View Full Version : Guess what we've got?
smudgley
21-04-2009, 08:49 PM
I went to Devon today to see some puppies :roll: and guess what I have come home with?
I think I can only answer yes or no to make it more interesting :-D
alexgirl73
21-04-2009, 09:04 PM
a puppy!!! :lol:
smudgley
21-04-2009, 09:08 PM
A cold? :-D
good answer, but NO :-D
a puppy!!! :lol:
certainly not, NO :-D
calismum
21-04-2009, 09:16 PM
Clotted Cream!
A chicken?...............
Not a stray cat by any chance? :lol:
dandysmom
21-04-2009, 09:44 PM
A volunteer? ........
angieh
21-04-2009, 09:48 PM
a bottle of cider????
(I was sure it was going to be a puppy!)
angieh
21-04-2009, 09:49 PM
I've just had another thought......
Another chicken or a duck???
Okay who lives in Devon Smudgley could have brought home.......Hilary...............:)
dandysmom
21-04-2009, 10:12 PM
She won't be home till tomorrow ......
smudgley
21-04-2009, 10:13 PM
Clotted Cream!
No
I hope it isn't fleas!
Maybe, but not the answer I'm after :-D
A Rabbit...?
No
A suntan??? :D
No
A chicken?...............
YES
Not a stray cat by any chance? :lol:
No
A volunteer? ........
Well they are Guide Dog volunteers, but NO not the answer I was after
a bottle of cider????
No
(I was sure it was going to be a puppy!)
No way would I have a GSD puppy here
I've just had another thought......
Another chicken or a duck???
YES
A puncture?:?
No
Okay who lives in Devon Smudgley could have brought home.......Hilary...............:)
No, but probably wasn't too far away from her. :cool:
dandysmom
21-04-2009, 10:22 PM
A banty? ..........
Which one, duck or chicken???
dandysmom
21-04-2009, 10:26 PM
A rooster.... :shock:?
angieh
21-04-2009, 10:30 PM
You bought home a chicken ..... one or two or more??? Do you want us to guess what sort of chicken or has Kazz won, being the first to guess a chook????
smudgley
21-04-2009, 10:36 PM
You bought home a chicken ..... one or two or more??? Do you want us to guess what sort of chicken or has Kazz won, being the first to guess a chook????
It's a chicken. Just the one chicken. Guess what sort if you like.... 3 things to guess....
*breed :cool:
*colour :cool:
*status :shock:
angieh
21-04-2009, 10:41 PM
A spotted maran
black, white and silver
cockerel (so a nice red comb in addition to above colours)
smudgley
21-04-2009, 10:43 PM
A spotted maran
black, white and silver
cockerel (so a nice red comb in addition to above colours)
Good answers, it's none of those colours and not a maran.
not a cockeral, it's a lady hen alright ;)
dandysmom
21-04-2009, 10:49 PM
A White Leghorn
White
not sure what status means ...ex-battery?
angieh
21-04-2009, 10:50 PM
Light Sussex
white with black and white barred feathers on neck and tail and red comb
bottom of the pecking order for the time being (poor girl)
smudgley
21-04-2009, 10:55 PM
You are on the right lines with status.... Not a cockeral, not an ex-battery, keep thinking... here's a couple of clues.
She is a big girl.
A well known breed.
She is every bit a lady. (what do ladies do?) :shock:
She's not white, black, or spotted.
I know nothing about chickens...Is she brown??
smudgley
21-04-2009, 11:00 PM
I know nothing about chickens...Is she brown??
Yes she's kind of brown. She is a Buff colour. ;) Angie that should give a clue to the breed.
Come on ladies, what do lady-things do?
What do lady-cats do, that we all moan about ;)
Uhm..are there going to be little tiny chicks very soon? :-)
smudgley
21-04-2009, 11:02 PM
Uhm..are there going to be little tiny chicks very soon? :-)
Hopefully :cool:
Tinks got it. She is a broody hen. I'm off to get her some fertile eggs to sit on tomorrow and in 4 weeks hopefully, she'll hatch some babies. :-D
smudgley
21-04-2009, 11:02 PM
Strut about???
