The clip you showed about the one in your arms going limp like she’s dead, if that’s the example of her doing that, it’s normal. She’s low in the pecking order and she’s submitting for breeding. While you’re holding her I can see her wings are pulled up like she’s shrugging her shoulders. This is breeding posture. They squat down and shrug their wings up like that, and then a dominant hen will mount her and establish her dominance or a rooster will mount her and breed her. Sometimes they can go very rigid like they’re frozen like that for a few seconds / a minute. Just depends on how timid she is. Those are also the ones most prone to running from you. Watch them during feeding time. They’re usually pecking around the outside of where you have the feed scattered. Or if they’re free foraging you may observe her on the outside of the flock (the most dangerous place to be for a prey animal). These are all signs she’s low in the pecking order and her tendency to run from you is just how she has to survive. Her sisters will chase her off constantly if she comes for prime pecking areas that is designated for higher pecking order hens. Even worse, if she happens to find a good spot to forage on the outside perimeter, the dominant hens will run over to claim it. So she has to be quick to eat whatever she can get. All of this contributes to her tendency to run from anything approaching her… including you. It’s not really a breed thing, it’s a chicken pecking order thing. She’s probably your lowest in the ranking. Watch her for injury and illness closely. Their living conditions are always harsher than your higher pecking order hens and it has nothing to do with you neglecting or failing to care for them. Their nutrition levels will be lower, they’ll weigh less, they’ll have injuries from pecking if they’re penned up and can’t get away from dominant hens easily. I don’t use pens for a few reasons, this is one of them. My low pecking order girls are free to forage and give plenty of space to the dominant girls and the rooster. But my situation is different… I have 50 acres. And out of that they honestly only forage about 2-3 acres. There’s risks, but I manage those risks already for other farming activities. Hawks aren’t a problem because I have black chickens mixed into my flock. If you aren’t aware, hawks hate crows and can’t tell the difference between a black sex link hen and a crow from the sky. So while my neighbor is losing a dozen chickens a week to hawks, I haven’t lost a single one… ever… it’s not folklore, it works, and it’s a simple solution. Key point is, if there’s aggressive pecking order issues resulting in injury, space is almost always the solution. I say almost because sometimes you just get a real vicious hen or rooster. Especially if you haven’t gotten any external hens or a rooster from someone else’s flock and your flock is all inter-bread. They’ll start going weird and crazy. You need to bring outside genes and get that hybrid vigor. As for the 9 month stretch without laying. I have a buff that likes to disappear for 2-3 days. She’s also low in the pecking order but she’s VERY broody, common for Buff Orpingtons, but she’s great for sitting if you’re interested in that. She’ll adopt chicks easily, sit on anyone’s eggs, you name it. She even adopted the young rooster we integrated into the flock while he was getting picked on initially. Some people don’t like this trait because when they go broody it can be hard on them if they’re not hatching. It’s not a problem for me and it’s natural, which I encourage letting them go through it, especially if you have a rooster. More than likely, she’s stockpiled some eggs somewhere and you haven’t found them. Or anything relatively egg shaped. Ping pong balls, golf balls. Whatever she can sit on. And she’s probably going into that broody trance. You can determine this by checking for missing feathers and reduced weight. She won’t be eating during that time and she’ll pull her own feathers out to nest. Not to be confused with when they’re getting insufficient calcium… they’ll eat their own feathers if their calcium is too low also. But she wouldn’t be disappearing for days at a time in that case. But it would result in reduced egg laying, or soft eggs. I also had another buff just take super long to be an egg layer. No reason at all. Diet was healthy, no signs of disease, illness or injury. But for whatever reason her comb didn’t develop until 7 months and she laid her first egg shortly after that. The other buffs came from the same hatch and they all matured and produced at normal time. For whatever reason she was just different. But she’s currently healthy and seems happy despite taking her sweet time. She was about to become a meat bird… eating feed and producing nothing but poop… Sorry for the novel. Just sharing experiences. There’s a lot more but I wrote too much and likely no one wants to read it😂
No worries on the novel. We like hearing about other people's experiences. It has helped us to better understand the different behaviors and traits of the breeds we keep. Thank you for sharing.
My friend is just getting chickens for the first time. This info is going to be so helpful. Especially the black chicken and crow thing. WOW. Thanks for taking the time time.
Sorry, but I was cackling as soon as you mentioned the Isbars not laying. I was like -- Oh, they're DEFINITELY laying, they just aren't laying in the nestboxes. And the next thing you said was that they wander off. XD Yep. Case closed. LOL!
I no longer have chickens but over the years i tried so many different breeds. My all time favorite of all the breeds were the Black Australorps , by far they laid more eggs than any breed i had . They are so calm and docile plus beautiful to look at.
Black Australorps are great to have in the flock to keep Hawks at bay, as well. It’s said that Hawks hate Crows and other black birds and will avoid them.
Interesting. I had not heard that about hawks but it makes sense. We see crows and ravens both chasing hawks off pretty regularly. Glad we have a bunch of those Jerseys around. Maybe we will add a few of the Australorps down the road as well.
@elenadavila5636 Raccoons are smarter than most predators when it comes to finding a way into a chicken coop. They will keep coming back to get more until they get them all unless you stop them completely. I had to resort to using live traps to catch them. If you decide to relocate the varmints it will need to be a very long way from your place. A few miles won't work because they will come back. I'm sure you know the other alternative.
I regret my brief foray into chickens. I have been keeping Runner Ducks for 18 years. Got a bug up my buns apparently and got some chickens too. They pick on each other, the rooster attacked me, and because they can fly and jump, they poop everywhere. Don’t lay nearly as many eggs as the ducks and to be, didn’t taste as good. Got rid of them. My ducks love each other, never fight, have perfect “non hot” manure, eat less, and lay eggs thru the winter. Totally low maintenance.
I have Buff Orpingtons....we love THEM! They are laid back....friendly....don't mind being handled or just picked up and held. They are duel purpose....great layers and great meat birds.
I have 5 little 10 week old buff Orpingtons and oh my gosh!!! Such lovely personalities!! So cuddly and loving!! I know they aren’t laying yet (of course) but they are the sweetest birds ever ❤️💕🙏🏼
I’m very satisfied with my current mix: Welsummer rooster & hens, French Marans hen, Easter Egger hens. The Maran hen and one of the Easter Eggers very willingly sit any eggs and mother the resultant chicks as a tag team. It makes replenishing so much easier than having to break out the incubator. 👍
That's so cool @rrbb36! We tried to let one of our hens raise some chicks a few years back but did not get a good result. We are hoping our Jersey hens will be more willing to accept the role. Thank you for sharing.
My favorite chickens are the bantam hen and rooster. We had these two while we had other egg laying chickens and a big rooster. The Bantam mother was a darling girl and she actually sat on her teeny tiny eggs and hatched teeny tiny chicks that were to die for cute. I've never seen anything as beautiful. Those tiny chicks following their mother and pecking and scratching as she did. The bantam rooster was so beautifully colored he was iridescent. His cock-a-doodle-doo's were adorable and he was a very charming fellow. They made the cutest couple and of course their teeny tiny chicks were visited by everybody in the neighborhood who had never seen such a thing. They were so loving, beautiful and charming it's some thing I will never forget. The big rooster we had for the regular hens was also my baby And I would be able to pick him up and stroke his neck while he closed his eyes And leaned his head on my shoulder. Chickens are great pets. I trained my rooster and he would do all sorts of things, Like he would Walk into the kitchen and look around and visit with us. Sometimes I would give him special food while he was in there. He always got a lot of love and a lot of pets which he enjoyed.
Bantams are the best for raising more chicks. I love because they are broody and I keep them separate from my big chickens. I can give my broody bantams the eggs from my large chickens and they hatch them for me. They even hatched some duck eggs for me!
Pretty sure they are laying them in some place. Since they have Leghorn ancestry, they are very consistent egg layers. You should coop the Isbars in a coop. The flighty nature also comes from the Leghorn. You can also feel the vent area for the egg early in the morning.
I don’t know much about these birds, but two weeks ago a friend of mine gave us 4 white Leghorns and let me tell you those four hens are laying as much as my flock of a dozen. Highlanders and Highlanders are extremely good Laying birds as well. It kind of blew my mind, and yes they are flighty little tirds lol
Bantams are on the endangered list so it's a good breed to have. I breed them and have great success with them. I also have large breeds and Jersey Giants as well. I guess with raising chickens it all comes down to how much effort and energy do you want to put into it. 😊❤
Had the same problem having small Bantam with big breeds. You are totally right, that was not a good idea. Thank you for your videos. Keep them coming!
I should add also that regret isnt the right word for me. They are all excellent egg layers which was their purpose too begin with, so no regrets really. I have come to love all my birds and dont actually regret any of them even if they are more of a diva or drama queen then the others. But knowing what I know now, I will do things differently in the future
Cayenne pepper in their food daily guarantees they lay daily, regardless of breed. Any hot pepper will do and I've even used crab boil and creole seasoning when i didn't have hot peppers. Knowledge my grandfather taught me after having chickens his entire life and I've used it for 30 years and it's never failed. I mix it in with their fresh foods i give them daily. I also mix in oregano and thyme for their health and add some of those herbs to their water along with a tad bit of apple cider vinegar with the mother. Pumpkins keep them worm free. None of my animals have ever been sick and they're certainly not vaccinated.
Thank you. We do almost all of that but have not heard of the cayenne pepper trick. We will have to give that a try. Not sure if it was the new environment but the parasites were bad for us this year. We use all the same treatments you suggested and they have worked well for years now but sometime a bit over a year ago they got exposed to something that the cider and other natural treatments wasn't working to treat. All the girls are good now and hoping we don't need to medicate ever again.
Omg you just made my day. I have been in Mexico for a month and am getting to know my flock. They dont want to use my nesting boxes . And I am concerned about their health because of how few eggs I have been getting. Now that I am here, they are getting fresh food and water daily so i am seeing improvement. This is all new to me. I have little knowledge and NO experience. But I have lots of herbs and they are going in thw feed and water tomorrow. Woohoo! Thank you.
You should keep the Swedish chickens separate from other breeds as they get easily stressed and also, you should keep them fenced in as they like to hide their eggs!! So, separate them from all other chickens and make them a fenced in coop with a good sized run. Also, make sure you give them lots of soft hay (not straw) in a laying box on the floor!! Make sure the laying box acts more like a hide (as in not open to everything). The Swedish breeds are much older breed than the other you have. So, they will act more like wild chickens.
I have a little bantam in my flock just like yours and she gets picked on all the time. So I would agree about not mixing these type of chickens with larger breeds however, she’s so sweet and I love her to death.
@gilleygurl, I have two bantams and two Orpingtons. The size difference is crazy, so I kept the little bantams in their coop for ages. I had the Orpingtons first, so I was afraid they would peck the bantams. After several days of spending time with them in the run, supervising, I now let them roam together. I do see the occasional peck when they are eating. I agree with you that bantams are so sweet and lovable! I got my two by accident, someone was giving them away and I didn't bother to ask what breed they were. When I saw them the first time, I thought they were pullets. I took them home and have been so happy with them. I think I will always have some bantams going forward. Cheers.
