Chickens Ameraucana, Easter Eggers and Black Sex Link

Flash is my Blue Red Ameraucana rooster. He is a year old and very colorful. I have 4 chicks a month old from him. Of course the blue one didn't live a day but the other four a growing well Too early to tell the gender. Flash is from a blue egg and I only incubated blue eggs.
Five of my eight hens, having breakfast. Layer pellets and cooked rice. They lay 5-8 egg a day so I can't complain. Days of 8 eggs I get, 5 blue, one drab green, one cream and one brown egg.
I made an outside open that I can feed them in and the sheep can;t get to their feed.  They have free reign of the barn and pasture. Their coop has been taken over by my EE pullets.

My 8 three month old Easter Egg pullets, Very large for their age. All are bearded- a little heavy on brown-n-black color and one pure white. They will probably lay blue green eggs. I bought them as straight run 25 chicks, after the roosters were gone I had 8 pullets But I cant complain I bought a January special 25 chicks for $42 chix and shipping. They arrives on Jan 22nd a warm day..and stay healthy and grew well.  They should be laying by late June.

When I have hens/pullets for sale I get swamped with calls- long after they are sold. So I did a bit of speculating and purchased 25day old black sex link pullets. They are now a month old and doing well.  They will be available late July as pullets ready to lay.

Today my Shetland ewe Lily came into the barn for grain without her lambs. Ate and left the barn. I was concerned as morning and evening I check that everyone is counted for. So I did a pasture walk...pasture has lots of blind spots-- hills, rises, a few big rocks, trees. I found Lily with her twins, they were nursing, I guess Lily has started to hide her lambs like a deer. My Shetlands also graze during the night and in the rain. Very different in a good way from other breeds. The others would bed down at dark and just be getting up at 7 AM.  I am learning. I guess it will take a small pen after weaning to tame down the ewe lambs.

later

Jerry.

Updated Pics of Ewe lambs--Both of them!

Tulla is 11 days old and is already turning gray. It would be nice if she kept her dark brown legs. 

 Ivy day 2.  Her color and my picture taking is better today. Nice the white mixed in here and there.

Ivy's left side. Notice the brown spot on her front elbow. It will be fun to see what color she ends up. My first Shetland lambs. I have read other Blogs that she will or can keep changing color for a few years.

Till later

Jerry

Afternoon Baby Check

Now that Ivy is all clean and completely dry, she has drizzles of white across her back. She is more beige pink color......so Michelle, I agree its the modifier phaeomelanin. She is very cute. Her brother Ivan..nosed the grain pan this morning before I took pictures.......his sugar lips was grain dust. This afternoon his lips are true black, so he should be solid black. Both lambs have fleece that has more length than the other lambs and is really crimped.......Ivan has horn buttons showing...about the size of dimes and erupting....big horns coming.

So four lambs from Terri's  ram Baah, Tulla is moorit with the gray gene, Tundra is white with brown spots,  Ivy has phaeomelanin gene and Ivan is solid black. I got a lot of modifiers and colors from my first 4 Shetland lambs.........that just heightens my excitement.  Years back in my commercial flock I  had Finn/Dorset, Dorset, Montadale, Romanov, Romanov/Dorset, Corriedale, NC Cheviot/Finn ewes, oh even a loud Sufflock ewe (she didn't stay long as she was loud and liked to climb --yes climb-- the fence). Hand down the Shetland wins! I am a staunch believer in the breed. They eat very little, are so tame and amiable, the cutest lambs and are trouble free hustlers. To me its the only breed to have!


Till later
Jerry

Babies! Lily had twins

The neighbors heard coyotes the other night, so I put the flock in the barnyard with some good hay. The pasture isn't ready anyway, and this early the grass is mostly water.  The second reason for the barnyard was Lily's ligaments had dropped last night so I knew she was close.

Lily must have lambed very early morning as the lambs were still damp. Both are good sized and have nursed.....wow this is much easier than boer goats or commercial sheep. My ewes lamb, no big deal and get right to giving their lambs good attention and mothering, but hey you already know that!

I put them in a big maternity pen. I scooped up the lambs, checked what I got and put them in. Lily was fussing at the side of the pen, I grabbed her and shoved her in. I gave her some grain to calm her down. Lily is a protective mom, a double stomper----- so pictures were a bit of a trick. Ivan is solid black-black but he has sugar lips. Ivy is a light fawn color. Readers--- help me figure out her pattern- 4 white legs and tummy, head is mostly white and white on top of her head.  Terri's white ram "Baah" has some modifiers and color hidden under his white, as I sure got some colorful lambs.

