Well, it's that time again. Time for the weekly chicken update here at "Fuss & Feathers" homestead. Encouraged by my friends and followers I have decided to provide weekly updates on my chickens here @mother2chicks. I know many of you look forward to hearing all the latest news on Blue, Blanche,Sweetpea,The Professor,Brownie,Dot,Maryann and Shelly.
The girls for those of you who are first time viewers of the Gazette, Shelly is absent but you can meet her in the next photo
As you know I have been battling a hen who gets broody, its "Brownie" she was separated from here friends but has now been reunited. It only took a couple days for her to cool off in isolation. So far so good.
However, I did just this morning catch Shelly and Sweetpea in the nest box together! Pea was sitting on the egg and Shelly apparently wanted it! I removed the egg from under Pea, placed in the second nest box and Shelly jumped on it. She was carefully trying to nudge it up under her breast to sit on it. Well, I took the egg from her, hope she is not trying to become broody. I will check again later to see if she is nest hogging!
Busted! I removed Shelly from the nest box
Here is Shelly acting like the egg is hers
Sweetpea, Brownie and Shelly are all Easter Eggers, they lay small pastel colored eggs. Easter Eggers are small, the least nervous and are easy to handle as opposed to the Leghorns who are not!
The acreage was mowed the day before yesterday and the girls enjoyed their supervised daily free-ranging outing by chasing little grass hoppers around and pecking at grubs. While turning the compost pile the girls raced over and delighted at the grubs I had revealed for them to snack on. They also enjoyed their dust baths in the field.
Dot, the golden lace Wyandotte is still waddling around with her beak open due to the heat. That's just who she is I suppose, she likes to wander alone kinda like me. She lays nice large brown eggs every other day this time of year. She is still beautiful!
Blue the part Cochin (with feathers on her legs) is doing well. She loves to forage in the leaves under groups of trees, she really gets into looking for tasty morsels. She suddenly realizes her flock mates have moved on and gets panicky. Calling and squawking she sees them across the yard and takes off like a bat outta h_ll! It's amusing to watch her fly a foot off the ground carrying on. Blue, like Dot lays every other day-a nice greenish egg.
Blue looking for tasty morsels
The Leghorns
Blanche is my least nervous white Leghorn. She is still laying daily as are her sisters Maryann and The Professor, they lay large white eggs. The Professor has given us at least 6 whoppers-huge double yokers.
Blanche is a bread stealer, she is so fast If I'm not careful she jumps up and steals the whole piece of bread. I use it as bribery to get them back in their run.
One of The Professor' whopper double yokers
I purchased a 50 lb bag of layer pellets, dehydrated meal worm treats, and hay for their nest boxes and 10 lbs of scratch. Forgot the granite grit. The egg count is slightly up this week to 31.
Stay tuned here @mother2chicks for weekend updates to the Chicken Gazetteπ
Aww you named one after me!! Go Blue! Defiantly the best chicken of them all
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She is a special chicken and beautiful too. Thanks for stopping byπ
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So cool. I love chickens (and bacon egg and cheese sandwiches) I hope to have my own chickens some day
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Thanks for stopping by. I love just about anything with eggs, they are much better then store bought. I hope you get you some chickens soon.π
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I am really loving your posts lately, I have to ask... may I include your future articles in the Weekly Homesteading Newsletter? It is a series posted every Sunday that aims to help collect awesome articles and resources like this one! Articles will be linked and your username featured if you accept - I will not include them unless I receive your permission! Thank you!
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Hi Kiara, I would be honored for you to include any of my posts in your Newsletter. Thank you for the compliment and fell free to use @mother2chicks Weekly Chicken Gazettes Parts 1 and 2.ππ
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Great article. Leghorns are the only breed I have experience with, and they are not the nicest, but the eggs... Thanks for pointing out which breeds you have, I enjoy learning more about all the different ones.
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You're welcome. Yep, the Leghorns are good layers they never disappoint! Thanks for reading and commentingπ
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Good to get to know your chickens.
I bet they love the mealworms - mine go crazy for them.
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They love mealworms. Seems like I'm always having to buy them their fav treat. Sometimes they find a grub in the compost pile and I have even seen one eat baby lizards. They are piggies!π
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Hey @mother2chicks, @pennsif (above) sent me your post for submitting to curie (a voting guild). Anywho, I did, and it was accepted!!! You'll see your post payout jump very soon if not already.