I have a solid white silky showgirl that is a bantam breed and she is the sweetest little big fur ball lol. She is so cute. When I go out to feed them I have her separated in her own little pen and she jumps up and down like she is so happy to see me. I love it.
I have a Swedish, Flower, Word for Word, does exactly what you said! She’s my only blue egg layer she laid for four months and then in the last year has not late a single egg and she’s only two years old. She also sits in the nesting boxes every day, but never produces an egg . I’ve reached out on chicken pages, and nobody could explain why. Maybe it’s the Swedish breed either way I’m glad you shared so now I know this is happening to someone else and I’m not crazy
Ours did this last summer and the laid all winter. Not sure but we suspect during warmer months when they can free range they are finding spots out in the woods to lay. Then the eggs are taken by other animals before we can find them. Caught a Stoat trying to steal eggs from the coop yesterday. Between them, the squirrels and the Magpies, unattended eggs don't last long round here. Try looking around the yard if you let them range. You may find their hiding spot😊
@baddogcustoms7496 we've caught them in the coop and barn but pretty sure they are just going for grain. The stoat and magpie have been seen with eggs though.
They might be egg eaters. My Cornish hens were BAD! Ate ALL their eggs, I saw it myself, several times. It only takes one bad chick n to spoil an entire flock. I've learned that the hard way. We emotionally... forget chickens are meant for food. When there is consistently NO eggs..then it's time to consider meat processing..plain & simple.
I have Swedish Isbars. Love them for many reasons, one reason I do not though is they love to escape to find food if their food gets low in the coop. However, they are excellent with being aware of predators as you mentioned. I haven’t experienced them not laying or going limp when held. They are usually the ones that are my most consistent layers of all my breeds. After molting they are the first to start laying again and same in winter. I will say I’m in a warmer climate than you though. They are fun, but can be characters. My biggest complaint is them escaping the run, they REALLY love to free range. One of our hens was named Adventure Chicken by my kids. 😂 I will say that I really love the Isbar roosters. I had one that was so gentle with groups of children. Never one bit of aggression and was gentle with the hens. He was such a gentleman and protector. A dog got him unfortunately when he was protecting the flock. But the Isbar roosters in my experience are good protection, the hens also seemed to stay closer to the coop when he was around. I wonder if you are right that they are laying out of the coop? Or eating their eggs? I’m thinking they are laying out of the coop though, if they are wandering more than the other breeds you have. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Thank you for sharing @britt518. It seems as though there may be some breed characteristics happening. Ours are constantly trying to escape the outdoor run and are happiest when rooting through the woods on the perimeter of the property. We hadn't considered the fact they could be eating their own eggs. Going to keep a closer eye on that. They are definitely little characters for sure. Sorry to hear about your rooster. We lost a couple the same way. Unfortunately some dogs just cannot be trained to not go after birds. Even our livestock guardian who is generally great around chickens is tempted to take chase after a running bird.
My Silverudds Blue (the more common name of the Swedish Isbar) has been my most prolofic and reliable layer since she started seven months ago. She's always put her eggs in the nest, though some days she tends to sit in there a bit longer (then again, my old Australorps likes to sit in the nest every day for an hour even though she only lays one or two eggs per week). She is a bit more independent, but easy to catch as she's the tamest. My new SB has only started laying three days ago, so I can't say much about her laying behaviour (we're at three eggs in three days, all laying around in plain sight next to the feeder or in the middle of the coop as if she accidentially lost them), though she's rather independent but also very tame and can be caught easily. So I'd always go for SB again, they're great!
It seems possible we have a couple of odd Isbars. Everyone else seems to be having great success with theirs. Maybe it was the big move that stressed them out or something. The one Isbar started laying again. Hopefully that keeps happening and the other follows her lead. Thank you for sharing.
The Isbars sound like a hoot! I’ll look in to those. I have four Australorpes and I love them. And I love the eggs, but I give the vast majority away. I didn’t realize when I got the chickens that I’d end up loving them/their personalities more than their eggs. One of them, Wednesday, is very much like Wednesday from the tv show. Especially like her in the “Wednesday dance.” I loved your video!
Oh they're a hoot alright, long as you like a little crazy in the coop 😆. It is cool that they all have little personalities and attitudes. I must admit, at first I had alot of misconceptions about chickens when we started out. Had no idea they could have such individual traits or be cuddly. Now that we have kept them this long and spent so much time with them you really get see that each one, although similar in appearance are very different.
If I want my chickens to come to me or move them to another area, I use black soldier fly larve. It comes in a red bag and one time one of my hens jumped up an put a hole in the bag. All I do is walk up to where I want them and throw them some food. No more chasing them to try to catch them.
Treat training works every time. We have a couple that also like to jump up and grab food from our hands. It's cute till one of the larger hens catch one of your fingers instead of the treat bucket 😁
When I was a kid everybody had chickens. To catch the ones that would run from you we would make a leg hook out of a piece of stiff wire. Take about a 4ft. Long piece of wire , make a ring on one end to hold onto and to hang on the wall . Bend a V shaped hook on the other end . Make the bottom of the V small enough their foot won’t go through. When you get close just reach down and hook his leg. With a little practice you can grab them on the first try.
Thank you so much for the support @MickyBellRoberts. That's a good number of birds to have. We started off with about that many but the science of chicken math is real and we now have 3x that amount. Times were easier when it was just a few. 😊 Best of luck with your flock.
I had one black isbar. She was a fantastic layer and seemed to actually be the chillest of my other breeds. 😂 I think it's just personality. Yours also seem to be high on the pecking order, while mine was low. I was so sad to not get a daughter from her before a raccoon attack.
I raised two cochin bantams with two regular size red stars. They have always gotten along great. There doesn't seem to be a strong pecking order either. After a year and a half, I added an easter egger and an astralorp. The flock was not open to accepting them and picked on them endlessly at first. They get along well enough now, but the newbies are at the bottom of the pecking order, and they are chased and pecked if they violate it, even though the astralorp is so much bigger than all of them. The interesting thing I've noticed recently is that one of the bantams has been hanging out with the two new big ones. She seems to defend them, but also bosses them around, and they submit to her! I wonder if she decided to start her own flock where she is the boss.
we has a few americanas and we xed them with barr rocks 1 green egg every day and the original americana goes broody often and we use her for hatching and a awsome mother . made for a good variaty some pure barr rocks but no complaints on the mix . funny when the barr rock chicks are the same size of mom and wanting to be under her. i love how chickens get thier own personalities we have one who wants carried out morning and back in evening .runs up stands between our feet . we sit outside and have tea in the afternoons the chickens come and sit on our laps .took a few bowls of rice to get that started ,haha i agrea with docfrank you probably have a spot loaded with old eggs .
I have Barred Rocks- they lay almost all year! I had a Lemon Cuckoo Neiderheiner Rooster, but I live in Oregon and last years heat killed him! I grew up with Rhode Island Reds, so I wanted a change. The Barred Rocks are very friendly- they DO have a pecking order! LOL Good layers and we feed seeds and grains and lots of house scraps! Great video!! 😂
We loved the first rock we had. She was so sweet and great leade but a couple of the ones we got after her turned out really mean. It's a roll of the dice I suppose.
I’m in eastern NC and summers are miserably hot. But the Australorps (Australian Buff Orpingtons) do well in the heat. That said, I use a tractor coop - the Omlet Eglu cube - and rotate them a couple times a week on grass in the shade. And each day, I spray the grass with the garden hose as well as their legs to help keep them cool. I never see them panting from the heat.
We cannot wait to get our tractor going next season. Chickens are such excellent little lawn mowers and while they are keeping the bugs and grass down they fertilize. Such a great system.
They are laying somewhere else. We had a small hen that was hiding under our house. There were like 20 eggs under there... I'm sure you just need to get a camera and watch where they go, or lock them in for a few days to get eggs again.
Hello from South Carolina! That is so strange about your Isbars. I had a flock of 8 that were very good layers up until about 3 years old. They do like to forage but I also found them to be very friendly. And they never did the limp thing on me. Unfortunately, where I used to live the coop was not as predator proof as I thought... My new place is built like Fort Knox! Agree with you about the bantams. Have to keep my quad separate from my Bielefelder Roosters which are huge - about as big as your Brahmas. Love my Bielefelders, they (Hens and Roosters) are so gentle and the girls are good layers. Have Welsumer and Cream Legbar pullets in separate coop/pen, both at POL. The Legbars are super calm, really surprised me since they have Leghorn in them. Anxiously waiting for my blue eggs! And for the Welsumer terra cotta colored eggs. Hope you find some breeds you love.
Well thank you so much for sharing. We have definitely started to find breeds we like and are always looking to introduce new ones. Enjoy those blue eggs.😊
My favorite chickens that I have are my Australorps and Australorp crosses. They are just so friendly and dual purpose, great for egg laying and all the extra roosters go to the freezer.
Is it possible that Australorp is another name for the Jersey Giant breed? They are just way too similar. We are learning that depending on what part of the world your in certain chicken breeds may have different names in other regions.
The only chicken breed I ever regretted getting was Wyandottes. I know how to raise baby animals nicely, all my hens were hand-tame from infancy, except those two. Not friendly, scared of everything, mean nasty tempers always attacking the other hens, terrible layers. When they vanished, I didn't waste energy missing them.
thats so odd. i love my wyandottes. they dont bully and i will agree theyre a bit flighty but they grew out of that as they got older. and enjoy the presence of us and other breeds we own. possibly genetics?
We had two Wyandottes they were Cockerals so about 4 months old, they started attacking hens trying to breed and the one they killed a Barred Rock hen. needless to day those two are now in our Freezer.
Got 2 golden laced Wyandotte hens. They are the queens! Have never laid well. And lord over the food. Semi friendly but not overly so. Chase my cat even.
😂i have one that pretends to sleep when you pick her up- so you will hold her longer. She loves to snuggle! Molly is a buff laced polish. Its the funniest thing!
the only breed i regret getting were rhode island reds. they bullied the other hens, were rowdy, and when i started stepping inbetween them and whoever they were attacking they bit me. that same day i got rid of them. they ate way more and didnt produce as many eggs either they were terrible
I had 4 Ancona's and found them to be flighty and quick. They carry on like ducks but are not people friendly. On the positive side they are beautiful black/iridescent with white splashes and have large combs so they are heat tolerant!
We are loving the coloration on our Jerseys. They seem very similar to the Anconas and the Australorp. The iridescent colors in different lighting is so cool. Hopefully the larger combs on the roos doesn't become an issue over winter but so far they seem like a really quite and gentle breed. I'm sure when they were bring back the Jersey breed they must have been crossing them in with either Anconas or Australorps. Too many similarities.
