Spring 2017 first timers post!

[Jay E.]

I'm not new. Good luck. Chickens are addicting .. LoL We started with 8 last Spring. Hen went Broody in September, she hatched 5. Then my son got an incubator. We're now up to 14 in our Coop, we've given 8 new homes. We still have 3 recently hatched and 1 more egg in the incubator that they snuck in.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Nice! We are adding 3 to the original 6.

I am also adding a second RSL plus a blue ameraucana and a blue splash marans

My Blue Ameracauna is my worst layer, 3 a week maybe 4 She went broody a couple weeks ago, on day 3 of no eggs I put her in the broody breaker for 3 days, not broody anymore but still no eggs. I am hoping her hormones kick in about the time my new chicks arrive it would be nice to watch her raise the babies but I am not holding my breath.
Also her eggs look green to me, I was disappointed she is supposed to be the real deal from Meyers

Gary

 

[DrFeathers]

My Blue Ameracauna is my worst layer, 3 a week maybe 4 She went broody a couple weeks ago, on day 3 of no eggs I put her in the broody breaker for 3 days, not broody anymore but still no eggs. I am hoping her hormones kick in about the time my new chicks arrive it would be nice to watch her raise the babies but I am not holding my breath.
Also her eggs look green to me, I was disappointed she is supposed to be the real deal from Meyers

Gary

Oh man. That’s what I’m getting. Hope she’s not disappointing also :S

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Oh man. That’s what I’m getting. Hope she’s not disappointing also :S

My daughter picked her out, so she gets a retirement plan. If I had it to do over would get another EE, bigger eggs more often

Gary

 

[bajabirdbrain]

Now, Gary, how can you consider getting rid of ANY of your girls??? You know you got them for pets that as a bonus, they "may" give you eggs!!! Glad to see the thread resurrected! BB

 

[DrFeathers]

My daughter picked her out, so she gets a retirement plan. If I had it to do over would get another EE, bigger eggs more often

Gary

So of course I reconsidered and shuffled my order since the last posting, partly based on your comment. We have the two EEs already and decided our biggest priority moving forward was boosting egg production, not egg color, so...

3 reinforcements will be:
Red Sex Link
White Plymouth Rock
Australorp

 

[Merrymouse]

Hi old friends! I think Im going to skip getting new chicks this year. Im trying to space them out a little so I can extend my laying flock. But it is so tempting. I have 6 currently from last spring. I had 3 cockerels and one cochin that didnt live. Hmmmm....it is so tempting to get more this year.

 

[bellaisa]

I picked up 6 more chicks this year; they are now eight weeks and integrating with the big girls. Two Austrolorps, two Columbian Wyandottes, a RIR and a EE. Hoping to get more eggs in the winter. We had a long cold winter in IL this year and some days we were doing good to have breakfast. I hear Austrolorps are good layers in the winter and my gold laced did better than most this winter so I decided to add more Wyandottes also. So I am now up to 18 chickens. I think I will add a rooster next spring.
Did many more of us that were new last spring end up expanding there flock?

 

[Treerooted]

I've got 24 one week old chicks in my sun porch right now

 

[DrFeathers]

I've got 24 one week old chicks in my sun porch right now

Wow, you went big!
My three are 4 weeks old and almost fully feathered. They will move out to the Annex/side coop soon to interact with the 6 big girls through the fence until full grown! After this year we will add 3 every other year to rotate layers and keep our population between 6 and 9.