Recent content by mayble

White Laced Red Cornish? Mine also came from McMurray. I have two, one with much better color then they other.

What a wonderful assortment they turned out to be. White Laced Red Cornish, Yokohama, Salmon Faverolles, Lakenvelders, Dorking, Polish, Dominique, Golden Pencilled Hamburg and .. ? Ameraucana maybe?

To be honest, at this stage I can't tell which comb is what. Can anyone point me to a good resource with pics of the different types of comb in chicks?

Who wants to play "Name That Chicken"? 3 weeks old, assorted pullets from McMurray Hatchery's rare and/or crested breeds, with a possible ringer. I ordered the assortment of 15, and received the bonus mystery chick (breed/sex unknown). Lost one in shipping and three more in the early days, so...

What about using tent poles or a canopy frame (like you see at swap meets/flea markets)? You really don't even need to cover the entire run. As long as there is something to break up the open space a large bird won't risk flying into a place it can't easily fly out of. You could also run wires...

So is allowing your dogs to roam free and attack livestock. If that's the case, I'd still take my chances illegally tagging the dog with a paintball or pellet gun over legally killing it with a shotgun.

I've always thought a paintball gun would be handy in these situations. First, the sting of the paint pellet would probably deter the dog (or at least get his attention). Secondly, when their dog comes home covered in pink paint, the owners will have to admit their little darling was up to no good.

Does anyone here have experience with Sulmtalers? It seems they are rather rare in the US. I'm wondering if they live up to their reputation as meat birds who are also decent layers. They are a very pretty breed.

Keep in mind that the hounds, setters and retrievers were developed to find, chase and catch animals - not the best quality in a farm dog I had Irish Wolfhounds on the farm as a kid, and all they wanted to do was eat cats and chase cows. The dogs weren't ever able to run free on the farm. An...

Very insightful post, with plenty for newbies to think about! I am somewhat dumfounded by folks who refuse to think about eating chickens and all those "chicken rescues", "retirement farms", etc., but then I have to wonder if people from some other cultures have the same reaction when they see...

I should probably clarify. It isn't a matter of driving 110 miles to find birds - I've found none available in my state, and would have to have them shipped in from somewhere whether it be a hatchery or breeder. So in deciding between Delawares or New Hampshires, Austrolorps or Orpingtons, my...

A question on this point - I decided to start with hatchery chicks (from Ideal), partly because of the monetary investment and the anticipated learning curve but also because I have a few breeds I'm interested in and wanted to start with a few of each to get a feel for them. My question is -...

Like pitbulls with feathers - the same traits and the same misconceptions. A fighting dog who wouldn't let a handler, even a stranger, tend its wounds was a dead dog. They were meant to be naturally submissive to people. Unfortunately that very valuable trait has been lost by careless breeding.

This would have been me if the breeds I wanted weren't backordered (also from Ideal). Mine won't ship until mid-April, and now I'm glad of it. Hoping for the best for all of you!

Fingers crossed - hope they turn up, safe and sound!