I like it.....Answer I was after was - Reproduce. ;)
Uhm..are there going to be little tiny chicks very soon? :-)
Ooh... well done Tink!! :lol:
I like it.....Answer I was after was - Reproduce. ;)
But what sort of chicken is she Smudgley?:?
alexgirl73
21-04-2009, 11:06 PM
how fab!!! I would love to have a broody hatch some chicks, but I wouldn't have the heart to dispatch any cockerels :(
angieh
21-04-2009, 11:12 PM
A Buff Orpington! Best broody, good sitter!
smudgley
21-04-2009, 11:15 PM
I went to visit my friends today that moved to Axminster, as I needed to visit their puppies. She asked me to bring a carrier & take some of their hens off them, which I said no. I arrived and she kept asking me to take some of the hens, all beautiful, and only youngsters. She wanted to find homes for a few off them so she can get some rare breeds instead. I was undecided if I should bring 3 home with me, but then asked if I could take one of the broody ones (she had 2 broodys) they won't lay when broody, but just sit on the eggs & won't let the other poor hens into the nest box. One was more broody than the other as she was not budging off the nest & had a bit of a shout when we pushed her off. She looks healthy & I said I'd take her. I have to go back to see the pups again in 3 weeks time and she said I was welcome to bring the hen back if we decided we didn't want her. She is a Buff Orpington. They are very big birds & she makes my other hens look really skinny. We have a cage in the garage which is perfect for her & we've popped her in there. It just so happens that on Wednesdays, there is a local poultry sale & I am going with my Dad to get her some fertile eggs to sit on. I've always fancied having a go at hatching some chicks, but none of our hens have ever gone broody.
I think when I go back in 3 weeks, I may come back with a couple more hens.
angieh
21-04-2009, 11:19 PM
How exciting. Buff Orps are lovely docile hens that make very good mothers (or adopted mothers). It will be wonderful to have wee fluffy chicks. Not sure whether the next step is quite so wonderful though and I have no idea how to sex a chick.
She sounds lovely and something completely new for you. I hope the chicks hatch so we can see some pics of them...;):D
smudgley
21-04-2009, 11:24 PM
I hope so too, knowing my luck I'll probably buy some fertile eggs that have not actually been fertilised. :roll:
angieh
21-04-2009, 11:25 PM
Isn't there something called "candling" to see whether an egg is fertile or not???
smudgley
21-04-2009, 11:26 PM
This isn't her, but one of the same breed which I just found on the internet.
Yes, I've heard of candling, but I think they would have to be so far gone before you can check the eggs.... maybe I'll go and read about it.
http://www.cacklehatchery.com/buff_orpington_hen.jpg
Wow.... she is a plump one isn't she! :lol:
angieh
21-04-2009, 11:27 PM
Oh she's lovely!
alexgirl73
21-04-2009, 11:28 PM
oh she's gorgeous!!!!!!!!! Puts my old brown gals to shame lol! Wish I had a bit more room to take some of your friends chools off her hands lol.
smudgley
21-04-2009, 11:29 PM
Wow.... she is a plump one isn't she! :lol:
Oh she's lovely!
That's not her. But she is the same breed. :lol:
smudgley
21-04-2009, 11:31 PM
http://shilala.homestead.com/candling.html
Wow that is some chicken - hope all goes well with the rearig of chickens....do you know for one crazy moment I was thinking of saying "pig" when you asked what you had brought back.....
smudgley
21-04-2009, 11:38 PM
PIG :shock:
:lol:
That's not the hen, but it's the same breed as her. ;)
dandysmom
21-04-2009, 11:55 PM
Oooh, baby chicks ! They are so cute ....
smudgley
22-04-2009, 12:02 AM
Oooh, baby chicks ! They are so cute ....
