many total birds do you have now?

 

[muddy75]

Yes it has been a while. Yes we still have some chickens here as well. About the only problem we have had with the chickens is our dogs. For the longest time they did not bother them, and now we have to pen them up because they will kill our hens and roosters, which they have done on several occasion. They don't eat them, they just kill them. The last one that was killed actually flew into their pen, so not much I could do about that. So slowly getting back a group of chickens again. Right now we have 8 adults, 7 hens and a rooster. And 15 younger chicks all about mid age now. Still have 7 inside a coop till they get a little bigger. Have only one native chicken left, am not sure of the other breed that we have here. So kind of have a mix with the new ones coming along. Thanks for checking.

Thanks for the update! Hope to see you again soon!

 

[Kiki]

Hello! I’m checking in since I was prompted by an admin. Thanks! I have been keeping chickens for five years and last summer we had our first truly broody chickens! My black australorp ladies came through. We had about 6-7 new chicks and four of them turned out to be roosters. Fortunately we found a rooster sanctuary farm near us. Anyway, I love my ladies and 3 roosters - (they’re working some things out) and we’re getting about ten eggs a day. We’re giving them away to friends. <3 Thank you to all the Backyard Chicken gurus for helping me learn how to be a chicken mama.

Three roosters sounds dangerous. lol Have they started mating the hens yet?

 

[Kiki]

Hey y’all, well it’s been super busy on my farm. Between pigs farrowing, getting honey hives ready for spring, starting seeds for the garden, splitting wood for next burning season, trying to get out for a spring turkey hunt, hatching chicks and poults and getting ready for meat birds and holiday turkeys there hasn’t been much time for socializing
Hope everyone had a great start to spring

You are missing floofers!
Get some rabbits added to your flock ASAP.

 

[Kiki]

Hello everyone it has been a long time since I have posted. Just wanted to catch up. Hope you have a fantastic Summer coming up.
I am going to be planting a garden different that ever before. My greenhouse was destroyed by a heavy snow this year. I am going to try just growing outside using the growing bins that made it through the disaster and some Smart Pots. Living in Colorado the growing season is short so I had lost all in the greenhouse and I am starting by scratch. I am praying I get it right. I have only been gardening since the pandemic it was all new to me so I started out in five gallon buckets and a tarp over top then got the greenhouse. I started chickens the year before. They are so much fun and get rid of stress which is amazing.

I have one four yr old Buff Orpington, Five two year old's, they are 2- Wyandots, 1 - red and white Rhode Island, 1- red Rhode Island, 1- Buff Orpington and one rescue I have no idea of the age she is an a Aracuna and I have four one and a half week old chicks, 2 are Cochins, 1 is a Jersey Giant and one is a Blue Orpington.

I have heard that the Blue Orpington's are as lovable as the Buff.

All my older girls are named and are so spoiled they love to sit in my swing with me and get treats and run to me as soon as I come out my back door. I live in town on a 1/4 acre lot and they have a beautiful coop and run but they run free 95% of the time in my yard. I have all the landscape with bushes and trees that are safe for chickens.

My problem at the moment is a squirrel that has taken up space under the coop. Anyone have any ideas how to get it to leave?

God bless you all.
Callen

Do you like grilled squirrel?
Can you lay down some 1/2" hardware cloth so he can't get back under it?

 

[Kiki]

Oh it's been busy growing our family and focusing on various life things. The chickens are pretty simple, though we're happy to have welcomed 4 new girls into the flock! Our daughter named them: Little Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel. She loves Little Belle the most. She's a prairie bluebell, and.so is Rapunzel. The other two are green queens! We primarily keep Australorps, but we wanted a little color variety in our eggs. They're 10 and 15 weeks old, so they are yet to lay. We have one polish that our toddler is an expert at catching. When a chicken can't see you coming, it helps

Aww...she picked some cute names. Is she excited about collecting eggs?