Had to google that breed. They are a unique coloring. I haven't seen any around our area for sale, but we will keep an eye out. We don't have any issues with extreme heat where we are so they may be a good fit. Thanks for showing us a new breed!
Agreed with the bantams I do regret getting them because I have had to make a separate space for them because they are just so much smaller than all the other breeds and I don't want them to get hurt.
I did in past have few Swedish isobars as wel.Hens weren’t skittish ,they were always with flock and have laid beautiful eggs every day for year and then they stopped and never laid again 😞 Not cold hardy at all. We will not be getting them again
A guy that came to work on our deck told me someone told him to feed their chickens mackerel. I had added 5 new hens to my flock, and 2 of the 5 were not laying at all after almost 3 weeks. Two were laying every day, one every other day. I incorporated canned mackerel into their diet every day, and after 3 days, 2 of the 3 started laying every day. The little cinnamon queen hasn't started laying yet. It's been awfully hot here and maybe that, plus the move and transition, may have something to do with it. I hope she'll start laying soon. But they love the mackerel, and it seems to be working.
Thank you @cjasper8916 ! We fed some pike to the girls a couple days back and finally after almost 9 months one of the Isbars laid an egg in the coop! She did attempt to escape into the woods prior but I was able to catch her and get her in the nesting boxes. Thanks for the suggestion. We will be adding fresh fish to their diets more often. Cheers!
I got 4 different birds last year and the Brahma laid a few eggs and then went broody for the rest of the year, while the other 3 laid the appropriate number of eggs for their breed. This year, the Brahma and the others are all laying properly, so your Isbars may lay better next year. I'm not familiar with Isbar chickens, but they sound closer to wild chickens than the others, which can be a good trait, similar to Icelandic chickens. Try searching a chicken forum. A good UA-cam channel I watch is "Welcome To Chickenlandia". Also, some of the chick suppliers, like Meyer Hatchery, have good info on breeds and may answer your questions. Good luck!
I have crested cream legbar roosters because most of my chickens are smaller breeds (leghorns and dominiques) My roosters pass the blue egg gene down to 100% of their chicks which makes their offspring easter eggers and olive eggers
I have Lohmann Browns. Amazing hens, and mine have been laying all year round. They are extremely friendly, calm, docile and love humans a little too much!
My Olive egger roams out of my yard to lay eggs. She is the only one that does. She jumps over the fence. My Bresse usually lays in her box, but I've found a few eggs hidden in the yard.
I prefer a good all-purpose bird. We have a range of breeds and live in Iowa. So we get some pretty cold weather. Last winter we even had a storm with windchill down to almost -50° and winds of 60mph. We didn't lose a single bird. We keep Black Jersey Giants, Delawares, Silver Laced Wyandottes, Ameraucanas, and a bunch of Rhode Island x Old English Game Bird crosses from our original flock that came with the house. Overall, I've been the most surprised with the Delawares! They generally have good temperaments, are reliable layers of up to JUMBO size eggs, good watch dogs, roos are protective of the hens but friendly with family, the dog, and the barn kitties, winter hardy (the roosters' combs are a little large and can frostbite a little in extreme weather), very alert, forage well (they prefer it), and not very heavy feeders when on chicken feed. They put on good meat development and are generally process ready at 4 months. They are one of the staple birds for a breed I'm developing. I have noticed that about one in 5 roosters will be nasty. So far all hens have been nice, but there's always that ONE in 5 roosters that is just satan incarnate. I had to put one in a cage until processing age because he was so mean. Lol. I have a toddler and that bird drew blood on me like 5 times with his beak. But overall, they're good birds.
We added Jerseys to our flock this year. So far we are loving them. Hopefully at least one of the roos works out so we can breed some more. We had to get rid of our Americana roo this year. He was the sweetest thing for a long time then went full crazy. Attacking everything in his path. Sounds like you have quite a mix. Can't wait to see the breed your working on
@@northern.lights.homestead I LOVE my Jerseys. They are also part of the breeding program. I was expecting to like them because of my research, but the Delawares are the ones who really *surprised* me. I got them to fill a chick order and intended to butcher them all. We had 4 roosters and 1 hen. We knew we wanted to keep the hen for a layer, but the roosters (except one) were so good at their job (watchdog, protection, and growing meaty) that I ended up keeping 2 for a breeding program. The third was actually sold to a family with small children because he was extremely docile. I was very sad to let him go, but he was much smaller than the other roos and as such didn't fill my requirements for the breed. The Jerseys also get frostbite on their large combs, unfortunately. But I've liked them far more for temperament, foraging ability, and protection than the Brahma. My sister had them and they were a bit hit-and-miss. Brahma really seemed to struggle in heat waves, whereas the Jersey does fine. She also had a few issues with bumblefoot because of the feathery feet, but I imagine that it would be better for free range birds (mine are). Plus you have the added benefit that Jerseys are actually bigger bodied. Even though the Brahma LOOKS bigger and can be taller, the average hanging Jersey can weigh a full pound more. Plus, the black Jerseys are more likely to get the jump on a predator or not be a target themselves as aerial predators tend to think black birds are just shadows. Anyways, i can talk about chickens all day. Hahaha. 😅
@BaughbeSauce we sure hope our Jersey Roos grow up to be that docile. That's why we got them so we could breed our own but we have not had great success with roosters past and definitely don't want to pass down aggressive behavior. Thank you so much for all the information.
@@northern.lights.homestead Mine are great, but my head rooster (Onyx) doesn't like it when people RUN in the pasture. HE WILL chase you and flap you. He hasn't tried to use spurs, just flaps like "stop that!" My toddler is terrified of him, but he honestly could walk up to him or any chicken and he'd be totally cool with it. Just no running. Lol.
Why do people try to catch chickens during the day? Wait until they roost and simply lift them off the roost. Flashlights don't seem to rouse them like turning on a light.
I have 2 breeds I'll never get again. Cinnamon Queens who are a good bit Rhode Island Reds. Great layers, but they're pretty aggressive. The other is Brown Leghorn. You just can't keep them in a fence. Unless they are in a totally enclosed space, they will actually climb the fence to get out. And then get killed. Which breaks my heart.
My most regretted chicken breed I've had would probably be the Buff Minorca. Most neurotic, dramatic, crazy hens I've ever had. They were always instigating trouble and were super flighty and nervous. Right now I have Silver Deathlayers and Black Copper Marrans. The Deathlayers are pretty good though I find their roosters can be overly aggressive. Absolutely LOVE the Marrans. I have 4 Marran roosters and they're gorgeous and very sweet and will even chase off the Deathlayer roosters when they attack me. The hens are pretty calm and lay some of the most beautiful eggs I've ever seen. Their only flaw in my opinion is their feathered legs. In my experience feather legged chickens are more likely to get bumblefoot.
I've never heard of those deathlayers before. Had to look them up. Very beautiful bird. I may just have to get some for their name alone 😀 thank you for sharing
You can get Marans with out leg feathers. I think some call them English Marans maybe, then of course feathered ones French. We had a mix of them but now all we have have the leg feathers, but they are soo cool looking. and those eggs!
I'd say it is a probability, actually. I'd bet $50 they are laying, you just aren't finding them. :) Keep them in the coop or a caged area a few days to get some eggs, maybe they will stop wandering once you do that.
I have bantams, as well as large breeds, but I keep the bantams penned separately. It takes time to feed the separated breeds, but it's worthwhile to me personally. I guess I am a "purist" for having separate quarters. ha
I totally agree about the Bantams... we had one who was a rescue hen and she was super friendly and we treated her more like our pet. Unfortunately the other hens hated her and she was too small to defend herself very well. We had to keep her separate except when we had chicks or pullets to pair with her.
I am in North ga. We have Rhode Island blue and americana hens. No rooster. We raised them as baby chicks since April. No eggs yet, but the Rhode Island Blue has a big red cone. I have ordered a protein crumble for laying hens. Still no eggs yet, may soon be eating dumplings.
If you are wanting good layers of blue and green eggs, I would suggest Cackles Easter Eggers. They are production layers unlike some other hatcheries. You can see their chickens by clicking the video option left of their description the videos show chicks and a couple of their breeding stock pens. I really like that option. Most hatcheries just show a pic. That doesn't show what the line really looks like. They also show a rack of eggs in their incubator. I like transparency if I'm going to buy something. Thanks for the great video.🐓🐔🐣
I have a question about those Easter eggers. It sounds like a stupid question, but I want clarity. I know they can lay blue, green, and a pinkish color. But my question is can the same chicken lay different colors each time, or is it like this one bird lays all blue, while this one bird lays all green?
@daylight9114 Generally each breed egg color is consistent. In this case all Isbars should lay soft green eggs all the time. That being said if any cross breeding has occurred unbeknownst to the owner you could have a chicken that appears to be pure bred but lays different colors. It's a good indicator that cross breeding has occurred if this happens. So in short you have to own several different breeds if you want a basket full of multicolored eggs. But be warned. Chicken math is a real phenomenon and once you start collecting you can't stop 😆 Thank you for commenting. Cheers!
Silver spitzhauben. They're absolutely gorgeous birds and excellent flyers, but the male is extremely aggressive to people(not so much with the other birds, surprisingly) and both of mine are flighty and hard to work with. More like having wild birds than chickens.
Ha! Yes in deed. Funny story. We finally got an egg from one of them yesterday. They tried to escape the run to go hide in the woods but couldn't and she conceded to laying in the coop. Here's hoping they keep it up or they may end up in the spaghetti pot 😆
My Pearl was a Black Star, and she was the LOUDEST bird I ever had! I was constantly expecting the neighbors to complain, but they said they enjoyed watching my chickens in the yard.
Oh!! And provide them with lots of composting scraps too! Not just seed. This will give them more nutrients and make them happier. Which will get you more eggs!
Thank you. We actually feed almost all our compost to the chickens. Anytime we trim meat or cut veggies every bit we don't eat gets chopped up and thrown into the feed bins. It's funny to see how picky some of them are with different foods. Like they have a taste palate. 😄
I have Buff Orpingtons, chose them because they were suppose to be friendly. I spent alot of time with them and had the grandkids loving on them too. One pecked my leg and about broke my leg 😢 Now I’m afraid of them and stay far away. So sad. Now I feel like I’m neglecting them without the personal contact ☹️
So sorry to hear that. Was this a rooster or hen? Rare that a hen would be that aggressive especially that breed but there are always exceptions with animals.
@@YSLRD it really wasn’t like that. Me and my 12 yr old grandson would sit on the ground and they would climb on us. Or me and my 17 yr old granddaughter would do the same. The day I was pecked, I was thinking perhaps I had a fly or something on my leg - regardless it was extremely painful and bruised terribly 😔
We love the rocks! Our very first flock leader was a rock and she was the best. She was never mean to other birds and kept order for several years. It's been tough considering adding more rocks because she was loved that much. Plus we have been trying out other less familiar breeds over the last few years. Rocks really are one of the best!
