California - Northern

[JensChickies]

Yes they do

Oh good. I bought my first ever chicks from a feed store in vacaville. Well a couple of weeks ago one came down with symptoms that could be Mereks. I called the store to see if they vaccinated for Mereks and the girl said no but it's only 0.12cents. I was so upset with them. I will never go back. Now l have a closed flock and can only ever have chicks vaccinated for Mereks. It's good to know about concord feed.

 

[chrissyr]

What a rainbow!
Hope I get some nice dark brown eggs soon, like that one on the right. Wow.
Aren't you missing white? Polish are good for those... 

I know right? I totally need white sending dark egg wishes your way

 

[caychris]

Oh good. I bought my first ever chicks from a feed store in vacaville. Well a couple of weeks ago one came down with symptoms that could be Mereks. I called the store to see if they vaccinated for Mereks and the girl said no but it's only 0.12cents. I was so upset with them. I will never go back. Now l have a closed flock and can only ever have chicks vaccinated for Mereks. It's good to know about concord feed.

Are you close to concord?

 

[JensChickies]

Are you close to concord?

Yes I am.

 

[95030chick]

My hens can't get enough dried mealworms.

I bought a large bag of Happy Hen mealworms when I got my first chicks, and it has lasted this long since the chickens weren't interested in them when they were little chicks and I didn't try again until they were grown. So, I was looking for a source for Happy Hen mealworms, and after some research, found that they may come from China. Or perhaps the bags are from China and the mealworms are from Texas, or maybe the other way around. (Some people insist they are grown in Texas, since that is where the company is based. The Happy Hen website does not specify the source of their mealworms. The confusion comes from both "Made in China" declaration and the company address on the bag.) I've heard bad things about pet food coming from China, so I did a little more looking and found this:

http://tastyworms.com/dried-mealworms.html

They have free shipping, bulk quantities, and they say that they raise their own mealworms in Florida. (They even give instructions on mealworm raising, as well as explaining why they began raising mealworms.) These bags also have a "use by" date, which I don't see on the Happy Hen bags. Prices range from $28/lb (for 4 oz) to $9.10/lb (for 11 lbs), and slightly more for a resealable bag … in fact, I think most of the cost for the 4 oz size is probably the bag.

I haven't gotten my order yet, so can't give a first hand report. I may have read one Amazon user comment about her hens not seeming to like these as much as the Happy Hen brand. I'm not expecting them to notice the change!

 

[1zooman12]

Hello Queen Bubbles,
First there is really no such designation as a Black Sex Link chicken simply because sex linkage is a genetic condition and not a breed. As a matter of fact what you probably mean is a Black Star chicken which is a label to identify a hybrid bird since this animal can't have a breed designation being a cross (hybrid). Nor does this animal likely have an avoidance problem as a result of its genetic heritage. Your bird is near to or at the bottom of the peck order as you seem to have surmised. Ron Ottman's suggestion is spot on. Another thing you might do is to protect the bird by putting up a temporary coarse fence which will allow contact with the other birds higher up the peck order and yet protect it from the trauma of assault. Your bird knows that it must eat on the run lest it take a drubbing. Being partially isolated will allow your bird to get more nutrition and thus likely build up strength and subsequent confidence. When not feeding I would allow the bird direct unprotected contact with the rest of the flock returning it to the "protected arena" only for feeding say twice or three times a day. It will then likely build up enough confidence to eventually feed without any shielding at all. Of course this prescription requires you to be home with the hen most of the day, at least until you achieve your goal. I remember back in the Stone Age as a college student in the ag. department of Un. of Md. when we would enter a broiler house containing 20,000 or so chickens one could easily spot the 50 or so pathetic ones at the bottom of the peck order as they would run to you and feed like mad while the other birds would shy away. These birds had learned that this would be the only opportunity that they would have uninterrupted opportunity to feed during the day! House managers would often make several daily trips inside the broiler house for the main purpose of giving the poor things a respite as well as to check on the operation of the food and watering equipment.
Stay well and hang in there,
Neal, the Zooman

 

[Happy Chooks]

So half of these are thanks to @ronott1 for the beautiful egg basket .these are his OE, some blue are his Arkansas blue and some are CL
The Marans are my older girls. They're still holding color well. Waiting for the new ones to start

Beautiful! Now you need white in your collection!

 

[casportpony]

So half of these are thanks to @ronott1 for the beautiful egg basket .these are his OE, some blue are his Arkansas blue and some are CL
The Marans are my older girls. They're still holding color well. Waiting for the new ones to start

Very pretty!

-Kathy

 

[Chickengirl1304]

So half of these are thanks to @ronott1 for the beautiful egg basket .these are his OE, some blue are his Arkansas blue and some are CL
The Marans are my older girls. They're still holding color well. Waiting for the new ones to start

What a gorgeous picture! Nice job!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

So half of these are thanks to @ronott1 for the beautiful egg basket .these are his OE, some blue are his Arkansas blue and some are CL
The Marans are my older girls. They're still holding color well. Waiting for the new ones to start

This kinda pic makes me want ALL THE CHICKENS!