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They float around fine until they realize they're floating, then they freak out and have to be saved. If you have a really really dumb chicken like I tried one time he'll float around happy as a duck for an hour.
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Dec 1, 2011 05:49
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God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 13:07 |
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Roosters will do a good job managing things if you let them, they will herd their hens inside or under cover if they see or hear predatory birds and will make sure hen fights are broken up before they become too violent. Every one is different though.
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Jan 11, 2012 07:35
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Hens crowing is supposed to be heap bad mojo. My grandmother used to lop the heads off hens that crowed as soon as she saw them. I ate the last hen of mine that crowed, who am I to question old wives tales.
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Jan 26, 2012 23:04
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Chido posted:Well, I locked the coop and Rusty is hanging out with the other chickens, eating and drinking and I saw her take a dust bath, but she's adamant she wants to get inside the coop whenever she sees me. What could happen if she keeps going like this? I read in the BYC forums that to help a hen stop being broody I must make nesting be an uncomfortable experience for her, that's why I'm not letting her stay in the coop. Generally I break broody hens by putting them up on wire floored cages for a while, if they can feel air circulating beneath them they will stop sitting. If a hen is broody long enough there can be dangerous amounts of weight loss,however they will usually break themselves before it gets to that point. In regards to the leghorn,you said there was blood on an egg,have you checked her stool? If theres blood in it she may have Coccidiosis.
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Feb 22, 2012 22:41
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Chickens always seem to need to take a dump immediately after they are set somewhere new. Chicken takes dump at point A,you move them to point B which is 5 feet away and they immediately take another crap.
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Mar 18, 2012 18:14
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Fertile eggs taste/look no different than unfertilized eggs. I usually get 4 or 5 dozen a day,what I dont keep or give away I boil and mash up into their food.
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Mar 30, 2012 06:17
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Always buy vaccinated if the option is there. Most chicken hobbyists wont be able to vaccinate their own flock due to cost and difficulty.
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Apr 6, 2012 06:56
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Zeta Taskforce posted:I was reading the Chickam chat thread and Velvet Sparrow reported an egg bound hen. How often does that happen? Google says to put her in a cage that is very warm and moist will relax her enough for her to lay the egg. I can picture myself doing that. But I don’t want to get in the habit of bringing them to the vet and paying hundreds of dollars if that doesn’t work. They dont happen too often,usually the chicken ends up dying but you can save them or they eventually force it out themselves. They try to strain it out so much that they just give in to exhaustion and die. Ive had it happen a couple of times where the hen tried to lay an egg without a shell,since their muscles have nothing to push on they just strain and strain,you can usually save these birds though ,its the overlarge eggs or flipped around ones that are the problem.
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Apr 11, 2012 11:52
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Strong enclosure is the only way to do it. Don't use chicken wire, anything larger than a rat can rip it to pieces. Don't use anything to fasten anything to anything that doesn't have to be done using nails or screws. After years of raccoon/weasel/possum/coyote proofing enclosures,the best rule I have come up with is that if you can fit a flat head screw driver under it and pry it up, a raccoon will manage to do the same with his paws. Make sure your birds are at least a foot away from open wire when they go to sleep at night,raccoon or possum will reach in and pull your bird through the wire piece by piece.
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Apr 15, 2012 01:09
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Haji posted:Not to get terribly off topic, but what is that a picture of? Are you talking about his avatar? If so, it's a lotus pod.
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Apr 15, 2012 01:14
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Inveigle posted:What kind of chickens are those? The thundering herd of spherical, fluffy chickens waddling over to meet their owner was hilarious. Yup Bantam Cochins, adorable balls of fluffy personality.
