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The Chicken Thread.


phoebejo

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I've just found Peggy, the last of my three little ex-bat girls, dead. After being off colour and having a trip to the vet a few months ago she's been as bright as a button, and she was fine an hour ago when I put some sweetcorn out. She was just laid on her side outside the run and still warm, so she must have just dropped dead. I am in floods of tears over her :mecry:

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Chicken expert needed! One of the yard hens hatched 4 eggs, as they got bigger it appeared there were two pullets and two cocks. The cocks went to another home and the pullets went in with the flock. As time has gone on it's become a bit obvious there is something strange about the 'pullets'. They have grown little spur buds but they haven't devleoped any further, they don't crow apart from one strangled attempt and they don't bother the hens, they had very occasional mini battles. It's all just a bit of posing with raised feathers then they seem to forget what they were doing it for. They don't bother George the yard cockerel and he doesn't bother them. Although they are in with the flock they are not really accepted and spend all their time together on the fringes. Do chickens produce hermaphrodites or gay birds or oddities, these two are seriouly odd and are now know as the Trannies! I'm thinking of taking them home just as pets, will they be ok together as buddies and what should I feed them, layers pellets seems a bit insulting! :laugh:

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Runty Robin has a magnificent pair of spurs and lays bright blue eggs so no doubting her sex :laugh: I guess they could just be late developers, either way, if the other two were obviously boys the development of any further boys would be delayed. Now the dominant ones are out of the way, they can show their true colours. Probably best just to wait and see :laugh: I've got a young blue Leghorn of unknown sex. Initial thoughts were it was a boy, and it's three mongrel siblings were all boys too. I can't tell you how gutted I was with 100% boys :rolleyes: The three definites went to the great coop in the sky, but Graham (so named by Mollys friend because it's grey) remained because I really wasn't sure. Graham and his/her mum Princess Michael of Kent have rejoined the main flock and with each day that passes I'm more convinced that Graham is indeed a girl :wacko:

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It's been chicken mayhem the last few days, the cockerels have gone rampant, the hens look battered to bits and George is worn out with defending himself. The rampant ones are now residing in my shed until a decision about their future is made. I couldn't believe how heavy they are, they must be 8kg each at least so real BIG boys!

 

No-one wants them, they have been advertised several times with no success as they are total mongrels, OH is very much against keeping them so unfortunately they will probably end up as someones lunch!

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It's difficult enough rehoming pure breed boys, mongrels are impossible. I've got a blue Brahma cockerel who is welcome to stay until he starts crowing, they're very slow to mature so he's probably got a long while yet. He's six months old and has a lot of growing to do. I'm hoping that after Christmas when breeders are on the hunt for boys for breeding with next year he might strike lucky. Or I might win the lottery tonight and can buy a place where I can keep him :laugh:

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About six months ago Egletine decided to become a very noisy little madam who constantly whinged loudly all day :huh: So she and her friends Princess Margaret and Delilah moved to my friend Tonys house in Swindon. He and his neighbours all have cockerels so excess noise isn't an issue there :laugh: I've been around to see her since, she's very happy with her husband, a lemon cuckoo Pekin :wub: Size doesn't matter, Mr Pekin and Princess Margaret had babies earlier on this year, Tony hatched them and my Princess Michael of Kent reared them. All three were boys :rolleyes:

 

I can't keep noisy ladies, they always either go to Tony or another friend Graham who lives on a stud farm.

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About six months ago Egletine decided to become a very noisy little madam who constantly whinged loudly all day :huh: So she and her friends Princess Margaret and Delilah moved to my friend Tonys house in Swindon. He and his neighbours all have cockerels so excess noise isn't an issue there :laugh: I've been around to see her since, she's very happy with her husband, a lemon cuckoo Pekin :wub: Size doesn't matter, Mr Pekin and Princess Margaret had babies earlier on this year, Tony hatched them and my Princess Michael of Kent reared them. All three were boys :rolleyes:

 

Aw, thank you for the update flowers.gif I am happy to read that she is married now laugh.gif and otherwise doing well.

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Well my Trannies now have names, it's the worst thing I could have dones as they now have a personality to go with it. They are Simon and Rupert, Simon is the biggest and had learned to crow properly without it ending in a strangled squeak. I can stroke them and they will take a bit of bread from my hand so how can I now turn them into a casserole? OH is not happy but I'm not listening! :biggrin:

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