IA here

[karimw]

Ok Trish, I had some trouble getting the chicks to cooperate but here is what I got.

3 Welsummer roos - hiding in the brooder:

There are 2 I think are nice I have trouble telling these guys apart:

One maybe not so nice. His comb isn't as good. He's the one in the middle in the top picture.

Only one Cochin roo. To me he looks(and walks) like a big colt. He seems so out of proportion! If he grows into those legs he'll be pretty big

Here's my pretty blue girl

Let me know if you need more pictures, I need to get them out in the daylight, but probably not this weekend

 

[sammileah]

Emptynest thanks I've only ordered from hoovers.

Why does everyones coop look so much cleaner than mine. I'll admit i dont scrap poo unless its above freezing. I found my banny hens are roasting in the north west corner and the pile of poo is as high as a straw bale ewwww but hey no draft coming in. maybe next week i'll get out there and clean it real good. food dish, water dish, and nesting boxes are all i clean daily (key word I, lazy preteen lucky to fill water).

 

[ARose4Heaven]

Trust me, you do NOT have the messiest coop! I had to open up the grow out run so my big girls could get a dust bath. Their run is hard as concrete with litter/poo scooped from the coop. I am looking forward to spring! or maybe not...that is gonna be a lot of work cleaning out the run.

 

[sammileah]

i know when its warm enough for cleaning when i can smell it any other time its frozen. gardens will do wonderful this yr with all this poo

 

[ARose4Heaven]

Oh PLEASE, don't mention gardens! I have a huge garden 1/2 acre + an acre of sweet corn, to plant/tend. I HATE WEEDS!!! I am NOT looking forward to the garden this year. I just can't keep ahead of the weeds! If it's not weeds, it's bad weather, insects, worms, deer or my dog. I know I am supposed to enjoy gardening...but it is just WORK. And then there is the canning/freezing of all that wonderful fresh produce...OOF-DA!

Now chickens on the other hand. Nothing about chickens feels like work. I even enjoy mucking out the mess. I must be an odd duck that way. Chickens is FUN!

 

[karimw]

Quote:
You can't be talking about MY coop

Although it's not too bad in the open areas. I keep a layer of sawdust on the floor and sift periodically with my stall fork (for horses) Just like a giant cat litter pan! Works best when everything is frozen actually

I was carefull not to post pics of the roost area

 

[pbjmaker]

Ok now I'm not feeling quite so bad about the frozen poop mountain on the poop board. I'm just trying to keep them healthy

I actually got 4 eggs so far today before the egg eaters got to them! Unfortunately the white EE is one of the worst. I say this because all of a sudden I don't get an egg from her the last 1 1/2 weeks and she has this mysterious yellow crusty stuff all over her head and chest all the time (hmmm could it be frozen yolk????)


They came out of the coop for about 10 seconds this morning and then headed right back in.

 

[EmptyNest]

We are up to a balmy 12 degrees here in tropical SW Iowa

so I am thinking spring and placed my chick orders today.

The majority of my chicks I incubate and raise from my own flock but I like to try something new every year too. This year I ordered some ISA Browns from Town Line Hatchery in Michigan and some RIR Whites from Welp. I'm just curious to see if the ISA's will lay any better than my RIR's. Also, I ordered the RI Whites's to cross w/my RIR's to produce my own sex-link chicks.

Has anyone ordered from Town Line or Welp?

 

[farmgirlie1031]

It's a balmy 7 degrees here and the snow has started falling from the skies. Spent some time looking over the chicken catalogs and planning out this years chick order. I'll also incubate some of my own eggs later when it warms up and I start getting some more eggs. It should be fun this year to see what my Araucana rooster, Turkin rooster, and Frizzle rooster sired chicks will look like from the various hens both barnyard mix and purebred that are currently in the flock. I'm crossing my fingers for a few rumpless Araucana cross chicks, some adorable naked neck chicks, and some awesome frizzle chicks. The silly goose is acting like she might start laying eggs soon. The turkeys are getting frisky with each other also. I'm hoping the turkeys and goose don't start laying eggs this early in the year.

 

[karimw]

Quote:
"Ears perk" Turkeys? I need a turkey. A hen. Or two. I have two toms and a hen. I think I might have problems with that ratio. Anyone know where I can find one?