Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Update on the Chickens

There have been some ups and downs with the new Buckeye chickens I got from a neighbor. I gave three of them to my brother for Christmas (his first chickens) and a month or so after he had them one of them died. We are still not sure if it was some type of predator or something else that killed it. The two he has left are doing great though and just started laying the other day! He has had 4 eggs so far. 
As for the ones I kept, I am beginning to think that I got two roosters and two hens. I am still unsure on one that I think is a rooster but it looks like he has sickle feathers on his back end. Mine have not laid any eggs yet but they were a bit thin when I got them so I have been feeding them scratch feed to get them looking better and they are looking a lot better. 



The two in the middle are  my possible roosters which is such a terrible thing since my current rooster is not a very good one. I have tried to hatch eggs from his pen and they were all infertile.


My brother has a light in his pen to lengthen the daylight and I think that is what I need to get mine to start laying too. 

Here are some funny things my sister-in-law has been told since I gave them the chickens:

You'll never get eggs without a rooster.
You can't eat the first eggs they lay.
If you do have a rooster in the pen the eggs will taste funny,

Funny things my brother asked me:

Do I need a rooster to get eggs?
It is going to get cold tonight. How do I keep them warm?

My brother has his pen completely enclosed on three sides and half closed in the front. I am pretty sure his chickens are real toasty compared to mine. 



4 comments:

  1. Not being a chicken-keeper myself, this is all a closed mystery to me!

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  2. Hi Becky, I don't know much about chickens, but, I do enjoy reading your exploits with them. I would like yto have them at my remote cabin, except, They may not be there after a few days away. Predators

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  3. Sounds like good tips. I've never had chickens but so many people seem to have them nowadays.

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  4. I really yearn to have chickens but it is not allowed in town.

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