I had 2 rocks. One was such a bully and picked the butt feathers of all my chickens and the other hen was a sweetheart. I got rid of the bully. I also got rid of the 2 leghorns I had. Great egg layers but very aggressive. My flock is so peaceful now after removing the 3 agressive hens.
I have a Swedish Flower hen that laid a small clutch of tiny eggs, then stopped for a couple weeks and eventually continued. I suspect that a breed so rare, is overly inbred. This could cause reproductive issues.
@snakepliska837 I have little knowledge of what happens during cross breeding but that sounds like a cool looking bird. I have heard that certain traits can be bred out of breeds through crossing but it can take several generations of breeding.
@@northern.lights.homestead right, I'm worried about recessive traits being passed on because I'm looking to form a breed with high resistance to diseases and both breeds mentioned are resistant to many harmful pathogens since they were derived from wild populations that underwent natural selection (sick birds didn't make it.) It's a shame that the Swedish Flowers were once diminished to the brink of extinction, it really effects the diversity of their gene pool.
@snakepliska837 we went with Jersey Giants this year. They too were almost extinct and I wonder if some of the genetic flaws they posses didn't derive from the breeding practices used to increase the population. All we can do is what feels right for the animals.
My Old English Game bantam hen is the favored hen for my large roosters (Turkens) and they have at times stripped her back bare. Thankfully she can fly into the trees so they rarely catch her. 😂
I have experience with over thirty of the most famous types of bantams from all over the world, and one type in particular stands out for its character and resistance to diseases, cold and heat. Cochin bantam. They are even more resistant than many autochthonous bantams from my Serbia and the Balkans. I don't keep them for the eggs, but they are one of the better layers. They need an aviary like all bantams because they are easy targets. They are excellent mothers and phenomenal pets.
Thank you @mlrd2687. We just love the Bantams. We decided that when we have had enough and downsize the homestead (Hopefully many years from now) that we would go to a flock of all Bantam.
@@northern.lights.homestead All the bantam breeds I have kept have been able to function together in a flock except the white crested polish bantam. The other bantams peck the feathers off the top of their heads and that's why I keep them separate. In a mixed flock, I keep males from the smallest bantam species because larger ones can injure females from small species. Male Duch Bantams are the most peaceful and tolerate other males in the flock best. I keep one male for every 12 females. That's my experience. Good luck!
I love my coaching bantam : Orphan Annie. She is a redhea d and she stands her ground with the big chickens. She will kick box theie heads with a flying leap if they mess with her chick's. She is my best layer. I don't need an incubator or brooder. She raises everyone's chick's. Also the most friendly and curious.
I think its Silverudds Blå and not Isbar. I love the breed. Hardy and very good egg layers. A little bit wild sometimes but nothing that bothers me. Lovely to see some Silverudd in America. Best regards from Sweden.
I would think they are less of a target for the smaller predators for sure. Their size alone would make them difficult for a hawk or weasel to run off with. I bet a fox might even struggle with hauling away a 10 to 14 pound bird.
I have a mixed flock of Speckled Sussex, americaunas and hoover hatchery Starlite line.. this will be my first winter with my new flock and i am soooo nervous for them. Winter this year is expected to be harsh for my area.
Even a bit of insulation goes a long way at protecting them. Don't need a heat source necessarily if they are able to use body heat and can keep the space warm. Good luck!
@northern.lights.homestead thanks 😊 their coop is smaller, so it should be able to keep heat with bodies in it. My biggest concern is the yard keeps getting insanely muddy.
@laattardo whenever we are dealing with mud issues we throw down straw bedding. The animals pack it down and it keeps their feet dry. Also gives them something to scratch through. Works well for us.
@northern.lights.homestead hmmm good thoughts, I use pine pellets for horse stalls but this past storm turned the whole run super muddy, usually it's just one area and I can deal with it.
That's too bad. Pretty birds, especially the runt. Wish I had answers for you! I'm still trying to figure out how to not be eaten by some Orpingtons I picked up. Sweetest birds I've ever seen but they love to gnaw on fingers and anything else they can get hold of. lol
@@CC-fo7tr 🤣 They're devils I tell you! I was doing final touches on the coop/run I built for them today and was installing 1x4's over the outside of posts and wire. Jokers were sneaking up behind the posts and biting me through the wire anytime I messed up and got my fingers against it. Then finishing up a spot of water seal on the front of the coop and here comes rooster to ride along on my shoulder till he took a hunk outta my ear. Dadgum man!! lol
Realy odd behavior on your Isbar hens! They should be real egglaying machines! But they are not hardier than classic hybrid hens. They are not bred to be that. They are bred to compete with comersal hybrid hens as production hens. I'm a swede and I crossbreed my Isbar hens with bovans brown to get olive eggers that produce about 306 eggs/year.
I hatch my own chicks. I butcher what I don’t like. It’s funny how different genetic traits pop out of nowhere…you can have a wide variety of chicks from the same rooster and hen…size, colouring…its quite a mixed bag, not what one might expect. I keep a plymouth rock rooster with red sussex hens, and their offspring are diverse. Keeping the largest roosters and largest hens, see what next year brings. Chickens are easy to manage, lots of fresh water and feed, and I let mine free range as much as possible. I keep about 25 hens over the winter, enough to fill a 10x10 foot chicken coop. Their body heat helps in -40° weather in northern BC… Kangal dog has been trained to watch her flock…and I haven’t lost a single bird to a predator. She is such a good guardian! cheers !
I have never had an americana before? But my leghorns do all of that stuff, plus being the all around grumpies birds. My rhode island reds also exhibit many of the behaviors as well andare the chattiest birds Ive had which sometimes drives me nuts. But the reds dont play dead when caught like the leghorns do? But both breads are horrible about the nesting boxes. I have 12 boxes for 10 chickens and no matter which box another bird is in, when a leghorn or red is coming in they start a fight because they have to have whichever box that another bird is using. No rhyme or reason? But they will sit there making all kinds of noise trying to push the other bird out. Knowing what I know now I wish I had just gotten all barred rocks or astrolorps which are my personal favorites. Astrolorps all the way around have the best demeanor and personality and are pretty much an all around joy to have around. They by far cause the least chicken drama or mischief. Unfortunately at the time II thought it would be cool to have a few red, a few white, a few black, a few striped, etc without knowing how all their personalities would clash. But as I replace them in the future I am going with all astrolorps or barred rocks. JMO
I had one sweedish Isbar and she did not live too long. Some kind of reproductive problem. I took her to the vet and she passed away. I love your little bantam. I have no roosters so I mix the small with the large girls. Love Brahma's too.
We wonder if our Isbar don't have some kind of issue with their reproduction. Sometimes we get tiny little eggs and sometimes giant and sometimes none at all for months at a time. We agree Brahmas really are one of the best breeds. 😁
The Silverrudd Blues..aka Isbars are great layers, they are hiding eggs!! If you put up a pen you will start getting eggs the next day. There is a fantastic breeder of Silverudd Blues, Cream Legbars, and crosses of those breeds you might be interested in.
I am a chicken fancier. I’ll get more eggs then what I want or I can eat. Where I live, everyone has chickens, therefore, I did not get very much for my eggs. I’ve never had a problem that I couldn’t solve so far. I think I’ve been very lucky in my research. I thought about buying this breed, but decided it would not fit the profile of my little flock.
Pretty birds! The death snoring noises are hilarious!
The Swedish Isbar seems like the chicken version of the ragdoll cat which goes limp in your arms when held. So cute!
That's a great comparison. Agreed it's very cute but strange as well.😊
The clip you showed about the one in your arms going limp like she’s dead, if that’s the example of her doing that, it’s normal. She’s low in the pecking order and she’s submitting for breeding. While you’re holding her I can see her wings are pulled up like she’s shrugging her shoulders. This is breeding posture. They squat down and shrug their wings up like that, and then a dominant hen will mount her and establish her dominance or a rooster will mount her and breed her.
Sometimes they can go very rigid like they’re frozen like that for a few seconds / a minute. Just depends on how timid she is.
Those are also the ones most prone to running from you. Watch them during feeding time. They’re usually pecking around the outside of where you have the feed scattered. Or if they’re free foraging you may observe her on the outside of the flock (the most dangerous place to be for a prey animal). These are all signs she’s low in the pecking order and her tendency to run from you is just how she has to survive. Her sisters will chase her off constantly if she comes for prime pecking areas that is designated for higher pecking order hens. Even worse, if she happens to find a good spot to forage on the outside perimeter, the dominant hens will run over to claim it. So she has to be quick to eat whatever she can get. All of this contributes to her tendency to run from anything approaching her… including you. It’s not really a breed thing, it’s a chicken pecking order thing. She’s probably your lowest in the ranking.
Watch her for injury and illness closely. Their living conditions are always harsher than your higher pecking order hens and it has nothing to do with you neglecting or failing to care for them. Their nutrition levels will be lower, they’ll weigh less, they’ll have injuries from pecking if they’re penned up and can’t get away from dominant hens easily.
I don’t use pens for a few reasons, this is one of them. My low pecking order girls are free to forage and give plenty of space to the dominant girls and the rooster. But my situation is different… I have 50 acres. And out of that they honestly only forage about 2-3 acres. There’s risks, but I manage those risks already for other farming activities. Hawks aren’t a problem because I have black chickens mixed into my flock. If you aren’t aware, hawks hate crows and can’t tell the difference between a black sex link hen and a crow from the sky. So while my neighbor is losing a dozen chickens a week to hawks, I haven’t lost a single one… ever… it’s not folklore, it works, and it’s a simple solution.
Key point is, if there’s aggressive pecking order issues resulting in injury, space is almost always the solution. I say almost because sometimes you just get a real vicious hen or rooster. Especially if you haven’t gotten any external hens or a rooster from someone else’s flock and your flock is all inter-bread. They’ll start going weird and crazy. You need to bring outside genes and get that hybrid vigor.
As for the 9 month stretch without laying. I have a buff that likes to disappear for 2-3 days. She’s also low in the pecking order but she’s VERY broody, common for Buff Orpingtons, but she’s great for sitting if you’re interested in that. She’ll adopt chicks easily, sit on anyone’s eggs, you name it. She even adopted the young rooster we integrated into the flock while he was getting picked on initially.
Some people don’t like this trait because when they go broody it can be hard on them if they’re not hatching. It’s not a problem for me and it’s natural, which I encourage letting them go through it, especially if you have a rooster. More than likely, she’s stockpiled some eggs somewhere and you haven’t found them. Or anything relatively egg shaped. Ping pong balls, golf balls. Whatever she can sit on. And she’s probably going into that broody trance. You can determine this by checking for missing feathers and reduced weight. She won’t be eating during that time and she’ll pull her own feathers out to nest. Not to be confused with when they’re getting insufficient calcium… they’ll eat their own feathers if their calcium is too low also. But she wouldn’t be disappearing for days at a time in that case. But it would result in reduced egg laying, or soft eggs.