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Apr 28, 2012 02:27
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They have to be vaccinated the day they are born,before they are exposed to anything, which is why it's so prohibitive. Most hobbyists aren't able to do it, I know most of the stuff comes in 1000 bird doses and it all has to be used in say an hour of opening or it degrades into uselessness. Mareks is the main problem, once a bird is infected with Mareks,it might not die or even show signs of having it,but it is a carrier and shedder for life. Birds that are affected by Mareks develop internal tumors and paralysis in their legs or wings. It's likely if you get your chicken from any source other than a commercial hatchery you are getting a Mareks infected bird since it is so easy to pass from bird to bird. Theres also Fowl Pox and a few Tracheal viruses that can be vaccinated against. [EDIT] If a bird is going to die from Mareks it tends to happen well before the 1 year mark, all the ones ive seen have manifested in a fairly short amount of time, over the course of a week a bird will be unable to walk and show a general decline in health. I dont think ive ever seen a bird die from Mareks past 1 year. Tim Jong-un fucked around with this message at 01:28 on May 1, 2012 |
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May 1, 2012 01:25
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Sounds like he might have lost a fight and gotten overly exhausted. Just keep him in a dark area and keep checking on him,how hot is it where you are? Sometimes when a bird gets overly hot/dehydrated they act the way you describe.
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May 29, 2012 05:22
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If you can stick a a closed fist into something a raccoon can fit in,if you can open something with your fingers a raccoon can open it. Make sure there are no holes larger than the size of a quarter near where the birds sleep, seeing the aftermath of a chicken pulled piece by piece through a small hole isnt pretty. Just a couple of general rules I use these days for raccoon proofing.
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Jun 16, 2012 18:23
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Imagine a king walking regally through his castles courtyard,long flowing cape dragging behind and surrounded by his minions and whatnot. Now imagine his minions ate really bad chipotle covered mutton chop and all the toilets are out of order so they just take a dump wherever they happen to be standing. What you have is a king dragging a cape covered in turds over more turds.
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Jun 20, 2012 18:02
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My favorite thing about the birds with ultra long tail feathers is when people bring them to shows and dont put dividers up between them. By the time the judges come around half the birds will be missing all their tail feathers because they look like tasty chicken snacks to the neighbor birds. E;I need to get my camera working so I can take out of focus pictures of my fluffy volley balls. Tim Jong-un fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Jun 20, 2012 |
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Jun 20, 2012 21:06
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I have no idea how to work my camera so heres some pictures someone else took of some of my birds a few days ago. Three white babys and bonus Shadow tail.  One of my white pullets named Pepper. She had just won champion feather leg but im not happy with how her head is,it's way too narrow and not red enough due to the skin being tight. No folds to hold red pigment.  Lucifer[AKA:Black Bastard,Thunder Fluff, The spherical Doom] and Raggedy Ann. They have been in together for awhile but I just separated them. Her head has a few bald spots from where hes sat on her but they're both gorgeous birds,just mean as hell.[Most Cochins are adorable cuddle buns that wouldnt hurt a fly]  Bertha and Betty Boop ,a couple of lemon blue hens.  Merry the Lemon Splash. Splash and lemon Splash arent recognized standard colors for Bantam Cochins but I use both colors to breed to Lemon blues and Brown Reds to darken up and lighten up where necessary. Lemon splash birds can sometimes get really fantastic colors and a lot of people like to look at them. Merry looks a gallon bag of confetti with legs,wish I had a better picture of him. 
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Jun 20, 2012 23:02
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Well I got one crappy camera working but I dont know how to turn the flash off so heres some bad pictures of fat fluffballs I took this morning. Vito Corleone,my oldest Cochin. Hes Brown Red and a bit on the husky side but hes old with lots of children so I let him enjoy himself.    Raspberry my oldest Brown Red hen. Shes not very happy I pulled her fat butt out of a pile of dirt where she was trying to conjure a sandstorm. Shes a lot of black and only a little red since shes the product of a Brown Red crossed with a pure black, needed to darken up the brown red lines color a bit.  The jerk,a lemon blue rooster. He has an over large comb but im trying to breed away from that. Hes not mean he just likes to make a mess of everything.   EDIT: Ahhhhhhhhhh I broke the tables. Tim Jong-un fucked around with this message at 13:55 on Jun 21, 2012 |
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Jun 21, 2012 13:53
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Theres about 3 layers of feathers and the only feathers that really qualify as hard are the wing feathers and the foot feathers,the rest are very soft.
