Bay Area BYCers!

[cherylcohen]

I love the education part too! I've been teaching classes at Siena Ranch where my breeding flocks are and have been asked to do a talk at the heather farms walnut creek garden club. Really really fun, I love it

The reassessment is up and down at the moment, in fact chooklet reminds me how much I have going on in my life right now and that I need to take time to make the decisions. She knows me well...

 

[sewandgrow]

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Sorry I am so far. I have chicks out yesterday & more hopefully on the 3rd. I am such a hatchaholic I almost always have chciks less than a week old.
Karen in Turlock

 

[sewandgrow]

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I love helping people learn all about it too. I always take eggs to my garden club meeting & have been asked to be a program speaker at one of next seasons meetings. I love it so much I do it on command (request) regulary to anyone that will listen.....LOL. Gardening, chickens & compost all go together along with so many other good things in life.
It is great that you have such a good friend in Chooklet. Chickens are great but life wouldn't be worth living without our friends..........

 

[OrpingtonManor]

I live on a city lot on the fringes of town. My backyard is really my side yard, so my chickens are quite visible from the sidewalk. Many people stop with their kids to "see the chickens." It's really valuable for people to see that chickens can be quiet and well-mannered. More and more people are getting chickens in my neighborhood.

Education is a great thing!

 

[Anna_B_Happy]

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Sorry I am so far. I have chicks out yesterday & more hopefully on the 3rd. I am such a hatchaholic I almost always have chciks less than a week old.
Karen in Turlock

I am on day 21 for my broody hen....so I should have chicks literally at any moment!! I have Jeremy's BW eggs, and Karen's light sussex, black australorp, marans, blue andalusian, etc.... I will keep you posted....have to wait and see what hatches!!!

 

[jeremy]

Quote:
Sorry I am so far. I have chicks out yesterday & more hopefully on the 3rd. I am such a hatchaholic I almost always have chciks less than a week old.
Karen in Turlock

I am on day 21 for my broody hen....so I should have chicks literally at any moment!! I have Jeremy's BW eggs, and Karen's light sussex, black australorp, marans, blue andalusian, etc.... I will keep you posted....have to wait and see what hatches!!!

I forgot about you giving those eggs to your broody! I hope you get a few BW babies!

 

[Anna_B_Happy]

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I am on day 21 for my broody hen....so I should have chicks literally at any moment!! I have Jeremy's BW eggs, and Karen's light sussex, black australorp, marans, blue andalusian, etc.... I will keep you posted....have to wait and see what hatches!!!

I forgot about you giving those eggs to your broody! I hope you get a few BW babies!

I hope so too. Its my first time candling and such, but it looked to me like three of the BW's didnt develop. Still, I have three left that I am hoping will produce chicks. But, one of those managed to roll out of the nest a day or so ago, so not sure about that one either (i stuck it back under her, but it felt cold). So, that leaves two good eggs....I hope to see some chicks today. I guess it is true about not counting your chicks before they hatch! I don't REALLY need more chicks, though, so it is OK if I only get a few.

Eleven of my eggs from Karen seemed to develop (though I am inexperienced, so thinking it will be fewer in the end as I really dont know what a quitter looks like.)

Anna

 

[jeremy]

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I want to see a picture of that egg! Dolly is still holding out on me, I haven't gotten an egg from her yet.

I wouldn't be too disappointed just yet, you've gotta let those girls grow some more. I am not making any serious culls this year until my Ameraucanas are at 20 weeks old. They go through "juvie molts" until the reach their final stage of maturity and the difference in the bird from beginning to end can sometimes be astounding. I bet you a lot if not all of the black smuttiness on their back clears up by then. The black in the hackles, maybe. If you were to use them for breeding down the road you would want to pair them with a male that offsets their faults then out of their offspring pick the chicks with the least amount of faults inherited from each parent.

My first year of breeding I was entirely too picky at a very, very early age and I ended up selling off half of my stock before they even had a chance to mature. All I wanted was Blue Wheaten males and females and anything else wasn't good enough. I gave up 4 Wheaten pullets and 2 cockerels that could have been excellent examples of the breed... but I'll never know how they turned out. I've learned now through reason and guidance from other breeders that everything takes time and there's now way you're going to get a perfect bird your first time around. You have to work with what you have and work until you get it right. Or as close to right as possible.

Concerning Norbert, I don't have any experience with White Ameraucanas but the look of his body and general aesthetics should be the same. You want a small evenly spaced pea comb with 3 clearly defined rows of peas, he also should be absent of having any wattles. His hackles should be full throughout his neck. You want a good sized bird, Ameraucanas are suppose to be a dual purpose breed. I feel like that's something that's lacking in a lot of folks line, size. I plan on working towards making my birds bigger. You want the same 45 degree tail angle that sweeps smoothly from the birds back like in the females. Legs should be dark blue/slate.

This White bird belongs to Jean Ribbeck and is a very fine example of a White male.

 

[Anna_B_Happy]

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Sorry I am so far. I have chicks out yesterday & more hopefully on the 3rd. I am such a hatchaholic I almost always have chciks less than a week old.
Karen in Turlock

Also, I plan to visit Karen in Turlock this weekend, so I could bring back chicks for you from her if you like.

Anna

 

[Anna_B_Happy]

Woot! The first chick hatched under my broody hen.

Day 21 today and I have a blue andalusian chick tucked under Bo Peep (my partridge cochin). She kicked the empty shell out of the nest or I wouldnt even know that the chick is tucked under her. Can't really see a thing as she is so fluffy.

Hoping for many more to hatch today.

Anna