I also wanted to invite you to join our SteemitHomesteaders group. More info can be read at the below link. @pennsif is a member, as are many other homesteaders/gardeners/preppers.
https://steemit.com/steemithomesteaders/@greenacrehome/announcement-steemithomesteaders-slack-community
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Oh my goodness I don't know what to say, thrilled would be one a good description. Thanks so much. I have been on that slack channel a couple of times when farmstead was mod. I'll see you thereππ
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This is a different one, specifically for homesteaders and like-minded Steemit users. Be sure you use the link below to join this particular community. @farmstead is on there as well as 36 other Homesteaders (with more joining each day).
Here's the direct sign-up link: https://join.slack.com/t/steemithomesteaders/shared_invite/MjE0NTcyMDc3OTg5LTE1MDA0MDM4MTgtMDdkZDMwYTBmOQ
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It's not the same. The one you're thinking of is different. This is one just for homsteaders, you haven't joined us here, yet.
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I didn't see this till just now.LOL It was nice to see you after figuring out there were two different groups at slackπ
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Thanks so much pennsif, you sly foxππ
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Awe! I love that you do reports on your girls! Our first batch of chickens (many, many moons ago!), were Pearl White Leghorns, and could those girls ever produce! We had so many eggs that we provided our friend's health food store with a steady supply for years!
Totally enjoyed this post, and your Golden Laced Wyandotte, one of my favorite breeds.π
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Thanks Generikat glad you enjoyed this weeks reportπ The Leghorns are reliable layers that's for sure, every day without fail. I barter with the neighbors and a few insist on paying. Dot is beautiful, she knows it too.π
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My son wants us to get Cochins so bad! They are adorable and seem to be the most motherly of breeds.
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Hi there friend, Cochins are supposed to be nurturing and I know Blue is the only hen that attempted to peck me when I reached under her to collect what she thought was her future chick. It didn't hurt but she did not appreciate it at all. She makes a totally different chicken call then the others. It's very melodious. Thanks for coming byπ
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They are super cute too, their plumage is so different! The only time I've been pecked at is by that leghorn I told you about lol and my geese and pheasants we used to have. I really want quail too! Geez, I sound like a spoiled kid lol want want want lol
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Let those hens go broody and get next years layers for freeπ
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Haha, you got some to give awayπ I try to keep it from being contagious. Thanks for stopping byπ
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If those broody hens hatch chicks now, you'll have laying-aged hens for the Spring. Roos go in the freezer for meat. The laying hens you have now may be at top production but it goes down every year by about 50% after age 2. I'd let a few go broody and then you wont have to buy any outside your farm to replace aging hens. I wish I had some to give you. I just lost 6 young hens to a predator last week.
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Sorry to hear you lost the hens. We had a fox and her kit stalking our coop. I think the neighbor must have gotten rid of it, they have many more critters then us. Geese ducks chickens goats donkeys and so on. Thanks for the info. this is my first year having chickens.ππ
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Lovely chickens haha ββ!!
I like it π
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Cute!!!! I have too many hens to name but am thinking of names for the two roosters. This article was so cute and I could tell you care about the creatures even through the broody silliness
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Thanks, Sometimes I take better care of the critters then myself. Don't have any roosters although I would like some chicks. Good luck with the namesπ
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@mother2chicks, What do you think about Natural fur coats?. This is my opinion post. Nice blog! Subscribed
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Well I can honestly say I have never worn fur anything. Never wanted to and never will. I come from a family of animal lovers and rescuers. Thanks for stopping byπ
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great one ! enjoyed your post !!
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Thank-you so glad you enjoyed the Gazette. π
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You are welcome !
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Behold! Now I notice your name is chicken too. You seem to love them so much. π
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I do love the girls. Thanks so muchπ
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πHahaa nothing.
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Haha you are so lucky, I wish I could have chickens but my complex won't allow it. They would be awesome to keep my garden fertilzed and look like such characters. Great read, thanks for sharing.
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Thank so much for stopping buy. Glad you enjoyed this weeks Gazette! Hopefully one day you will be able to get some chickens they are quite entertaining and their eggs are delicious! π
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@mother2chicks nice pic. good
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Thank youπ
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Beautiful chickens! Sounds like they've got quite the personalities! I can't wait for ours to start laying. We've still got a while for that to happen though.
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Thank-you! Mine were 24 weeks when I got them from my friend. She raises chickens, her son is in FFA and shows them and pigs. The chickens were practically full grown so they began to lay right away. I want to do chicks, but too much on my plate right now. Too busy with steemit.ππ
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