bug_n_flock
Well-known member
- Jan 2, 2018
- 1,406
- 227
Well, I think I have individual threads for each of my birds(maybe. I know I have one for Legs), but this is just easier.
Our flock consists of well over 100 birds. Most are galliformes, a handful of anseriformes, some psittaciformes...
At the moment we have 18 budgies, 1 grumpy old cockatiel, 8 turkeys, somewhere around 100 chickens, 11 ducks. This, however, is just a snapshot in time, and our flock is always changing. In June we are getting a shipment of chicks from a hatchery. We made the order back in December, it is what my fiance and I got each other for Christmas.
We ordered the hatchery surprise box(can have 40-50+ baby birds of basically any type the hatchery raises. Last time we got many, many different breeds, 3 ducks, and even a couple of turkeys), we also ordered 6 baby guinea fowl(these guys have a reputation for eating ticks, of which we have PLENTY on the farm), and each of us picked out 6 birds to be special Christmas gifts. I chose to get a boy and 2 girls each of 2 breeds of goose(never had geese before!), and my fiance chose Easter Egger pullets(baby girl chickens) and a boy and 2 girls of blue swedish ducks.
funny story: in the order form you need 3 phone numbers, so when I texted my mom that she was number 3, she replied that I was number 2 on her order form, and that she had gotten us a hatchery surprise box for Christmas. So that is how we went from having 4 chickens to having a massive flock..
Her chicks arrived in March and we ended up buying 6 ducklings and 50 chicks from the local tractor supply because... the others were lonely? IDK, chicken math I guess. Lol
But you figure roughly 50% of the birds will be male and mostly destined for freezer camp(we only need a few roosters). Plus we plan to sell some of the hens right around laying age to people wanting birds for eggs but not wanting to go through the time consuming baby phase. Even selling a few at 10-20$ each would cover the cost of feed to raise them up, and still leave us with plenty of fresh eggs.
9 of the budgies are babies, most of whom with wonderful homes already lined up. They will be ready to go home in a week or two with the younger clutch of 4, and the older clutch of 5 is ready to go, I just haven't told their waiting homes yet(oops! Will probably send out an email tonight). The baby birds are parent raised, but they get fooled with daily starting when they start getting feathers. We send each home with a handmade toy and a stick of spray millet.
We have 7 unrelated adult breeder budgies, have 1 immature male we kept from a clutch this past winter, and also Legs is from that clutch. Legs has severe splay leg, but leads a good life despite her significant mobility impairment. She spends most of the day clinging to meand gets arould well enough when she has something like soft fabric to cling to. I also have bird toy necklaces I wear to help her get around, and to keep her entertained.
Alex is the grumpy old man cockatiel, and I have had him since he was just a baby (just weaned) bird, 17 years ago. He is beyond precious to me and only just recently moved to the farm. He is in quarantine in the bedroom away from all the other birds.
We have 2 adult breeder heritage bronze turkeys, 5 of their 6 month old chicks that we are either going to sell or send to freezer camp soon, and we have one 2 month old bourbon red turkey chick. We think the red chick is a tom, but we are going to wait until we are sure before starting looking for a mate for him(/her). The second red chick from the hatchery order passed away in the days after they were delivered. Turkeys sadly have a high mortality rate when young. The surviver("Turkey Bird") is very very friendly and quite the little character. He is basically a pet.
1 of the ducks(Nibbler, adult) is the daughter of a duck I had as a housepet several years ago. Waddles(adult drake) was given to us, he isn't quite right. We have 3 each 2 month old ducklings of pekin, mallard, and kacki campbell breeds.
That is the flock for now(don't think I am forgetting anyone). We plan to build aviaries and expand our flock over time.. eventually we even want to get emus and maybe ostriches!
Edit: Oops, I forgot the adult chickens(oops!). George is our rooster. I helped him and Nibbler to hatch out. He hatched a week before she did, but I raised them in a brooder together and they got along great. They are still friends today, it's really cute to see them hang out together. The 4 hens we bought off of craigslist as point of lay hens. It took them a while to warm up to george and us, but they are now very attached to George, it's really cute. They are small mutt birds, and they lay small eggs, but they are tasty eggs, and the birds mostly feed themselves from the compost piles, the forest stuff, bugs, grass, and the occasional seed treat. Very good foragers and predator avoiders(knock on wood). We mostly free range our chickens during the day, pen/coop them at night. The ducks and turkeys are in a pasture during the day, and a barn at night. They are overdue for different housing, but we have been busy, and I broke my foot a few months ago and have been unable to walk really.
The hens are named The Fat One, Stockings, Darkfoot, and The Dinosaur. Lolwe also get a duck and turkey egg or two most days. We might set some turkey eggs in the incubator soon, and move the adult pair to proper housing to let them sit a clutch of eggs themselves.
Our flock consists of well over 100 birds. Most are galliformes, a handful of anseriformes, some psittaciformes...
