We had lost all hope of finding any of our chickens alive at the old farm. Some predator was wiping them out until we thought all we had left was 1 rooster who is still proving hard to catch. I was poking around the old barn and was greatly suprised to find the last remaining hen sitting in an old nest box we had never taken down. DH picked her up and she had a clutch of 8 eggs under her. We didn't know if she was setting or just laying. An egg that had been stuck between her feet when DH picked her up, fell to the barn floor and broke. It had a developing chick inside so we took her and her nest home with us. I set her up in a big plastic dog crate and left her to her work. She hatched out 6 of the 7 eggs and they are doing fine. Now to get the chicken yard finished.
They're here!
Here are the Magnificent 7. I was hoping they would all be black like their dad.
Aw they're sweet!
MollyD
you know that is just the sweetest story of survival and renewal! i bet your hearts are all aglow!!!
I am thrilled with them. They are bantams so the eggs won't be significant, but I love the little guys. I plan to get some heavier chickens for layers.
What a great pic. What a sweet little chicken mama and her babies. what kind of chicken is she. Her eyes are so sweet!
She is a Bantam with a slight lace pattern so I am assuming she must be mixed. But she is small. And she is a good momma. She is constantly pecking at me when I feed and water. LOL We will have to keep them in the crate until the chicks get big enough not to go through the wire on the chicken pen. I was thinking I might be able to keep them in the small horse stall we have empty right now. It would give them a lot more room. I'll work on it. Wow. I talked myself right into that. Now to get it past DH.
Good luck with DH. We all know you can do it...LOL
GG
Congrats on your new family! I hope you can catch your roo too.
Maybe a Havaheart trap with some tasty treat the roo likes?
MollyD
I caught one of the roos in an extra large wire dog crate baited with corn but AJ, the last one and the one I most want to catch, wouldn't go near it. He can't even be caught off the roost. He is super wary and I imagine that is why the possum didn't get him. I'm glad of that but I sure wish I could catch him somehow. I'd really like to keep him because he looks just like my pet roo, Abe, that I lost. Abe is his dad and that is why I call him AJ, Abe Jr.
Here is a pic of AJ.
Maybe one of his kids will look like him?
MollyD
Congrats on the rescue Cajun! What cute babies and a pretty Mama! I have to smile at the one little black bird. :) That rooster is gorgeous!
Isn't he a looker? He is half white bantam and half blue spanish muff (a game breed). I love the rose comb. I am told that is they have a rose comb there has to be a spanish breed in the ancestry.
He really is beautifully feathered! My neighbors have game birds and they seem to be built differently than my birds, like they have longer legs and more streamlined bodies or something. They also have the biggest rooster I've ever seen. LOL Maybe I'll take some pictures next time I am down there.
The game breeds are the most beautifully colored of all the chickens IMHO. I wish they would show them instead of fighting them.
This was a rooster we had called "partner". A dog killed him. He was a Saipan (sp?). My DGS had gotten him as a gift at Easter and he was a pet.
Oh what a great photo! The colors are so crisp! He is beautiful. He does remind me of my neighbor's rooster, the smaller one. He does not fight his. :) The other rooster he has, looks like barred rock on the body but the the head, tail and saddle feathers are amazing and different.
CajuninKy, Lovely family and rescue, such darling chicks. And I like the mix in color. I am still morning the loss of my bantam mother and four babies. Caught one ferral cat, one to go.
DonnaS