Bay Area BYCers!

[HiddenHill Heretic]

Great pics CHERYL.. It was a pleasure to meet you at the show. I also just saw your posting about the exchequer Leghorns. I have been enchanted by those guys before. Gotta love any camo style bird. I had white leghorns a few years ago and they were nuts. I hope these guys are more calm. I would be interested in eggs. Let me know, I hope the Wheaten Marans are growing. Also, so Sorry to hear about your Dad. I just went through Dad health problems... Throat Cancer, No fun.. Here are some good wishes, Luke

 

[cherylcohen]

Quote:
thanks Luke, awesome chatting with you as well, and we are all stoked about visiting you!!

yep the wheaties are growing and so are the eggs!

I'm not doing the exchequer leghorns, but I'm getting the MILLE FLEUR LEGHORNS - here is a pic of a couple of birds I hatched last year but gave up because I wasn't breeding then...too bad they looked to be gorgeous!!

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
Clip only one wing. That way they are off balance when they try to fly. If you clip both you'll be shocked at how fast they start up again. I learned the hard way!

Well, there's two chickens. They each need to be clipped. That's two wings. Saying "I'm gonna clip their wing" just sounds wrong.

But yes - that's what I did before with my other girls. Clip one wing.

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
thanks Luke, awesome chatting with you as well, and we are all stoked about visiting you!!

yep the wheaties are growing and so are the eggs!

I'm not doing the exchequer leghorns, but I'm getting the MILLE FLEUR LEGHORNS - here is a pic of a couple of birds I hatched last year but gave up because I wasn't breeding then...too bad they looked to be gorgeous!!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/41441_mf_couple.jpg

Thanks for the pics Cheryl. Fun show.

So what's this about visiting Luke? Are we all invited?

 

[HHandbasket]

That's what I do, too. I clip their right wing so all my birds are left-wingers.

I have noticed that certain ones of my birds require fairly frequent clipping--their feathers must grow back faster or something. Olga is 7 months old & I think we've had to clip her 3 or 4 times. When our BCM pullet first came to live with us, she was 14 weeks old and hadn't been clipped but was getting up on top of the coop, which is only a small hop away from being over the fence so we clipped her the first day.

 

[jeremy]

Hmm, I dunno if it's just because they're too fat to fly any where, but I've yet to have my Orpingtons even try to lift their bums off the ground.

They honestly don't even walk... they waddle!

My Ameraucanas are somewhat of a different story, we've got some low hanging tree branches in our backyard that they like to "fly" up to and preen themselves on in the afternoon sun, but they've never attempted a prison break. So far.

 

[Ali707]

Hello everyone!

Since you are all on the topic of wing clipping, I wanted to ask you your experience with chickens getting over fences...... I keep the girls in a run most of the day, but when I get home and on weekends I let them out into a bigger area of the back yard to forage, etc. I myself am a chicken so I put a net up over the area I let them into so that they can't fly over the fence if they get the chance. I was noticing that in the late afternoon they all start migrating back toward the coop and run.

Do you think they would still fly over the fence in the late afternoon if I were to let them go in unnetted areas? I go out with them at that time and I am actually using them to keep the weeds down in certain areas, but my observation was that they would be less likely to fly away at that time of the day. Is that just an inaccurate assumption on my part? I haven't clipped their wings yet, because it is so cold I figured the extra feathers would help keep them warm.

Also, have any of you had problems with neighborhood cats getting your girls?

Okay and ONE last question, that is kind of stupid at that....... where do you all find dry dirt this time of year for a dust bath? I saw them picking in the wet dirt this weekend trying to make a dirt bath area and needless to say that didn't work too will. I do have sand, DE and ash, but can't get my hands on any dry dirt. It seems silly to dig it up and let it dry in my garage, but I am think I may have to do just that.

Thanks!

 

[pnp4kidz]

I have coops that have open to the dirt areas underneath, so there is generally always a dry area of at least 2 ft x 4 ft, and they use that to roll in...
but this year Mud is in capitol letters for sure at my ranch!

 

[kelseygirl707]

Hey Guys! If you know any Horse Lovers in Lake County looking for a part time Job, feel free to send them the link below. Our Equestrian Center is looking for some Part Time Help.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/lbg/2193712943.html

 

[jeremy]

You can buy a bag of dry potting soil, or even just plain ol' topsoil at tthe Home Depot for relatively cheap. I think the most inexpensive bag in Oakland is like $4.