Feeding her babies.
Well, this great mama hen still has all 7 chicklets, and they are growing every day. She showed them that they can eat whole corn, and today they gobbled it up! They've been eating the sprouted whole oats added to their cracked corn, catfood, kefir, and alfalfa mix for over a week now, but I was startled to see them attacking the whole corn that I tossed in their pen for this Icelandic rooster that has been hanging around in there:
Ain't he a handsome boy?
Keeping an eye out for danger.
A neighbor was hammering something, it put her on full alert!
Stunning rooster
ReplyDeleteThanks! All the Icelandic roos from this hatch are stunning. I hope to sell some, as I can't keep them all. I may keep three roos through the winter, which will be a record for me! Two Icelandics, to cross with my larger hens to get the qualities I like in the Icies into my flock of heavy layers....hardiness, foraging ability, and broodiness. And I'll keep one of the Maran cross roosters so I can get some big roos for next year's freezer.
ReplyDeletethat roo is amazing!
ReplyDeleteHe is not the flashiest, either! It is hard to take pics of them. They are zippy. Precocious little buggers, too. Trying to collect harems of the older heavy layers right under the nose...er....beak of our Light Brahma roo. At four months old.
ReplyDeleteI have like nine roosters I pick them up free on craigslist. Did you pick up your buck for this year yet? If you did I would love to see pics of him
ReplyDeleteI reserved a buckling but haven't seen him yet....that reminds me, I need to make a phone call to confirm that! Same people I got Jasper from, but hopefully Oberhasli this time.
ReplyDeleteI am a little nervous without a proven buck this year. We have a yearling Lamancha unproven and a Saanen kid born this year not so worried about the Saanen but I dont want to breed him to my pure Lamanchas and two of our other does are his mom and sister. His mom is a great milker over a gallon a day so I might breed him to my Alpine doe and my Togg/Lamancha doe.
ReplyDeleteThe bucklings are quite enthusiastic though, aren't they!
ReplyDeleteYeah they can be. The Saneen way more so than the Lamancha. I am guessing it is just the laid back nature of the Lamanchas. Which is why I love them
ReplyDelete