Dot and Willow couldn’t be happier to be out and about with the flock. This is Mamma (Black Silkie) and Randi (Buff Silkie hen) tending to the kids while out for breakfast. The chicks are three weeks old today.
Interestingly, Randi is at the top of the pecking order and although bossy and sometimes nasty, she is very kind to the youngsters.
While breed researching for my fall chicks, I ran across an interesting breed to consider. This rare breed is often available for purchase from Murray McMurray Hatchery.
These are one of the most beautiful in the appearance of any of our rare varieties with their striking black and white markings and slate-colored legs. We are told that the word “Lakenvelder” when translated from the Dutch means “a shadow on a sheet”, a particularly descriptive name. They were bred extensively in Germany and Holland as long ago as the early 1800s but were not recognized here until the 1930s.
They are quite small when mature, 3 to 4 Ibs., and very quick and active, foraging widely if allowed to run. The skin is white and the breast unusually plump and round, almost like wild game birds. Hens lay white eggs and are non-setters. Baby chicks are mostly creamy white with a half collar of black on the neck and a sprinkling of black on the head and back.
On average, a Lankenvelder hen can lay between 180 and 220 eggs per year.
Mamma hen was separated from the flock five weeks ago to hatch and raise her baby chicks in a quiet and safe environment. The chicks are now two weeks old and it’s time to move Mamma and her babies back to the coop. To keep harmony among the flock, I’ve closed off a corner with hardware cloth to allow visibility between the existing flock, Mamma, and babies. The frame is merely PVC pipe cut in 3-foot sections with wire attached using zip ties.
Moving the hen with her chicks is best done at night when all the birds are sleeping. Last night wearing my handy headlamp, I headed out to the nursery coop. Throwing a blanket over the nest, I took Mom and her chicks, (nest box and all), and placed it in the designated transition pen inside the coop. Come morning it will be introduction time! Safe, peaceful, and everybody is happy.
After a week or so, I’ll allow Mamma to take her babies out of the enclosure. She will protect her babies from the existing flock, and at about five weeks, she will begin putting distance between her and them.
Note:
Many chicken keepers allow their hens to hatch their eggs in a secluded area within the chicken coop. Others move hen and eggs back to coop three or four days before the hatch, both ways are certainly okay. I just like to give my hens a quiet place to do their mothering, it’s merely a personal preference.
TBN Ranch Chicken Keeping Resources 