I also had another buff just take super long to be an egg layer. No reason at all. Diet was healthy, no signs of disease, illness or injury. But for whatever reason her comb didn’t develop until 7 months and she laid her first egg shortly after that. The other buffs came from the same hatch and they all matured and produced at normal time. For whatever reason she was just different. But she’s currently healthy and seems happy despite taking her sweet time. She was about to become a meat bird… eating feed and producing nothing but poop…
Sorry for the novel. Just sharing experiences. There’s a lot more but I wrote too much and likely no one wants to read it😂
No worries on the novel. We like hearing about other people's experiences. It has helped us to better understand the different behaviors and traits of the breeds we keep. Thank you for sharing.
My friend is just getting chickens for the first time. This info is going to be so helpful. Especially the black chicken and crow thing. WOW.
Thanks for taking the time time.
@sassykat2000 they can reach out anytime if they have any questions. We may not have all the answers but we're happy to help if we can.
May work for hawks but not eagles. I have one black chicken in my bunch and one of my road island reds was picked up without any warning.
@@shelleyquandt8243 yeah I don’t have that problem where I live in Texas. Can’t help ya there. Good luck
Sorry, but I was cackling as soon as you mentioned the Isbars not laying. I was like -- Oh, they're DEFINITELY laying, they just aren't laying in the nestboxes. And the next thing you said was that they wander off. XD Yep. Case closed. LOL!
Also... those little d'Uccle roosters (the Banties) are EVIL.
I no longer have chickens but over the years i tried so many different breeds. My all time favorite of all the breeds were the Black Australorps , by far they laid more eggs than any breed i had . They are so calm and docile plus beautiful to look at.
Thank you for sharing. We are not familiar with that breed. They sound alot like the Jersey Giants. Looking forward to checking them out.
Black Australorps are great to have in the flock to keep Hawks at bay, as well. It’s said that Hawks hate Crows and other black birds and will avoid them.
Interesting. I had not heard that about hawks but it makes sense. We see crows and ravens both chasing hawks off pretty regularly. Glad we have a bunch of those Jerseys around. Maybe we will add a few of the Australorps down the road as well.
I also love Black Australorps, but got 6 killed by a racoon. I tought they were protected in their coup.
@elenadavila5636
Raccoons are smarter than most predators when it comes to finding a way into a chicken coop. They will keep coming back to get more until they get them all unless you stop them completely. I had to resort to using live traps to catch them. If you decide to relocate the varmints it will need to be a very long way from your place. A few miles won't work because they will come back. I'm sure you know the other alternative.
I love the way you tell what they do and then show it. lol!!!
I regret my brief foray into chickens. I have been keeping Runner Ducks for 18 years. Got a bug up my buns apparently and got some chickens too. They pick on each other, the rooster attacked me, and because they can fly and jump, they poop everywhere. Don’t lay nearly as many eggs as the ducks and to be, didn’t taste as good. Got rid of them. My ducks love each other, never fight, have perfect “non hot” manure, eat less, and lay eggs thru the winter. Totally low maintenance.
I have Buff Orpingtons....we love THEM!
They are laid back....friendly....don't mind being handled or just picked up and held. They are duel purpose....great layers and great meat birds.
we have a couple Buffs and they are the very sweet birds, friendly and like to be petted and in a lap.
I have 5 little 10 week old buff Orpingtons and oh my gosh!!! Such lovely personalities!! So cuddly and loving!! I know they aren’t laying yet (of course) but they are the sweetest birds ever ❤️💕🙏🏼
I’m very satisfied with my current mix: Welsummer rooster & hens, French Marans hen, Easter Egger hens. The Maran hen and one of the Easter Eggers very willingly sit any eggs and mother the resultant chicks as a tag team. It makes replenishing so much easier than having to break out the incubator. 👍
That's so cool @rrbb36! We tried to let one of our hens raise some chicks a few years back but did not get a good result. We are hoping our Jersey hens will be more willing to accept the role. Thank you for sharing.
I rotated to a new flock of all buff orpingtons. I will never go back to anything else.
We enjoy our orpingtons as well. Very sweet demeanor on most of them. We have 1 that bullies a bit but otherwise great breed all-around
I love orpingtons too.
The black Australorp is a direct descendent of the buff Orpington.
@naomiweaver1855 the black australorp is supposed to be one of the original breeds or at least as far back as the 1600s.
My favorite chickens are the bantam hen and rooster. We had these two while we had other egg laying chickens and a big rooster. The Bantam mother was a darling girl and she actually sat on her teeny tiny eggs and hatched teeny tiny chicks that were to die for cute. I've never seen anything as beautiful. Those tiny chicks following their mother and pecking and scratching as she did. The bantam rooster was so beautifully colored he was iridescent. His cock-a-doodle-doo's were adorable and he was a very charming fellow. They made the cutest couple and of course their teeny tiny chicks were visited by everybody in the neighborhood who had never seen such a thing. They were so loving, beautiful and charming it's some thing I will never forget. The big rooster we had for the regular hens was also my baby And I would be able to pick him up and stroke his neck while he closed his eyes And leaned his head on my shoulder. Chickens are great pets. I trained my rooster and he would do all sorts of things, Like he would Walk into the kitchen and look around and visit with us. Sometimes I would give him special food while he was in there. He always got a lot of love and a lot of pets which he enjoyed.
Bantams are the best for raising more chicks. I love because they are broody and I keep them separate from my big chickens. I can give my broody bantams the eggs from my large chickens and they hatch them for me. They even hatched some duck eggs for me!
Same, they're lovely.
Mille fleur flies high. She lays everyday and her eggs are bigger than my polish.
Pretty sure they are laying them in some place. Since they have Leghorn ancestry, they are very consistent egg layers. You should coop the Isbars in a coop. The flighty nature also comes from the Leghorn. You can also feel the vent area for the egg early in the morning.
I don’t know much about these birds, but two weeks ago a friend of mine gave us 4 white Leghorns and let me tell you those four hens are laying as much as my flock of a dozen. Highlanders and Highlanders are extremely good Laying birds as well. It kind of blew my mind, and yes they are flighty little tirds lol
Bantams are on the endangered list so it's a good breed to have. I breed them and have great success with them. I also have large breeds and Jersey Giants as well. I guess with raising chickens it all comes down to how much effort and energy do you want to put into it. 😊❤
Had the same problem having small Bantam with big breeds. You are totally right, that was not a good idea. Thank you for your videos. Keep them coming!
Thank you for the comment. We always enjoy hearing from our watchers. Happy Hatching!
I should add also that regret isnt the right word for me. They are all excellent egg layers which was their purpose too begin with, so no regrets really. I have come to love all my birds and dont actually regret any of them even if they are more of a diva or drama queen then the others. But knowing what I know now, I will do things differently in the future
Cayenne pepper in their food daily guarantees they lay daily, regardless of breed. Any hot pepper will do and I've even used crab boil and creole seasoning when i didn't have hot peppers.
Knowledge my grandfather taught me after having chickens his entire life and I've used it for 30 years and it's never failed. I mix it in with their fresh foods i give them daily. I also mix in oregano and thyme for their health and add some of those herbs to their water along with a tad bit of apple cider vinegar with the mother. Pumpkins keep them worm free. None of my animals have ever been sick and they're certainly not vaccinated.
Thank you. We do almost all of that but have not heard of the cayenne pepper trick. We will have to give that a try. Not sure if it was the new environment but the parasites were bad for us this year. We use all the same treatments you suggested and they have worked well for years now but sometime a bit over a year ago they got exposed to something that the cider and other natural treatments wasn't working to treat. All the girls are good now and hoping we don't need to medicate ever again.
Omg you just made my day. I have been in Mexico for a month and am getting to know my flock. They dont want to use my nesting boxes . And I am concerned about their health because of how few eggs I have been getting. Now that I am here, they are getting fresh food and water daily so i am seeing improvement. This is all new to me. I have little knowledge and NO experience. But I have lots of herbs and they are going in thw feed and water tomorrow. Woohoo! Thank you.
You should keep the Swedish chickens separate from other breeds as they get easily stressed and also, you should keep them fenced in as they like to hide their eggs!!
So, separate them from all other chickens and make them a fenced in coop with a good sized run. Also, make sure you give them lots of soft hay (not straw) in a laying box on the floor!! Make sure the laying box acts more like a hide (as in not open to everything).
The Swedish breeds are much older breed than the other you have. So, they will act more like wild chickens.
I have a little bantam in my flock just like yours and she gets picked on all the time. So I would agree about not mixing these type of chickens with larger breeds however, she’s so sweet and I love her to death.
@gilleygurl, I have two bantams and two Orpingtons. The size difference is crazy, so I kept the little bantams in their coop for ages. I had the Orpingtons first, so I was afraid they would peck the bantams. After several days of spending time with them in the run, supervising, I now let them roam together. I do see the occasional peck when they are eating. I agree with you that bantams are so sweet and lovable! I got my two by accident, someone was giving them away and I didn't bother to ask what breed they were. When I saw them the first time, I thought they were pullets. I took them home and have been so happy with them. I think I will always have some bantams going forward. Cheers.
I have a solid white silky showgirl that is a bantam breed and she is the sweetest little big fur ball lol. She is so cute. When I go out to feed them I have her separated in her own little pen and she jumps up and down like she is so happy to see me. I love it.
I have a Swedish, Flower, Word for Word, does exactly what you said!
She’s my only blue egg layer she laid for four months and then in the last year has not late a single egg and she’s only two years old.
She also sits in the nesting boxes every day, but never produces an egg .
I’ve reached out on chicken pages, and nobody could explain why.
Maybe it’s the Swedish breed either way I’m glad you shared so now I know this is happening to someone else and I’m not crazy
Ours did this last summer and the laid all winter. Not sure but we suspect during warmer months when they can free range they are finding spots out in the woods to lay. Then the eggs are taken by other animals before we can find them. Caught a Stoat trying to steal eggs from the coop yesterday. Between them, the squirrels and the Magpies, unattended eggs don't last long round here. Try looking around the yard if you let them range. You may find their hiding spot😊
Squirrels go after your eggs?? I probably have hundreds of squirrels around here and I’ve never seen that
@baddogcustoms7496 we've caught them in the coop and barn but pretty sure they are just going for grain. The stoat and magpie have been seen with eggs though.
I started with Buff Orpingtons..they remain my favorite. ISA Reds aren't bad either. Several breeds hand picked by my youngest have done well.
They might be egg eaters. My Cornish hens were BAD! Ate ALL their eggs, I saw it myself, several times. It only takes one bad chick n to spoil an entire flock. I've learned that the hard way. We emotionally... forget chickens are meant for food. When there is consistently NO eggs..then it's time to consider meat processing..plain & simple.
