Chicken Bits
☆ September 23, 2013
Some chicken questions from my last post ~
What breed are they?
Silver Laced Wyandottes. Gold Laced Wyandottes are spectacular beauties, as well ~ I saw one in California this summer. Here’s a bit about them.
Do they enjoy all types of fruit?
So far, yes…. they’ve been offered cantaloupe, cucumbers, a few soggy tomatoes, and watermelon – and devour everything. They can clean a halved cucumber so that only the skin remains – not one speck of flesh left behind. How do they do this with only beaks??
How do you tell the black and white hens apart?
I can’t – not from afar! But Imogen likes to perch on my arms, and Sally is the most vocal. I’m hoping they’ll develop (and keep) distinguishing features once they finish growing. I can tell a dozen “identical” black cows apart; we’ll see if this ability carries to chickens.
. . .
Happy Equinox! Around here, the Autumn Equinox signals the final sprint to finish as many outdoor projects as possible before winter arrives – we’re packing in as much manual labor as we can into every day until the snow flies. While I’m out getting buff in the beautiful (but far too brief) fall weather, I’m having a huge sale in the Shop: 20% off everything. I’ll be retiring some of my older designs and products – once they’re gone, they’ll probably stay gone for good. If you’ve had your eye on anything, now’s the time! Just enter FALL during checkout for 20% off your entire order.
Comments
12 Responses to “Chicken Bits”
Leave a Reply
MY NEW BOOK!
More, Elsewhere
- No Tweets Available
September 23rd, 2013 @ 7:14 am
My friends chickens love strawberries.
September 23rd, 2013 @ 8:13 am
Loved the photos and the short Q&A. :)
I’m wondering do all roosters have feet as large as Snake’s? He really does look like a dinosaur. :D
September 23rd, 2013 @ 10:54 am
I happen to really like chickens, but I also can’t help laughing at this video of Esteemed Filmmaker Werner Herzog opining on chickens:
I think he’s serious? But then look at the decor surrounding him. Delightful, all the way around.
September 23rd, 2013 @ 11:48 am
the dark outline of the feathers – especially on the gold laced ones – are so perfect they look like they were drawn on. beautiful.
September 23rd, 2013 @ 9:41 pm
The gold laced Wyandotte rooster is quite the looker, but I must say I prefer the black and white Wyandottes. They are just stunners. Very striking.
I have no doubt you will be able to tell the chickens apart just like you can tell the cows apart. I also have no doubt their personalities will exert themselves more strongly the older they get.
September 24th, 2013 @ 6:10 am
We have a mix in our back yard. Two Buff Orps,A black Cochin, Australop, two Wyandottes(A silver laced and a Columbian, and a little mix breed hen. Not only can i tell the Buff Orps apart from sight. But I can tell their clucks apart from inside the house. They are amazing little animals. And the eggs are the best
September 24th, 2013 @ 6:57 am
K ~ all the roosters have large feet – they are not at all delicate like the feet of the hens – though Snake’s feet are probably the biggest.
September 24th, 2013 @ 3:43 pm
thanks so much for this thread and all the info- we just ordered our first 25 chicks for the farm yesterday! we got the “tophat special” straight run order- a polish variety pack from the mcmurray hatchery! so excited to see them and their wonderful little crests! we want them mostly for egg laying and barn pets and i can’t bring myself to think about processing them… maybe one day- it sounds so much better than buying commerical chicken meat though. do yours tend to stay around? once they are big enough to range i am a little concerned about them wandering off the property- anyone have ideas about how to teach them where home is?
September 24th, 2013 @ 5:30 pm
I am DYING to get chickens (hens only – I’m in town) but want to fence the yard first and locate a great coop with a lot of walking around space (a good size run) for when I can’t be home and watching. I am a bit too close to the lake and its raptors to be confident in mechanizing a release. Once I’m working from home… I want hand raised babies and cannot decide on breeds – Golden Buffs are color specific to gender, but I am just not sure yet. I’ve had parrots so I do have bird experience.
September 25th, 2013 @ 6:43 pm
Basically – tell me anything helpful. ;)
September 25th, 2013 @ 9:05 pm
My dad is amazed that I can tell my five hens apart. They do definitely keep some distinguishing features once they get to full size, but they change so much in the process that it’s useless to name them as chicks. I have a hen that squeaks, a hen with one little black feather in her wing, a little blonde hen, a cuddly one, and one that yells her head off if you open the nest box lid when she’s in it. :P (Five, Peaches, Barley, Ethel, and Mimi, respectively.)
October 4th, 2013 @ 7:15 am
I have 3 Golden Laced Wyandottes, as well as an Americauna, a Gold Sex Link, and 6 Plymouth Barred Rocks. The Wyandottes tend to go broody! Something I forgot to consider when I got them to show AND for layers. So when one refused to get off the nest, I asked a friend with a rooster (I had none) for some fertile eggs. All six hatched, and wouldn’t you know it, 5 are roosters! LOL! Now I just have to get up the courage to butcher them.