I'm looking for the rooster saddles. They don't have to be real long ones, but anything with feathers over 6" would be great...especially if they are barred.
Gotcha ... I am a wee bit ignorant currently on the roosters saddle. I am guessing that is the feathers that cover the neck and over the top of the back?
Ordered my Chickens today ended up with 13 hens and 2 roosters ... gonna eat the ugliest rooster :D .. I will get them in the beginning of March .... on to the coop construction! I hope my rooster looks like this guy ...
So here is the barn taken from the great room's window this morning ... And here is a close up of what will be my coop
Main thing dealing with the rooster don't mess with him when hes molting an play with him as much as possible when he starts getting bigger cut a apple in half an let him eat it out of your hand. As far as the spurs go keep them cut short an he won't hurt the hens or you much at all Sent from my hand held hunting device
You will enjoy it if you are anything like me or Tony. I love having them. I am on my 3rd round of them, but the first 2 rounds didn't last long due to contrary neighbors. The birds I have now will be a year old next week. They have not moulted yet and lay pretty good. I probably averaged 3-4 eggs a day this winter so far with 6 laying hens. I live in a subdivision on a half acre. They free range my fenced in yard all day and I converted part of my garage into a coop for them. I'd love to have more, but they poop too much and the wifey would have my head if got too many. At one time last summer I had 12 hens, but I ate 3 and re-homed 3 Americauna's because they kept flying into my neighbor's yard and decimated a patch of landscaping. His wife got pissy and I don't want enemies, plus it is my fault, so I got rid of them. It is a great hobby if you like to have side hobbies. The eggs are second to none and I love to watch them hunt moths and scatch the yard eating the insects that like to take up residence in my house. Tony has me wanting more and I'm drawing up new plans to renovate my coop in the spring!! Pray for me... Sal One of my layers: One of the Casualties: First Egg First Egg getting laid: First Egg getting fried:
slabcrappy, I am no chicken expert, but raised them when i was kid. If i remeber right you can cut there wing feathers back and then they can't fly away. a suggestion for your escapee's!
Thank you for the advise. Honestly, I was nervous about doing this at that time and we simply had too many birds. The easiest was out for me was to give them away. I just happened to meet a tile layer at work that had 30 hens and wanted my 3 to add to his flock (God knows everything!!), so I brought them in the next morning and he was happy and I was happy. Funny thing though, 2 of my hens started getting out and hanging around on my front yard and driveway. Then one of the two went down the road and never came back one night. Well when I got home the next day from work, I found her down the road scratching under someone's pine tree. I called her over and took her home. THEN I got the courage to wing clip. I clipped one wing on the two birds that were escaping. Not too long later, one of the clipped hens was in the driveway when I got home from work. Long story longer, she was hopping up on my John Deere lawn thatcher, onto the fence top and hopping down to greener pastures! She made it back to roost every night though! I have no idea how she got back into the back yard, but when I saw her go on the thatcher, I moved it and none of them have gotten out since. Sal
Sal ... great post ... I love that your first egg you got was a double yoker ... OH the things that make chicken people happy :D you getting stoked to start the run and coop with me?
Just put together my meal worm farm to give my bit**es some protein packed treats! Spent $2.50 on wheat bran and $6.00 for 400+ meal worms = total of $8.50. Not bad! Now I will have a regenerating treat farm for the girls. Rollin' like a piamp!!
