# Crossing chickens and fingers



## Mike at Capra Vista

Among other things, we had a bunch of Dorking hens, two Dorking roosters and a Welsommer hen. We had some success in getting the Dorkings to hatch a few of the eggs.It turned out that of the eight chicks, there were two Welsommer/Dorking roosters and two hens.










Dorking Rooster (not my pic)









Welsommer Rooster (also not my pic)









Welsommer/Dorking Rooster (This is my pic - I do have a camera)

I do like the colours of the crossed roosters. Both the crossed roosters were identical. You can see where the colours come from when you look at the pure bred roosters. Funny thing is that the crossed hens look identical to the pure Dorking. The only way I can tell now is that the Welsommer/Dorking hens lay light brown eggs. Dorkings lay white and Welsommer lay brown.

So this year we are tying to hatch some of the light brown eggs (fertilized by the Welsommer/Dorking rooster). I'm curious to see what the second generation of crosses will bring. We had two broodies sitting on 10 eggs, but they abandoned them after about 10 or 12 days. I now have another two broodies with about 8 eggs - plus whatever has been added. They are about half way though,so now I have my fingers cross.


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## FizzyGoats

That’s a beautiful cross. Good luck. And definitely post pics when it’s hatching time.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

FizzyGoats said:


> That’s a beautiful cross. Good luck. And definitely post pics when it’s hatching time.


Thanks. The broodies are still in the main coop, in nest boxes. When I looked in this morning, there were two other chickens on top of one of the broodies. I've seen them double up in nest boxes but this is the first time with three in one nest box.


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## Cedarwinds Farm

What pretty roosters!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

I've been meaning to do an update for a few days. As I said before, I had two broodies sitting in my main coop. The eggs under one got very dirty and smelly. The other broody hatched one chick. We moved the hen, chick and remaining eggs to the "chick" coop. Hen stayed on the eggs like a good broody and I thought things were going well. Next day the coop reaked of a giant broody-poop. Not unexpected but when I wanted to clean it up, I could not find it. Turns out she didn't bother moving her butt off the eggs before her anal explosion. Same thing the next day. We waited a few more days, but no more chicks.

So after a total of 4 broody hens, well over 2 dozen eggs, we now have one chick. A little orangy ball of fluff. Looks very much like a Welsommer chick. A girl I think.


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## Tanya

Now look at that cute fluff. Here we call them 'wolletjies' a dutch word for a fluffy ball of wool.


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## FizzyGoats

Sorry you only got one, but what a cutie!


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## ksalvagno

That one is sure cute! Sorry the hatch rate was so bad.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

The worst part is that with only one chick, the hen won't let me near her.

We do have more eggs than we can use and summer is not over yet. I already have another hen thinking about getting broody. Maybe our luck will improve.


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## MadHouse

So cute! That happened to us here, only one chick hatched. When mom abandoned it, it was on its own and became very very tame with goats and humans. I hope yours is a girl!!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Interesting (well, interesting to me anyway) that the chick looks like a Welsommer chick - orange feet and all - but retains the Dorking trait of having 5 toes. Not only that but the fifth toe is very large. Much more prominent than in my previous chicks.


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## Tanya

I love it


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## Mike at Capra Vista

So, the good news is that I have another broody chicken. Unfortunately, it seems she does not like the feel of lumpy eggs under her. The last few mornings I have found her sitting beside the cold eggs. Looks like I will have to put my "How to Raise Chickens" book back into the coop.


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## FizzyGoats

Oh no. She’s so close to getting it right. Maybe play some instructional videos for her.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

That's a good idea. It had not occurred to me that she might be illiterate and cannot read the book. Is illiteracy common in chickens?


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## MadHouse

FizzyGoats said:


> Oh no. She’s so close to getting it right. Maybe play some instructional videos for her.


I have read that chickens CAN actually learn from watching a screen.

Sorry you didn’t have anymore luck!
When mine tried, I got one chick, and the next time none. I think it was because I hadn’t turned the eggs while I stored them before putting them under her.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Good news is that Esmeralda (aka The Chick, Esy, Esmy) is alive and doing fine. This is our third year with chicks - well a chick - and we are still amazed how fast they grow. She is definitely looking more like a Welsummer than a Dorking. 

They grow up so fast. <sniff>



















In the meantime I have had two hens go broody but only for about 6 days, Another hen went broody 4 days ago. Last night we moved her into the broody RV - chicken tractor. This morning everything went like in the manual. She came out, had a giant poop, ate food, drank a bunch of water and went back to sit on her eggs. So if things continue to go well, Esy may have a few sibs. Fingers crossed again!


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## MadHouse

Wow, Esmeralda grew so fast! Amazing! And she’s so pretty!
Are the other chickens accepting her in the flock?


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## Tanya

Looking good


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## FizzyGoats

Esmeralda is so adorable. Hopefully your broody girl stays broody and she’ll have a few playmates soon.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

MadHouse said:


> Wow, Esmeralda grew so fast! Amazing! And she’s so pretty!
> Are the other chickens accepting her in the flock?


Esy and her mom are still in their own coop (The Cottage) with a run adjoining the flock's run. So all the birds see each other every day. If the brooding goes well, I will start integrating Esy and her mom in two weeks so that The Cottage is ready for any new chicks.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

A rare opportunity to take a family portrait.
Esmeralda with her mom and dad.










Esy seems to be turning into a fine young Lay-D. But her toes do look a bit creepy.


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## Tanya

What a beautifull family portrait. Almost like a rebellios teen. Essy is sneaking away while the king and queen wonder where on earth she is going..... nice


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## MadHouse

Gorgeous family! The mom reminds me of a bald eagle.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

My broody is still broody, sitting on 7 eggs in the Fowl RV (aka chicken tractor). Another 3 or 4 days till hatching. Fingers still crossed, which makes using cutlery a bit awkward.


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## Kass

Haha! Good luck! The chicks will be so cute! 

Sent from my SM-A115U using Goat Forum mobile app


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Yay, yay!!!
We had three chicks hatch yesterday. 











And this morning there were 6! (always one hiding)









At first glance it might be 2 girls and 4 boys, but it is early and mom is very protective and I don't want to stress needlessly.










I'm hoping the last egg hatches(obviously), but having 6 out of 7 hatch is already exceeding our expectations.


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## ksalvagno

How cute!


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## Tanya

Aw. Now I want baby chicks too... they are soooo cute.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Tanya said:


> Aw. Now I want baby chicks too... they are soooo cute.


Ya, if only they would stay that way for more than 20 minutes. I'm sure they'll be laying eggs tomorrow.


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## Tanya

🤣 they do grow quickly dont they


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## MadHouse

Congratulations!!!
What a great success rate!!
They are sooo cute!!,


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Tanya said:


> 🤣 they do grow quickly dont they


The geneticists should get on that. I'm sure there would be a market for chicks and ducklings that don't grow up.


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## Tanya

🤣


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## Tanya

I have a rooster called Kobus who crows like some one is strangling him. He is yet to produce 1 baby....


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## FizzyGoats

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> The geneticists should get on that. I'm sure there would be a market for chicks and ducklings that don't grow up.


 I’d buy a dozen ducks if they’d stay babies, lol. 
And congratulations on the chicks. They sure are fuzzy cuteness. 



Tanya said:


> I have a rooster called Kobus who crows like some one is strangling him. He is yet to produce 1 baby....


🤣 Maybe the ladies are as unimpressed by his love song as you are.


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## Tanya

Oh it is an all night strangulated love serenade. I think he sleeps ALL day


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Tanya said:


> I have a rooster called Kobus who crows like some one is strangling him. He is yet to produce 1 baby....


You do know how this works, right? You also need an egg producing chicken to get babies. A strangled rooster cannot make babies.  

On the other hand, maybe it is a blessing he cannot reproduce given the way he crows.