I have Swedish Isbars. Love them for many reasons, one reason I do not though is they love to escape to find food if their food gets low in the coop. However, they are excellent with being aware of predators as you mentioned. I haven’t experienced them not laying or going limp when held. They are usually the ones that are my most consistent layers of all my breeds. After molting they are the first to start laying again and same in winter. I will say I’m in a warmer climate than you though. They are fun, but can be characters. My biggest complaint is them escaping the run, they REALLY love to free range. One of our hens was named Adventure Chicken by my kids. 😂 I will say that I really love the Isbar roosters. I had one that was so gentle with groups of children. Never one bit of aggression and was gentle with the hens. He was such a gentleman and protector. A dog got him unfortunately when he was protecting the flock. But the Isbar roosters in my experience are good protection, the hens also seemed to stay closer to the coop when he was around.
I wonder if you are right that they are laying out of the coop? Or eating their eggs? I’m thinking they are laying out of the coop though, if they are wandering more than the other breeds you have. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Thank you for sharing @britt518. It seems as though there may be some breed characteristics happening. Ours are constantly trying to escape the outdoor run and are happiest when rooting through the woods on the perimeter of the property. We hadn't considered the fact they could be eating their own eggs. Going to keep a closer eye on that. They are definitely little characters for sure. Sorry to hear about your rooster. We lost a couple the same way. Unfortunately some dogs just cannot be trained to not go after birds. Even our livestock guardian who is generally great around chickens is tempted to take chase after a running bird.
My Silverudds Blue (the more common name of the Swedish Isbar) has been my most prolofic and reliable layer since she started seven months ago. She's always put her eggs in the nest, though some days she tends to sit in there a bit longer (then again, my old Australorps likes to sit in the nest every day for an hour even though she only lays one or two eggs per week). She is a bit more independent, but easy to catch as she's the tamest. My new SB has only started laying three days ago, so I can't say much about her laying behaviour (we're at three eggs in three days, all laying around in plain sight next to the feeder or in the middle of the coop as if she accidentially lost them), though she's rather independent but also very tame and can be caught easily. So I'd always go for SB again, they're great!
It seems possible we have a couple of odd Isbars. Everyone else seems to be having great success with theirs. Maybe it was the big move that stressed them out or something. The one Isbar started laying again. Hopefully that keeps happening and the other follows her lead. Thank you for sharing.
The Isbars sound like a hoot! I’ll look in to those. I have four Australorpes and I love them. And I love the eggs, but I give the vast majority away. I didn’t realize when I got the chickens that I’d end up loving them/their personalities more than their eggs. One of them, Wednesday, is very much like Wednesday from the tv show. Especially like her in the “Wednesday dance.” I loved your video!
Oh they're a hoot alright, long as you like a little crazy in the coop 😆. It is cool that they all have little personalities and attitudes. I must admit, at first I had alot of misconceptions about chickens when we started out. Had no idea they could have such individual traits or be cuddly. Now that we have kept them this long and spent so much time with them you really get see that each one, although similar in appearance are very different.
Sapphire Gems are my favorite breed.. Friendly smart and good egglayers
Yep, mine lays everyday.
If I want my chickens to come to me or move them to another area, I use black soldier fly larve. It comes in a red bag and one time one of my hens jumped up an put a hole in the bag. All I do is walk up to where I want them and throw them some food. No more chasing them to try to catch them.
Treat training works every time. We have a couple that also like to jump up and grab food from our hands. It's cute till one of the larger hens catch one of your fingers instead of the treat bucket 😁
When I was a kid everybody had chickens. To catch the ones that would run from you we would make a leg hook out of a piece of stiff wire. Take about a 4ft. Long piece of wire , make a ring on one end to hold onto and to hang on the wall . Bend a V shaped hook on the other end . Make the bottom of the V small enough their foot won’t go through.
When you get close just reach down and hook his leg. With a little practice you can grab them on the first try.
Thank you for posting this video, I have seven hens and a coop. I just subscribed to support your channel.
Thank you so much for the support @MickyBellRoberts. That's a good number of birds to have. We started off with about that many but the science of chicken math is real and we now have 3x that amount. Times were easier when it was just a few. 😊 Best of luck with your flock.
I had one black isbar. She was a fantastic layer and seemed to actually be the chillest of my other breeds. 😂 I think it's just personality. Yours also seem to be high on the pecking order, while mine was low. I was so sad to not get a daughter from her before a raccoon attack.
I believe your right. Sometimes it just comes down to the personalities of each bird.
I raised two cochin bantams with two regular size red stars. They have always gotten along great. There doesn't seem to be a strong pecking order either. After a year and a half, I added an easter egger and an astralorp. The flock was not open to accepting them and picked on them endlessly at first. They get along well enough now, but the newbies are at the bottom of the pecking order, and they are chased and pecked if they violate it, even though the astralorp is so much bigger than all of them. The interesting thing I've noticed recently is that one of the bantams has been hanging out with the two new big ones. She seems to defend them, but also bosses them around, and they submit to her! I wonder if she decided to start her own flock where she is the boss.
My very favorite breed is a barred rock. It's a great layer and very hearty.
We agree wholeheartedly. One of or first chickens was a rock and she was the best.
we has a few americanas and we xed them with barr rocks 1 green egg every day and the original americana goes broody often and we use her for hatching and a awsome mother . made for a good variaty some pure barr rocks but no complaints on the mix . funny when the barr rock chicks are the same size of mom and wanting to be under her. i love how chickens get thier own personalities we have one who wants carried out morning and back in evening .runs up stands between our feet . we sit outside and have tea in the afternoons the chickens come and sit on our laps .took a few bowls of rice to get that started ,haha i agrea with docfrank you probably have a spot loaded with old eggs .
I have chanteclers and really love them. Good cold hardy dual purpose breed.
I have Barred Rocks- they lay almost all year! I had a Lemon Cuckoo Neiderheiner Rooster, but I live in Oregon and last years heat killed him! I grew up with Rhode Island Reds, so I wanted a change. The Barred Rocks are very friendly- they DO have a pecking order! LOL Good layers and we feed seeds and grains and lots of house scraps! Great video!! 😂
We loved the first rock we had. She was so sweet and great leade but a couple of the ones we got after her turned out really mean. It's a roll of the dice I suppose.
I’m in eastern NC and summers are miserably hot. But the Australorps (Australian Buff Orpingtons) do well in the heat. That said, I use a tractor coop - the Omlet Eglu cube - and rotate them a couple times a week on grass in the shade. And each day, I spray the grass with the garden hose as well as their legs to help keep them cool. I never see them panting from the heat.
We cannot wait to get our tractor going next season. Chickens are such excellent little lawn mowers and while they are keeping the bugs and grass down they fertilize. Such a great system.
They are laying somewhere else. We had a small hen that was hiding under our house. There were like 20 eggs under there... I'm sure you just need to get a camera and watch where they go, or lock them in for a few days to get eggs again.
Still no luck finding their hiding spot.
@@northern.lights.homestead Darn
Hello from South Carolina! That is so strange about your Isbars. I had a flock of 8 that were very good layers up until about 3 years old. They do like to forage but I also found them to be very friendly. And they never did the limp thing on me. Unfortunately, where I used to live the coop was not as predator proof as I thought... My new place is built like Fort Knox!
Agree with you about the bantams. Have to keep my quad separate from my Bielefelder Roosters which are huge - about as big as your Brahmas. Love my Bielefelders, they (Hens and Roosters) are so gentle and the girls are good layers. Have Welsumer and Cream Legbar pullets in separate coop/pen, both at POL. The Legbars are super calm, really surprised me since they have Leghorn in them. Anxiously waiting for my blue eggs! And for the Welsumer terra cotta colored eggs.
Hope you find some breeds you love.
Well thank you so much for sharing. We have definitely started to find breeds we like and are always looking to introduce new ones. Enjoy those blue eggs.😊
This was a very good talk, thank you for sharing with us.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Give me Black Australorps end of story!
My favorite chickens that I have are my Australorps and Australorp crosses. They are just so friendly and dual purpose, great for egg laying and all the extra roosters go to the freezer.
Is it possible that Australorp is another name for the Jersey Giant breed? They are just way too similar. We are learning that depending on what part of the world your in certain chicken breeds may have different names in other regions.
@@northern.lights.homesteadAustralorps were used in the development of the Jersey Giant breed! So they're cousins!
The only chicken breed I ever regretted getting was Wyandottes. I know how to raise baby animals nicely, all my hens were hand-tame from infancy, except those two. Not friendly, scared of everything, mean nasty tempers always attacking the other hens, terrible layers. When they vanished, I didn't waste energy missing them.
thats so odd. i love my wyandottes. they dont bully and i will agree theyre a bit flighty but they grew out of that as they got older. and enjoy the presence of us and other breeds we own. possibly genetics?
I had a Golden Laced Wyandotte hatch out chicks. Woah, nasty broody hen! Protective, raised 9 chicks for me.
We had two Wyandottes they were Cockerals so about 4 months old, they started attacking hens trying to breed and the one they killed a Barred Rock hen. needless to day those two are now in our Freezer.
Got 2 golden laced Wyandotte hens. They are the queens! Have never laid well. And lord over the food. Semi friendly but not overly so. Chase my cat even.
Both those breeds are so pretty! Love the little bantam 😊
Well thank you. That's Pip and she is the sweetest little hen as long as she doesn't have to share a roost with any roosters at night 😆
That bantam seems to have been raised in the 70s 😂😂. Good looking little hen. Thank you for those tips.
😂i have one that pretends to sleep when you pick her up- so you will hold her longer. She loves to snuggle! Molly is a buff laced polish. Its the funniest thing!
the only breed i regret getting were rhode island reds. they bullied the other hens, were rowdy, and when i started stepping inbetween them and whoever they were attacking they bit me. that same day i got rid of them. they ate way more and didnt produce as many eggs either they were terrible
I've mostly had RIReds. They did not act that way at all. Roosters very tame. I had two and they got along with each other. Lots of eggs.
I had 4 Ancona's and found them to be flighty and quick. They carry on like ducks but are not people friendly. On the positive side they are beautiful black/iridescent with white splashes and have large combs so they are heat tolerant!
We are loving the coloration on our Jerseys. They seem very similar to the Anconas and the Australorp. The iridescent colors in different lighting is so cool. Hopefully the larger combs on the roos doesn't become an issue over winter but so far they seem like a really quite and gentle breed. I'm sure when they were bring back the Jersey breed they must have been crossing them in with either Anconas or Australorps. Too many similarities.
I love my Bielefelders! Huge eggs! Rooster is beautiful. Hens have pleasant disposition. Only drawback is during extreme heat.
Had to google that breed. They are a unique coloring. I haven't seen any around our area for sale, but we will keep an eye out. We don't have any issues with extreme heat where we are so they may be a good fit. Thanks for showing us a new breed!
Agreed with the bantams I do regret getting them because I have had to make a separate space for them because they are just so much smaller than all the other breeds and I don't want them to get hurt.
Grandpa had two kinds of chickens. Layers and stew.
They are funny though, sitting on the nest., just to pretend to lay an🥚😅🐔
I did in past have few Swedish isobars as wel.Hens weren’t skittish ,they were always with flock and have laid beautiful eggs every day for year and then they stopped and never laid again 😞
Not cold hardy at all.
