Hi all!
I am sooooo excited. I got some Dominiques, one rooster and two hens yesterday. I kept them in their traveling cage overnight and then let them out into the barn this morning. it was so nice to hear the cackle of the hen and the crowing of the rooster guy. one of the girls her back is all pecked out but i am hoping she will grow feathers back and come out of her listlessness.
These are rare and endangered birds, and I hope we can make a contribution to the continuation of this breed to Americas national treasured livestock gene pool.
I will try to get some pictures in the next few days of them. my camera is full right now.
Regards,
sheri
Finally got chickens! Happy Dance for Dominiques!
Congratulations, Sheri! Lovely having chickens.
I hope your scratched-up hen improves... I hope she isn't sick? But if it's the rooster causing the damage, she won't get a chance to. I don't keep less than 9 hens per rooster, since he stresses them out so much with his constant mating. Some roosters are less determined that way.
Yes, pictures! Dominiques are beautiful.
oh, great! can't wait to see your pictures! I am so thrilled for you!!!
sorry gang i have been so sick! i had pneumonia and now at the tail end of it I am getting
sick, again.
Mrs.hennypecked flew the coop, I am sure she left with a different rooser. Cheap chicken!!!
Bad morals!
Our other gal, Mrs. Bucker, has been laying a zillion eggs, and has hidden them all behind the
giant square bales of hay. Right now I think there is about 12 of them in there. Will she go
broody? Will she finally set? So far she is just gad-abouting the yard and scratching for the
last 2 weeks. If anyone knows the minds of chickens, can we talk? LOL. I have a few
questions. If the eggs sit for 20 days, till she gets done laying a 18 egg clutch, theoretically,
if she goes to set on them and "go broody", will they hatch then, in 21 days? How do I know
if she is just laying for laying sake and won't go setting on them to hatch? Can we eat 2 week
old chicken eggs if she is not going to set? She really loves the whole new house and barn and
yard thing. They are safe and dry and happy. Mr. Bucker doesn't really bother her at all with
constant mating. He is a happy rooster, one of the nicest I can ever remember. He is respectful
of humans and doesn't make a scene when I come with other chores in mind into the barn, etc.
I will try today to make some pictures! gosh time got away from me!
I am constantly coughing now, but nothing is "coming up". sigh.
We have ordered a boxcar load of chickens from Ideal chicken farms, and are expecting them
to come about the 26th of this month. xcornish/rocks-25 for butchering I think these are all male, 10 Black Jersey Giants
pullets, 10 Dominiques pullets, 3 pekin ducks2 girls, one boy, 3 talouse geese, one male and 2 females.
The cornish were only like 84 cents apiece!! They will grow fast, and I will keep them on range fed and
finish maybe with some corn in about 6-8 weeks.
Great to hear from everyone!!!
sheri
Sheri, take care of yourself first!! After all, if you push yourself too much you won't be able to take care of your new babies. Hope you feel much better quickly so you can enjoy your chickens, etc. Dotti
I was sick for 6 weeks late this winter with the same thing... UGH!
Get well soon!
yes, please get well!
are those really delivered by the boxcar? how cool is that???
;-)
tf
Oh my! tf you are sooooo funny!!! Can you imagine a boxcar of them little peepers?
I decided last night, that the babies will be in the house with me in the kiddy pool.
I won't be in the pool, but they will be and it will be easier for me to care for them
and keep them warm. And, in just about 2 weeks, when they are getting noisier and
disgusting, its the perfect tiime to take them outside. I can't wait to cuddle them.
thanks for everyones get well wishes. I was on that purple inhaler and just finished
that on monday. I am hot and cold. hot and cold. energy and tired. up, down. hungry
not hungry. i break out in sweats and then get dry and then cold, then hot...etc etc.
This is not hot flashes, just tiredness from being sick. icky poo!
does anyone have some Jersey Giants? Are they nice? How much do yours weigh?
Regards,
sheri
i know a guy near here that is raising Jersey Giants, and i might just get some from his next hatch. the eggs will be slightly different colored than my Buckeyes, and larger, so i won't get them mixed up when hatching...
OK, so you meant a LARGE load... i am too literal, and sometimes by the time i get on DG, i am also TOO TIRED ...lol...
my babies have been in the house FOUR WEEKS! i moved 14 of them out to the poultry house today, 24 tomorrow into a cage in the poultry house. once they are integrated, i will move out the next batch, and then the last.
but i will miss having them in the house. i love their quiet little chirping noises they make when all is well and they are happy...
td
Heres a little secret my DD and I do. It came from a thousand years ago,
when we had chickens and the kids were little. We listened to the
chickens and their little peep noises, even when they were old and "krusty".
Becky started calling me her 'chicken mommy' and then saying it like a
peep noise..."chicken mommy..chicken, chicken". Thats our love saying
to each other. How sweet it is!!! She is 25 now, 6 feet tall, pregnant and
getting married May 21, but I am still her chicken mommy. Sob.
I hate getting older.
sheri
o, i luv it! my kids and friends make fun of me cause i mommy my chicks...
I hear it goes fast, Sheri. That's what everyone tells me. Mine are still little, and on those days when it's all diapers and hissy fits, I try to remember that it goes fast and I need to appreciate it.
Amen to that Zeppy!
and it goes even faster with chicks LOL
Today DH and i went to feed mill and bought some starter for layers, ducks, and broilers. they
had a little box with some peeps in it and I took a peek. OMG how cute they are. Little round
fat brown chicks. peep peep peep.
I called Ideal and my chicks are being shipped tomorrow!!!!They will be here either
thursday or Friday. I am getting too excited. Have to calm down!
I can't wait to meet my Talouse Geeses. And my pekin ducks, and all the rest,
except for the broilers and fryers, I dont name them.
Regards to all.
chicken mommy : ))))
yeah, chicken mommy! and duck mommy, and goose mommy. you are gonna be a busy gal for a while, but it is SOOOO worth it...
tf
welll my words were true. you keep em in the house till they get disgusting. and it came true.
we were chasing em all over the place, and the poopies were hitting the walls, and
wow, did it smell, even one hour after washing the pool and putting in fresh shavings. : )
They are out in the barn now, happy, in a trellised in 8x8 area. the chickens stay in,
i will let them out eventually, but the Weeders have been going out every day and
bathing in the horse dishes, mowing the lawns in front of the barns, and following me
about and sitting with me if i sit and read for a bit. they peeper peeper to me when
they see me. what a great crew.
the jersey giants are coming now with their feathers, they are sleek right now, being
teenager gawky size, but their colour is jet black. oh my are they handsome.
the dominiques are black and white and still not strikingly marked. they are not
show chickens. the white ones i tell to hurry up and eat so they will be in the
freezer faster. : )
my DH says they complete the farm. Its true.
sher