On Sunday we finally got round to moving the young chickens that we hatched out earlier in the year into their bigger pen. I got the electric netting back out, moved the coop with the tractor and gave them a nice new area to peck and scratch in.
Before moving them I clipped their wings in an effort to try to keep them in their new pen, I doubt it will work but I live in hope!
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| The girls loved helping move the chickens |
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| Moving the hens |
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| Clipping wings |
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| Teh girls getting the coop ready for the chickens |
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| Hens and young cockerels enjoying their new pen |
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| Fly my pretties! |
Out of the six that hatched I think we've only got two hens and one maybe (I'm not quite sure about the light coloured one!). But that means a few meals in a few weeks time.
How has everyone else got on with hacthing and breeding chickens this year?
Its been a bad year for hatching chickens dont know why ducks hatched fine, we only got four out of the twelve hatch rate so next year will see the incubator working again, lovely photos of the girls :-)
ReplyDeleteI purchased 4 chicks from the feed store. ( they were a couple days old) they all survived. I moved them with my other hens the beginning of last month. Not too many problems, they are all hens.
ReplyDeleteI love that top picture :-)
ReplyDeleteWe had a total failure with hatching our own eggs, it appears Cauldwell the cockerel is firing blanks, although one of the girls was convinced she was sat on fertile eggs, after 25 days I took her off and checked and nothing. So I bought six fertile eggs off Ebay, two hatched and died immediately, two hatched and survived, they are lovely and now happy members of the flock, one boy and one girl, and the other two just weren't fertile, I cracked them open to check and they were just eggs!!
Not a good year for replenishing the flock that way, so we went out and bought 4 POL from a nearby farmer the other week and one has just started laying.
We have 7 acres...new to us...that were filled with ticks etc. Our chickens and ducks and guineas have made quick work of our bug population but we do hatched out many more males than females. Planning a big "off with their heads" part in a couple weeks. We invite our relatives to help and those who do get to take fresh meat home.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with wing clipping, mine seemed to fly regardless! Good year for hatching our eggs, but then you already know your cockerel isn't firing blanks ;-)
ReplyDeleteOur girls have started to lay in the last couple weeks, these are the baby chicks I got back in March. Your only clipping one wing :O) right... Funny story......when we first got chickens several years ago... my friend said well you have to clip their wings so they can't fly.... so honeyman and I went out one evening as they were settling and we clipped their wings... both wings :O)... needless to say they could still fly rofl rofl. I then learned my friend meant to clip one wing on each chicken so they are off balance and then nope they can't fly rofl rofl.
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ReplyDeleteYours girls are so cute following you around and helping you! :O)
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