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## Tanya

The hens are all willing accomplices. I just think he has no clue


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## FizzyGoats

Well if he can’t figure out crowing, reproducing may be out of his reach. Poor weird guy. There’s always one.


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## Tanya

Well fizzygoats I think he is very confused. 

Hetting back to crossing chickens I want more pictures


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Tanya said:


> ..... I want more pictures











Wow, what's out here.










Which way??











Tired ... so very ... very ti ....


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## ksalvagno

You will have to take pictures when they are older too so we can see how they feathered out.


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## Tanya

I l9ve your settup


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## FizzyGoats

They are so adorable. I love that last pic.


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## Kass

So cute! I have a hen that adopted 5 chicks a couple weeks ago. It's so cool to watch them. 

Sent from my SM-A115U using Goat Forum mobile app


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## Mike at Capra Vista

FizzyGoats said:


> They are so adorable. I love that last pic.


Yes, I think it's the cutest thing when you see mom with 3 or 4 little heads sticking out all over the place.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Kass said:


> So cute! I have a hen that adopted 5 chicks a couple weeks ago. It's so cool to watch them.


I know. Today was the first tolerable day outside in about 2 weeks. I'm way behind on my chores around here. I spent half my time outside just sitting and watching mom and her chicks. They will never be this small again. One is already showing little wing feathers. As to the chores, I didn't miss out on a thing, they still all need to be done.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Take me for a horsey ride mom!?










Okay, fine.










Getty-up horsey!!!










BUG!!











Weeee!!!


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## FizzyGoats

🤣 I love it. Too funny. And so sweet.


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## Tanya

That little guy is going to be running the roost like they want it.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Silly Rooster .... resting in a nest box. Trying to lay an egg?
Is he briefly self identifying as a hen?


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## MadHouse

He is beautiful!
The rooster sometimes sits in the nest to show the hens good nesting spots. Mine “ makes coffee” when he does that (sounds like an espresso maker). Maybe yours was making coffee too?


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## FizzyGoats

That’s interesting. I didn’t know roosters did that. 

Though I do have a hen who went through a brief period of strutting and trying to crow until she decided that nope, she was indeed a hen.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

I enjoy watching my chickens. They are entertaining and there is still more to learn about their behaviour. Like finding a clutch of eggs in the wheelbarrow.

So yesterday I braved the heat and sat with Mom and her chicks while they free ranged. I don't let them out unsupervised yet. It is just pure hope that makes me think my mere presence might dissuade a falcon from swooping in and taking off with one of my little fluffs.

Here is Mom scratching in the dirt for the chicks - a perpetual activity it seems. (I don't know where the little penguin came from.)











When Laverne the Lakenvelder wanders by, Mom fluffs up to make herself look big and threatening. I have never seen a hen do it quite like this before. The funny thing was that Mom just kept scratching for the chicks. Her actions didn't change one bit. So she perceived a threat serious enough to explode her feathers, but not serious enough to stop looking for food for her babies.










Once Laverne was about 5 or 6 ft away, Mom's feathers relaxed again.










Btw, we used to have two Lakenvelders, Laverne and Shirley.


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## Kass

Oh my gosh the baby getting a piggyback ride is too cute! 
I agree watching chickens is fun. I have different age groups all together in a big pen and it's interesting to see how they work out the pecking order. 
And it's always heartwarming to see all the babies run over when mom calls for them to try a tasty treat. 

Sent from my SM-A115U using Goat Forum mobile app


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## FizzyGoats

I love that she fluffed up but didn’t stop looking for food. Like a ‘keep walking’ message to the other bird. 

Like you, I’m going to hope that my presence somehow dissuades a hawk, flacon, and/or eagle from swooping (even though hawks have swooped within arms reach trying to get a chicken before) and let my littles out for about an hour soon. Mine are about 10 weeks old, so not as little but also not protected or taught by a mom. 

And it is amazing how entertaining our little feathered friends can be. When I first got chickens and the turkeys, I had no idea they were all such characters. A pleasant surprise for sure.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Esmeralda is 2 months old now. She looks exactly like a Welsummer hen (her grandmother), except for having 5 toes like a Dorking (her grandfather).









Esmeralda getting special treatment from me because she is lowest in the pecking order and last at the food.










Normal Welsummer hen.

Like Esmeralda, all my 6 little chicks have the extra toe. Of the 6, I believe only two are girls. I wonder if they will look like Welsummers too. I'm also anxious to see how the young roosters will look, but considering last year's bloodbath, I'm in no hurry to have them grow up.


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## Tanya

Beautiful


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Breakfast time at Yardbird Cottage ...


"Alright children, stop horsing around and eat properly!!"










"Yes , Mom."










Post-breakfast preening. The Mob, the Loner and the Mama's Boy









At about two weeks the wing feathers are well developed and a fluffy tail has started to show. They have no trouble flying onto the perch 1.5 feet off the ground. The chicks are much more independent when free ranging and can be ten feet from Mom. They have started scratching in the dirt for themselves (which is adorable to watch) but are not strong enough to move much dirt.


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## ksalvagno

They are so cute!


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## FizzyGoats

Oh my gosh, they are adorable. So fun!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Finally taught the chicks to eat out of my hand without getting Mom's okay first.










Chicks are well feathered now except for their fuzzy heads. It is starting to look like there are 5 boys and only one girl. I have just seen the first chest bumps. The chicks will start play fighting/threatening. That is fun to watch.


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## ksalvagno

Pretty coloring!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Update:

Well, here we are several months later.....












Esmeralda, the lone chick who hatched in May, turned into a pretty brown and gold chicken. She looks like a pure Welsommer with no indication that she is part Dorking. Unfortunately, she was killed several weeks ago inside my fenced run.












This is Violet with three of her five brothers. She was hatched in July and looks like a pure Dorking with no sign of being part Welsommer. She disappeared while free ranging with her brothers a couple of weeks after I lost Esmeralda.


So, out of this year's hatchlings, all I'm left with is five young roosters.










Three like this, mostly white on top. These look just like pure Dorking roosters.












There is this one with just a little bit of brown showing on his back.











And this is my favourite with the brown/gold back. He looks very much like his Dad. (see first post) I sold his Dad last month, so if this guy survives, he will be my new rooster for breeding.

That is if I still have laying hens left by next spring. I have lost 3 older hens this fall along with the two young ones mentioned above. I may just have to go chicken shopping next year.


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## FizzyGoats

Oh no. I’m sorry you lost chickens. Do you know what got them?


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## ksalvagno

Oh man, sorry you lost them. The ones left are really neat coloring. Too bad they are all roosters.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

FizzyGoats said:


> Oh no. I’m sorry you lost chickens. Do you know what got them?


Short answer - no.

I have a 30' x 30' "yard" for the chickens with a 4' fence. Three of the chickens were killed in there. At least two during the day. Both had ravens pecking at the body but I do not know if they actually killed the chickens. The third I found in the yard early in the morning. She may have been killed late the day before or she accidentally got locked in the yard over night and was killed then. In all three cases most of the mutilation was done to the head and neck with the rest of the body mostly still intact.

The other two disappeared while free ranging. These were probably taken by birds of pray (or possibly raccoons).


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## FizzyGoats

We have so many birds of prey around here, I feel for you. And it’s even worse when you don’t know exactly what got them. I hope the rest stay safe and you’re able to get some more either by hatching or purchasing. How many hens do you have left?


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## toth boer goats

Oh no, poor chickens, so sorry for your losses.


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## NigerianNewbie

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Short answer - no.
> 
> I have a 30' x 30' "yard" for the chickens with a 4' fence. Three of the chickens were killed in there. At least two during the day. Both had ravens pecking at the body but I do not know if they actually killed the chickens. The third I found in the yard early in the morning. She may have been killed late the day before or she accidentally got locked in the yard over night and was killed then. In all three cases most of the mutilation was done to the head and neck with the rest of the body mostly still intact.
> 
> The other two disappeared while free ranging. These were probably taken by birds of pray (or possibly raccoons).


