Recent content by Freeholder

My Whitings are a couple of months old now. There is considerable variation in the combs, as well as the color of the birds. Over time I will probably do some selecting towards the smaller combs because we do have some cold weather in the winter (not usually colder than thirty below, but...

I always order at least five cockerels so I can choose the best two or three to keep. I always keep at least two or three roosters (even when my hen numbers are lower than twenty) so if something happens to one, I still have at least one left. It's best to have about one rooster per...

I managed to order some of them in time to get them this year, but it will be the middle of June. They look like *almost* just what I've been wanting (I'd prefer pea or rose combs, but their combs look pretty small in the pictures I've seen). I ordered twenty pullets and five cockerels -- if...

Well, thank you for that information! I kept thinking that I really should try them (although getting chicks through the mail is really risky here), but I think I'll just stick to what I can get at the feed store. Kathleen

I'm wondering if anyone has compared the Rainbows/Pioneers with Welp's Slow Whites? I have a friend in New York who has been raising the Slow Whites for several years -- she says they breed true and are very good layers. Sound a lot like these guys, and I would prefer a colored chicken over...

Bumping a very old thread! A friend of mine likes the Slow Whites from Welp -- she has been raising them for several years, says the hens lay fairly well, and they breed true, plus are good meat birds (though not Cornish X of course). I'm wondering how they compare to the Pioneers/Rainbows and...

I've been reading this (whole!) thread, thinking, and doing some research. I can get seedling starting mats and a thermostat that will control several of them at a time for quite a bit less than one of the heat plates. If I also get seedling trays with the high domes on them, I can start...

I'm in Klamath County, so a little south of Bend and probably higher elevation. It's wise to look for breeds that have small combs. This winter has been pretty mild, but when it gets way below zero you can have frostbite on large combs. Other than that your choices look pretty good for a...

I had posted in this thread a year or two ago (amazing how some of these threads just keep on going forever, like the Energizer bunny, LOL!), and thought I would pitch in again. I did not do bantams last spring; I didn't want to mail-order chicks (never know if you are going to open up the box...

If it was me, I'd be trying really hard to get pea combs and minimal wattles, with good fluffy feathering. Easter Eggers or Ameraucanas (probably the latter, since you need a specific color male to get the autosexing going) would work. So would Chanteclers and breed the size down, or Buckeyes...

Bumping in the hopes of getting more info on the practical qualities of bantams! Kathleen

Well, I'm in Oregon -- I was born at Florence, but now live on the East side of the Cascades. I agree that you should avoid feather-foot chickens, but for your location, comb is probably more of a matter of your preference. Other than that, I suggest you get several of each breed and try them...

I need to know how, and at what age, to dub some Brown Leghorn cockerels I'm getting. I plan to cross them on pea-comb hens (Easter Eggers) and only keep the pea-combed offspring, but I'll have to keep the Leghorn roosters for at least a year and their combs will definitely freeze in the winter...

I ended up with some Exchequers several years ago -- they came with my order of Mille Fleur Leghorns from Sand Hill. Since I only wanted the Mille Fleur's, I gave the Exchequers to a friend, and they laid very well for her for at least a couple of years. Kathleen

If partner is absolutely certain that the piece of bumper he found came off that car, and you can prove that the chicken that was hit was a bantam (which if proper size for a bantam should not have weighed much more than two pounds), I would suggest requesting a sit-down with representatives of...