Recent content by johnsc22

I have a Melle Fleur that I would like to find a new home for. She's probably around 2 years old (I got her as a pullet) and is still laying regularly. She's very pretty but basically isn't a very nice chicken - she's a bit of a bully. I know that's not much of a recommendation for her, but...

I haven't identified which bird was laying the tiny eggs. Whoever it was has stopped now. One of the possible birds, a Buff Rock, is just over a year old. She seems to be losing feather pigment and is looking more of a strawberry blond than her usual red self. I assume that this is just down to...

Does anyone know of any local sources for hay bales? And by local, I mean SF east bay, or within a reasonable distance. We're hosting a pumpkin party for my kids' school and we promised a hay bale maze. Cheap is good, free even better. They'll be returned as good as new. I have checked with...

Any idea what's up with teeny tiny eggs? We've had 3 in the space of a week. I cracked one open today, it had a very hard shell, and the yolk wasn't properly formed - not yellow, just glutinous. Is this something I need to worry about?

One of the "girls" I hatched 16 weeks ago crowed for the first time today. I take it that there's no doubt I have a roo on my hands? It looks like a girl, only now that I've heard he/she crow that I think that maybe it's a little tall. In the same batch I had a roo that crowed at 3 weeks and so...

These are the first five out. The kids couldn't wait any longer to hold them.

I have the incubator at home for this batch since the first was a complete failure. I'm a little more confident in the temperature at home than in school overnight. The chicks are still coming. 5 as of this morning and more coming. I've been keeping an eye on the activity from my desk in the...

Thanks. Will sit tight. I think I have 3 more on the way so I'll resist the temptation of holding one of the little fuzz balls in the hope that I'll have 7! I think I may be looking on CL for a second coop....

I set some eggs a few weeks ago as part of a kindergarten project and got zero hatches. It was really heartbreaking to have the kids come and ask me when they were going to see any chicks. On that occasion I drove and got the eggs and had high expectations. After that failure I tried again...

You're welcome. BTW I'm a Claire not a John (I know you couldn't tell that from my profile ID). Hope you find some nice chickens today. Please report back if the conditions are not great up there. I'm so proud of my kids today and the Mothers Day gifts they made. The thing in the middle is an...

There's a place out in Livermore that has a whole range of ages of chickens and breeds. It's called Bay Area Farm & Feed at 101 N Greenville Rd. We bought our original flock from there and 2 more birds since. Warning though, the place doesn't Yelp well. People have reported seeing some birds in...

Are you in Lafayette? I can post it on the Lamorinda Moms listserv if you like. There's always people looking for places in the area. Just let me know what schools you are near.

I have an "egg-cam" set up so the kids can watch their every move (or lack of it). Will sit tight tomorrow, and the day after and then I'll probably head off for the chick shop....

I'll stick my neck out there and say I'd be willing to host a local Bay Area get together. I'm in Orinda and can host a weekend pot luck do if you're interested. Do I need to host chickens too????

I'm doing my very first hatch. I'm almost at the end of day 20 and no sign of anything happening. I turned off the egg turner a couple of days ago and upped the humidity - currently running at 60% humidity and 99.5 degrees. Does that sound OK? Should I have taken the eggs out of the turner or is...