Weasel type animals take prey this way. I lost ducks in the exact same way, many years ago, to a confirmed weasel.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

FizzyGoats said:


> We have so many birds of prey around here, I feel for you. And it’s even worse when you don’t know exactly what got them. I hope the rest stay safe and you’re able to get some more either by hatching or purchasing. How many hens do you have left?


I have 5 Dorking (and Dorking x Welsommer) hens though not all lay anymore. Actually none are laying now. I only had two that laid light brown eggs. These are the eggs I've been hatching. I don't know if I still have both. The Dorkings are near impossible to tell apart.

I also have an old Minorca (black) hen.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

NigerianNewbie said:


> Weasel type animals take prey this way. I lost ducks in the exact same way, many years ago, to a confirmed weasel.


Certainly possible. Would they be out in the middle of the day?


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## ksalvagno

Yes. I had a problem with a daytime weasel too.


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## DDFN

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> So, the good news is that I have another broody chicken. Unfortunately, it seems she does not like the feel of lumpy eggs under her. The last few mornings I have found her sitting beside the cold eggs. Looks like I will have to put my "How to Raise Chickens" book back into the coop.


Oh no but maybe the book will help?!?!

When we had ducks they would never hatch their own and we had to incubate some. No idea why they don't like the feel of the eggs. May be make them an egg cushion for the chickens to sit on instead. 
Cute chicken nugget from the first crossed batch!


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## DDFN

Oh no by the time I made my way through the whole post I had fell in love virtually with Esmeralda. So sorry something killed her and the others. That's just horrible.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

ksalvagno said:


> Yes. I had a problem with a daytime weasel too.


Then that is the probable problem. Some weaselly thing. And I don't mean ....










We did see what we thought was a young mink in the chicken run a few years ago. Scared him away and never saw a sign of him again, but clearly they are around.


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## ksalvagno

We have mink and weasels in Ohio. I didn't see it so can't be sure which one it was. Locking up the chickens for a couple weeks seemed to help. Maybe a dog, coyote or fox got it.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

A few days ago, I put my favourite of the five young roosters, Buster (Buster Brown), in with the hens. This confused the rooster and frightened the hens. They were free ranging at the time so the hens could squawk and run to their hearts content. He spent some time chasing one or another, occasionally catching one by the neck (or back or wing) which resulted in a lot of screaming and wing slapping and not at all what he had in mind. The hens spent most of the afternoon keeping their distance. Sunset created more confusion as the hens wanted to stay away from Buster, but also wanted to go to bed. Whenever Buster went into the coop, the hens would run out - followed by buster. Eventually, everyone settled down with the girls on the roost and Buster sitting on the floor. 

Buster has since learned to be more gentlemanly. He started making the there-is-good-food-here call and he is practising his mating dance. His crowing is also sounding less juvenile. The hens have accepted him into their group, much to the dismay of his four brothers.


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## Tanya

Good on you Buster. My rooster Chris makes a loud cook cook noise. All his hens run to investigate. He then crows out loud at his success and struts. 
Once Buster has that down its awesome to watch


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## Mike at Capra Vista

My flock lined up for family pictures yesterday. 

Buster and his cougars, White, Black, Red and None (based on the colour of their leg bands). The girls are a year or two older than Buster, but he does not mind especially since his four brothers are resting in the freezer. 

These are all Dorking-Welsommer crosses. The hens all look like pure Dorkings. Interestingly, two lay white eggs and two lay larger light brown eggs.

I'm hoping this year's hatchings will work out a little better than last year's.


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## ksalvagno

Beautiful!


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## toth boer goats

👍


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## Mike at Capra Vista

So......

This year's trying to make baby chickens has begun. One broody chicken has been moved to the "chick coop" with 7 brown eggs. She seems to be doing everything by the book. (Putting the _How to Raise Chickens _book in the coop last year seems to have helped.) The eggs are clean, she comes out once a day to have a bite, drink some water, have a quick dust bath and squirt out a giant disgust and spends the rest of the day sitting on the eggs in a near comatose state. She was broody for a week in the main coop and has been in the chick coop for a week, so she should be done in about another week.
Unfortunately, the first brooding of the year has never gone well here.


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## MadHouse

I wish you luck!
Maybe put a more specific book out for her. Like “Successfully broody-raising chicks”.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Oh, I hear peeping.


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## toth boer goats

YAY 😁


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## Rancho Draco

Have you glimpsed any chicks yet?


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## Mike at Capra Vista

As a matter of fact ......


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## Rancho Draco

Well aren't they just darling. Just two or is mom hatching an army?


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## DDFN

Bring forth the army of chicken nuggets! 

They are so cute!


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## DDFN

Wait why did it just now come to me with Mike's sense of humor you should think of sending in pictures for the chicken daddies calendar. This baby chicks and you could be on everyone walls next year lol

Ps the chicks are so cute!


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## FizzyGoats

Aw, look at those sweet little faces.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

DDFN said:


> Wait why did it just now come to me with Mike's sense of humor you should think of sending in pictures for the chicken daddies calendar. This baby chicks and you could be on everyone walls next year lol
> 
> Ps the chicks are so cute!


Another thing I had to look up. Chicken daddies calendar? Who knew? ... Apparently a lot of people. Great photography with well staged, colourful backgrounds. 
Thanks, but not for me. I'm fine just hanging out on this side of my computer, not on people's walls.  Not that I think I could compete with the handsom devils in the calendar.
Perhaps when they make a Grumpy Old Farts On A Farm calendar.......


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## Mike at Capra Vista

It seems I could not take good pictures this morning. I took about 30 and this was the best of the bunch. It is the chicks that are supposed to be fuzzy, not the pictures.









Five chicks out of seven eggs. That's pretty good for me. I've had 0 out of 12 before. At first glace it looks like 4 roosterlings and only one henling. Seems I did this last year.

I'm getting concerned about the broody hen. She has not left the nest in four days. I got her to eat a little this morning, basically by "attacking" her with the food bowl until she lashed out and found herself with a beak full of food. Repeat a few times and she started eating and actually called the chicks to eat too.


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## MadHouse

That is a beautiful picture.
I hope your hen gives up on the last 2 eggs. What if you took the eggs away, or have you already done that?


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## toth boer goats

Cute.


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## Moers kiko boars

For some reason😱 I didnt get this thread until today. I enjoyed your pictures and beautiful chickens & chicks. Im so sorry for your losses. 
Your newest chicks are adorable. You take fantastic pictures.


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## ksalvagno

What adorable chicks!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

I have not removed eggs yet.

Eggs - Date Laid
2 ----- May 12
2 ----- May 13
1 ----- May 14
2 ----- May 15

Chicks - Date Hatched
2 ----- June 3
2 ----- June 4
1 ----- June 5
?? ----- June 6

There is a pattern here and a chance that 2 more will hatch today.


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## DDFN

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Another thing I had to look up. Chicken daddies calendar? Who knew? ... Apparently a lot of people. Great photography with well staged, colourful backgrounds.
> Thanks, but not for me. I'm fine just hanging out on this side of my computer, not on people's walls.  Not that I think I could compete with the handsom devils in the calendar.
> Perhaps when they make a Grumpy Old Farts On A Farm calendar.......


My trail riding friend is who showed me the chicken daddies calendar awhile back. She tried to get our other friends husband to do it but he had the same reaction lol. Some brave silly people out there in deed lol


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Broody got off the nest yesterday, and moved to the other side of the coop, after depositing a giant stinky all over the egg shells and egg in the nest. Yes there was still one unhatched egg. With the help of my calculator; I started with 7 eggs, and I now have 5 chicks and one egg. There is one egg missing. One egg must have broke after I moved the broody. I removed the now very disgusting nest box, but what about the egg? Clearly a dud, and now covered in green odiferous slime. Best to go into the compose with the rest of the nest box content. Having made that decision, I wiped the egg with a paper towel while trying not to jiggle it too much. I rigged up a heat lamp and put the egg and a thermometer under it. It is very finicky to keep the temp at about 37C by changing the height of the lamp ever so slightly.
By the end of the day I realized what a waste of time and effort this is. The egg will probably explode and I will have more mess to clean up. Best the throw it out and turn off the lamp.

