Unsexed chicks
When you start with new born chicks, you can’t tell whether they are going to be hens or roosters. Your odds are 50/50… But you can end up with way too many roosters. Like Me…
They say that experts can tell the sex by examining the chicks private areas, but it is not exact and can end up harming the chicks in the long run. The exam can lead to an increased risk of prolapse and other egg laying issues in the future.
I started out with 10 chicks – 6 Light Sussex and 4 Plymouth Barred Rock. To check back to see how far they have come, read when the chicks arrived and when the chicks moved into the coop
We lost two birds
After we put the outside run together, I was eager to let the chickens outside to experience it – even though I had not put the overhead netting on yet.
Lots of people are able to free range their birds with no problems. It didn’t work for me. After a couple of hours in the run, I came back to find out that two birds had been killed by flying predators – ravens or crows.
The lost birds were Light Sussex hens…
Then there were 8
Of the 8 chickens left we have:
- Three Light Sussex Roosters
- One Light Sussex hen
- Two Barred Plymouth Hens
- Two Barred Plymouth Roosters
We have a total of 5 roosters, and can only keep one of them. The other 4 will have to go to freezer camp.
And only 3 hens!
Giving me Attitude! 
Roo 
Roo 
Roo 
Roo 
Roo
Need more hens if we want lots of eggs.
I happened upon some Orpington hens for sale near me. They are around the same age as out hens, so I picked up two of them. Orpingtons are a larger breed, but very gentle.
red orpington 
pretty grey orpington 
so fluffy! 
Need a name! 
Need a Name!
The new hens spent a week in quarantine, in our chicken tractor, and are now in the coop with the other chickens.
The main reason I chose them is that they are each very different from my other birds. Developing a relationship with the chickens is hard to do if I can’t tell them apart! Once the dust settles and the extra roosters head to camp, I will have 5 chickens, and only the two Plymouth barred rocks will be look-a-likes.
The Orpingtons are so FLUFFY! and they need names!
After study a couple of of the blog posts in your website now, and I actually like your manner of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark web site list and shall be checking again soon. Pls check out my website online as effectively and let me know what you think.
It is in reality a nice and helpful piece of info. I抦 happy that you shared this helpful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.