Out with the girls today, photo heavy!

I wanted to take some pictures of the WhAms I am selling and couldn't resist some of the others when they were out and about.


Waitng patiently for me to open the gate....

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Free at last!

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The cat thought he was helping, but he really wasn't....

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They really just did not want to cooperate at all!

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Finally a few wanted to show how pretty they are!!

The Chantecler crosses I am very impressed with.
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The Mottled Java girls. I have at least one just started to lay, yay.
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Some of the PChants are looking really good so far and laying like troopers.
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And finally the ones I went out to get photos of in the first place. The lovely Wheaten Ameraucanas.
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I hope you enjoyed the photos, I know I enjoyed spending the time with my flock to get them.

They all look beautiful.
I like the Chantecler crosses very nice.
And of course one of my favorites the
Wheaten Ameraucana's.
You said you were going to sell them
with I had a way to get some up to PG.
Also noticed no snow!!!
Would you like some of mine?

Great photos of your pretty girls!

Question about your pretty PChants ... the two that I got from you are coloured like the hen in the first picture, while my other hen is redder, like the hen in your second picture. Which shade are they "supposed" to be?

Those crosses are so pretty - do you find them aggressive? The two my friend has sure are.

How are the egg production capabilities of the whAmer coopslave? Size, number, color?

Kendra, they should be the darker shade. Deep reddish bay is the colour the ground colour should be. I have kept the girl with the light ground colour because her pencilling is very good and she is much tighter feathered than anything else I have bred so far. They tend to be a bit to 'fluffy' so I am going to experiment with her a bit.

My crosses are very sweet, not aggressive at all. The PChants can be a bit bossy but I have not found the crosses to be at all. Interesting about the 2 your friend has. What breeds are they in with, that may have something to do with it?

Karona, no snow lately as we have been getting a ton of rain, but it is snowing tonight so I expect a bit on the ground in the morning. If you want some WhAms where there's a will there's a way!

poplar girl wrote:How are the egg production capabilities of the whAmer coopslave? Size, number, color?

These pullets are the ones I brought up from John Blehm in the summer as chicks. They have not started to lay yet. They are old enough, but I am finding the WhAms are a bit more picky than other breeds about laying and I have not been giving them any artifical light at this stage. I will only be supplementing light in Feb to get ready for breeding season.

I had a couple of other WhAm hens, they were decent layers but not outstanding. 3-4 eggs a week, but they didn't go broody so they laid consistantly. The colour of their eggs was a very pale, pastel blue and they were of medium size. I suspect these will be similar.
I have a Black Am hen that is a trooper. Lays 5-6 eggs a week, a large size, a deeper colour but I would consider it to have a very light tint of green in it.

The Wheatens certainaly are a work in progress still and do need improving as far as I am concerned. The boys I have are unrelated to the pullets. They are from the above hens I mentioned.

coopslave wrote:Kendra, they should be the darker shade. Deep reddish bay is the colour the ground colour should be. I have kept the girl with the light ground colour because her pencilling is very good and she is much tighter feathered than anything else I have bred so far. They tend to be a bit to 'fluffy' so I am going to experiment with her a bit.

The pullet I got from you is getting so BIG! I love her, so pretty, but still very timid. She's figured out that the others leave her alone if she sticks close to the rooster - the other day someone was chasing her and she went right underneath him, between his legs, made me laugh.

coopslave wrote:
My crosses are very sweet, not aggressive at all. The PChants can be a bit bossy but I have not found the crosses to be at all. Interesting about the 2 your friend has. What breeds are they in with, that may have something to do with it?

They killed a polish and a silkie, and they fight all the time with the hen (PChant) I gave her. She added a bunch of Buff Orpington hens, and I think they have more trouble pushing them around, but they still try. They're laying really well though.

They killed a polish and a silkie, and they fight all the time with the hen (PChant) I gave her. She added a bunch of Buff Orpington hens, and I think they have more trouble pushing them around, but they still try. They're laying really well though.