So at 4:30 this morning.........


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## ksalvagno

Excellent. Hopefully mama hen will take it when hatched.


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## MadHouse

Amazing!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Well that was hard work ......










A certain likeness .....


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Broody has been off the nest since about noon yesterday. We check on her often. sometimes we see 5 chicks, sometimes no chicks at all or any number in between. When I checked a couple of hours ago, guess how many I saw. Wrong. There were six. She has kept one hidden from us this whole time. With Boris still under the heat lamp, that makes 7 out of 7 hatched. That's 2 surprise chicks in one day.










Alright children, lets all line up and hold still so the creepy man can take a picture.













The only girl (I think) based on the larger, well defined dark cap and the bold eye line.













"Creepy man" is right!


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## Moers kiko boars

Too cute for words!💝


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## MadHouse

Beautiful family! 💕 
The one hen in the rooster household (other than her mama).


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## ksalvagno

How cute!


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## toth boer goats

They are cute.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Busy day for young chickens.











"Mommy, can we go outside?"
"No, it is too dangerous out there."












"What about just a little bit?"
"I said NO!" _Tom boys are always trouble._











_There is that creepy man again._











A few hours later Mom took them out of the coop.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Meanwhile ....

Day two for Boris. We took him out of his box periodically, though not nearly often enough, to give him some forced exercise.









In the evening we took him outside and stuffed him under Mom's wing. Sure hope he will be okay. Not that I need yet another rooster.


----------



## MadHouse

Lovely family shots. You got the captions right on.
Good luck with Boris 🤞.


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## FizzyGoats

They are so cute! I love the pics and the captions. 

What do you plan on doing with all the roosters?


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

FizzyGoats said:


> What do you plan on doing with all the roosters?


Though I like the rooster I have now, I may decide to swap him out for a newer model. Selling is difficult since there are always a lot of free roosters available. Keeping them is also not an option. They tend to fight at a certain age and will kill each other. At least mine seem to. Even without the fighting, too many roosters are hard on the hens. So, it will be the soup pot, most likely.


----------



## FizzyGoats

I’ve heard roosters fight worse than toms, so that seems the sensible, kind thing to do. They sure are cute and fluffy right now though. At least you’ll get a lot of enjoyment out of them before they turn into fighting monsters. Lol.


----------



## ksalvagno

They are so cute!


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## toth boer goats

So cute.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Boris is alive. After his first night with Mom, Boris seems to be catching on to life with other chicks. Luckily the weather cooperated. We had a clear warmish day. We saw him eat chick food, respond to Mom's instructions and pick at grass and dirt much like his much bigger brothers (and sister). He did get more tired out, which was not surprising.

Possibly the only good thing about getting so many boys (6 boys, 1 girl) is that I get to have another try at hatching a clutch of eggs later this year.










That is Boris at the far left, looking on.


----------



## ksalvagno

Great he is adjusting.


----------



## MadHouse

I am glad he is catching on.
And that you can see the positive in having so many roosters.


----------



## toth boer goats




----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Mom and chicks are doing fine. Boris has caught on to the routine and is thriving. 










Breakfast time! Boris is right in the middle. He has learned if he sits in the food trough,no on can push him out. He is often sitting in the food like this. That is the little girl on the far right, who looks like she overseeing her brothers.














"Come children, this is what food looks like."












It is fun to watch them drink. Lifting their heads to swallow the water. Not fun to see their wing and tail feathers so big already.


----------



## toth boer goats

They are cute.


----------



## ksalvagno

Great that everyone is thriving!


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Oh oh. I have another broody chicken.









She is sitting on exactly zero eggs. 

Hope I can break her without too much fuss. Don't need another batch of chicks just yet even if I let her collect eggs over the next few days.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Teaching flight.

Mom was sitting on roost calling the chicks to join her. Many tries fell short. The little chicks would jump and flap furiously only to crash to the ground in a pile of fluff. There were a couple of proud successes.



















And some always have to take things too far.


----------



## toth boer goats

🤗


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

The best part of raising chickens....


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## ksalvagno

Aw. So cute!


----------



## MadHouse

They are so cute and fluffy, and their feather colours are so lovely!
Could you remind us at what stage of crossing you are? Are these still Dorking/Welsummer crosses?


----------



## toth boer goats

Aww.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

MadHouse said:


> They are so cute and fluffy, and their feather colours are so lovely!
> Could you remind us at what stage of crossing you are? Are these still crosses?


Not sure the terminology. The hens are first generation Dorking/Welsummer crosses from two years ago. The rooster is second generation. He is the only survivor from last year. So this years chicks are what, 2.5th generation? So yes, serious inbreeding. We'll see how much trouble I get into.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

It is bedtime. Around 6 - 6:30PM Mom takes the chicks up to the coop for the night, even though it is light till 10:00. Not that the chicks are ready to sleep. At 7:30 there is still a lot of chirping going on, and you can see the chicks are wide awake.


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## ksalvagno

I love seeing little heads pop out from under mom.


----------



## MadHouse

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Not sure the terminology. The hens are first generation Dorking/Welsummer crosses from two years ago. The rooster is second generation. He is the only survivor from last year. So this years chicks are what, 2.5th generation? So yes, serious inbreeding. We'll see how much trouble I get into.


They sure are pretty.
I hope this year all the chicks will get to grow into adults.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

The chicks are all growing. 









They have learned that I bring breakfast and no longer need Mom's permission to charge my handful of food.











After they have eaten the food in my hand, they get the breakfast tray.











The solitary girl is, oddly, the only chick with four toes. All her brothers have five toes.


----------



## ksalvagno

They are getting big!


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## Boer Mama

They look very wellssummery to me 😊

if the 5 toes is all the trouble you get into for your line breeding then that’s not too bad 😂


----------



## MadHouse

They are beautiful! I like your routine of hand feeding them.


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## toth boer goats

Aww.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Boer Mama said:


> They look very wellssummery to me 😊
> 
> if the 5 toes is all the trouble you get into for your line breeding then that’s not too bad 😂


Five toes is not even trouble. The Dorking breed has five toes, the Welsummer breed has four toes. Five toes seems to be more common in the crosses. It is just a statistical oddity that the only female is the only chick with four toes.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

MadHouse said:


> They are beautiful! I like your routine of hand feeding them.


The only down side of hen raised chicks is that you have to be a little proactive to ensure tame chicks. So every morning, when they are near starving to death, I make them eat out of my hand before they get their tray of food. It is a burden I must carry, and I do it stoically.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Caution, more chicken pics.....










Buster catching the early morning sun, showing off his masculinity.











Early morning gab fest.
"That Buster, he is so full of himself."
"Breakfast pellets were very good today:"
"I've been hiding my eggs in the shrubbery."
"Do you think there is dark matter and dark energy out there, causing the universe to expand?"
"Bug!"











The post breakfast sit-about.


----------



## Boer Mama

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Five toes is not even trouble. The Dorking breed has five toes, the Welsummer breed has four toes. Five toes seems to be more common in the crosses. It is just a statistical oddity that the only female is the only chick with four toes.


I knew that was a breed trait from an earlier mention… I thought I was being funny 🙃
What concerns would you have with chickens inbreeding?
Cus I never got around to processing last years roo 🤔


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Boer Mama said:


> I knew that was a breed trait from an earlier mention… I thought I was being funny 🙃


Figured that. Just wanted to clarify for others.



