The rest of them

Well, a couple days ago I had the time to actually be out with all the animals in the pasture. It was really nice - I got to watch Djimon wander off, almost to the burn piles and itch his horns on a stump; I got to fix up a nice, huge pit of dirt for the chickens to dust bathe in, and I was able to actually take a photo of all the Wyandottes in one frame. Oh, and I got to stare at my Easter Egger rooster and take in all the beauty that he is! I have a most beautiful Easter Egger.





Here's Djimon now. He's really grown since our first couple days! He's loose now, has been for some number of days. He's really really good with people, the only thing he still needs work with is halter training. Oh, and I actually had a chance to photograph the size of his horn. When we first got him, they were practically non-existent. In a matter of hours to a day, they were visible bumps. Now, they're getting shape, and starting to curve up and out of his fuzzy forehead.






Now, of course, there's two animals left that I have not spoken of since perhaps the day after we got them. They are the goats - Our LaMancha dairy girls. Zing, the black one, is due in less than 2 months, and Zest, the yellow-striped one, is due in June. Zing is still a sweety, and Zest isn't really as playful anymore but still quite distant. Sometimes it takes chasing her around until you catch her to actually put her to bed in the barn at night. One new thing that I have yet to catch on camera though is their almost daily "fights" now. Not sure if it is play or not, but during or after their breakfast, I have twice now caught the girls ramming their heads. Zest is always the one to pack the most punch, rearing into the air and coming straight down - But Zing is the one who resists the most. I just hope it doesn't hurt the babies inside them!



^ Zing and Zest approaching me, with all the chickens foraging behind. You can just see the bratty look on Zest's face! She always gives a sharp look at you. She's pretty bad right now - Her favorite thing to do is go up in the corner nearest the chicken coop and stand up on the fence. It tears down the chicken wire that lines the bottom of the fence, allowing the chickens to get loose from their pasture.

Meet the Wyandottes! - Part 2

Well it has been months since I last had a true talk about my Wyandottes. Since they are the only breed I have that is relatively common, and a topic of discussion of hatchery quality and behavior - Here's how mine grew up to be. Do you remember these 10 ladies when they were younger? They were brats. They always had the nickname of "The Gang," "The Clique," and so on. Their quality was not looking hopeful, their friendliness was just about nil - even to themselves, and they were always in groups. Well, here's them today. Colors, names, maturity, and now laying eggs.

Here's a little walkthrough on how the girls look. They've grown to have better lacing, but still are very thin, have erect, small tails, and almost every single one has a different comb. No, none of mine are bad enough to have single combs as some hatcheries sell - But some of my girls have combs that are too rosy, abnormally grown, or just plain too medium sized and not tight enough. Wyandottes should have small, tight to the face rose combs. Mine range from that to large rosecombs, like on a bantam, to combs so bulbous, the tip is hidden underneath the rest like a bellybotton. Anyway - They're a lot more friendly, and lay a great amount of eggs.



This is the Wyandotte with the abnormal comb. She was always the darkest of them, with the least amount of white. As a chick she was nearly black. Her name is orange, as I have marked all the Wyandottes with colors and given them accordingly names but for one.



This is red - One of the two who, for a while, were the only ones who had really good lacing throughout their bodies. She's got a lovely posture and chest, and I guess that could be where it ends.



This is Lilac, the most perfect of my Wyandottes. She once got sick for a while, and couldn't use her legs too well. She eventually got better, and because of that - Is one of the two friendliest Wyandottes, and one of the two only ones who will voluntarily come up to me without hesitation. Why is she perfect? Her lacing distributes well, her comb is decent, her face has a nice "dark brow" without the sickly and small eyes, and her tail ends pretty well, without too much of long, thin, erect base. She's also very quiet.



This is Umber, note the brown-colored wings for her color-name. She's also quiet, and has some "okay" lacing. She has a very small, tight comb. Pretty nice looking, if it weren't for her small head.


So, I sound very critical and harsh on my own birds - But I like showing the good and bad of things; Judging what is nice and what is wrong or could use improvements. And, these are hatchery birds - They're mainly just to lay eggs, so they're bound to have physical faults.

But, all in all, my Wyandottes have greatly improved. They're not the same "Gang" they used to be. Still biccersome - But not as bad as previous.