Geez that isn't good at all. I will have to keep that in mind with them. Mine are in with the Ams right now, and the are chicken , and there is not an issue at all. Hers were actually out of a different rooster than the ones I have here and I ended up dispatching him for temperament. But your little PChant is by him too, so go figure.
If she is able to, maybe seperate them one at a time for a while from the flock and then reintroduce. Maybe that will bring them down a knotch. Or it may cause more trouble... Please tell her I am sorry she is having trouble with them.

coopslave wrote:
Hers were actually out of a different rooster than the ones I have here and I ended up dispatching him for temperament. But your little PChant is by him too, so go figure.

Go figure indeed, because Eva (yes, my chickens have names ... ) is the "chicken" around here for sure!

I'm not brave enough to let my guys out to free range - there are foxes here in the yard, I see the tracks around the coop every time it snows. Love your free ranging pictures though!

I love the coloring in your crosses. I was free ranging mine till yesterday that wind has bite Their feathering is nice, they really look like a hardy bird.

I love that beard on your WhAm

Very nice to see pictures of the birds out and about. What is the cross? Too lazy to look up what you were doing. I really think that the dark colour with the gorgeous red in the hackles is a stunning combination. Is this the ones that lay dark eggs, Coopslave?

I need to get some pictures of my javas, one of the pullets looks like one of yours. They are so differently marked I can't believe they are of the same breed (speaking of mine). Need to study lots more about what the standard calls for, cause each of the three I have is not even slightly alike. And combs are so different too. One has a comb that you would swear it was a cockerel. My cockerel looks like a total geek!! He is so darn tall and lanky and ugly. Boy I hope he fills out a whole bunch, I don't like his look, our javas are about 27 weeks old now, so they need (well mine anyways) to get their act together and fill out. Only two of the three pullets are laying. Checked fertility and both pullets are being bred. At least he is doing one thing right. Probably gonna have to gather and set eggs to get some birds going for next year....you??? Have an awesome day, healthy lives, CynthiaM.

CynthiaM, the crosses are the F1 dark layers. (PChantecler x Black Copper Marans) They will go back Splash Marans this year and then I will go from there. I like the small combs, stern brow and the tighter feathers. They are proving to be good winter layers without light and enjoy getting out even if there is snow. I am liking the blacks with the red throats too. I was excited to add blue, but now I am not sure if I will just go with the black. We will see, they are my creation after all!

My Java boy is very funny looking too. You will see lots of variation with the mottles, that is part of the fun. Good your cockerel is breeding well. My cockerels are all in the bachelor pen until spring. Girls get free time in the winter. I am still worried about the comb. I have a couple of girls with big combs and the cockerel has a good sized one too. They should have a medium comb, but again there is always variation. I know they are a work in progress, but the single comb up here really worries me. My Splash Marans cockerel already has a bit of frost bite and it isn't even cold yet. The heat lamp goes on with the cockerels on the cold nights, but the smooth combs still make me happier.

Oh man, I gotta get some pictures of the mottled java. That dude has an enormous comb, looks too big for his head for sure. Ya, kind of worried about the frozen comb. But then, hey, if he loses some of it then it will be smaller next year. Kidding. I am concerned about it too. The cochins did fine with the single comb, the buff rooster lost a teeny tiny bit of a couple of tips, that was all, just a very small amount. Pretty sure that I am going to hang a heat lamp from the roof above where the java roost. I really don't want any frozen comb issues. I know I should just let it be, and if the comb freezes it freezes, nature's way, but that other side of me that is empathetic, indicates to hang a light. Sigh. Wish I knew which side to get on really, light or no light, but geeze. When it is -17 below, the air everywhere is cold, not just on the roosts and the birds are in and out all day in that weather, so just can't protect them all the time, but maybe at night, just a little extra warmth whilst the body is in that inactive state might help. Just not sure yet. I will not heat the coop, thought I might, but really??? I get some pictures soon, hopefully and show you what the dude and dudettes look like. One gal is about 1/3 the size of the biggest gal, go figure!! Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

I have those birds! I have those birds! Neener, neener, neener.

Coopslave, every day, from the cross, I get one small darkish egg. Yesterday there were TWO eggs out there! Oh happy day! Will I have farm fresh eggs to eat. The joy!

Such happy looking birds!

I love those beautiful shiny blacks!