Boer Mama said:


> What concerns would you have with chickens inbreeding?


Just the same concerns as with inbreeding any species. The appearance of unwanted recessive traits. No idea what that might be. Three headed chickens??


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## Mike at Capra Vista

The chicks are growing as expected. They all kind of look like their mother at this point.










All the roosterlets have developed the dark chest. Only one has the orange feet of the Welsummer breed, though you can see the pointless fifth toe. You can also see the combs are just starting to develop.










This is the only girl in the bunch. She has Welsummer feet (orange and four toes) but the rest of her looks like a Dorking hen.


----------



## MadHouse

Nice looking bunch!
Are those spurs already on the roosterlets?


----------



## Boer Mama

So… next year when your single girl is acting broody… we may have the chance to see some cool traits such as 3 heads? 🤔😜😅
All the Roos are going to be processed or kept around? Cus if you keep them around with their sister you may increase your chances for something crazy to happen. Lol

(sorry I missed your reply before for some reason.)


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Their spurs are still tiny. What you see are the two back toes. The extra toe usually grows just above the "normal" back toe and is often larger.


----------



## The Goat

Those rosters are pretty and that title got me dyeing


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Mom has started to lay eggs and has lost interest in the chicks. She has pecked at one or another periodically so I have moved her back with the adults. It is interesting that the rooster gets upset when the hens fight to reestablish their pecking order. He tries to break up the fight by getting in between the hens.

The chicks are on their own. There was a day of pining for mom but they got past that.

It also looks like I have a broody hen again. She started sitting yesterday. I could use a couple more hens and after the last two broods I should be due for a few female chicks. We'll see how that works out. Then I have to figure out how to juggle the three age groups.


----------



## ksalvagno

I'm trying to figure that out myself. I just have everyone together and it is going ok. But my older batch has 4 roosters. My newest batch is only 2 weeks old. I started out with 8 from my first batch and now have 6. There are only 4 in my second batch. Since I didn't plan on broody hens, I decided to just let nature take its course and not separate. I'm probably going to figure something else out next year since the chicks aren't accepted into the flock automatically anyway.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

The hen did become broody. We left her in the main coop where she accepted egg donations by the other hens. A few days ago, when she had enough eggs, we went to move her to her own apartment - the chicken tractor. We do this at night when all the chickens have gone to bed. We picked up the hen and then gently moved the eggs into the new nest. One of the other hens, who was roosting in the main coop, started screaming and yelling. Well that was odd. We have never had a reaction from another hen when moving a broody. So on a whim, we checked the leg band of the hen we were holding. It was black. Well the broody hen had a red band. The hens had done a switch on us and, yes, the real broody was the one on the perch screaming about the stolen eggs. So we returned Black to the coop and captured Red who by this time was very agitated and alert. I swear the only fresh blood in the coop was mine. We put Red in with her eggs. She did not want to sit but paced around like a newly caged wild animal. Nothing to do but close the chicken tractor and cross our fingers. It wasn't quite the calm relocation we were hoping for.

Next morning, she was happily(?) sitting on her 7 eggs and all seems well.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

The chicks (They hate to be called chicks. They say they are young roosters and hen) seem to be doing well. The henling is looking like Mom. The roosterlings are starting to look less like Mom.









The henling is on the right.










Three of the roosterlings have the whiter head and neck and white bits on their backs.










The other three have a more cream coloured head and neck and no white but more brown on their backs.










"Whacha lookin' at?"


----------



## toth boer goats

They are cute.


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## Boer Mama

Chicks have turned to teens… hopefully they Don’t succumb to peer pressure and start smoking behind the barn. 😜


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Hmm. Smoked young chicken ... Something to think about.


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## ksalvagno

Nothing like drama in the hen house.


----------



## toth boer goats

😆☝


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Brood hen, aka Red, is doing a good job. I try not to disturb her much. We have had hens lose interest in sitting on eggs so we bug them as little as possible. But Red is doing such a good job that she never comes out to poop or eat or drink. On the third day I was getting really concerned so I took her off the eggs and sat her by the food. She ate like she hadn't eaten in days. Within a few minutes, after leaving a large smelly poo she was back on her eggs. We have repeated this every couple of days. She just does not come out on her own and I am concerned about her getting too weak and getting dehydrated. On the upside, she hardly bites at all now.

All my other broody hens have come out at least once every day to refuel, discharge, and sometimes have a dirt bath.

Anyone else have broodies who forget to eat and drink?


----------



## Rancho Draco

I sometimes will have a hen not get off the nest on her own. For me it's always the first time brooders and on the second go around they get off the nest just fine without help.


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## ksalvagno

I had one this year. She was a first time broody.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

I should add that Red did not forget to eat when she was still in the main coop. That is how she lost her spot on the eggs. 

She is a first timer; but then most - maybe all - of my broodies have been first timers.

Did your overbroodies eventually eat and drink on their own or was assistance required the whole time? Not that it matters much anymore. Red only has a week to go now. I can probably handle helping her once a day for that long.


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## Chanceosunshine

I just read all of this thread. I found it filled with everything you could hope for in a chicken drama and I'm glad you're sharing it, Mike.
I have a couple of questions for you...what size carcass are you getting from your crossed roosters? And is it the Dorking in the hens that make them broody or do Welsummers get broody too?
I'm excited to see what happens in your next generation. You need a rooster that throws hen babies!
Eventually, I'd like to raise ONE "special" breed. Dorkings are on the list of potentials.


----------



## Rancho Draco

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> I should add that Red did not forget to eat when she was still in the main coop. That is how she lost her spot on the eggs.
> 
> She is a first timer; but then most - maybe all - of my broodies have been first timers.
> 
> Did your overbroodies eventually eat and drink on their own or was assistance required the whole time? Not that it matters much anymore. Red only has a week to go now. I can probably handle helping her once a day for that long.


Mine have also been that way. If they are with the flock they do fine but once they are separated they forget to get off. Mine all needed help all the way through brooding.


----------



## ksalvagno

I had to take mine off the nest to get them to eat. It was my first time with broody hens and I just wasn't willing to chance anything. I have a broody right now that I'm trying to stop being broody so I'm forcing her off the nest any time I'm around there. I have 4 week old chicks and I'm done with chicks hatching because I need everyone big enough to drink out of my heated water bucket in the winter.


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## Boer Mama

@Chanceosunshine my wellsummers went broody this year. Her first batch of chicks got stolen, and thankfully she hopped right onto the other hens nest and hatched them out (they only had a cpl more days to go).
She was a first time broody hen as I bought the wellsummers chicks last spring.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Chanceosunshine said:


> I just read all of this thread. I found it filled with everything you could hope for in a chicken drama and I'm glad you're sharing it, Mike.
> I have a couple of questions for you...what size carcass are you getting from your crossed roosters? And is it the Dorking in the hens that make them broody or do Welsummers get broody too?
> I'm excited to see what happens in your next generation. You need a rooster that throws hen babies!
> Eventually, I'd like to raise ONE "special" breed. Dorkings are on the list of potentials.


Thanks for reading and for joining in.

Firstly, I'm new at and crappy at butchering. I have little experience with other chickens so I cannot compare. And I did not weigh the carcasses. (Cleaning fish is much easier!!)
Just pulled one out of the freezer. It is just under 2kg (just over 4lbs).

Both Dorkings and Welsummers are considered to be duel purpose birds which usually means they do not excel as either egg or meat birds. Maybe by duel purpose, they mean the chickens are good at eating and good at digging up flowerbeds. Both breeds are similar size, I expect the crosses to be the same.

Dorkings are known to easily get broody and Welsummer a little less so, I think, but the pure Welsummer we had did not have trouble getting broody.

