Exchequer Leghorns - 12 weeks

Today, at 12 weeks old the Exchequer Leghorn chicks gained their freedom. With much excitement they explored their new run - a 30ft x 42ft enclosure, containing a crab apple tree and rowan tree, both with fruits to forage for, an old tree trunk to scramble about on for bugs and a couple of bushes for shade.

The greatest excitement of the day, however came from an ants nest, tantalisingly close, just on the other side of the gate.

Photo: Catching ants


On a mission


Enjoying the peace and quiet in the shade,



..until she was joined by the others.

Turkeys

The turkeys are growing at a pace. For the past week, weather permitting, they have been enjoying the outside world. Continuously chattering to each other, they explore their surroundings with great excitement and discussion. I'm not quite sure how many of the whites are male or female, but the bronze is most certainly a stag.



Photo: Always listening, curious of their surroundings

Poultry talk

Although I still have one broody sitting on a clutch of eggs, the season is coming to an end. Several of the birds have gone into moult, a few have just a little feather loss, others like the Speckled Sussex and Dorking stand with a pile of feathers surrounding them, loosing more each time they shake. The Ixworth appears to have completed her moult and is looking very smart, crisp and white.
The geese are also moulting, their feathers covering the orchard.

The growers are.... well growing. The cockerels especially are looking fine with their adult feathering coming through.

All the birds are enjoying the start of Autumn with windfall apples and plums plentiful. Everyday when I change the geese' water there is a collection of plum stones at the bottom of the pond. Watching them 'apple bob' never fails to make me smile.

This morning I watched and wondered why all the hens were gathered under the churchyard hedge, until I noticed a pigeon flying out from the elder bush scattering berries everywhere. The hens fought over every last one.

Time has also come for some hard decision making, which birds of the flock to keep and who to replace.

Gold Duckwing Welsummer - For sale

For sale: Trio of Gold Duckwing Welsummer. - sorry no longer available

The, April hatched, Gold Duckwing Welsummer are now 17 weeks old. The cockerel is developing well and is bigger than the Partridge Welsummer cockerels of the same age. They are constantly on the go foraging for bugs. I am expecting the pullets to come into lay around 24 weeks of age. Their eggs will be the typical colouring for Welsummers, terracotta, plain through to speckled. The cockerel has yet to crow and develop his fine feathering fully but should mature at a similar age to the pullets.

Sorry this trio is no longer available - but please contact me if you are interested in either young birds or hatching eggs, as I do sometimes have a few for sale. Dated: 10 Jan. 2011


Difficult to photo as they are always on the go. Gold Duckwing Welsummer trio, April hatch.
(click on images to enlarge)

Cockerel: Pullets: Not a very good photo but shows the trio:

Hatching Eggs

This morning a dozen hatching eggs arrived through the post, a mix of Cream Legbar, Barnevelders, Barnebars and Barnvelder cross Barred Rock. Tomorrow I will set them under the Indian Game broody.

I know I said no more hatches this year, but I am hatching these on behalf of a friend. I have the accommodation and space for a broody and her chicks for the first couple of weeks. Once they outgrow the broody pen they will be returned.

It will be interesting to hatch different breeds, to observe any difference in behaviour, growth etc. Also it will of course be lovely to have chicks again, if only for a short while.
There is something very special about a mother hen with her brood.

Breaking a broody

Two Indian Game hens have gone broody over the past few days. It is late in the season and I have restricted accommodation for growers, so as tempting as it is to set another clutch I mustn't. Also the hens have already reared a good brood this year.

I need to break them. To begin with I try the gentle approach, removing them from the nest as often as I pass and making sure all eggs are collected as soon as possible after being laid to avoid temptation. Some times this will work, more often than not it doesn't.

The next stage, a final resort, is to put the broody hen into a large dog cage, which is placed just inside the open barn. She is sheltered from the weather but can see the rest of the flock, she has food and water available at all times and twice a day whilst we feed and water the other livestock, we take her out and place her in the paddock with the others. For the first couple of days the broody will take this opportunity to dust bathe but soon scuttles back to a cosy corner in the hay. We place her back into the cage. Usually by the third day she is happy to stay out with the rest, even though she can be heard still making the familiar broody cluck. A week or so later she usually comes back into lay.

We have been fortunate in that both broodies have chosen to nest in the yard, the flock is free ranging and if they had chosen to nest away we possibly wouldn't have found them, leaving them vulnerable to predators.

New neighbours

The chicks are totally unfazed by their new neighbours, the young calves on the other hand are fascinated by the chicks.


Photo click to enlarge