Oh they are and when they are hatched under a Mother hen, it's so much nicer than in an incubator. I just love seeing the babies popping out to peep at the world then popping back into some feathers to snuggle safely.
pookyandjo
22-04-2009, 12:45 AM
im with Moli... i know nothing about chickens...
for me breed, colour and status would be
*Roasted
*golden brown
* stuffed
lucky for the chickens of the world that i dont have any... but welcome to your new family member Smudgley!!
dandysmom
22-04-2009, 02:03 AM
im with Moli... i know nothing about chickens...
for me breed, colour and status would be
*Roasted
*golden brown
* stuffed
lucky for the chickens of the world that i dont have any... but welcome to your new family member Smudgley!!
LOL, Jo! I stayed with my grandma in the Summer when I was growing up because it was before the polio vaccine and it was considered to be safer out in the country outside of the crowded cities..she kept chickens, White Leghorns and a banty; that's my experience with them outside of, as you say, roasted and stuffed! :-D
angieh
22-04-2009, 09:08 AM
............ and I know you know that those roasted stuffed chickens have to come from somewhere .... :-P :-P :-P
dandysmom
22-04-2009, 04:08 PM
............ and I know you know that those roasted stuffed chickens have to come from somewhere .... :-P :-P :-P
:-D Grandma didn't have a rooster so I never had the pleasure of seeing baby chicks ..... :(. Look forward to cooing over Smudgleys! :D
calismum
22-04-2009, 07:56 PM
Just catching up - how exciting. Cannot wait to see pic of her.
smudgley
22-04-2009, 10:30 PM
I love her to bits already!
Today I got her some baby eggs to hatch. :-D Got talking to all the chicken-folks at the auction. Had some great advice.
She is sitting tight on some dummy eggs, so will give her the real babies tomorrow.
I don't know what to call her, but I think she is a bagpuss. :cool:
I have got some pics - will load them tomorrow.
I love her to bits already!
Today I got her some baby eggs to hatch. :-D Got talking to all the chicken-folks at the auction. Had some great advice.
She is sitting tight on some dummy eggs, so will give her the real babies tomorrow.
I don't know what to call her, but I think she is a bagpuss. :cool:
I have got some pics - will load them tomorrow.
Henny Penny?? :lol:
dandysmom
22-04-2009, 10:48 PM
How exciting, she's going to be a mum! How long before the eggs will hatch? I think she sounds like a dignified matronly hen, needs something like Mrs.________ my imagination has run out.
smudgley
22-04-2009, 10:51 PM
21 days from when they start to be incubated.
So if we put them under her tomorrow, 21 days time. It's such a lovely adventure. I've always said I'd buy some fertile eggs if any of my hens went broody, but we've never had a broody hen until now. So glad I got her.
angieh
22-04-2009, 10:53 PM
Mrs Buffet? Look forward to the pictures.
smudgley
22-04-2009, 10:55 PM
Mrs Buffet? Look forward to the pictures.
Pronouced Mrs Buffaiy (not Buffit) like Mrs Bookay (not Bucket) :lol:
dandysmom
22-04-2009, 10:56 PM
Yes, very apt!!!
angieh
22-04-2009, 10:57 PM
Completely appropriate - candlelit suppers and all!
smudgley
22-04-2009, 11:01 PM
Lucy wants to call her Lottie.
Ashleigh suggested Teabag.
I still like Bagpuss.
John doesn't want to play name-the-new hen.
random
22-04-2009, 11:10 PM
Oh bless her, what will you do with the babies? Will you keep the girls?
What breed babies are in the eggs? :lol: Exciting times!
Thanks Smudgley, I have learned a lot about chickens reading this thread, look forward to babys...
smudgley
22-04-2009, 11:15 PM
I got 12 rhode island red, but from 2 different breeders. I shall mark the eggs so I know how many hatch from each batch.