I am really hoping for 3 or 4 hens out of this next batch of eggs. Our eggs are just for our personal use so we do not need a lot of chickens, but considering last years "natural culling" I think I need a few extra hens. I think I due for a less testosterone laden batch of chicks.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Boer Mama said:


> @Chanceosunshine my wellsummers went broody this year. Her first batch of chicks got stolen, and thankfully she hopped right onto the other hens nest and hatched them out (they only had a cpl more days to go).
> She was a first time broody hen as I bought the wellsummers chicks last spring.


How is she doing at mothering? I've just recently read that they are not good mothers. I have also had to remove my Welsummer from her chicks after a few weeks because she was hurting them.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

ksalvagno said:


> II have a broody right now that I'm trying to stop being broody so I'm forcing her off the nest any time I'm around there.


That may not be enough to break her. You may want to lock her out of the nest area for a couple of days.


----------



## ksalvagno

Unfortunately locking her out isn't possible with my current setup. If I want to keep letting them hatch chicks, I'm going to have to change my setup.


----------



## Boer Mama

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> How is she doing at mothering? I've just recently read that they are not good mothers. I have also had to remove my Welsummer from her chicks after a few weeks because she was hurting them.


She seemed like she was being a very good mother, but it wasn’t very fair to her.
The chicken that stole the first hatch (only 2 chicks) kind of took over all the chicks. She hatched out 4 more, so we had 6. A snake got one, and I think another that night since I didn’t take him far enough away… and I lost 1 more to who knows what.
So my white chicken (out of golden sexlink hatch last year) had been kind of bullying my wellsummer hen when I had the 2 of them shut in with the chicks, so I let them all out with hopes the 2 hens would be able to keep them safe.
Before letting them out, I tried to remove only the wellsummer hen so she could free range and leave the chicks with the other hen, but she kept staying near the run and clucking to her chicks so that wasn’t working.
I think overall she really was a good mom. Lol
My white hen had 2 clutches last year (only a cpl chicks each time since I don’t let them collect a huge nest) and she ended up losing all of her chicks as they got bigger (slightly smaller than quail size) which was why I tried to shut them in this time. So maybe she’d learned to be a bit more protective this year.


----------



## Chanceosunshine

Boer Mama said:


> @Chanceosunshine my wellsummers went broody this year. Her first batch of chicks got stolen, and thankfully she hopped right onto the other hens nest and hatched them out (they only had a cpl more days to go).
> She was a first time broody hen as I bought the wellsummers chicks last spring.


That's interesting. I don't know much about Welsummers and my only experience with them was a very nasty rooster. We kept putting off culling him and then he went after my husband while my husband was on a ladder. My swung a board and that Welsummer was literally the tastiest chicken we ever ate! 

The hens are very pretty.



Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Thanks for reading and for joining in.
> 
> Firstly, I'm new at and crappy at butchering. I have little experience with other chickens so I cannot compare. And I did not weigh the carcasses. (Cleaning fish is much easier!!)
> Just pulled one out of the freezer. It is just under 2kg (just over 4lbs).
> 
> Both Dorkings and Welsummers are considered to be duel purpose birds which usually means they do not excel as either egg or meat birds. Maybe by duel purpose, they mean the chickens are good at eating and good at digging up flowerbeds. Both breeds are similar size, I expect the crosses to be the same.
> 
> Dorkings are known to easily get broody and Welsummer a little less so, I think, but the pure Welsummer we had did not have trouble getting broody.
> 
> I am really hoping for 3 or 4 hens out of this next batch of eggs. Our eggs are just for our personal use so we do not need a lot of chickens, but considering last years "natural culling" I think I need a few extra hens. I think I due for a less testosterone laden batch of chicks.


Thanks, Mike. I would like to raise a heritage breed for dual purpose, but misunderstood the term and mistakenly thought it meant they were good for both. lol 

I don't think you could cause much loss from your crappy butchering unless you're unintentionally hacking off legs and flaying breast meat away while you're at it, so I'll assume that 4+lbs was about what you could expect. Any idea of their age when you butchered them? 

We have some Kosher Kings at the moment and plan to harvest them in mid-late October. So far I'm not as impressed as when we raised Freedom Rangers, but I guess we'll see what happens in the end.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Chanceosunshine said:


> Any idea of their age when you butchered them?


About 6-7 months.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

The last couple of days we have been letting the chicks - sorry, the young chickens - into the fenced "yard" with the adults. The adults have mostly been concerned about getting into the chick run and coop; eating the yummy chick food and laying eggs in the chick coop. Interactions between old and young have been minor, mostly just a little bit of chasing to put the youngins in their place. Buster, the rooster, has not given it a second thought. He does not see the young roosters as a threat ... yet. Oddly, the chicken most interested in chasing and trying to peck the kids is Black, the broody that raised them.

I have about 1.5 to 2 weeks to move the young ones into the main coop so the new broody and her chicks can move into the chick coop. It will be a little crowded so I'm hoping the weather will cool a little by then.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Oh no! One of the roosterlings is sick. He is having trouble walking. Looks like his legs or hips are hurting or just not working well. He sits down instantly when he stops walking/staggering. He seems alert otherwise, and he has been eating and drinking. No noticeable injury.


----------



## Chanceosunshine

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Oh no! One of the roosterlings is sick. He is having trouble walking. Looks like his legs or hips are hurting or just not working well. He sits down instantly when he stops walking/staggering. He seems alert otherwise, and he has been eating and drinking. No noticeable injury.


Don't want to go right to the worst, but can you rule out Marek's? Marek's disease


----------



## toth boer goats

I am sorry he isn’t doing well.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Chanceosunshine said:


> can you rule out Marek's?


No, I cannot.

He is doing about the same this morning, though he seems to have learned not to trip over his feet so much.


----------



## ksalvagno

I'm terrible with chicken problems. I hope it isn't Marek's.


----------



## Chanceosunshine

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> No, I cannot.
> 
> He is doing about the same this morning, though he seems to have learned not to trip over his feet so much.


I hope it’s just a fluke and he gets better fast. Keep us updated.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

I was doing some reading about Marek's, again, and came across thing fun fact:

"In infected birds that have a strong immunity or resistance, the virus goes into a ‘sleeper’ mode. It will insert itself into the birds RNA sequence and lie dormant. If the bird becomes immune suppressed at a later time in life, the virus may emerge at that time causing symptoms."


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

At the risk of jinxing things (because that is a real thing), young rooster is doing much better this morning. Still walking a little unsteady, but I did not see him sit down the whole time I was out there - about 15 minutes.









That's him with the giant orange feet (beside the henling with the orange feet)


----------



## ksalvagno

Glad he is doing better.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Look what I found after the daily ritual of picking up broody so she can eat and drink.









Two little fluffs. Both look like they are probably girls. One looks reddish brown much like my first chick (see post #5). So I may finally get a brown hen. But there is an ancient saying something like: "Don't count your brown hens until next spring."











I did not have much time for pictures before she was back in her nest and yelling at me to close the lid.


----------



## Moers kiko boars

Awww what cute brown fluffs!💕


----------



## MadHouse

Cuties! 🥰 I am glad you are getting hens! 🤞


----------



## ksalvagno

How cute!


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Two more this morning. A boy and a girl.










Mom teaching the chicks where the food is. The little one on the right is the boy.












They seemed to have learned. The fourth one (behind Mom) is not ready to run around yet.


----------



## Rancho Draco

Adorable!


----------



## Chanceosunshine

I'm jealous, your hen seems to have it altogether and mine is a mess! 

Adorable chicks!!!


----------



## MadHouse

So cute!
I am glad you are getting your hens now.
I was lucky too. I got 4 pullets and 1 rooster (from day old chicks).
My old rooster is getting picked up today. I will be getting some tomato sauce and crabapple jelly in exchange.


