Chicks at three months
It's been three months since the chicks pecked their way out of their shells. They're now fully feathered, miniature versions of their adult selves. The pullets are still two months away from laying eggs, but they've begun to attract the attention of some of the 'teenage' roosters. Remember the Little Red Hen who hatched out five babies back in November or December? Well, she had three boys and two girls. The girls are just coming into egg-laying age and the boys are desperate to lay anything that moves. Blades of grass are not out of the question, so immature females are definitely targets. To hold down the predation, I ate the most obnoxious of the roosters this weekend. :) He was quite yummy.
Here's the Blue Andalusian. I'm a little disappointed that he's not prettier, but males go through another phase or two of growing into their adult feathers, so he might gussy himself up still yet. His attractiveness (as well as gentleness and behavior) will have a lot to do with his survival. Hens get the benefit of the doubt since they lay eggs. As long as we have more than 2 or 3 roosters, they have to be on their best behavior to survive.
This is one of the Red Star pullets. They're as gentle as can be. They'll follow you around as you gather eggs, poking their heads into the nest boxes and watching in curiosity. You can just reach down and pick several of them up, no bother or fear in them.
Here's a Red Star and an Auracana. The messed up feathers on her back are from the unwanted amorous attentions of louts like the one in the back of the picture. That's one of the Little Red Hen's boys - old enough to mate, young enough to be ridiculous about it. If he doesn't cut it out pretty soon, he'll be next.
This is one of the White Austras.
Here's another of the Little Red Hen's stags. The eggs she was sitting on were from several different hens. The one above here, with the white earlobe, is the son of a dark brown leghorn. This one ... I think must be part New Hampshire. The Little Red Hen was a New Hampshire, so he might actually be hers. However, he's not mature and not bothering the chicks. He's going to be huge, too, which means we'll definitely eat him. You can see how tall he is here.
Here's the one I ate. He's very pretty, very healthy, and not nearly as meaty as he looked marching around the chicken coop. He was delicious, though. I'd say there's a definite taste improvement over store bought chicken, although the texture wasn't as good as store bought. Store bought birds are breeds developed for fast muscle production and probably a month or two younger than this fellow.
Here's the older hens and a day's produce: 35 eggs. In the first picture, the hens lying on the ground are giving themselves dust baths. I included this partly so you could see that they have plenty of grass to roam around in. The other pictures where they're just standing on mud are in high traffic areas, where they've picked all the grass already. The green-eyed hen there in the middle is a particular one we call 'Nosy'. She's the only green-eyed one and she is very bold about getting into whatever it is you have, pecking your hands, and looking for handouts or goodies to eat. White eggs are laid by hens with white earlobes. Brown eggs by ones with red ear lobes.
Here's the Blue Andalusian. I'm a little disappointed that he's not prettier, but males go through another phase or two of growing into their adult feathers, so he might gussy himself up still yet. His attractiveness (as well as gentleness and behavior) will have a lot to do with his survival. Hens get the benefit of the doubt since they lay eggs. As long as we have more than 2 or 3 roosters, they have to be on their best behavior to survive.
This is one of the Red Star pullets. They're as gentle as can be. They'll follow you around as you gather eggs, poking their heads into the nest boxes and watching in curiosity. You can just reach down and pick several of them up, no bother or fear in them.
Here's a Red Star and an Auracana. The messed up feathers on her back are from the unwanted amorous attentions of louts like the one in the back of the picture. That's one of the Little Red Hen's boys - old enough to mate, young enough to be ridiculous about it. If he doesn't cut it out pretty soon, he'll be next.
This is one of the White Austras.
Here's another of the Little Red Hen's stags. The eggs she was sitting on were from several different hens. The one above here, with the white earlobe, is the son of a dark brown leghorn. This one ... I think must be part New Hampshire. The Little Red Hen was a New Hampshire, so he might actually be hers. However, he's not mature and not bothering the chicks. He's going to be huge, too, which means we'll definitely eat him. You can see how tall he is here.
Here's the one I ate. He's very pretty, very healthy, and not nearly as meaty as he looked marching around the chicken coop. He was delicious, though. I'd say there's a definite taste improvement over store bought chicken, although the texture wasn't as good as store bought. Store bought birds are breeds developed for fast muscle production and probably a month or two younger than this fellow.
Here's the older hens and a day's produce: 35 eggs. In the first picture, the hens lying on the ground are giving themselves dust baths. I included this partly so you could see that they have plenty of grass to roam around in. The other pictures where they're just standing on mud are in high traffic areas, where they've picked all the grass already. The green-eyed hen there in the middle is a particular one we call 'Nosy'. She's the only green-eyed one and she is very bold about getting into whatever it is you have, pecking your hands, and looking for handouts or goodies to eat. White eggs are laid by hens with white earlobes. Brown eggs by ones with red ear lobes.