Turkey people - one of our young toms is struggling to walk. One of his legs turns inward and kind of collapses at the hock. As he gets bigger, it gets harder. This is our first year with turkeys. Is this a known "thing?" Not sure if it's a know defect or just a strange thing for this individual tom, like an injury as a chick or something. It's looking like we may need to process him early if it gets too bad. I don't want him to suffer.
Hard to get it on video because he avoids walking much.
The big crested boys got their man buns, and used their new vision to immediately bump each other. Lol. Boys. #silkiesforever
Not the BEST man-buns, but they can see better, so it's a start. Thanks everyone for your input! I honestly thought people only tied up crests during grooming or before shows, I didn't know people left them in regularly! These boys can see much better, even with the sub-par hairdos, and we'll get better at it as we go. They immediately started picking at each other, so clearly they can see a whole new world. *sigh* oh, boys.
Barn kitten content! These beautiful and sweet babies are just amazing. The little girl Sunshine is headed to live with a dear friend when they're older. So far the rest are staying here! Daddy Chuck loves to come play with them and is so sweet and gentle. Dont mind the view of his troublepuffs, everyone heads to the vet for spay and neuter when they're done nursing.
It's 104° in the shade right now. Giving the all the birds some cooling off spots and making sure all the fans are on. The turkeys like the shower and all came to play in it and cool off.
Betty is an adorable black hen who came to us this spring from Linda at Twin Maple Ranch Silkies. She's quickly become Rebecca's favorite, because she runs up to your feet and asks for attention. She's been coming inside and spending time with our disabled daughter, who doesn't get to see the chickens very often. Betty and Beatrice have enjoyed spending time together, and Betty says the snacks are pretty awesome. She's super calm and quiet with Bea, it's so cute.
We welcomed 6 new babies in our BBS pen and 3 in our black pen. #silkiesforever
A story about getting started and learning to have patience and play the long game. This is Dahlia, a black hen who came to us in September at 9 months old. It's hard getting started - you have to start with other breeders culls, and that can feel daunting. I saw the potential, but for a long time she looked kinda "meh." Small crest, not much of a beard, not a very full body, nice high and soft cushion. An overall decent breeder quality, but a starter bird. And that's ok! She and her sister made some lovely babies with our main cockbird Mondo, who at 5 months old are showing that the combo was well worth it.
About a month ago, coming out of a full molt and in a smaller breeding pen with less kerfuffle, she started blossoming. Now at a year and a half old she has really broadened and filled out, and has sprouted a lovely crest and full beard! She's still got a beautiful soft cushion thats now nice and wide, and her feathers gleam. She looks completely different! Now I can see the foundation she's passing on to the first generations of our own breeding. I'm so glad we just gave it time, and very glad this girl is a part of our program. It's a good lesson for these new breeders to trust the process and let them grow ALL the way up. It's not a quick hobby or instant gratification, and the time and work is part of what makes it so rewarding in the end. 🧡
I went out to get better photos than this quick video I took while cleaning their run, but she'd proceeded to dunk her whole face in the nice fresh water. 😵🤣 Breeder credit CMB Lucky Little Cluckers
#blacksilkies #introducingthecrew
When you break the end of your beak somehow (far right) and need soft foods, but you won't eat it and mom realizes you literally can't see because your crest is so magnificent (probably contributed to said broken beak). So you get a hair cut, and your white buddy tidbits for you to show you where the tasty new food is mom brought you. Finally eating! I love when roosters are cute with each other. 🥰
Black cockerel, first generation our breeding, 5 months. I love all the colors we have, but black is my heart. I love where we're starting. Still no leakage, fingers crossed it sticks! #blacksilkies
CLAIMED: Beautiful little red partridge cockerel UFD. 5 months old, just starting to breed. He's sweet and non-aggressive, lower in the pecking order with the boys. He's filling in beautifully, nice round body, soft cushion. Perfect toes, dark skin, dark eyes, brilliant earlobes. Pics of feet and wings below. Not too much 💲, just want him to find a flock. NMB; Breeder credit Crescent Place Silkies.
We got a very interesting baby in this hatch - a rumpless paint! No tail at all. It's from our sex linked pen and looks to be black, so is a boy. It's thriving so far and everything else seems functional, so fingers crossed. It's a skeletal deformity, and where one thing is wrong other things can be, so we'll just hope this little one does well. Odd genetic throw-back!
Round 4 in our efforts to establish a heritage Delaware breeding flock to feed our family begins! Heritage lines bred for table qualities are few and far between, and the gene pool is limited. We're 2.5 years in, and still struggling with overall hardiness.
We've been following the work of Frank Reese Jr. with heritage poultry conservation for years, and were super excited to join Good Shepherd Conservancy as soon as it was opened. These little guys were created from their own New Hampshire Red and Plymouth Barred Rock stock. We're excited to see them grow, and hopefull that these genetics will contribute to vigor and hardiness in our flock.
It's goat moving day! Our herd is on their way to their new digs. We're gonna miss em! Rosebud says "one last chance to cause trouble, mom!!"