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Jun 21, 2012 15:05
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More black Cochins! Lucifer action shot![Cochins are too fat to fly farther than 5 feet but they sure flap a lot!]  Lucifer and Raggedy Ann again.   Panic is from a breeder in Wisconsin that I bought from the National show in Indianapolis last year,he has beautiful body type and feathering but the main reason I wanted him is his comb. Mostof my birds run on the narrow head/ tall comb side and im trying to breed them back closer to the standard.  This is Umi, shes an example of the rampant comb problem Im having, on hens it should just be a points poking up and a very short straight ridge under. Though hers is mainly wavy because shes come off being broody.  Last table breaking post I swear!
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Jun 21, 2012 18:16
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Yeah when they get mad they become amorphous balls of fuzz with beaks sticking out. And yes all these are bantam birds,I have nine or ten standard Cochins/Brahmas for eggs though. Heres Umi in a pith helmet for scale since I couldnt find a volleyball. I hoped she would walk around in it but she just sat down and started to sing instead.  Bonus chicken guard dog.
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Jun 21, 2012 20:27
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I dont have any more broody cochins at the moment,I try to break them from it ASAP since I incubate all my eggs. I do have more lemon blue pictures though. Big Bertha, shes kind of sun bleached at the moment. Since I have no plans of taking her to any more shows I dont have to keep her show quality any more.   A picture of the feather lacing on one of my other lemon blue hens. Trying to breed the feather shaft into the same color as the the feathers so it looks like a solid petal but it's so tough to do on multi colored birds when your trying to maintain a pattern.  A somewhat more clear picture of Merry the lemon splash rooster. Not a standard color but it's useful to have around for lightening and darkening the Brown reds and the lemon blues. 
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Jun 21, 2012 22:01
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I havent eaten store bought eggs in years so I dunno if the standards are larger or not. Bantam Cochin egg on left, Standard Cochin egg on right. 
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Jun 21, 2012 23:02
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A fluffy blue bird named Buford.  Imgur is getting really annoying, it takes me 10-15 trys to upload a sub-200 kb picture.
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Jun 22, 2012 16:17
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Inveigle posted:I think Big Bertha is beautiful! What fantastic colors! Does she have feet feathers too? I can't figure out what all those feathers are where her feet should be. Yeah those lowest feathers that stick straight out are off her feet. The feathers grow sideways out of the toes so the feet arent really ever visible. I dont sell eggs or chicks though and I rarely sell adult birds. What I dont use as breeders or show birds I try to trade to other breeders for birds I need.
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Jun 22, 2012 17:14
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Couple more pictures. First is another Brown Red hen, her red has sun bleached into yellow though. Is bad to happen on birds that have been bred red to red too many generations which is why ive started breeding back into blacks to darken them back up.  A shot of the breast feather lacing of one of the Brown Red roosters.  And a small herd of happy white cochins with shaved butts so they stay cleaner. 
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Jun 22, 2012 19:51
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Nettle Soup posted:Pretty red hen has a beak like a hawk! Yeah she got a beak trim right after. Most of the time they keep them filed down themselves but some are special little snowflakes too lazy to peck around to wear them down.
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Jun 22, 2012 20:41
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:How d'you trim them? Is it like dog claws or do you use a file or..? Nail clippers for the majority of the work then use a file to smooth out any points. Most enjoy having it done but the skittish ones get burritoed in a towel so whatever I need to clip is the only thing poking out. Claws I use a thing that looks like a cigar cutter. I like solid color birds but Brown Reds remain my favorite. Heres Rasputin. 
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Jun 22, 2012 22:07
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Vaga42Bond posted:
Yeah it's not really shaving,just a few quick snips with some scissors and they're on their merry way. They stay cleaner and cooler while it's hot.
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Jun 23, 2012 12:51
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You have to do that for some chickens? How? And I'm guessing they're none too fond of it?
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Have a 6 week old blue cochin! Shes just growing in her primary feathers so her head is mainly white fluff at the moment. Might be a week or two older I spilled coffee on my notebook so it's kinda garbled.
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Jun 23, 2012 20:17
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Heres another mini-mini cochin! Shes black solid but Brown reds start out looking exactly the same with the white down. The red only shows up once all their adult feathers are in. Lemons start out looking exactly like blues as well. You can actually see the very tips of little cochin claws since she hasnt achieved peak puff yet. Their eyes start out green and gradually shift to the amber color as adults.
