Big Day Out

Today is the chicks first day out into the garden. They are so big now about the size of a blackbird. The boys are getting their beautiful black and white barred feathers and the girls have their salmon coloured fronts. Both the boys and girls are getting their floppy crests typical of the breed.

I was chatting to a real chicken expert a few days ago and he we telling be the history of the cream legbar breed. To be honest I was so overwhelmed with information that Ive gone and forgot it all. May be a project in that if anyone is interested Id lovel to know. One interesting thing is their love of perching on the smallest thinnest thing possible (see picture here they are all asleep on a piece of hardboard about 3mm wide). My other hens don't perch they prefer to spread out when they sleep but the chicks prefer to perch. My mother used to say my dad could sleep on a washing line may be he was a cream legbar!

Chicks

Here's the latest chick pic they are growing so big now the girls have the red brest and the boy the silver breast they are doing really well.

Dealing With Visitors

Today has been a really busy day. Finally I have given the hen house its spring clean and the chickens likewise. Chickens always seem to be full of lice by this time of year. The diatoms seem to be working. I have put some in the hens' favorite dust bath spot and we have rubbed it well into their feathers. Places which seem to be a favorite with the lice are under the wings, between the legs and the vent area. Some people don't de-flea their hens but I do feel that fleas and mites etc. do carry all sorts of diseases and chronic infestations can lead to anemia and weakness which can then leave the bird open to infection .

chick update

Well the chicks are two weeks old. They have grown so much and are about twice their hatching size and are growing their adult feathers. They are eating loads today we tried them on some finely chopped spring greens and spring onion with some natural yogurt. Natural yogurt is a great food for them great for their guts and general health we give it to the grown hens too. its high in calcium and the friendly bacteria are excellent at keeping bugs at bay.

The adult hens are in good form and loving the sunshine lots of eggs at the moment. They do have lice though so we will de-louse them at the weekend. We use Diatom powder its natural and seems to do the trick They may have a bath too give them a bit of a spring clean. Well more later hope you enjoy the picture of Hannah with her chick.

Enjoying the Sun

I'm not prone to passing comment on how people live their lives but its mid spring and i thought Id share a rare group photo of the girls enjoying the sun. Chickens are surprisingly intelligent animals (OK they've never been to the moon but neither have you!) They are jungle birds they need space to peck, scratch, perch, bath and run away if they are being bullied. How can I eat a tasteless battery egg or a chicken raised so intensely and in such cramped conditions that they are too heavy and unfit for their legs to support them. There are other cost effective ways to raise chickens. It is the consumers responsibility to stop this, its not good for any of us.

Well two days ago the chicks hatched there are 3 girls and 2 boys they are beautiful. Here is a picture of little Carter hatching more pics to follow.

cheeping chicks

The chicks are cheeping (or peeping) inside the shells we can hear then tweeting away its so exciting They may well hatch tonight! We have got the camera at the ready to record the happy event. In the final three days of incubation you have to increase the humidity within the incubator to soften the shells a bit. The chick obviously needs to break free from the shell and although they have an egg tooth they need to muster all their energy to hatch. If the shell is not a little softened by increased humidity the chicks can die in the shell. So we are not out of the woods yet but keeping everything crossed.