Arizona Chickens

[Tracydr]

I caught one of my buttercups today and got to see one of the tiny combs developing. It's like she has a little princess crown on her head. I'll have to take a camera out sometime when I let them out of the coop in the mornings and take a picture. It's just the coolest comb I've ever seen!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

ca, Congratulations on the hatch! Are those the only Sulmtalers in the U.S.?

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
I got 7 chicks out of the deal. The long (10 days in the mail due to mailing company screw up) and far journey was too much for some of the poor eggies. Only 10 made it into lock down, three more died around day 19 (I usually have 80-90% hatch rate). I had two hatch on Wednesday and three on Thursday. Two eggs pipped but then nothing. I caved in and opened both (never done this before). Thank goodness! One was shrink wrapped and the other one must have been doing some pre-hatch Yoga and never got out of the pretzel again. These two are doing stunningly well. I had to fluff them up because they were quite sticky. The last one was bleeding too and got decorated with a pile of coagulant powder. Thanks to Laree they even got vaccinated!
Here is a pic of the seven officially imported sulmtalers:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/69348_img_0871.jpg

Here is the one that I had to dig out:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/69348_img_0817.jpg

In the above pic it is the one on the right eating the green stuff.

Thanks for the details. All important info that I wouldn't know to do when I start running an incubator again. I've lost a few due to bleeding and being stuck in yoga position or dried out before. (thanks to those ultra-cheap stryofoam incubators and lack of humidity in SW OK when I was incubating lots of gunieas and peacocks)
Where did the eggs come from? I think it's just amazing that any hatched at all after all that time in transit. Congratulations. Now I have to go look up sulmtalers.
Where do you buy your vaccines? I'm thinking about hatching some Banties and Egyptians next spring. Wish I could keep more roosters, I'd love to be able to keep a little trio of my buttercups and golden penciled hamburgs. They are just so cute! Except when they're getting in my tomato garden. The buttercups seem to be the instigators of trouble.

 

[ca]

Quote:
I think there might be some bantams but I did not find anybody that claims they have any LF... Might as well be the first Sulmtalers in the U.S.

. I better teach them some English quickly

. Don't know of anybody around here with an Austrian accent (oh, wait, the Governator would qualify...).

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
I think there might be some bantams but I did not find anybody that claims they have any LF... Might as well be the first Sulmtalers in the U.S.

. I better teach them some English quickly

. Don't know of anybody around here with an Austrian accent (oh, wait, the Governator would qualify...).

WOW!!! That is fantastic! What a great feat you have accomplished; you must feel great. I'm imagining the Governator making chicken sounds right now.

 

[ca]

Quote:
I get a lot of medical supplies from Jeffers. One thing I learned is: You have to have stuff before you need it!!! I did not know what to do and just improvised. But I could not have done that without my chicken medical cabinet.

 

[ca]

Quote:
Gallo,
it was very unnerving. I will feel great once they all make it to adulthood and I can use them for breeding

(until then I am a trembling nervous wreck). If you want to know the whole story, it's on my website: http://www.widgetcreekranch.com/import.html. Hope this info can be useful to somebody...

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Gallo,
it was very unnerving. I will feel great once they all make it to adulthood and I can use them for breeding

(until then I am a trembling nervous wreck). If you want to know the whole story, it's on my website: http://www.widgetcreekranch.com/import.html. Hope this info can be useful to somebody...

Wow, I followed some of the nightmare you had as it was happening, but I had no idea how tough it really was; the whole process does indeed look daunting. I loved the story about the P.O. being concerned about chicks running around!

I hope you're able to sell the eggs they'll eventually produce for the price they are worth--and I expect you will. Again, congratulations! I suspect those might be some of the most protected chicks in the country right now.

 

[Tracydr]

Wow, just looked them up.looks like a great, sustainable meat bird prospect. I'll be very interested in seeing how they do for you.
I'm thinking about raising white laced Cornish and improving on their meaty qualities. It always seems that part of our problem with heritage breeds is that we've made them dual purpose, instead of making them specialized. I'd like to have a meat line, maybe the WLC or, even something like your Sulmtalers, Dorkings, or another large breed, selected for meat qualities, and, a nice, light, good egg laying breed that's easy on the feed bill and can take basically care of it's self by foraging. I love the silver leghorn. It's a small bird that eats very little, lays a lot of nice sized eggs, has a "camoflaged" color pattern, and is a great forager.
It seems silly to me to try to have one breed of chicken that does both. They will never do either well. By having dual purpose, you have a breed that eats to much and doesn't lay enough to justify the feed bill but doesn't weigh enough or gain fast enough to make a good meat bird.
Just something I've been thinking about, anyway. I've had a lot of birds of various species for over twenty years, usually on large, pasture situations. The lighter colored, fancy looking birds don't survive long in those environments. So, feather color is also a consideration for me. I'm trying to do a lot of research now, since we plan to move in less than two years and I'd like to have an idea of what type of sustainable meat birds I'd like to raise. I'm planning on some turkeys, too. For now, I'll just keep raising the Cornish cross as they make the most economic sense.

 

[azskier]

Thanks for the info. about posting. I guess I will introduce myself a few more times and try to get some more posts under my belt.

I registered a few months ago but as you all know, summer was SO busy with the kids home. They just went back to school last week so I hope to have more time to get on and learn about chickens. I am fairly new to this but LOVING every minute of it.

My question is: Does anyone know of a store or feedstore in the Valley that carries anything other then the Purina Layena? I prefer a more organic feed (although I have a LOT to learn). Also, do any of you add anything to increase the amount of Omega's in your eggs?

Oh, and maybe if you all ask me questions that I have to answer that will increase my posts as well.