My son and the goats

I just found these two photos... and it made me smile, so I decided to share!
Here is a photo of my son and our first two goats, at least 7 to 8 years ago: (Grant and Jelly and Jam)The goats had dog packs, and he had planned on taking them for an 'explore', with snacks and other things a boy thinks is necessary for an expedition. The goats were 'supposed' to carry the supplies, but they refused to move until all the extra weight was removed from the packs! Grant and I ended up packing everything back to the house!
Here is a photo of my son and our goats, taken just a few days ago... that is Jelly on the right. She is older, but still the same stubborn goat!
Hard to believe Grant is 18 now!

Blue Andalusian -- 7/09

(Chicken posts will be sorted by breed name and date in the subject.)

I ordered Blue Andalusian chicks, so that we might compare them to my 'handed-down' greys in an attempt to identify the original breed my mother and grandmother may have had.
Here are photos of the Blue Andalusian chicks at 7 weeks of age:

In the photo below, the splashed chicks are Blue Andalusian:

Notes: These are the smartest chicks! They are very very similar to my 'handed-down' greys in that they are always aware of what is going on and are not easily spooked. They never have to be watched and helped back into the coop at night. They are a little too couragous and brave to be entirely safe!!! They are very fast growing.
Postive rating so far!!!!

Austra White as chicks -- 7/09

I am going to post PAST photos of the Austra Whites:
Here are the 1st shipment at approx. 5 weeks of age:
Note that the pullet (left of the waterer) is already showing the black legs and the cockerel (on the right) has yellow legs. The chicks arrived as two-day old chicks and both sexes seemed to have yellow legs while that young. There is also black on the beak and comb areas.

Here are the 2nd shipment at approx. 2 1/2 weeks of age:
(I think they were about 1 1/2 weeks old when I received them.) At this age, they acted similar to the earlier shipment, and did have less black 'speckling'.

A pullet from the 2nd shipment at 7 weeks of age in the back:
Note the absence of black on the legs or head, or in the feathers. Five or six of the pullets have a very few black feathers.

Austra White -- 7/09

(Chicken posts are sorted by breed name and date in subject.)

I have spent the past 20 years with a 'closed flock' (not adding any new blood or new breeds) trying to regain the desired traits of what my mother had in the 60's. She began with Austra White chickens at that time, and combined with the greys from my grandmother, these were the chickens I inherited 25 years ago. In the years since, my sisterinlaw and I have been selecting and culling with the hope that maybe we would regain/retain flocks with some of the good traits of the Austra White breed/hybrid.

Overall, we each had a flock of chickens we were extremely pleased with... the hens layed very well, they set, and they were good mothers. They were hardy in our winters, and foraged well. We felt they were lighter in frame than they should be, and needed a little meat on their body. Other than that one trait, we were happy.

But they were not the Austra White my mother remembered!

But we thought they were no longer available as chicks.

WE FOUND THEM this spring!!!

I ordered two shipments of chicks. The first arrived the first of April and have exceeded all expectations!!! The young chickens show all the proper signs of health and breed traits: the pullets have some black feathers and have black legs, while the cockerels are all white with yellow legs. The second shipment are not so true to the breed/cross specifications in appearance: the pullets do not have many or any black feathers and have yellow legs.

Mom remembers that in the years after she first purchased her Austra White chicks, the resulting chickens from sucessive matings also lost the black feathers and black leg.

SO, we have to do some research into this 'breed' to see if/how soon offspring will revert to a parent... **We have lots of questions about this situation, as I will explain in a later post.**

Here is a photo of the Austra White chickens (from the first shipment) at approx. 14 weeks of age:

Here is a photo of an Austra White pullet from the first shipment:

NOTES: The chickens from the first shipment are great!!! The pullets are very smart, active, yet gentle and aware.. not easily spooked. They are growing very fast and while not a heavy weight, are very nicely 'rounded'! The only fault I have so far is that the cockerels are very active sexually. They began mounting the hens at an early age, and 'attacked' my mature hens at about 8 weeks of age. At that time, they weren't even of a size to physically mate, and were about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of my older hens. They do not seem to fight with each other or my older 'boss' rooster.

Postive rating so far!!!!

Brown Leghorn -- 7/09

(Chicken posts are sorted by breed name and date in subject.)

I purchsed 5 single comb Brown Leghorn pullets.
Here are the Brown Leghorn pullets at 7 weeks:

NOTES: I have not noticed any particular trait, good or bad. These chicks are active, smart and compare with the Blue Andalusian of the same age.

My plan for these pullets is a cross with my 'handed-down' greys. I have a wonderful hen, 6 to 8 years old, who is still laying on a regular basis, and has been a very dedicated mother in recent years. In every way, she was/is the perfect hen! She is getting old now, but the photo below shows she is 'carrying her age' well! I am not exactly sure of this hen's 'genetics'... but I think she is a Leghorn/my grey cross, so I will be putting these Brown Leghorn pullets with one of my grey roosters next spring.

Neutral rating so far!!!

'My Greys' -- 7/09

(Chicken posts are sorted by breed name and date in the subject.)

In the photo of the Black Australorp chicks, in the July post of the Black Australorp, were also two of 'my greys'... my 'handed-down' greys from my mom and grandmother. These two chicks hatched apprx. 5 days later than the Black Australorp chicks from the hatchery.

Here are the oldest 'handed-down' greys at 11 weeks:

My Grey pullet:

My Grey cockerel (oldest):

a different photo of the same cockerel:

NOTES: As in years' past... these 'handed-down' greys are very gentle, very clean, get along well with others, and seem to be growing at an even pace. They did not get quite as heavy as the Black Australop pullets of similar age.

These will be an ongoing comparison with the other breeds for the next six months to see how soon they begin laying, how they lay during the winter, etc.
Positive rating so far!!!