Yeah we've had a good steady rain all day, some decent gusts of wind now and then, but so far nothing worse than a typical storm. I must have lost power for a bit at home while I was at work but it couldn't have been for long.
Last time we had a hurricane come through the Charlotte area, I still had my coop v 1.0, aka the converted baby crib on wheels, which would have been light enough to get knocked over or torn up pretty good. I lashed it down with a tarp over top and hoped for the best.
Unfortunately, the tarp...
I found my first chickens on Craigslist, they seem to pop up pretty frequently in this area. I've also gotten some Easter Egger pullets from Margaret's Roost just across the border in SC https://www.facebook.com/MargaretsRoost
The rooster is a really chill guy (that's how he escaped getting sent to freezer camp last year!) but the EEs tend toward the dramatic side for sure. My Wyandotte keeps them in line pretty easily but I could see them being a bit bossy to calmer breeds. The chicks I have from them right now are...
I have fertile eggs from Easter Egger hens and a game fowl rooster. Not sure what color eggs the pullets would lay (the hens lay green and blue), I'm using the offspring as meat chickens rather than layers, but if you want to play chicken roulette I can set you aside some eggs :p.
Mine doesn't allow them...but it doesn't explicitly NOT allow them, either. And I know I"m not the only person in the neighborhood with chickens. You may have more luck finding a definitely chicken-friendly place in Matthews or Mint Hill or one of the other smaller towns nearby. Even Monroe or...
NC Dept of Ag is recommending that all poultry be kept in enclosed spaces/indoors until Feb 20th, by which time the migratory birds carrying the bird flu should be out of the area.
http://www.ncagr.gov/avianflu/index.htm
Guess my four are moving into the garage for a bit!
I have the larger screen 'windows' in the coop blocked with cardboard so they don't get too much wind coming through. The coop itself is small so the four of them keep it pretty toasty. If I get time I may clean out the bedding and put new stuff down but that's not a pressing issue. I've got a...
@3KillerBs lol yeah my 'rooster' is the same age. He only recently established himself as top chicken and he takes his job of observing (from a safe distance) new things like fallen trees very seriously.
The three hens have all experienced the falling cypresses before so it was only new for the...
Yeah it was storming good this morning when I got up. My rooster came down the ramp from the coop and crowed a few times, looked around at the rain pouring down, was like 'nope' and went back into the coop to finish crowing XD.
Some time between then and me getting dressed for work, the wind...
Yeah I think by late March you should be past any stray late frosts but keep a heater on hand just in case. The chicks I hatched last year were in early July and by the time they moved outside in August it definitely was hot. They spent most of their days lounging in the shade.
@baconeggs Margaret's Roost just on the other side of the SC border sells pullets. You can find her on Facebook. Got my two Easter Eggers from her. My first two chickens, a Rhode Island Red and a gold lace Wyandotte, I got as adults from a local backyard chicken owner who needed to thin out his...
Anyone sell hatching eggs in this state or nearby? I'm looking for any dual-purpose breed, and ideally at least two different breeds. I'm starting my great meat chicken adventure, and I'm in the 'find what breed(s) I like best' stage so I'm pretty much game for anything. I'm willing to drive...
That big dust cloud is supposed to be coming through NC this weekend, anyone know if this is something we need to be concerned about for our birds? I really can't find much info online except 'people with allergies/asthma may want to stay indoors'. If that's all, I would think my older hen can...
@3KillerBs Oh I'm not worried about it being difficult--my background is in biology and medicine and I've done enough 'wet labs' that slicing up deceased animals isn't that big of a deal to me. Processing a chicken from start to finish is just something I've not done before and I learn better in...
Another question, is there anyone in NC who processes their own meat chickens who might be willing (at some future point in time when there's not a world plague) to show me/walk me through how it's done? I've been thinking about raising some broilers for myself but I've never dispatched and...