The Feathered (half) Dozen

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

The flock has grown by one more, maybe two soon…

Two of the three juvenile chickens hatched from my sister’s rooster, Pants, are possibly roosters, it’s too early to tell, but just to be on the safe side, we’ve moved one of them up to my flock, sis doesn’t want roosters, and I have no problem with them, it’s a way to get more chickens for “free”, and have a self-replenishing flock

The mom is a black bantam silkie, and Pants was a Cochin bantam (I think) so this new arrival is a little black puffball of a thing, I immediately named it “tribble”

Silkie chickens are actually quite interesting, their feathers have the consistency of fur, they feel like silk (hence the name) and they don’t branch off like normal feathers, it’s like the entire bird is ensconced in down, they are a heritage breed that originated in China, they have five to six toes on their feet (polydactylism) and their legs and feet are also covered in downy feathers, they literally look like living puffballs, and they have a quite amusing strutting waddle of a walk

I’m pretty sure this new chicken, is not purebred silkie, as it has distinct wing feathers, purebred silkies don’t, and are incapable of flight, this one has the silkie feathers over most of its body, but it is developing wing/flight feathers, tail feathers, and is capable of short distance flying, like my other hens

It’ll be interesting to see how the genetics work out on this one

closeup of the head, detailing the fur like feathering

We may end up bringing up another one of the juveniles to go with this one too

Still no eggs yet, and I’m starting to get impatient, my hens should be getting close to laying within the next month or so, if not, im going to get very annoyed with them, I want my organic free-range home grown eggs, darn it…

22

Fuzzy chickens… Get pic from the other side so we can see Coops face as he watches the birds.

23

I just checked with Sis, and my instincts were correct, Tribble is a Silkie/Cochin cross, Mom is a Black Silkie, Dad was a Cochin

If Tribble is a rooster, lets hope his personality takes after his mom, as his dad was a human agressive jerk and had to be put down after he drew blood in his final attack

It’s clear that the Silkie feather genetics appear to be a dominant trait, all three of Pants’ offspring look more like their Mom

24

I think I figured out why they call “cracked corn” cracked (aside from the broken fragmented kernels…)

Yesterday, we brought up a little tub of the CC for Tribble, so it’d have a treat handy, and because we had plenty extra, I gave some to my hens, they had never had it before, all six went absolutely mad for the stuff, they liked it better than fresh grass and sprouts, worms, grubs, insects, it was literally like “crack” to them

Tonight, when I got home, as soon as I was out of the garage, the hens saw me, and two of them sprinted madly over, what caught me off guard was it was the two most standoffish of the flock, the two Partridge Plymouth Rocks, the ones that hate getting picked up, hate getting petted, and are the first to run in fear from me

Not only did they sprint over to see if I had any “crack”, they actually followed me up on the porch,and I’m sure they would have followed me into the house if I had left the door open…

So, after dropping off my stuff, I went out to give the flock their “fix”, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear they were addicted to crack cocaine…

Tribble was still hiding in the other stall in the old barn, so I took some to him (or her, still too early to tell) this time he accepted being petted with just a minimum of adorable little chattering, and even let me pick him up, rest him on my knee and pet him

He’s starting to realize that the Big Human is a Good Thing, especially since last night I was shoving the hens away from him when they got too close, even going so far as to pick up Chiana ( the aurcana) and hold her upside down when she got too nasty with Tribble, Chiana hates that, it truly confuses her, having her feet sticking unceremoniously in the air like that, and me laughing at her…

Tribble is just too adorably fluffy to believe, and you just want to instinctively cuddle and protect that adorable fluffball

He also appears to be a perfect genetic mix of his parents, mom a purebred black Silkie, complete with vision-blocking bouffant hairdo, and fuzzy feet that’d put a hobbit to shame, dad was a purebred partridge Cochin, he’s got silkie feathers over most of his body, and a “Mohawk” hairdo, but where Silkies have no flight feathers on their wings, and are incapable of flights, and can only perform long wing-assisted hops, Tribble actually has flight feathers at the tips of his wings, that give him just enough lift for short flights, but when his wings are folded, the flight feathers are nearly invisible and he looks like a normal silkie puffball…

A silkie, that can fly? He’s a “sleeper” chicken…
His two nest mates weren’t as lucky genetically, one brother looks like an all black Cochin (normal feathers, no fuzz) with beetle green iridescent wash, with a fuzzy hat, and his sister is a salt-and-pepper Cochin with silkie hat, of the three, Tribble has the coolest genetic mix, in my opinion

25

As I remember the chickens I have been around, they sure were not as much fun as yours and I know I did not have that much fun with them. It just blows my mind.

More pictures please.

26

And if she’s not much of a layer, you can change her name to “Dinner, October 5”. :smiley:

27

Tonight, Tribble actually cuddled on my lap, it’s the first time I’ve experienced a chicken that actually seeks out that much attention, probably because he’s still adjusting to his new home, and he’s scared, he’s quite timid, ironic, as he was actually the bully down at my sisters place, bullying the other two nest mates, he’s now on the recieving end and doesn’t much like it…

I’m not used to birds actually showing what appears to be affection, quite strange…

28

Any port in a storm.

29

Got my first egg tonight, about the size of a bantam egg, light brown, good solid shell

I cracked it onto the cast iron, the yolk was nearly fluorescent orange, the albumen around the yolk was firm with a faint yellowish cast and supported the yolk well, (indicating a very fresh egg) and the outer albumen was clear

A quick couple of flips, and the egg was perfectly fried, and absolutely delicious

So far, that has to be the most expensive and smallest egg I have ever eaten :wink:

Good thing the chickens have only just started to lay…

30

Where has the time gone?

I’ve had losses (down to three laying hens, a BO, a PPR, and Chiana the Easter Egger), lost a BO to possibly a raccoon, a PPR to an unusual neuromuscular ailment that ended up with her legs effectively paralyzed, and another BO just… Dead one morning,

It’s disappointing, but these birds are livestock, not pets, they have jobs to do, tick reduction, Japanese beetle elimination, and any other undesirable insects, as well as grazing on whatever else they can get their beaks around…

…I have another batch of hens hardening off in the unfinished, unheated dirt floor basement (the house is a 230 year old New England colonial), 7 Easter Eggers, a wide variety of colors, three have distinct “beards” (must be part Dwarf :wink: ) one has light “sideburns” and another with a “ruff”, the remainder are plain faced

this video shows my year old Buff Orpington interacting with the chicks, and this video is a little longer version

The new chicks, well, pullets now, should be ready to move into the barn in the next couple of weeks or so, the crate they’re in right now was originally Cooper’s, and it’s getting a little cramped for the pullets now…