251 replies to this topic

[LibbyTea]

I have two full size girls that one lays dark brown(black copper marans) and the other has not laid yet(ameracauna) so it will be a surprise. I get blue eggs from 3 of the ducks and 1 duck lays white. I am going to get one or two more full size and want different color eggs also. I love the different colors in the egg cartons - it is happy. The little ones should lay white and one little should be brown. I use to get blue, dark brown, green and olive green. I miss my pretty eggs. One of my friends gets a pink tinted egg!! They have a bird meet April 27 at Imlay City fairgrounds 6am-12pm I have never been but may go this year to get two more hens.

[Karen A]

I think I am going to go to that one too. I have been to it in the past and bought some of my silkies and mille fleurs there. There was always a huge amount of sellers there, but you need to go early! There won't be much left by 8:00......

[LibbyTea]

Hey Karen did you get any new chicks this year? Highland feed has cuckcoo marans pullets in right now. My little batam is sitting on a egg from one of the hens in my friends coop. So far it looks like it is developing. The little polish girls are still giving me an egg each every day. My full size girls are in the big run with the other hens now. They still know me and come over for treats. They seem to have adjusted well to all the company in the big run. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a chick

[Karen A]

Uh oh.....you shouldn't have told me that. I have wanted cuckoo marans for a long time. I got 2 silver laced wyandottes a few weeks ago and love them! They are a big bird, but very docile and will lay xlarge brown eggs in a few weeks:) I will post some pics of them. Two months ago, Jeff an the kids picked up some orphaned mallards at our cottage. They were clearly distressed in the water and Jeff watched them for several hours without a mother coming to get them. When it was almost nightfall, he and the kids caught them and brought them home. Now they are all feathered out and I am trying to educate myself on how to properly return them to nature. They don't like us at all! They've made it clear that they are wild animals and want to stay that way. I have a call into Howell Nature Center, but they have not called me back yet. I'll get some pics of them posted too. They are cute as all get out, but messy as hex!!!!!

[LibbyTea]

I think that you can drop them off at Colsantis on milford road. They have a lot of ducks there. Or at Byers farm on Commerce. Also alot of ducks there. People feed them at both places. My little batam hatched the egg!! It is so cute - she is a very proud mama. I wonder what she will think when it is three times her size.

[Karen A]

So we took the ducklings to Howell Nature Center....what an amazing place! They will be put in an enclosed area with other ducks and pond for a short time, then released onto a private property permanently If you ever want something to do for the day, check this place out! You are only allowed to view the permanent residents, but there are quite a few....bobcats, deer, coyotes, fox, you name it. Most are there because of selfish people trying to make pets out of them. You could easily spend 2-3 hours there walking the trails. They are very kid friendly too and even have a really neat area with a manmade stream for them to explore in. The highlight of our day there was seeing an 18 year old coyote howl at us. He was stolen from his den as a pup and tied to a dog house for 5 months before a neighbor finally called on them. At any rate, the ducks are doing very well I'm sure. Thanks for the info though

[LibbyTea]

sounds like a Great place. I am going to look into taking my granddaughters there next time they come over.

[Karen A]

I have three ISA reds which are birds that have been bred forever to be production layers. They really have no instinct to be a mother because of this and do not make nests or set eggs.......unless they are mine . So I went down the road to my farmer friend's house and got 2 fertile silky eggs to entertain her. One of the eggs mysteriously disappeared which means it could have just not been fertile and rotting she would have booted it out of the nest and the heathens would have eaten it or it just cracked into the nesting material never to be found . Yesterday, I asked Camille to go out to gather the eggs and when she heard little chirps, she picked up Mirabelle to find this little darling .

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She, (hopefully she) is soooo tiny! I think she is a blue splash silky.

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She will have the fluffy feathers and pom pom head with feathered feet as well. I hope she does OK and we are checking on her frequently.

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More to come! This will not let me make paragraphs like Cheri was talking about so I hope it makes sense.

[Diana]

Oh my, look at the tiny baby, what a interesting story, thanks for sharing.

[Arda]

I like the color. A blue chicken.

[LibbyTea]

Oh my gosh I just saw this post. Little blue Chick is so CUTE. How is she doing?

[Karen A]

Today Daddy went and got some fresh straw for the ladies because their coop pen was a little muddy from all the rain we've had. He built them a house out of it and they just loved it! They jumped on top of it, ran around it, went through it, and picked at with their beaks (not sure what they were picking at).
$3.00--per bail of straw
15 minutes of work to get it there
watching chickens having the time of their lives---PRICELESS:)
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