Dark Cornish have been a great addition to our backyard flock. All of them eagerly rustle their own food, foraging widely through brush and field, spending little time at the feeder. Birds are broad backed, with their sturdy legs widely spaced. Comb and wattle development is minimal, which may...
My Welsummers have been a great addition to the flock. We were trying to add darker egg color to the flock, so we kept a rooster for breeding. He is the most docile rooster we have ever had. He's quiet, and is a gentle breeder, doing the job without a lot of fuss or roughness. Hens are calm and...
IME a cat raised around poultry seems to understand that they are off-limits as prey. Cats are indivuals, so I know that comment isn't gonna cover all cats in all situations. Obviously, chicks are more vulnerable, but I have never had one of MY cats try to harm any poultry, including chickens...
Since the Jersey Giant was the lead rooster in the flock for 2 years, he was breeding the whole flock. Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rock, Australorp (cross was a great layer!), ameraucanas, turkens,Buff Orpingtons, Light Brahmas, California Whites, and Brown Leghorns. The cross with the Rocks...
Another thing to consider is that since the Stars are essentially crossbreds of a red breed and a barred breed (black star) or a red breed with a white or silver breed (Red Star), you can have a lot of variation in personalities, production, etc. Mine were all Black Stars produced by a...
My response would be that I haven't seen a significant difference in their production year round, or in comparing their summer production to that of the rest of the flock. There are days when heat and dry conditions seem to knock production for the whole flock, but I didn't notice that it was...
Quote JenellYB: "A point to think about...do you feel the same way about dealing with such as chickens entering someone else's property? That if your chickens fly the fence (or even worse, allowed to 'free range' without confinement to owner's property) and enter someone else's property, it...
This is a minor aside, but...
With respect, I disagree with that statement (#2). Rabbits can easily be killed by dogs that get under the hutches, snapping and barking, sending rabbits into a panicked frenzy. The dog doesn't have to even touch the rabbit, only scare it badly enough that it panics...
Yes, hawks will kill chickens. Number one chicken killer among the hawks, at least for my area, is the Coopers. We do have lots of kestrels and sharp shins but the kestrels are no problem...they are small birds and don't even seem interested in chicks. The sharp shins have taken a dive on chicks...
We had Black Jersey Giants. One became our flock rooster for a couple of years. He was huge and beautiful, with solid black eyes, iridescent plumage, and a very upright "proper" stance. We could pick him up and carry him around, and he wouldn't fuss, yet we have had him jump on a hawk that had...