Chores down at the barn. Lots of rain from Ian so everyone was hanging out in the barn with me. All the babies, hens, and some of the males are running free. My favorite time is when I can have the flock loose on the grass.
#chickens #flocks #farmlife #wyandottes #chickensofinstagram #backyardchickens #chooks #farm #chick #mypetchickens #homestead #barnchores #chores #rainyday #barnsweetbarn #barn
One of the moms I had hatch eggs for me. First time mom and she is doing great! I believe there are 9 chicks with her.
I gave them some grass to play with and good ol’ mom is telling them it’s treats not something that’s going to kill them. She is definitely going to be one of my go to moms for raising babies!
A time lapse of me cleaning out the boys pens! They are always very happy to have fresh bedding and watch me work.
You can see how I leave some of the doors open so the boys can perch and watch. I don’t do the bottom row because the free range boys will try to jump in the pen and beat up the residence!
There is always a ton of activity with me cleaning, socializing with them, birds running under foot, and every other living thing coming through to see what I’m up too.
It is a lot of work but I find it calming.
#timelapse #cleaningtimelapse #farmchores #farmchorestimelapse #farmlife #chickens #flocks #wyandottes #chickensofinstagram #backyardchickens #chooks #farm #chick #mypetchickens #petchickens #homestead #farmwork #dayinmylife #rooster #chores
Treat time for the boys! I love giving suet cakes to the birds because they love the fat and seeds. The fat gives them a nice sheen and doing it by hand gets them more friendly for people. You can see some of the boys are a bit shy because I was holding my phone in their faces LOL.
I like my birds to be tame and “bomb” proof. I don’t tip toe around them and try to be quiet. I use a hammer, vacuum, bang stuff around, use the tractor, and everything in between around them. Getting used to all these sounds helps them stay calm and not panic at every little thing. Some of these guys have never been to a show and doing all this training before hand makes a show seem like a piece of cake.
Another key thing I train for is not to fear hands and sudden movements. When I clean pens I don’t take the birds out. I am sweeping and cleaning while they are in the pen. This teaches them that hands bring good things like food, treats, and clean bedding. They know when their pens are being cleaned and get quite excited! Who doesn’t like having a personal maid clean up for you??
Getting ready for a show is so much more than just getting the bird pretty for a show! Training starts as soon as they hatch and working with them through their whole lives make happy, tame birds!
#chickens #flocks #farmlife #wyandottes #chickensofinstagram #backyardchickens #chooks #farm #chick #mypetchickens #petchickens #homestead #training #showtraining #exhibitionfowl #exhibitionpoultry #chickentraining
Mama with a bunch of babies! With how much has been on my plate I was able to rely on the girls to hatch some birds for me. She has partridge and silver penciled babies with her. She’s a first time mom but doing great! Once the babies are big enough I will see about integrating them into the main flock. Until then it will just be mom and babies.
One of my best partridge wyandotte cock birds. I would have put him in the show but his tail is pretty ratty. He’s got the type I have been trying to get for a long time in the males. It has been a hard up hill road. His color isn’t perfect but that’s what you get with patterned birds. I’ll take the type over the color any day. Maybe he will be in condition for a fall show so people can see him in person!
#chickens #flocks #farmlife #wyandottes #chickensofinstagram #backyardchickens #chooks #farm #chick #mypetchickens #petchickens #homestead #partridgewyandotte #partridge #patterned #exhibitionpoultry #exhibitionchickens #cock #rooster
Fox Sighting
Wanted to put the game camera out at our compost pile. I lost a hen due to the heat and decided to see who would take it!
Surprisingly there was a lot of activity in this area in 24 hours. Besides the fox there was a wood chuck, turkey vulture, crows, the guineas, and the roaming chickens a LOT. FB only lets me upload one video clip at a time so I will try to upload the others at some point. It was cool to see the flurry of activity. I set it up again to see what other visitors I can see!
A quick walk around the barn. Finally got my other new coop! Very happy having quality pens for the birds. Still adding the auto watering system and labels to the new pen.
Was talking to my husband when I saw something moving. Why you do this to me ladies. Thankfully we didn’t drive away with her in the back!
Went down to the barn to just do a “quick check” which turned into cleaning two stalls in my PJs! I swear I do 90% of my barn chores in PJs. The ladies were happy and constantly underfoot making sure I was doing everything to their liking. Another cold day but not as bad as it has been. Spring can come now!
Snowy, cold day on the farm today. I stayed inside most of the day along with the birds! The bantam cockerel near the end is freaking out over the snow 😂. I’m with you buddy. I’m as upset as you are!
#farmlife #adayonthefarm #snowyfarm #farmchores #chickens #backyardchickens #angrychickens #wyandottes
Was cleaning almost all the pens at the barn and with the snow everyone is inside! It’s always a big event when it’s cleaning time. All the birds are excited for fresh bedding, treats, and one on one time. I leave most of the pens open while cleaning so they can perch on the sides and watch me. Most of them stay in their pens but some prefer to jump out to clean up any spilled food or just to kick shavings around. Barely managed chaos around here!
When ever people ask me how I get my birds so tame I say, “Kind words and gentle hands make trusting well mannered birds”.
Some more vinyls I’m working on. See something you like? Shoot me a message and I can put an order together for you! I can also do customized work if you don’t see something you like.
You can check out my shop with all the designs I currently have available.
Etsy.com/shop/wojteckiwyandottes
Some of the gals getting some tomatoes from the garden. They are all in a massive molt so I’m making sure to give them a little extra love and treats to help grow their feathers. They are enjoying being away from all the males!
Some of this years babies running around with a bunch more in the barn. At that “hurry up and wait” point where they need to mature more before culling down. Oh well at least I can let them roam.