So my flock has grown--and I was going to keep it small. Both ewe lambs are gorgeous and have to stay, as do ewes Lily, Bella and Maybeline. And more Shetland ewes arrive in July...my barn runneth over!

Till later

Jerry

Rain!

Bleeding Heart
Rain!  We are getting much needed rain. The pasture, lawn and flowers are really growing.
We had rain all day yesterday and overnight. Spring is in full swing. Our growing area is a "4"
so I have to stay with traditional perennials and flowering bushes.  One year we had fabulous new
white rose trees. I removed the dying blooms and both bloomed all summer........but they did not survive the winter.  Flowers that grow wonderfully in Rochester...where we lived for awhile..do not survive here...so I do my best to have a variety of color given my perimeters.

Lily is still holding out.....soon she will be a full heat period after Bella. Next fall it will be nice to have breeding dates for the ewes.

The flock is on hay, grain and walks the pasture. One thing we noticed, they will go out and graze in the rain and at night. Our commercial flock would bed down for the night, and they seldom grazed in the rain.
Ah the strength of the Shetland

Till I have more news

Jerry

A New member of my flock

Introducing Einstein. I had made arrangements for a ram lamb, then this ram became available. I was impressed by his conformation. Einstein has a wide stance, strength, length and of good size.

Yes he is horned but his horns are well formed and away from his face. He is a bit shy but not wild. He is mild mannered, he is with the ewes with lambs -- I only have the 4 ewes- and he doesn't bother them. I watched him closely the week old twins come scurrying past and he just stands there. Color? My good friend Gail did further research,  Einsten is Light Grey Yuglet, born 4-07 a triplet,  bred by Bluff Country.   Handsome Einstein has the agouti gray and spots.......it will be a colorful lamb crop next year.

Lily still hasn't lambed but her udder is quite full.........the more affectionate she becomes the closer I watch her.......she shouldn't be too far behind Bella

Tulla's fleece has already started to turn color from the agouti gene. Her brown looks very dusty

and so early  She may end up with oatmeal colored fleece.

My barn yard as no shade other than in the barn, so I turned the flock out onto the pasture. I think the 5 acres will stay ahead of them. They are getting a bit of grain and their hay. The pasture offers shade and a chance to catch a breeze if they like.

Till later

Jerry

Just bits this week

My solid moorit ewe Lily's udder is even fuller and teats are full....yet no lambs. Four days ago, she became very affectionate and I thought OK  soon.....still waiting. I am hoping for at least one ewe lamb from her, so this fall Tulla will have a pen mate. If not I have to buy a 2nd ewe lamb so Tulla is not alone. They can spend the winter growing and not be bred until their second fall.


I love my Shetlands, so much so that any crossbreds I had have been sold. I will have a grade yet pure Shetland flock. Good friend Gail says she will have a nice selection of Shetland ram lambs.....as I am splitting the flock between Tundra and another ram.......so the whole flock is not all bred to the same ram.

Oh Tundra, he has coal black eye lids and nose, a creamy white fleece, his brown spots and the skin of his underbelly by his back legs is black.......so a modifier is at work?.......any opinions are welcome 


Yesterday I walked my pasture. Its green but needs to grow some more. I know we got 2 1/2 inches of rain, but we could use another couple of inches. We are on sandy soil, neighbors joke there is mo loam to it. The native grass and a bit of grain keep the ewes happy all summer. Yes I feed a bit of grain each day so they all come up for a good look over. Toward fall the hay feeding starts perhaps a bit soon, but I expect twins and ewes that have a bit of reserve on their backs to milk well.

I water my garden all summer so it stays green and blooming.  Last year we mowed lawn only four times. From mid July on the grass went dormant.......and we didn't mow again. And we keep it neat.....still just stayed short.


My chickens continue to lay extremely well.......8 hens and I am getting 6-8 eggs a day on very little bag feed. They love their morning cooked rice (at 20 # bag at $5 lasts 3 months) and table scraps.......in the afternoon they get a small soup can of scratch grain and layer pellets.....free range hens is the way to go.......I count my hens each day.....I hope and pray no predators come for a fresh meal.  My 3 month old Easter Eggers are large for their age, mostly dark red with lots of black, they get layer pellets, some chick feed, scratch grain and morning rice. They love the rice they all stand on their pen door waiting for me to give them the rice. I have to walk through the 3 month olds to get to my second brooder pen...I scoot the 3 months olds away from pen #2's door, so they get handled every day so they are pretty tame.

This morning Bella, Tundra and Tulla got released from the maternity pen to join the flock. They have bonded well and they can't spend their whole summer in a pen in the barn.  I noticed that Lily and Bella nosed each other and rubbed necks as to say hello (they recently came from Teri's  flock)
Next time hopefully new lamb pics
Till later


Jerry