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Jun 24, 2012 20:14
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Shes 6-8 weeks old I believe but I made a mess on this hatches paperwork so not sure specifically. The black and red colored ones are the Brown-Red color ive been talking about. It's kind of confusing but the name is more a description of the hue of the red on them than what 2 colors they are. Whereas the Lemon-Blue name IS a description of the TWO colors of the bird. Theres an all-red color of Cochins but they died out in popularity in the 60-70s and it's next to impossible to find ones that are true Reds.
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Jun 24, 2012 22:36
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Baby cochin of the day. A surprised looking little white female. The pullets are all I can even take a picture of since the cockerels immediately go bananas when you set them somewhere new.
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Jun 25, 2012 17:03
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Standard Brahmas for Chido! I could only lure 2 out because a flock of tweety birds was sitting in a tree and OH GOD IT MIGHT BE A HAWK! So the rest were busy cackling at imagined danger. Delicious watermelon.   Theres a whole melon sitting there but someone might steal it so I better eat a chunk as big as my head.And of course the other hen chases her for it because there must be something special about that particular chunk.  Vito enjoys melons too! Also jerking his head around right when I try to take pictures. 
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Jun 26, 2012 01:42
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Todays baby chicken isnt a cochin,its a blue silkie! I made a thread about breeding silkies a long time ago but forgot about it and never updated. I got out of silkie breeding and started focusing entirely on Cochins. My mother loves silkies though so she took over. I house them all here and take care of them. She comes over and takes care of the breeding side of things for them. Sunday was bright and sunny so it was Silkie bath day for the 2 month old hatch.   
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Jun 26, 2012 14:25
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They try their best to be as dirty as possible but im pretty diligent about changing shavings/shoveling out dirt that has chicken poop in it and replacing it with fresh stuff. Those tubs in the picture are filled with warm water. Ones got a mixture of baby shampoo in it and the other is just a rinse tub to get it out of their feathers. They're easy to bathe though so I just dunk their bodies in and scrub their crests with my hands then rinse them in the plain water tub. Then they find a sunny spot and just flop over pecking grass till they dry. Ive got the tent set up out there so they can go in the shade if they get hot with food/water.
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Jun 26, 2012 16:02
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They dont mind at all. They get to lounge in the sun and dry and I get to make sure nobody has mites and check for any defects I might have missed earlier. Blue Cockerel. 
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Jun 26, 2012 20:36
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Ive had broody hens break eggs and rehydrate off the yolks rather than get up to drink before. Is she sitting inside the coop and just eating eggs people lay near her?
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Jun 27, 2012 05:01
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The older white hens I call the cream-puff herd due to their color. They're all ex-show hens that I let take it easy. They have a cockerel with them right now but im through hatching their eggs this year. I have to keep a pile of wet sand out for them to wallow in every morning or they get upset,guess they enjoy being yellow rather than white. Beauregard  As they get older their beaks tend to turn down so they end up looking like the grouchy old ladys they are.   
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Jun 27, 2012 15:23
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 13:07 |
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I try to keep no more than two hundred adults at a time. Any more than that and I wouldnt be able to give them the time and attention they needed. I tend to hatch about 50 of each color im working on in a year,after culling defects and serious deviations from the standard that lets me keep a steady number of adults. I recently chainsawed and drug out a bunch of fallen oaks from the tornadoes last April and had them cut up into lumber. Planning on building two new chicken barns, the first of which im maybe 50% done working on. This one will be around 2000 square feet when I get done. Once I get the walls up all ill have left to do is have an electrician wire it up. Im happy building it but I dont mess with the electrical part. This will probably end up being my breeder barn, ill cut doors in the sides and put up exterior runs for the birds. Hopefully this counts as chicken pictures since chickens will live here soon!  When stacking lumber it's best to not stack it directly in the way of what you're trying to build. Now I have to move it and restack.  White cockerel so theres something with feathers in this post!  Edit: Thank you Zeta,I like keeping chickens and I really enjoy keeping them happy. They do get mad when the state guy comes around and does blood tests on them every year though but not many people enjoy doctor visits. Tim Jong-un fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Jun 27, 2012 |
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Jun 27, 2012 17:43
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