Any one want to join me in waiting for eggs, posting and comparing notes?

[Scott16475]

Apparently humidity is usually the culprit rather than just the cold. My sister has a tiny coop with good ventilation and even her Leghorns don't have any problems with their combs, but my smaller-combed girls have some black spots. I need to install some vents. I have been applying Vaseline to their combs on cold nights since then, and none of them have gotten any worse, even though the temps have dropped again.

Thank you! The entire area around the top is ventilated but clearly it needs more. I'll have to add some closer to the base and hopefully we won't have this problem again. Thank you again for responding!

 

[KittieChick]

Today I have graduated to having 4 out of 5 hens laying! Got a little funny pullet egg today, hoping it's Miss Wyandotte. That would mean all 5 girls are online. Today was a 4 egg day, and this carton was started 1/7/2015. Not bad for middle winter. Yay!

Interesting thing I've noticed that the Black Australorp eggs are darker brown, and the Delaware's eggs are getting more pinkish-purple as she goes. They're like a half and half between brown and purple. The blues are from my EE girl.

 

[chicksurreal]

Woohoo!

First egg from our new flock! A brown one from one of our Delawares. First brown egg ever, it's beautiful!

Here's the egg and it's owner, Crooked Toe (weird name, I know. But she really has a crooked toe.) Lol!
She's just a couple of days over 20 weeks old.

 

[silkiecuddles]

Ok, not sure if this is the best thread for this. In the near future, I may be starting my flock over. Here is my list of chickens I'm considering:

Speckled Sussex: I have some now, they're great layers and very sweet. I'll have to figure out how to keep a rooster tame
Buff Orpingtons: I have a couple now, great layers, except when they go broody
Silkies: defiantly keeping mine from the old flock and getting more
Welsummers: I used to have a couple, and I really like their dark eggs. Opinions on their personality?
Black sex-link: never had them, but would like to because I've read great reviews on their egg laying abilities and they can be sexes as chicks

Can I have opinions on my list? I would like a great egg laying breed, and something good for breeding (to sell chicks).
Thanks!

 

[sssharon]

Silkiecuddles, I have a buff Orpington and she is a really good chicken. She lays real nice eggs and she has never gone broody yet. Can't say I feel bad about that because I would miss her eggs. Every now and then she lays me a huge egg, biggest eggs I ever saw. I had a well summer and she did not make it through winter here and I lost her. She wasn't a bad chicken I never got an egg from her to be able to really enjoy her. She was friendly though she would come up and set on my lap sometimes. Other than that I have barred rocks, mine lays every day my oldest went anyway and I have two more that haven't laid yet and they're all pretty nice birds. One of the young pullets is an EE barred rock and the other is just a barred rock. I like my Easter eggers. We'll see how I like them when they start laying eggs. Personalities they're fine. I also have a couple of Marans. They lay a real pretty brown egg, coppery brown and they lay pretty often. I have an olive egger that lays the prettiest olive egg. She lays a beautiful egg but she is the noisiest chicken I have! She will put up a ruckus for five minutes after she's laid an egg, she knows they're pretty too. I also have an Easter egger/Leghorn cross and she just started laying at 17 weeks old and she has laid me an egg every single day for seven days a real pretty blue one. She's a little skittish but she is really a nice little chicken, she likes my three-year-old granddaughter and will actually let her pet her. I hope I haven't bored you.

 

[silkiecuddles]

Ok thanks (not boring at all).
I'm pretty sure I want to do 3 breeds, and I really like the idea of silkies(no doubt about that), EE, and Black Austrolorps. I know they weren't in my list, but I've read they're amazing layers, and I want a laying breed.
I like the BOs a lot, but I think they're too docile and the roosters take advantage of that. Plus, I don't need their broodiness. The SS wander too much and their eggs are pretty small. As for black sex-link, I've read they have more problems being hybrids, and the second gen. can't be sexed.

 

[CatSol]

I haven't had a welsemmer yet but they are definitely on my list. I do have a Buff orpingtons and they never went broody. Maybe I was just lucky. My Cuckoo Miran did go broody. She was a good mom but she didn't like any of the roos I had at that time so I got no crosses with her. She raised eggs from other birds. I do like my RIR. They lay really well. Sorry if I am not enough help... but good luck with your birds. Sounds like you have some great verities.

 

[Melabella]

I adore Black Australorps as layers, and their dispositions are wonderful, and sweet. I also love their big round black eyes. Very pretty birds.

Did you end up getting them yet?
Let usknow!

M B

 

[silkiecuddles]

Ok, thanks for the help, everybody! I haven't gotten anymore yet. It would be in a couple months. I'd be getting chicks

 

[Marcy54]

My Maran is unbroody! One of my 16 week olds laid a peewee first egg!