Postby Harriet » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:13 am
We have 3 Blacks, 3 Reds and 3 Buffs - the other blacks are kind of hidden in this photo. Very easy to count at a glance! Actually, the three red hens are New Hampshire Reds, so in a way we do have Rhode Island Reds, Harmony. The NH Reds were bred by farmers in that state long ago from only the earliest-maturing and best egg-laying RI Reds. Along the way their feathering became a little different - more defined difference between body feathers and neck feathers, but still red.
One of the NH Reds has been the slowest maturing and she had me worried, but she has her tail feathers now and is looking good.
HRH mistakenly picked up the wrong bag at the feed store and came home with feed for broiler house chickens (like, to butcher) instead of laying hens this time, and I hated to do it but I had to ask him to take it back and exchange. They need enough calcium to make strong eggshells, and he buys such big bags, so it would have lasted a long time. It's the difference between 1.5 percent calcium and 4.5 percent, so I knew when I read the labels I just couldn't stand it. Poor dh, lugging back and forth.
They love him, because he comes with treats - rinds, cores, etc. Things they're not even interested in, really, (apple, for instance, is not a favorite), they will eat if he holds it in his hand. When he drives in in the afternoon, they rush to see him.
If you don't believe in miracles, you're not being realistic.