TULSA area Cluckers

[cathiesue]

Hello Tulsa folks! I'm a newbie to chickens, and have one buff Orpington and two and a quarter RIRs. I say a quarter because one is blind and I think I'm going to have to put her down. Have any of you ever had a blind chicken? Advice is more than welcome.
I'm thinking about getting an EE and a silky. With only being allowed 6 hens in city limits, I'm not sure if they will fit into my needs for production. Anyone know how often they lay?
I want to get to my total of 6 in a few weeks. I'm currently working on scavenging lumber and materials for my coop. It's been going well so far, now I just need a ton of wire mesh. I found out the hard way that there are a lot of raccoons in the pearl district, so chicken wire just wont do the trick. I lost two of the three buff Orpingtons I got.
So how long has everyone here been keeping chickens? What else do you keep? I've been considering bees, and I'm pretty sure my girlfriend is going to make me do it. I also am thinking about quail.
Well, that is enough typing from my phone for now. Hope to hear from you all soon. Good night fellow Tulsa chicken people!

Hi Reagor. Pearl is like most of the city I think. Squirrels, raccoons, nuisance birds, bunnies etc. Sorry about your rir. kindest thing is probably put her down.
aack i hate losing babies! i got a long story but short is is just started this year but have been wanting chickens forever. got 3 buffs, 1 aussie and 3 pretty swedish flower hens. all girls. i;m getting a roo for the swedish soon. i'm allowed since i live out of town. For bees talk to lonnyandrinda, they are in BA i think and on byc often. happy chicken farming!

 

[lonnyandrinda]

When you're ready for bees we've got plenty and/or can hook you up with lots of knowledgable people and resources here in Tulsa. We've had bees for 3 year ourselves, just under 50 hives now. A lot of work at certain times of the year but a lot of fun, too! I would recommend spending this winter studying/reading/researching bees and getting into them in the spring. NEOBA (North East Oklahoma Bee Association) meets one Monday each month at the church at 15th and Harvard, I forget if it's second or third Monday I can check if you are interested. They start the potluck at 7 PM and don't really get the meeting underway until 8 PM. It's usually over about 9. We used to try to go but it's just too late with all our little ones to get to bed, especially when schools in. But they are a generous friendly bunch, always lots to learn there. There are several really good websites I could recommend, too.

EEs are basically chicken mutts, how many eggs and which color they lay will depend on their particular parentage. We have Ameraucanas, we have two laying hens and one rooster and get two pretty blue eggs on most days (probably 5 per week each). If you are interested right now we have a few two week old chicks available, one Ameraucana chick and three EE (Ameraucana/Cuckoo Maran mix- should lay green eggs) or we have a dozen Ameraucana chicks due to hatch August 5. The four chicks were not from our chickens so I'm not sure how they will lay but the ones in the incubator are from ours, I would be pretty confident of 5 eggs/week from the hens. If you buy chicks from us and they turn out to be roosters we will trade them for hens if we have them at the time. $5 each with a later exchange option, or $3 apiece no exchange later.

Good luck with your coop, and your blind hen. That's not something we've had to deal with yet!
Rinda

ETA- we are actually Catoosa side of Tulsa, but do a lot of church/playdates/etc BA direction

 

[Elbert Garrett]

Hey Elbert. Gosh your pen and shop area are in a beautiful place. I remember when my grass was green, ha ha. I don;t have either breed you're looking for but I'm suer you'll find some on here. Pop over to the okie thread and look around. Were you around any of that big fire i heard about tonight? Stay safe.

Thank You!

No, that fire was several miles North of me, it`s all good here, thanks for asking!

 

[cathiesue]

Hey Rinda,
Sorry i relocated you i my post! ha ha. Can i get in on some of the EE action? I really want just two so I can get a few colored eggs. Let me know. I have space available now or i can wiat till your august hatch. Thanks!

 

[Reagor]

Thank You!

No, that fire was several miles North of me, it`s all good here, thanks for asking!

That's good. So have you found some chicks to put in that awesome chicken house yet?

 

[Reagor]

Rinda- that would be wonderful. I'll wait for your August batch. Thank you so much! I will only need three.

Anyone on here know how many nest boxes you need for 6 hens, and what size they need to be for an Orpington? I hear that they get pretty wide, haha.

 

[Elbert Garrett]

That's good. So have you found some chicks to put in that awesome chicken house yet?

No, not yet.....I do have a idea of what I want but I am going to wait until the weather cools before I add any birds.

 

[Buster52]

Anyone on here know how many nest boxes you need for 6 hens, and what size they need to be for an Orpington? I hear that they get pretty wide, haha.

2.

 

[cathiesue]

2 is about right. I know what you mean about the buffs theyre pretty fluffy. Mine seem ok with the milk crates with straw. They don't linger. Hop in, hop out. Oh, and cluck a lot!

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Sure thing, I'll PM both of you.


Quote Reagor as for number of nest boxes, you only need 2 at most, even if you had more they usually all favor the same one or two- silly chickens! Something really easy is to use a 5 gal bucket or a plastic crate and fill it with straw.