Hey Everyone

LaurelTree

In the Brooder
Jun 6, 2016
89
12
33
Central Florida
Hi, I'm LaurelTree! Feel free to call me Laurel, or really just about whatever you want. I'm a relatively friendly and open person, and I just recently fell in love with with chickens (and ducks, lol.) So, needless to say, I'm pretty eager to get involved in this community.

Right now we have five one-year-old Black Australorp hens, one Australorp rooster of the same age, six fourteen-week-old Rhode Island Red pullets, and four fourteen-week-old Pekin ducks of unknown gender (but my current guess is three males and one female) in our relatively decent sized coop. And, as of a week ago, I hatched out my very first clutch of seven Australorp chicks!

My current desire is to get this flock to be self sustaining and maybe even bringing in a small profit, but it seems we need to be producing more eggs than five at most every day. So, the plan is to build up three separate flocks of ten laying hens and one rooster each. One would be Black Australorps, another would be Rhode Island Reds, and the third would be Barred Plymouth Rocks. I've heard wonderful things about these breeds and how they fit well with Florida heat (Yep, I'm a Florida gall). And not only do I like the experience I've had with the Aussies and Reds over these past few months, but we've had a Barred Plymouth Rock hen before, and she was a sweetie.

Quick backstory: When I was about 11-12 years old, my parents let my four siblings and I purchase a chick each from a local feed store. We brooded them in an extra rabbit cage and then kept them in the back yard for a little over a year. There were three Easter Egger types that I can't remember the exact name of (they were moody little ladies and bullied the other two), a Barred Plymouth Rock, and a Buff Orpington. They never laid a single egg, which our more knowledgeable chicken keeping friends attributed to the very possible stress of a noisy suburban atmosphere, and the Buffy and BPR eventually died of illness as they were both kept with one another. The other three were separate so they couldn't be bullies, and after we realized we couldn't keep them happy, we gave them to our family friends. Nine-ish years later and we're having much better success.

Through it all, I'm still learning things as I go, and would love-love-love any help or advice. Links with instructions, best feed brands, home made feed and scratch recipes, local hen sellers, you name it. Likewise, if you think I may be able to help you with something, feel more than free to ask. I'd certainly love to know I'm doing something right, and if I can help someone in anyway, then I must be, lol.

Thanks!
Laurel
 
Nice to meet you Laurel. I advise you to check out the Learning Center and also post on your state thread. Just put state name in the search box and it will come up. That's the best way to find out if you have chickeners for neighbors. The local folk will have the best information about your area.
 
Hi Laurel and
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- great to have you onboard with us.

You'll find lots of info in the Learning Centre
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center, and if you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads. There's at least one thread on making your own food, one on cooking (and another on baking) and there's the buy/sell/trade forum - which you can participate on once you have made 20 posts.

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you

All the best
CT
 
Hello there Laurel and welcome to BYC!
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Don't you just love your Australorps? I just love this breed. They are so docile, gentle, they are great layers, smart, hardy in both hot and cold, mine are HUGE on lap sitting, LOL and follow me around like drooling puppies! I will ALWAYS keep Aussies in my flock.

Good luck with all your projects and we do welcome you to our flock! :)
 
Thanks, TwoCrows! And I certainly do! I will probably always have them as well. I've read in multiple places that they are broody, so I've been hoping for that, but with no current success. Maybe soon!
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I got mine as adults from a breeder, so I don't have as sweet of a relationship with mine as you seem to, but I've been working with them a lot. The rooster is the easiest to grab and hold as of right now, which is definitely good, but I would love for the hens to be just as friendly with me, let alone be lap sitters. Maybe this clutch will be much more cluddly, lol.

Any advice you might have to help me connect with them?
 
Aussies are more likely to be broody. I have had several broodies in my Aussie flock, none in my Barred Rock flock. Aussies make wonderful mothers too. They are very devoted and many Aussies are SO fluffy, they can really keep those babies warm. Hang in there, you are bound to get a few broodies! :)

If you let broodies raise the babies, the chicks are less likely to be so lap loving. LOL But any babies I bring home from the feed store, get lap training from day 1! On the living room floor they go and of course they gravitate to my lap immediately. They love my lap for the rest of their days! Ha!

Enjoy! :)
 

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