Turkeys

A few photos of the turkeys taken at the weekend- 14 weeks old (for CIG )

Photo 1: 3 stags in the foreground hen at the back


Photo 2: Hen on the far right of the photo


Photo 3: Hen again farest to the right



Photo 4: 2 stags and hen


Photo 5 : Stags displaying



Photo 6 : and yes they are ugly but lovely! Both stags

Chicks 3 weeks old

The latest hatch are now 3 weeks old and are beginning to show their individual personalities.

The young Barnvelder X cockerel is the most independent, preferring to scavenge for his own food and rarely coming to the call of food from his mother. Although he does respond instinctively to any warning cry from her.

Photo: Mr. Independent


The little Cream Legbar cockerel is quiet but adventurous. The other morning I found him on the outside of the run, having found and squeezed under the tiniest of gaps. When I opened the door he simply walked back in as if he had done it a dozen times before.

The remaining four Barnvelder and Barnebars stick together and are more often found close to the mother hen, either riding on her back or brooding amongst her feathers.

Photo: Discovering the delight of an apple


All six are extremely confident and friendly, happy to climb into the palm of any hand that offers food.

Although the weather has turned quite cold, it remains on the whole dry. The wet is much harder for the chicks to cope with than the cold and the mother hen is doing a fine job of brooding them.

Photo: Fluffed up for warmth, protection from the cold wind.

All is not well...

....with the Welsh Black hen.

Yesterday she twice came out from the hay bales, within an hour, announcing to the world she had laid an egg. There was not an egg in sight. Concerned she maybe be egg bound I kept a close eye on her all day. She appeared fine going about her daily business as usual and then mid afternoon she dropped a shelless egg in the middle of the paddock. Surprised she turned to have a quick look and then wondered off to join the others. Thank goodness she wasn't egg bound after all.

This morning she was behaving strangely, dropping her wing and circling an Indian Game hen in the same manner as the cockerel.

The Welsh Black came to us at the start of the year on a clutch of eggs. She proved to be a fantastic mum and is a very friendly bird. She has however, never been a very reliable layer, unusual for her breed and the eggs she did lay had poor quality shells.

I have only set and hatched one egg from her, due to the quality of the eggs. The chick hatched with very little down on it's back and is small in comparison to the other chicks from the same hatch and also from expectation of the breed.

She is a fine looking bird, with glossy feathers, a red comb and always active. Looking at her she is a good representative of her kind but something is not right with her.

I will keep her for now, as she is well but will watch her carefully and I certainly won't breed from her.

Poultry round up

A quick update on the poultry.

The latest hatch are now a week old and with the glorious weather at the weekend they ventured outside. Full of excitement they spent the day racing around exploring their new world, ignoring the hen's desperate effort to bring them to order by calling them to food..


The youngest Exchequer Leghorn chicks are 14 weeks old and are enjoying their extra space. They are constantly on the go foraging for food and are confident in the presence of the older birds.

Photo: 1. Exchequer Leghorn 14 weeks.



2. Exchequer Leghorn 29 weeks ( sadly a poor example who will be kept for laying purposes only)



3. Exchequer Leghorns enjoying the sun dust bathing



At 21 weeks the pullets of the first batch of table birds are getting close to lay. They are exceptionally friendly birds and I am tempted to keep them as extra layers, for now at least, as the demand for eggs is greater than I can supply.

Chicks - photos

The chicks have hatched.
Mid morning on Saturday the hen had taken her chicks off the nest. She had left behind a pipped but unhatched egg. It is unusual for a hen to leave the nest if an egg is actually pipping so I guess she knew, for whatever reason the chick had died.
Although the photo only shows five chicks we do have six, a little Cream Legbar boy is just out of shot.
So from the nine set we have six lovely sturdy chicks. 2 Barnevelders, 2 Barnebars, 1 Barnevelder over Barred Rock and 1 Cream Legbar.
The mother hen is very attentive to her chicks but more than happy for us to handle them and already a couple are feeding from my hand.
For now they are still in the poultry shed as the forecast for the next few days is heavy rain. As soon as the weather improves they can go into the A framed ark on the grass.

Photo: On the right the little Cream Legbar boy, so small in comparison to his hatch mates


All six

Eggs Hatching

The eggs under the Indian Game broody are hatching. Yesterday evening I could hear peeping and this morning the hen was sitting in a more upright position, gently clucking. It is far too early to tell which or how many eggs have or are hatching but there is the broken shell of an egg from a Barred Rock hen to a Barnvelder cockerel, visible. Hopefully a cockerel.

Maybe if they have all hatched by the morning I will know more. For now patience.


Photo: Waiting game