rootastic

I am learning that I am not very good with chickens. Last night I checked in on all the poultry before I went to bed....everyone was fine. This morning I wake up and one of the little white leg horns is dead. Out of the 6 little black and white bunch that we got, I only have 3 left. 2 black & 1 white. I do not have a very good mortality rate at this point.....50% isn't good no matter how you slice it! Another issue that I have with my 2 australorps and 1 white leg horn is that they aren't growing. Well, they are growing feathers, but they aren't getting any bigger which means there is a very good possibility that they are bantam chickens and not standard. A bantam chicken is basically just a small chicken. They are generally about half the size of a standard chicken which isn't a bad thing, BUT.....small hens lay small eggs. Bantam eggs are about 1/3 the size of a standard egg. Which seems kinda pointless to me......the bantams eat nearly as much as the standards and won't give me eggs that I can use to cook with.....I've never come across a recipe that called for a wee bantam egg in it! lol

Ok, so it gets worse. My rhode island reds are now about 8 weeks old and distinguishing characteristics are becoming present. I currently have 2 roosters and 1 hen. Arrrggh. I am so frusterated. Besides the fact that a rooster would seriously annoy both myself and my neighbors, I don't need a rooster. I would not eat one of my chickens, rooster or not, and I am not planning on breeding my chickens for more chicks. Thus the roosters need to go bye bye. And while I'm at it, I feel like I should just re home the bantams as well because I never really intended to have bantams. Thats what I get for buying mutt chicks from Tractor Supply Co. So, what does this all mean? I am going to go from 11 chickens (at the height of my chicken-ness) to having 2. And I'm not even sure that Lucky (my barred rock) is a hen....although her comb is still small and yellowish which are indicators that she is a she......but who knows. Seriously!!!! I'm not going to do anything today, but I've got to get on the ball and try and find at least the roos a new home. I really wish that they could just be hens.....they are good chickens, we just can't have the crowing. Poop.

Here is one of the roos.
Notice the comb (the red thing that looks like a comb on his head)

Here is another roo

Can you guess which one of these is a roo and which is a hen?

Answer: the one on the left with the larger, redder comb is the roo.
The one on the right with the smaller yellower comb and fuller breasts is the hen.


Lucky.....my barred rock. Maybe she will fulfill her name and be my lucky HEN!