----------



## Boer Mama

You’re so good being able to sex them already.
I’m just now trying to decide if my 3 remaining teenagers are henlets or a roo mixed in. Lol


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Boer Mama said:


> You’re so good being able to sex them already.
> I’m just now trying to decide if my 3 remaining teenagers are henlets or a roo mixed in. Lol


Well, these breeds are pretty easy to tell. I know that with some other breeds you pretty much have to wait till they lay eggs.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

MadHouse said:


> So cute!
> I am glad you are getting your hens now.
> I was lucky too. I got 4 pullets and 1 rooster (from day old chicks).
> My old rooster is getting picked up today. I will be getting some tomato sauce and crabapple jelly in exchange.


Sounds like a good deal for you. How old is the old rooster?


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Chanceosunshine said:


> I'm jealous, your hen seems to have it altogether and mine is a mess!
> 
> Adorable chicks!!!


Yours is doing fine. I just like to micro-manage.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Late this morning the hen was outside with three if the chicks, digging in the dirt. I was concerned she might be done sitting, but 10 minutes later she was back on the nest. So maybe another chick tomorrow.


----------



## MadHouse

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Sounds like a good deal for you. How old is the old rooster?


He is 4 years old. I was surprised they still wanted him (for soup).


----------



## Chanceosunshine

MadHouse said:


> He is 4 years old. I was surprised they still wanted him (for soup).


We used to buy the little chicken filled pastas from two old Italian women (side note, you could watch them make these and they were amazing), anyway, they always said to make the best broth you needed an old chicken.
Congrats on your pullets!


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Late this morning the hen was outside with three if the chicks, digging in the dirt. I was concerned she might be done sitting, but 10 minutes later she was back on the nest. So maybe another chick tomorrow.


I should not have said anything about another chick. There was no new chick yesterday. But Mom continued to sit on the eggs with intermittent forays outside to dig up the yard. 
This morning, however, there was another chick. Another girl!


----------



## MadHouse

Now you are getting all the girls! 😃


----------



## MadHouse

Chanceosunshine said:


> We used to buy the little chicken filled pastas from two old Italian women (side note, you could watch them make these and they were amazing), anyway, they always said to make the best broth you needed an old chicken.
> Congrats on your pullets!


That’s interesting!
Thanks!


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Yes. 2 more girls and I'll be at 50% - for this year. 

Now I just need some to survive the fall harvest by the hawks and falcons.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista




----------



## Moers kiko boars

Oh my goodness how cute!💞💕


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista

Broody was off the nest most of the day yesterday. More interested in scratching up her yard for the babies, than sitting on her remaining two eggs. By around 3PM I decided to take the eggs and put them under the heat lamp as I did last time. We write the date laid on our eggs when we can. The two eggs I had were marked the 30th and 2nd. The one marked the 30th should have hatched by now. The one marked the 2nd should hatch any time now. And indeed, the egg was peeping as I was bringing it in. So under the heat lamp they went. 










At 3:30 this morning, the chick had just come out of its shell. (I should remember to turn off the heat lamp before taking pictures, but it was 3:30 in the morning)









This is the chick at 8AM. All dry and needing a comb. Meet Boris II.


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## MadHouse

Congratulations!! 
What a cutie! 
I hope the other one hatches too!


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## Chanceosunshine

Mike, you make a great mother hen! Congratulations!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Chanceosunshine said:


> Mike, you make a great mother hen! Congratulations!


Thanks, but I just could never do the job. Just one night of squatting over an egg and my back is killing me and I can't feel my legs. I can't imagine doing it for three weeks.


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## ksalvagno

😂 I hope more will hatch for you.


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## Boer Mama

Congratulations 🎉 
I think the wellsummers chicks are so cute. 😊


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## Mike at Capra Vista

We kept Boris II in the house for two days. Last night we tucked him under Mom's wing. Now he will have to learn to keep up with his siblings.

The older egg we threw out a couple of days ago.

So, not bad. 6 out of 7 eggs hatched this time and 4 out of 6 chicks are girls. 

We are going to try to force the older chicks to spend the night in the adult coop tonight. They have been together with the adults for about a week but have been going to the chick coop at night. I would like to move the new Mom and chicks into the chick coop as soon as I can.

Hopefully next year I will just need one hatching and I won't have all this chicken juggling to worry about.


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## Chanceosunshine

Congratulations!! That's great odds boy/girl wise.

I know all about chicken juggling!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Little Boris II seems to have survived the night. 










Boris II is the light coloured one.


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## Moers kiko boars

Yay Boris! Keep on doing GREAT! You adorable little fluff ball you!💞


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## toth boer goats




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## Mike at Capra Vista

My headless rooster ....










Just kidding.


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## ksalvagno

Pretty rooster!


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## Moers kiko boars

He is a pretty boy. Are your chickens friendly/ docile? Or are they distant?


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Moers kiko boars said:


> He is a pretty boy. Are your chickens friendly/ docile? Or are they distant?


Friendly enough, I guess. Happy to eat out of my hand, but not happy about being petted. Hens may bite if "pestered" while sitting to lay. Not lap chickens, but they usually come when called - just to see if treats are available.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Young chickens were in disarray last night because I closed access to their coop around noon. Only two of the young roosters had ventured into the adult coop. So I had to catch the others and set them on the roost in the adult coop. A lot of yelling and flapping but they were relatively easy to catch. Once in the coop they stayed there, so that was good.

There was a bit of yelling and chasing this morning, but not as bad as I feared. I hope things will go a little better tonight. I think the youngins will have to wait for the adults to settle in for the night before it is safe to go in the coop.

I'll be moving Mom and the little chicks later today.

Boris II is doing well. Quite happy to race around with his siblings.


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## ksalvagno

Sounds like things are going pretty well.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

We are making slow progress with the young and adult chicken integration and getting the young chickens to use the adult coop.Last night, the fourth night, all the young ones were in the coop except one who was roosting on the roof of the coop/run. The night before there were three on the roof. Good thing catching them in the evening is easy. The roof is not a safe place for sleeping.

Mom and the chicks have adapted to the chick coop/run. Last night was the first night that all the chicks found their way up the ramp to the coop and we did not have to help.

We just realized that a few months ago we had 5 chickens (4 hens). That is just about right for the number of eggs we need. We now have 18 chickens (9 hens/henlets).


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## Boer Mama

Next spring you’ll be swimming in eggs 😅


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## Mike at Capra Vista

My chicken tractor. 









I built this about 5 or 6 years ago when my first chicken went broody.









Large hatch on top. I should have put it in the middle instead of at one end. I should also have added a door in the side to let the chickens out to free range. I added an old broomstick for a handle to make "driving" the tractor easier.










The roof of the coop part opens. Allows for monitoring chicken and cleaning out the coop. It also allows the hen to jump out and not know how to get back in to her chicks.









The wheels are from a golf cart that I bought at a junk store for $1.

I thought that after I added Yardbird Cottage (the chick coop) to my chicken compound, I could get rid of the chicken tractor, but I have needed it every year.


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## MadHouse

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> My chicken tractor.
> 
> View attachment 236873
> 
> I built this about 5 or 6 years ago when my first chicken went broody.
> 
> View attachment 236874
> 
> Large hatch on top. I should have put it in the middle instead of at one end. I should also have added a door in the side to let the chickens out to free range. I added an old broomstick for a handle to make "driving" the tractor easier.
> 
> 
> View attachment 236875
> 
> The roof of the coop part opens. Allows for monitoring chicken and cleaning out the coop. It also allows the hen to jump out and not know how to get back in to her chicks.
> 
> View attachment 236876
> 
> The wheels are from a golf cart that I bought at a junk store for $1.
> 
> I thought that after I added Yardbird Cottage (the chick coop) to my chicken compound, I could get rid of the chicken tractor, but I have needed it every year.


That looks great! So handy to have for the broodies.
Is there a picture of Yardbird cottage on here somewhere?
I am hoping to have a broody next summer.
My first broody who hatched out one chick abandoned her at 4 weeks, but I let them go wherever they pleased. I guess having them in their own place will prevent abandonment?