At the moment we have 18 budgies, 1 grumpy old cockatiel, 8 turkeys, somewhere around 100 chickens, 11 ducks. This, however, is just a snapshot in time, and our flock is always changing. In June we are getting a shipment of chicks from a hatchery. We made the order back in December, it is what my fiance and I got each other for Christmas.
We ordered the hatchery surprise box(can have 40-50+ baby birds of basically any type the hatchery raises. Last time we got many, many different breeds, 3 ducks, and even a couple of turkeys), we also ordered 6 baby guinea fowl(these guys have a reputation for eating ticks, of which we have PLENTY on the farm), and each of us picked out 6 birds to be special Christmas gifts. I chose to get a boy and 2 girls each of 2 breeds of goose(never had geese before!), and my fiance chose Easter Egger pullets(baby girl chickens) and a boy and 2 girls of blue swedish ducks. funny story: in the order form you need 3 phone numbers, so when I texted my mom that she was number 3, she replied that I was number 2 on her order form, and that she had gotten us a hatchery surprise box for Christmas. So that is how we went from having 4 chickens to having a massive flock..
Her chicks arrived in March and we ended up buying 6 ducklings and 50 chicks from the local tractor supply because... the others were lonely? IDK, chicken math I guess. Lol
But you figure roughly 50% of the birds will be male and mostly destined for freezer camp(we only need a few roosters). Plus we plan to sell some of the hens right around laying age to people wanting birds for eggs but not wanting to go through the time consuming baby phase. Even selling a few at 10-20$ each would cover the cost of feed to raise them up, and still leave us with plenty of fresh eggs.
9 of the budgies are babies, most of whom with wonderful homes already lined up. They will be ready to go home in a week or two with the younger clutch of 4, and the older clutch of 5 is ready to go, I just haven't told their waiting homes yet(oops! Will probably send out an email tonight). The baby birds are parent raised, but they get fooled with daily starting when they start getting feathers. We send each home with a handmade toy and a stick of spray millet.
We have 7 unrelated adult breeder budgies, have 1 immature male we kept from a clutch this past winter, and also Legs is from that clutch. Legs has severe splay leg, but leads a good life despite her significant mobility impairment. She spends most of the day clinging to meand gets arould well enough when she has something like soft fabric to cling to. I also have bird toy necklaces I wear to help her get around, and to keep her entertained.
Alex is the grumpy old man cockatiel, and I have had him since he was just a baby (just weaned) bird, 17 years ago. He is beyond precious to me and only just recently moved to the farm. He is in quarantine in the bedroom away from all the other birds.
We have 2 adult breeder heritage bronze turkeys, 5 of their 6 month old chicks that we are either going to sell or send to freezer camp soon, and we have one 2 month old bourbon red turkey chick. We think the red chick is a tom, but we are going to wait until we are sure before starting looking for a mate for him(/her). The second red chick from the hatchery order passed away in the days after they were delivered. Turkeys sadly have a high mortality rate when young. The surviver("Turkey Bird") is very very friendly and quite the little character. He is basically a pet.
1 of the ducks(Nibbler, adult) is the daughter of a duck I had as a housepet several years ago. Waddles(adult drake) was given to us, he isn't quite right. We have 3 each 2 month old ducklings of pekin, mallard, and kacki campbell breeds.
That is the flock for now(don't think I am forgetting anyone). We plan to build aviaries and expand our flock over time.. eventually we even want to get emus and maybe ostriches!
Edit: Oops, I forgot the adult chickens(oops!). George is our rooster. I helped him and Nibbler to hatch out. He hatched a week before she did, but I raised them in a brooder together and they got along great. They are still friends today, it's really cute to see them hang out together. The 4 hens we bought off of craigslist as point of lay hens. It took them a while to warm up to george and us, but they are now very attached to George, it's really cute. They are small mutt birds, and they lay small eggs, but they are tasty eggs, and the birds mostly feed themselves from the compost piles, the forest stuff, bugs, grass, and the occasional seed treat. Very good foragers and predator avoiders(knock on wood). We mostly free range our chickens during the day, pen/coop them at night. The ducks and turkeys are in a pasture during the day, and a barn at night. They are overdue for different housing, but we have been busy, and I broke my foot a few months ago and have been unable to walk really.
The hens are named The Fat One, Stockings, Darkfoot, and The Dinosaur. Lolwe also get a duck and turkey egg or two most days. We might set some turkey eggs in the incubator soon, and move the adult pair to proper housing to let them sit a clutch of eggs themselves.
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And my limited experience raising turkeys says they tame down easily and nicely too(but are bigger, and likely your tsc has broad breasted breeds of turkey. They get even bigger than heritage birds, and sadly they have an expiration date... they just keep growing and eventually end up too big to be a turkey sadly, and they have skeleton and organ issues from being too big).