We will not be getting them again
A guy that came to work on our deck told me someone told him to feed their chickens mackerel. I had added 5 new hens to my flock, and 2 of the 5 were not laying at all after almost 3 weeks. Two were laying every day, one every other day. I incorporated canned mackerel into their diet every day, and after 3 days, 2 of the 3 started laying every day. The little cinnamon queen hasn't started laying yet. It's been awfully hot here and maybe that, plus the move and transition, may have something to do with it. I hope she'll start laying soon. But they love the mackerel, and it seems to be working.
OK, I dont have mackerel, but I have a pike I caught in the freezer. Hope this works!
@@northern.lights.homestead Fresh frozen fish would probably be even better. Let me know!
Thank you @cjasper8916 ! We fed some pike to the girls a couple days back and finally after almost 9 months one of the Isbars laid an egg in the coop! She did attempt to escape into the woods prior but I was able to catch her and get her in the nesting boxes. Thanks for the suggestion. We will be adding fresh fish to their diets more often. Cheers!
@@northern.lights.homestead WOW!!! Great! Thanks for letting me know.
I’m wondering if since they’re a Swedish breed needs the extra light like the super-long days we have half the year in Sweden?!
I had not considered that @ninarettler3815. We do get the longer days in summer but possible they aren't getting enough during winter.
I got 4 different birds last year and the Brahma laid a few eggs and then went broody for the rest of the year, while the other 3 laid the appropriate number of eggs for their breed. This year, the Brahma and the others are all laying properly, so your Isbars may lay better next year. I'm not familiar with Isbar chickens, but they sound closer to wild chickens than the others, which can be a good trait, similar to Icelandic chickens. Try searching a chicken forum. A good UA-cam channel I watch is "Welcome To Chickenlandia". Also, some of the chick suppliers, like Meyer Hatchery, have good info on breeds and may answer your questions. Good luck!
Thank you so much for all the info. We will definitely look into that. Hopefully we have the same fortune and they start laying again soon
I have crested cream legbar roosters because most of my chickens are smaller breeds (leghorns and dominiques) My roosters pass the blue egg gene down to 100% of their chicks which makes their offspring easter eggers and olive eggers
Hello random UA-cam channel that talks about stuff I'll never do. Good video btw. Liked!
Well thank you for watching and giving it a like. Much appreciated 😊
I have Lohmann Browns. Amazing hens, and mine have been laying all year round. They are extremely friendly, calm, docile and love humans a little too much!
Black Australorps are the best.
My Olive egger roams out of my yard to lay eggs. She is the only one that does. She jumps over the fence. My Bresse usually lays in her box, but I've found a few eggs hidden in the yard.
We just found one of the Isbar out of the run again. 7ft fence but she found a way. Determination is something that breed does not lack 😊
I love my white jersey giants. The only time they quit laying is when its 100F outside. Though right now my poor babies are sick with fowl pox. :(
So sorry to hear, hope they feel better soon.
I prefer a good all-purpose bird. We have a range of breeds and live in Iowa. So we get some pretty cold weather. Last winter we even had a storm with windchill down to almost -50° and winds of 60mph.
We didn't lose a single bird.
We keep Black Jersey Giants, Delawares, Silver Laced Wyandottes, Ameraucanas, and a bunch of Rhode Island x Old English Game Bird crosses from our original flock that came with the house.
Overall, I've been the most surprised with the Delawares! They generally have good temperaments, are reliable layers of up to JUMBO size eggs, good watch dogs, roos are protective of the hens but friendly with family, the dog, and the barn kitties, winter hardy (the roosters' combs are a little large and can frostbite a little in extreme weather), very alert, forage well (they prefer it), and not very heavy feeders when on chicken feed. They put on good meat development and are generally process ready at 4 months. They are one of the staple birds for a breed I'm developing.
I have noticed that about one in 5 roosters will be nasty. So far all hens have been nice, but there's always that ONE in 5 roosters that is just satan incarnate. I had to put one in a cage until processing age because he was so mean. Lol. I have a toddler and that bird drew blood on me like 5 times with his beak. But overall, they're good birds.
We added Jerseys to our flock this year. So far we are loving them. Hopefully at least one of the roos works out so we can breed some more. We had to get rid of our Americana roo this year. He was the sweetest thing for a long time then went full crazy. Attacking everything in his path. Sounds like you have quite a mix. Can't wait to see the breed your working on
@@northern.lights.homestead
I LOVE my Jerseys. They are also part of the breeding program. I was expecting to like them because of my research, but the Delawares are the ones who really *surprised* me. I got them to fill a chick order and intended to butcher them all. We had 4 roosters and 1 hen. We knew we wanted to keep the hen for a layer, but the roosters (except one) were so good at their job (watchdog, protection, and growing meaty) that I ended up keeping 2 for a breeding program. The third was actually sold to a family with small children because he was extremely docile. I was very sad to let him go, but he was much smaller than the other roos and as such didn't fill my requirements for the breed.
The Jerseys also get frostbite on their large combs, unfortunately. But I've liked them far more for temperament, foraging ability, and protection than the Brahma. My sister had them and they were a bit hit-and-miss. Brahma really seemed to struggle in heat waves, whereas the Jersey does fine. She also had a few issues with bumblefoot because of the feathery feet, but I imagine that it would be better for free range birds (mine are). Plus you have the added benefit that Jerseys are actually bigger bodied. Even though the Brahma LOOKS bigger and can be taller, the average hanging Jersey can weigh a full pound more. Plus, the black Jerseys are more likely to get the jump on a predator or not be a target themselves as aerial predators tend to think black birds are just shadows.
Anyways, i can talk about chickens all day. Hahaha. 😅
@BaughbeSauce we sure hope our Jersey Roos grow up to be that docile. That's why we got them so we could breed our own but we have not had great success with roosters past and definitely don't want to pass down aggressive behavior. Thank you so much for all the information.
@@northern.lights.homestead
Mine are great, but my head rooster (Onyx) doesn't like it when people RUN in the pasture. HE WILL chase you and flap you. He hasn't tried to use spurs, just flaps like "stop that!" My toddler is terrified of him, but he honestly could walk up to him or any chicken and he'd be totally cool with it.
Just no running. Lol.
Why do people try to catch chickens during the day? Wait until they roost and simply lift them off the roost. Flashlights don't seem to rouse them like turning on a light.
They are probably laying off property. I have a couple of cream legbars that I won’t have again for this very reason.
I have caught them off in the woods, but I haven't spotted their hiding spot yet. They are crafty little things.
I have 2 breeds I'll never get again. Cinnamon Queens who are a good bit Rhode Island Reds. Great layers, but they're pretty aggressive. The other is Brown Leghorn. You just can't keep them in a fence. Unless they are in a totally enclosed space, they will actually climb the fence to get out. And then get killed. Which breaks my heart.
My most regretted chicken breed I've had would probably be the Buff Minorca. Most neurotic, dramatic, crazy hens I've ever had. They were always instigating trouble and were super flighty and nervous.
Right now I have Silver Deathlayers and Black Copper Marrans. The Deathlayers are pretty good though I find their roosters can be overly aggressive. Absolutely LOVE the Marrans. I have 4 Marran roosters and they're gorgeous and very sweet and will even chase off the Deathlayer roosters when they attack me. The hens are pretty calm and lay some of the most beautiful eggs I've ever seen. Their only flaw in my opinion is their feathered legs. In my experience feather legged chickens are more likely to get bumblefoot.
I've never heard of those deathlayers before. Had to look them up. Very beautiful bird. I may just have to get some for their name alone 😀 thank you for sharing
@@northern.lights.homestead yeah they definitely have one of the coolest names!
You can get Marans with out leg feathers. I think some call them English Marans maybe, then of course feathered ones French. We had a mix of them but now all we have have the leg feathers, but they are soo cool looking. and those eggs!
They quit laying eggs, they should get fried oops fired😂😂😂
Lol
If your Isbar "stopped laying eggs" and "wanders", I believe they may be laying their eggs elsewhere. It's possible. Just a thought.
Thank you. We are currently exploring that possibility. 😊
@@northern.lights.homestead I just found 9 eggs under a bush in my backyard a few weeks ago. That's what made me think of that.
I'd say it is a probability, actually. I'd bet $50 they are laying, you just aren't finding them. :)
Keep them in the coop or a caged area a few days to get some eggs, maybe they will stop wandering once you do that.
I have bantams, as well as large breeds, but I keep the bantams penned separately. It takes time to feed the separated breeds, but it's worthwhile to me personally. I guess I am a "purist" for having separate quarters. ha
I have the same problem with my bantam. Same breed. She's really sweet but I have to keep her seperate. She's a sweetie pie. Good video.😊
Thank you 😊
I totally agree about the Bantams... we had one who was a rescue hen and she was super friendly and we treated her more like our pet. Unfortunately the other hens hated her and she was too small to defend herself very well. We had to keep her separate except when we had chicks or pullets to pair with her.
I am in North ga. We have Rhode Island blue and americana hens. No rooster. We raised them as baby chicks since April. No eggs yet, but the Rhode Island Blue has a big red cone. I have ordered a protein crumble for laying hens. Still no eggs yet, may soon be eating dumplings.
It takes some 5-6 months for the heavier breeds to begin laying, so don't give up quite yet on your Rhode Islands! ha
If you are wanting good layers of blue and green eggs, I would suggest Cackles Easter Eggers. They are production layers unlike some other hatcheries. You can see their chickens by clicking the video option left of their description the videos show chicks and a couple of their breeding stock pens. I really like that option. Most hatcheries just show a pic. That doesn't show what the line really looks like. They also show a rack of eggs in their incubator. I like transparency if I'm going to buy something. Thanks for the great video.🐓🐔🐣
Thanks! Good to know.
Thank you for sharing all this info.
I have a question about those Easter eggers. It sounds like a stupid question, but I want clarity. I know they can lay blue, green, and a pinkish color. But my question is can the same chicken lay different colors each time, or is it like this one bird lays all blue, while this one bird lays all green?
@@daylight9114 each bird lays a pretty consistent color and shape of egg. In other words, different birds lay different colors and shapes.
@daylight9114 Generally each breed egg color is consistent. In this case all Isbars should lay soft green eggs all the time. That being said if any cross breeding has occurred unbeknownst to the owner you could have a chicken that appears to be pure bred but lays different colors. It's a good indicator that cross breeding has occurred if this happens. So in short you have to own several different breeds if you want a basket full of multicolored eggs. But be warned. Chicken math is a real phenomenon and once you start collecting you can't stop 😆 Thank you for commenting. Cheers!
I love my bantams, they are great for pickled eggs. I keep them separate from my large breeds.
Well they sure are cute!
Silver spitzhauben. They're absolutely gorgeous birds and excellent flyers, but the male is extremely aggressive to people(not so much with the other birds, surprisingly) and both of mine are flighty and hard to work with. More like having wild birds than chickens.
Man, I really wish I had looked more into breed type before getting chickens.