I bid on some blue orpingtons but they went past what I had decided my limit was, however on reflection I wish I had bid more as they were dirt cheap really & I wish I had 6 of those & 6 rhode island reds.:?
I don't know what we'll do with the babies at this stage. The males will have to be sold at auction.
I will either keep the females or give them away to friends. Loads of my friends keep them.
smudgley
22-04-2009, 11:18 PM
Thanks Smudgley, I have learned a lot about chickens reading this thread, look forward to babys...
I too have learned a lot about them over the last 2 days. :cool: Fascinating today chatting to people at the auction, knowledgable people willing to share their expertise. They were buying fertile eggs by the tray fulls; like 5 trays with 30 eggs per tray. There's me buying 2 lots of 6 for my little broody hen. :oops:
random
22-04-2009, 11:32 PM
My mum is getting rhode island reds, well that's what she is after anyway, she might well change her mind by the time the house and run is all built and such.
The blue orpingtons look stunning birds.
Maybe you should call her "Mama Mia" quite apt.....
Blue orpingtons next time she goes broody then. :)
smudgley
24-04-2009, 07:02 PM
She isn't sitting the eggs.:(
She was so broody at my friends house and had been for a long time, I saw her broody behaviour. I brought her home & put some normal eggs with her which she seemed to take to at first, but hasn't been nesting on them.:( I read that if you have a broody hen and you don't want her to be broody, moving her is a good way to stop her being broody, so I presume that by moving her from her old home to ours, she has gone off being broody. I'm really sad. She is a lovely girl and loves being handled. (I have photos but I'm at work tonight, so will post at the weekend) So I need to do something with my eggs. I am trying to borrow an incubator, but don't really know too many people with them. The other option is to give the eggs to a friend who has a broody hen, she said she'll hatch them and give me the chicks back. Will keep you all posted.
She will go broody again, and quite quickly according to my Chicken expert Dad....but he did say moving her would have thrown her from being broody good chance....hence what has happened.....its a shame but not the end of the world....as she will go broody again.
angieh
24-04-2009, 07:26 PM
..... so long as you can keep your fertile eggies warm until she does though. Hope you friend's broody will help out.
smudgley
24-04-2009, 08:17 PM
She will go broody again, and quite quickly according to my Chicken expert Dad....but he did say moving her would have thrown her from being broody good chance....hence what has happened.....its a shame but not the end of the world....as she will go broody again.
I need to get these eggs incubating soon though :(
dandysmom
24-04-2009, 08:23 PM
What a pity! Hope she'll go broody again soon and that you can find a surrogate meantime.....
dinahsmum
24-04-2009, 08:38 PM
The eggs can wait a little while Smudgley. Think if the hen was in the wild and laying one egg a day, the oldest would be sat 12 or 14 days old by the time she felt she had a large enough clutch to sit.
Hopefully she'll go back broody if you give her access to a nice nest box. Ours always seemed to stay broody for ages when we didn't want - despite being put in poultry-prison, with bare slatted floor etc
angieh
24-04-2009, 09:14 PM
OH's dad used to tell stories of ducking broody hens in buckets of cold water when they were being unreasonable! I thought that was very cruel.
smudgley
24-04-2009, 09:27 PM
The eggs can wait a little while Smudgley. Think if the hen was in the wild and laying one egg a day, the oldest would be sat 12 or 14 days old by the time she felt she had a large enough clutch to sit.
Hopefully she'll go back broody if you give her access to a nice nest box. Ours always seemed to stay broody for ages when we didn't want - despite being put in poultry-prison, with bare slatted floor etc
The problem is I don't know how old the eggs were when I got them from the auction. I got them Thursday, so want to get them cooking soon. One lady at the auction said she has kept eggs for 3 weeks - then incubated them and hatched them :shock: although the internet tells me 7-10 days max is best.
dinahsmum
01-05-2009, 10:42 AM
Any progress Smudgley - or have you given up and made an omelette?
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