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## ksalvagno

Nice!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Yardbird Cottage (aka: Chick Coop)









Cottage with run (6'x12'x7' high).



















Guillotine door for controlled access to the Chicken Yard.









Railing on the landing at the top of the ramp keeps birds safe from falling. Actually it just gives them a slightly higher bar from which to jump.
Food tray under the Cottage stays dry.
The dog crate is there to give the hen a place to sleep with the chicks before the chicks learn to go up the ramp. It is usually only used for a couple of days. I should have removed it by now.









Back of Cottage. The building is mounted on top of the old foundation wall.
"Man-door" on the left for access to the run, food and water delivery. Also for letting broody and chicks out to free range.
Sliding wooden latch for servants' entrance door..









The interior floor space is about 3'x4'. Walls are 2' to 3' high. There are no amenities except one roosting bar. It is often (but not always) used after the chicks are a couple of month old. The floor is covered with high grade luxury vinyl exhibiting a pleasing terracotta tile pattern. An artfully placed straw mat adds comfort and a feel of homeyness.
The large door provides easy access for servants to efficiently clean the premises as needed without having to enter the run.The overhang allows for a wheelbarrow to go underneath to make cleaning easier.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

MadHouse said:


> That looks great! So handy to have for the broodies.
> Is there a picture of Yardbird cottage on here somewhere?
> I am hoping to have a broody next summer.
> My first broody who hatched out one chick abandoned her at 4 weeks, but I let them go wherever they pleased. I guess having them in their own place will prevent abandonment?


Not much to a broody/chick coop. No nest boxes to worry about and much smaller than the main coop. I sometimes add a cardboard box to make a cozy nest for the broody. But I learned a few things from my main coop. Most important was the cleaning without having to go into the run. I have been meaning to improve the ventilation in both my coops, And I'd like to improve the watering situation.


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## Boer Mama

Those look great- and your precise descriptions are always on point 😂


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## MadHouse

Thank you so very much for the pictures and detailed descriptions of Yardbird cottage!
It looks fantastic!
Those are very lucky chickens! I bet she loves her free range time.


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## ksalvagno

Very nice!


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## Mike at Capra Vista

A couple of days ago, I went out to tend the chickens. This in itself is not unusual as I am required to go out every morning and serve breakfast to the feathered bipeds. Anyway, I heard a few ravens near the chicken compound. This too is not unusual as we have had a larger number of ravens around here this year. 

What was unusual was that I saw a hawk fly out of a tree very near the chicken coops. Two ravens followed the hawk, but not in an aggressive manner. It looked more like an honour guard. I have seen ravens and crows harass eagles and hawks many times but this seemed much more ambivalent, even friendly.

It occurred to me that the ravens, having seen the hawk near the chickens, were waiting for the hawk to kill a chicken and then chase the hawk off its kill. Probably a young hawk not yet wise to deceptiveness of ravens.

The fall cull my be starting early this year.


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## ksalvagno

Hopefully your chickens stay safe.


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## FizzyGoats

For the past two days we’ve had an on and off battle between hawks and crows here. I have hawks nests on either side of my pasture. I’ve lost birds to them in the past but none recently (knock on wood). I think the crows are moving in to the same territory and not getting along with their hawk neighbors. The crows caw and hawks screech and it gets pretty loud. There’s a lot of hubbub just past the wood line so we can’t see most of it, but I do see occasional birds diving in and out of the scuffle or flying away from it entirely. My dogs, chickens, and turkeys all listen for the crows battle cry because they seem to know that means the hawks are near. Hopefully your chickens are watchful for aerial predators. Mine are not. If it wasn’t for the turkeys and the dogs watching and alerting, I think all my chickens would be gone by now.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Gallus Manor (aka: Main Coop)

Since I talked about my chicken tractor and Yardbird Cottage, I may as well add pictures of Gallus Manor.









I built this before I got my first chickens, about 6 years ago. The run is about 6'x20' with added space under the coop. Plenty of branches for hanging out. Metal roofing covers part of the run. It has been great having the window in the coop. I can see what is going on inside without going into the run and opening the door.









My first guillotine door lets chickens into the fenced yard.









My old egg sign from early days when I tried to sell a few eggs - a failure. I now use it to herd chickens when I need to. They are terrified of the thing and generally go where they are supposed to when they see it coming.









The nest boxes are inside the coop. I found this to be an easier build than having them attached to the outside like an add-on building. The shelf below was an after thought but gets used daily for food trays, water jugs or egg baskets. It is held up by a small chain and can be folded down.









The large servants' door is inside the run. This is less than convenient, but I could not come up with a workable way to have this door and access to the nest boxes outside of the run. There is a way to get the wheelbarrow under the opening for cleaning, but is is awkward.









I put little doors on the chicken entrance though I have never needed them. The ramp is a little too steep for easy walking, but the chickens usually fly to the top of the ramp anyway.









I use water nipple set into a pipe to water the chickens. Seems to work well but the chickens prefer water in a bowl or puddle. I do have to make sure to empty the pipe before the first freeze. I forgot one year and had to rebuild the whole thing.









We add water here every few days. The whole thing holds a bit over 3 gallons. We sterilize the whole system with diluted bleach every spring.


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## ksalvagno

Nice setup!


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## MadHouse

Very nice!
You are a carpentry artist, I like those angles on the little door.
Funny how the chickens run from the sign. Maybe they don’t want to be reminded of their job.


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## Chanceosunshine

Nice coops, Mike! What was the old foundation for that the cottage and coop set on?

I'm planning on adding rain water collections to my coops. I'm going to copy the system that Carolina Coops offers. It keeps the system from freezing in the winter. Here's a video explaining it if you're interested. 



 If you go to their website they have all the components listed.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

The old foundation wall was probably the ugliest part of the property, other than the piles of unburnt and partially burnt garbage. It was meant to be an extension to the shop, which, to my mind, is plenty big enough, but I'm not a large-truck mechanic.










I thought about removing the foundation wall but that just seemed like a lot of hard work which I would not actually get to for years. 









The first thing I wanted after moving here was chickens. Actually I wanted my own fresh eggs but that means having chickens. So I combined building a chicken coop and run with hiding the ugly foundation wall.









The wall is only 2' high so I added a 2 foot fence which I hoped would contain the chickens and dissuade predators. The inside of the foundation became the "Yard", about 30'x35'. 










There were gaps in the wall intended as doorways which I had to close off.









I put a gate in one gap so I would have access to the Yard. 

The whole thing has worked out pretty well. Unfortunately the orientation is such that the yard is in the shade of the shop in the mornings in the winter.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Chanceosunshine said:


> I'm planning on adding rain water collections to my coops. I'm going to copy the system that Carolina Coops offers. It keeps the system from freezing in the winter. Here's a video explaining it if you're interested.


I had thought about doing that, but it is not worth the effort and expense for me. Our winters are pretty short and mild - usually.


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## Chanceosunshine

I think you made good use of the wall. I wouldn't have wanted to tear it out either.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Chicken piles:









Young roosters (and the hen is in there too) at breakfast. Since the adults don't share, I took pity on them and gave them their own tray of food the first few days. The fact that the grey are on one side and the brown on the other is mere coincidence. We discourage segregation by colour.











The little birds are just as frantic but much safer to hand feed. Really, we do not segregate. Little Boris II is there but hard to see. That is his butt sticking out on the lower left.


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## MadHouse

I love how you hand feed them. 
Chickens are just like the human species.
We don’t share well and we like to hang out with those that are the same as us.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Note to self: Do not give little free ranging chickens a cob of corn. 









They played with it for close to an hour. Not much "ranging" happening.


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## Mike at Capra Vista

Grid lock ....








Who has the right of way?


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## ksalvagno

Cute! Gave them something to do.


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## toth boer goats

😂👍


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