Love this video, thank you for sharing your thoughts on these breeds
Sounds like you have some aspiring Swedish meatballs! 😃
Ha! Yes in deed. Funny story. We finally got an egg from one of them yesterday. They tried to escape the run to go hide in the woods but couldn't and she conceded to laying in the coop. Here's hoping they keep it up or they may end up in the spaghetti pot 😆
Lol
Leghorns!!! They’re SO loud but I love them still. Definitely don’t get them in urban area, your neighbours will be so mad haha
Thank you @mimi_gaming_ dually noted. Not that familiar with the Leghorn breed but we certainly don't need any more noise around here. 😊
@@northern.lights.homestead np! again, as was with your hens, i can’t be certain if it’s the breed or just my pair 😊
My favorites are buff Orpington and bard rock.
Leghorns don't handle extreme cold as well.
My Pearl was a Black Star, and she was the LOUDEST bird I ever had! I was constantly expecting the neighbors to complain, but they said they enjoyed watching my chickens in the yard.
Oh!! And provide them with lots of composting scraps too! Not just seed. This will give them more nutrients and make them happier. Which will get you more eggs!
Thank you. We actually feed almost all our compost to the chickens. Anytime we trim meat or cut veggies every bit we don't eat gets chopped up and thrown into the feed bins. It's funny to see how picky some of them are with different foods. Like they have a taste palate. 😄
I have Buff Orpingtons, chose them because they were suppose to be friendly. I spent alot of time with them and had the grandkids loving on them too.
One pecked my leg and about broke my leg 😢
Now I’m afraid of them and stay far away.
So sad. Now I feel like I’m neglecting them without the personal contact ☹️
So sorry to hear that. Was this a rooster or hen? Rare that a hen would be that aggressive especially that breed but there are always exceptions with animals.
@@northern.lights.homestead
It was a hen 😔
That's unfortunate.
Over fussing ,especially from kids, can send some birds over the edge.
@@YSLRD
it really wasn’t like that.
Me and my 12 yr old grandson would sit on the ground and they would climb on us.
Or me and my 17 yr old granddaughter would do the same.
The day I was pecked, I was thinking perhaps I had a fly or something on my leg - regardless it was extremely painful and bruised terribly 😔
Rehomed some barred rocks to an older flock. They don't cause trouble over there. Calmed things down a lot over here.
We love the rocks! Our very first flock leader was a rock and she was the best. She was never mean to other birds and kept order for several years. It's been tough considering adding more rocks because she was loved that much. Plus we have been trying out other less familiar breeds over the last few years. Rocks really are one of the best!
I had 2 rocks. One was such a bully and picked the butt feathers of all my chickens and the other hen was a sweetheart. I got rid of the bully. I also got rid of the 2 leghorns I had. Great egg layers but very aggressive. My flock is so peaceful now after removing the 3 agressive hens.
We keep our banties separate from the standard breeds. Makes life easier;)
I have a Swedish Flower hen that laid a small clutch of tiny eggs, then stopped for a couple weeks and eventually continued. I suspect that a breed so rare, is overly inbred. This could cause reproductive issues.
I agree totally. Some of these genetic issues must be linked to inbreeding in some capacity.
@@northern.lights.homestead I was planning to cross them with my Egyptian Fayoumi but now I'm hesitant.
@snakepliska837 I have little knowledge of what happens during cross breeding but that sounds like a cool looking bird. I have heard that certain traits can be bred out of breeds through crossing but it can take several generations of breeding.
@@northern.lights.homestead right, I'm worried about recessive traits being passed on because I'm looking to form a breed with high resistance to diseases and both breeds mentioned are resistant to many harmful pathogens since they were derived from wild populations that underwent natural selection (sick birds didn't make it.) It's a shame that the Swedish Flowers were once diminished to the brink of extinction, it really effects the diversity of their gene pool.
@snakepliska837 we went with Jersey Giants this year. They too were almost extinct and I wonder if some of the genetic flaws they posses didn't derive from the breeding practices used to increase the population. All we can do is what feels right for the animals.
My Old English Game bantam hen is the favored hen for my large roosters (Turkens) and they have at times stripped her back bare. Thankfully she can fly into the trees so they rarely catch her. 😂
they are so beautiful the colouring
Thank you
Oh your eggs are over in the woods where they have been wondering off🤷🏾♂️👉🏾😁
I'm pretty sure your right on that.
I have experience with over thirty of the most famous types of bantams from all over the world, and one type in particular stands out for its character and resistance to diseases, cold and heat. Cochin bantam. They are even more resistant than many autochthonous bantams from my Serbia and the Balkans. I don't keep them for the eggs, but they are one of the better layers. They need an aviary like all bantams because they are easy targets. They are excellent mothers and phenomenal pets.
Thank you @mlrd2687. We just love the Bantams. We decided that when we have had enough and downsize the homestead (Hopefully many years from now) that we would go to a flock of all Bantam.
@@northern.lights.homestead All the bantam breeds I have kept have been able to function together in a flock except the white crested polish bantam. The other bantams peck the feathers off the top of their heads and that's why I keep them separate. In a mixed flock, I keep males from the smallest bantam species because larger ones can injure females from small species. Male Duch Bantams are the most peaceful and tolerate other males in the flock best. I keep one male for every 12 females. That's my experience. Good luck!
I love my coaching bantam : Orphan Annie. She is a redhea d and she stands her ground with the big chickens. She will kick box theie heads with a flying leap if they mess with her chick's. She is my best layer. I don't need an incubator or brooder. She raises everyone's chick's. Also the most friendly and curious.
I think its Silverudds Blå and not Isbar. I love the breed. Hardy and very good egg layers. A little bit wild sometimes but nothing that bothers me.
Lovely to see some Silverudd in America.
Best regards from Sweden.
Thats what I was going to say. They may be hiding their eggs😅
Guess I better look a little harder for those eggs.
Do you think your jersey giants are less likely to be attacked by predators?
I would think they are less of a target for the smaller predators for sure. Their size alone would make them difficult for a hawk or weasel to run off with. I bet a fox might even struggle with hauling away a 10 to 14 pound bird.
Your chickens are awesome
Thank you so much. Kind of you to say
I have a mixed flock of Speckled Sussex, americaunas and hoover hatchery Starlite line.. this will be my first winter with my new flock and i am soooo nervous for them. Winter this year is expected to be harsh for my area.
Even a bit of insulation goes a long way at protecting them. Don't need a heat source necessarily if they are able to use body heat and can keep the space warm. Good luck!
@northern.lights.homestead thanks 😊 their coop is smaller, so it should be able to keep heat with bodies in it. My biggest concern is the yard keeps getting insanely muddy.
@laattardo whenever we are dealing with mud issues we throw down straw bedding. The animals pack it down and it keeps their feet dry. Also gives them something to scratch through. Works well for us.
@northern.lights.homestead hmmm good thoughts, I use pine pellets for horse stalls but this past storm turned the whole run super muddy, usually it's just one area and I can deal with it.
They actually do much better in extreme cold than they do in extreme heat. Clean, dry coop, and fresh water and they'll be fine
That's too bad. Pretty birds, especially the runt. Wish I had answers for you!
I'm still trying to figure out how to not be eaten by some Orpingtons I picked up. Sweetest birds I've ever seen but they love to gnaw on fingers and anything else they can get hold of. lol
Thank you! We have nibbily Orpingtons too.
I had one clamp down on me yesterday
@@CC-fo7tr 🤣 They're devils I tell you! I was doing final touches on the coop/run I built for them today and was installing 1x4's over the outside of posts and wire. Jokers were sneaking up behind the posts and biting me through the wire anytime I messed up and got my fingers against it. Then finishing up a spot of water seal on the front of the coop and here comes rooster to ride along on my shoulder till he took a hunk outta my ear. Dadgum man!! lol
@@CC-fo7trlol
I learned: Do Not Wear Sandels Into The Coop!!!! 🤣
Realy odd behavior on your Isbar hens! They should be real egglaying machines! But they are not hardier than classic hybrid hens. They are not bred to be that. They are bred to compete with comersal hybrid hens as production hens. I'm a swede and I crossbreed my Isbar hens with bovans brown to get olive eggers that produce about 306 eggs/year.
I hatch my own chicks. I butcher what I don’t like. It’s funny how different genetic traits pop out of nowhere…you can have a wide variety of chicks from the same rooster and hen…size, colouring…its quite a mixed bag, not what one might expect. I keep a plymouth rock rooster with red sussex hens, and their offspring are diverse. Keeping the largest roosters and largest hens, see what next year brings. Chickens are easy to manage, lots of fresh water and feed, and I let mine free range as much as possible. I keep about 25 hens over the winter, enough to fill a 10x10 foot chicken coop. Their body heat helps in -40° weather in northern BC… Kangal dog has been trained to watch her flock…and I haven’t lost a single bird to a predator. She is such a good guardian! cheers !
I have never had an americana before? But my leghorns do all of that stuff, plus being the all around grumpies birds. My rhode island reds also exhibit many of the behaviors as well andare the chattiest birds Ive had which sometimes drives me nuts. But the reds dont play dead when caught like the leghorns do? But both breads are horrible about the nesting boxes. I have 12 boxes for 10 chickens and no matter which box another bird is in, when a leghorn or red is coming in they start a fight because they have to have whichever box that another bird is using. No rhyme or reason? But they will sit there making all kinds of noise trying to push the other bird out. Knowing what I know now I wish I had just gotten all barred rocks or astrolorps which are my personal favorites. Astrolorps all the way around have the best demeanor and personality and are pretty much an all around joy to have around. They by far cause the least chicken drama or mischief. Unfortunately at the time II thought it would be cool to have a few red, a few white, a few black, a few striped, etc without knowing how all their personalities would clash. But as I replace them in the future I am going with all astrolorps or barred rocks. JMO
Thanks for sharing. The Astralorps sound alot like the Jersey Giants and the Brahmas.
I had one sweedish Isbar and she did not live too long. Some kind of reproductive problem. I took her to the vet and she passed away. I love your little bantam. I have no roosters so I mix the small with the large girls. Love Brahma's too.
We wonder if our Isbar don't have some kind of issue with their reproduction. Sometimes we get tiny little eggs and sometimes giant and sometimes none at all for months at a time. We agree Brahmas really are one of the best breeds. 😁
The Silverrudd Blues..aka Isbars are great layers, they are hiding eggs!! If you put up a pen you will start getting eggs the next day. There is a fantastic breeder of Silverudd Blues, Cream Legbars, and crosses of those breeds you might be interested in.
Good to know!
We considered trying penning them up. Seems they just refuse to lay in the coop and we have yet to locate their hiding spot.
Which breeder? And does those eggs come out light green with speckles?
I am a chicken fancier. I’ll get more eggs then what I want or I can eat. Where I live, everyone has chickens, therefore, I did not get very much for my eggs. I’ve never had a problem that I couldn’t solve so far. I think I’ve been very lucky in my research. I thought about buying this breed, but decided it would not fit the profile of my little flock.