Re: Chicken Question

Jean Paul wrote:

"Islander" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:25-dnXn3TO97t_LanZ2dnUVZ_jKdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jean Paul wrote:

"Islander" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:08KdnZxRuIusg_LanZ2dnUVZ_h2pnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jean Paul wrote:

---[snip]---

You should try chicken farming.

Side note:
I have several roosters that are quite active; they try to service all the hens on a daily basis. Yesterday, one of em got out of it's area and into the pig pen and was trying to screw the pig. First time I have ever seen that happen. It was a hoot and the pig didn't like it a bit.

JP

Hopefully you can answer a question for me. We have a small flock of chickens, just enough to provide us with eggs.

We have two roosters, one a large Buff Orpington (Buff) and the other a Rhode Island Red (Champ). The hens are an assortment of breeds (black australorps, buff orpingtons and araucanas). Buff is the horniest chicken you can imagine. He wears the feathers off the backs of the hens and off his belly in his passion. But, he must be either shooting blanks or missing the mark because we tried twice to raise chicks when one of the hens got broody, but nothing happened either time.

So, we isolated Buff to give the hens a chance to recover and grow new feathers while giving Champ a chance. Champ is an old rooster, but without Buff to intimidate him, he rose to the challenge. The next time a hen got broody, sure enough, we got chicks.

My question is, how do Orpingtons manage to reproduce? They are beautiful birds, but there is such a size difference between the roosters and the hens, it is hard to imagine how they every manage to get properly connected, not that Buff didn't try!

I've got lots more questions, but let's take one at a time.

I don't know. I tried to find something about that in our poultry encyclopedia but that is not mentioned, particularly about that breed.

My guess is that the genitalia is much the same as the other birds but becuase of the abundance of feathery plume it is sort of hidden. Physical size of the bird is not really important. If he can put the round peg in the round hole, then the match is made in chicken heaven.

JP

Well, he is a "fluffy britches" kind of bird!

OK, another question. Why do chickens moult in the winter when it is cold? It seems like that is the worst time for them to lose their feathers.

Genetics. Chickens originally come from Asia and are domesticated birds. They have retained that genetic trait from their ancestors.

JP
OK, same reason that they stop laying in mid winter?
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Winterizing pastured mini-flocks
    ... marans, so all in all, around 40 hens, plus another dozen or so large ... If you mix all your chickens together as you've described I would ... expect fights between your roosters. ... I'm just getting ready to treat my birds and sheds ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)
  • Re: I Need Help!
    ... >> i have two chickens, white and red, i don't know how to tell if ... >> male or female. ... Some of our hens are sprouting small spurs. ... I found that the biggest giveaway for roosters is ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)
  • Re: Can someone give me some info on hens?
    ... > about getting a couple hens for eggs. ... > I really don't know the first thing about raising chickens. ... between the roosters and the hens, ...
    (misc.rural)
  • Re: Chicken Question
    ... I have several roosters that are quite active; they try to service all the hens on a daily basis. ... one a large Buff Orpington and the other a Rhode Island Red. ... My guess is that the genitalia is much the same as the other birds but becuase of the abundance of feathery plume it is sort of hidden. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Can someone give me some info on hens?
    ... >> thinking about getting a couple hens for eggs. ... >> thing about raising chickens. ... > You need a brooder to keep chicks warm until they fledge. ... > hens, you eat the roosters. ...
    (misc.rural)
Loading