Hen, where is my egg??

My hens started molting the first part of October (2013). The Ghost Hens didn't molt last year, so it was their time. I've not had 1st year hens molt before so when the BJG went into molt that was a shocker for me. The amount of feathers in the pen one morning had me panicked that a massacre had happened (again)... nope, just molting, mom!

Ameracauna:  "Puff" (hen) and "Osprey" (roo)

I was getting 30-35 eggs a week late August/early September. The first week of October, I was down to 19 eggs a week, and still on the decline... by the first week of November, "Puff" (my Ameracauna hen) was the only trooper, laying 5-6 eggs a week for me! By the end of December, egg production was coming back around.

I integrated their layer feed 1:1 with an 18% "feather fixer" feed and added a 3rd fount with vitamins and electrolytes to help them thru this rough time. 200lbs of mixed feed lasted the entire molt (Oct-Jan). I've not been thru a mass molt like this before, so I'm not really sure if the food and/or water did any good, but I like to think it did. It kills me that molting takes place in the fall and winter months... don't they know it's friggin' cold out???

Icicles on Coop
(open run protected with plywood and greenhouse panels)

We had some wicked-cold weather the first week of December, with overnight temps in the low-teens and single digits for 5 straight nights. I normally don't put supplemental heat in my coop but with the poor hens molting, and the East wind kicking up, I thought it might be a good idea.

I've had my founts on heating elements as most nights were at or below freezing December & January - the
first part of February wasn't much better with a snow storm followed by freezing rain. I have a couple B9 submersible birdbath heaters that I put under my founts; they're on a timer most of the time but this winter they've been running nearly constantly. These are great little heaters - it keeps the

Not sure about the snow!

water from freezing, even during the single-digit nights!

Anyway, the hens have been troopers and have finally come out of molt - on Feb 19th I had my first "5 Egg" day of the season! (would have been 6, but a Cooper Hawk got one of my BJG late January).

PEAS OUT!
~GP

Crop Rotation - Chicken Style!

So in the midst of all the Cornish-Cross meat-bird craziness last Spring, I acquired 6 new chicks.
I wasn't planning on getting new chicks until 2014, but I went to a chick workshop, and they were SOOO cute, and I just couldn't help myself...

Mar 9, 2013: baby chicks - 4 days old

I got 3 Ameracauna and 3 Black Jersey Giant pullet chicks... AWWWW!!!!!
Jersey Giants are the largest chicken breed - I got Black JG, but there is also a white breed. They take 2 years to fully develop and are layers of XL brown eggs. Fully grown, hens can weight up to 11lbs!
The Ameracauna chicks are a standard breed and are "easter egg" layers - eggs will be shades of cream, blue, and green.

Mar 16, 2013:  chicks are 11 days old

The Ameracauna chicks are different colors - one brown, one red, and one white.
They started their new life in one of my blue tubs, and eventually got upgraded to a 3'x3' box with high sides - turns out they're jumpers!!

Mar 24, 2013: 19 days old - starting to feather out

See how the red one is spralled out? This behavior doesn't change much... it's pretty funny in fact! I call this one my "Sun Goddess". Wherever there is sun or warmth, this one is flat out soaking it up!

Mar 30 - first day outside

The same day I had the Cornish-Cross birds out, these guys also got their first taste of the outdoors. (As you can see, the red one found a cozy spot!) These were very excited and started pecking and eating grass right away!

And again, my WR hen - one of the "Ghost Hens" - is curious, and not one bit excited about MORE critters taking up space in HER yard!!

April 6, 2013 - 1 month old

At 4 weeks, the Ameracauna chicks are really starting to show their colors! The white one is knows as a "splash", with the black and white color. And you can tell the Jersey Giants (BJG) are going to be big birds!

April 21, 2013: 6-1/2 weeks old

Most chicks are fully feathered at 6 weeks and can slowly be acclimated to outdoor living if they were raised indoors (like these - they are sharing floor space in the greenhouse; the Cornish Cross are in the next pen over!)

May 9, 2013:  9 weeks old

(May 9) Black Jersey Giants enjoying the great outdoors

June 1, 2013: new chickens have free fun of the yard

Unfortunately, the "splash" Ameracauna started crowing (I knew he was to pretty to be a girl!!), so he was transplanted to another flock who had just lost their rooster. I had named him "Osprey" since he looked like a raptor when he would fly, but that name did not suit his new digs... he is now known as "Ozzie".  : )

There is another Roo in the pack - the red one (I call him "Red Roo") has not yet started crowing but is definately NOT a hen. So I only have 1 hen out of the 3 Ameracauna chicks....How's that for bad luck! Fortunately the seller is going to replace them with new chicks Spring 2014, so we'll start again and see what we get.

Osprey & Red Roo (Ameracauna)

The Jersey Giants were the first to start laying (mid-July) and by mid-August all hens were on board - sometimes 6 eggs a day! The (2) Ghost Hens lay light brown to pinkish eggs, the (3) BJG lay light-to-med brown eggs, and the (1) Ameracauna lays cream-to-blue-to green eggs (depends on her mood I think).

The new flock was slowly integrated with my Ghost Hens and they do get along well. Osprey is gone, but Red Roo is still here. He is the bottom of the pecking order - I believe that is why he is slow to mature. He hasn't started crowing, but at first Cock-a-Doodle, he's outta here!

PEAS OUT!
~GP