Bay Area BYCers!

[cherylcohen]

Quote:
Sarah, Wow fabulous work on those cages. Indeed Karen new projects are so exciting! Seems all I want to do is spend time at the ranch lately..... Teaching a 4H group there today @ 11am if anyone wants to pop in, I should be there most of the day

Before I was into chickens "big time" I was a 4H leader for 11 years while my kids were growing up in 4H. Very rewarding & I have considered doing it again, but where would I get the time????? LOL It was a full time jobs for me back then with 3 projects & 72 kids I had meetings every week & monthy community meetings & county level meetings too. Getting older has certainly slowed this ol' gal down.....LOL

YOU must have been a fabulous 4H leader - put it on your list... a must do for 2012

 

[PetRock]

Quote:
Ok karen that is sad, I think I better ship over to you the chicks I have in my brooder and you can be their auntie. Then you can raise the 26 eggs that are going into lockdown today.

I don't you to be bored

I do so love raising the chicks & hatching is the best. I have room now for eggs, chicks & growing out birds but am totally out of room for grown birds. I get cracks made about the Winchester mystery coops.....LOL
The custom quail cages I had made are ready to be picked up today & I don't know if I want to give up the convenience of having the quail in the brooders that are all but empty....We'll see.....LOL. Everyday is a new adventure. I am going to go out now & try to rake some of the pounds of feathers in the runs. Everyone was in a molt & there are feather everywhere.

LOL! My DH calls our coop/run the Winchester Mystery Coop! I keep having him add on differnt things in order to support more chooks. I have been recently thinking about converting our shed into a second coop. But what will I do with all the theater things stored in there? I am much more into chicken drama these days so I guess it would be out with theater and in with chickens!

 

[mycutekitties]

Quote:
I like Bantams since the birds are mostly for my daughters. They are easy for them to handle. I like how they don't take much room, they don't eat as much and the clean up is not as bad as my standard birds. I do have a pair of buff polish that are standard and then some rocks and other misc layers. I am so in love with my bantams. I really hope that the Olandsk dwarfs eggs I got from greenfire make it. I would love to add those little guys to my banty flock.

Oh and taking about the Greenfire eggs, I candeled (couldn't resist) last night. Every single one was growing. I couldn't see in the dark eggs but the Isbars and Olandsk's look great! I don't take them out to candle, just open my lid and put my flashlight up to the eggs (takes about 30 sec).

 

[cherylcohen]

Quote:
I like Bantams since the birds are mostly for my daughters. They are easy for them to handle. I like how they don't take much room, they don't eat as much and the clean up is not as bad as my standard birds. I do have a pair of buff polish that are standard and then some rocks and other misc layers. I am so in love with my bantams. I really hope that the Olandsk dwarfs eggs I got from greenfire make it. I would love to add those little guys to my banty flock.

Oh and taking about the Greenfire eggs, I candeled (couldn't resist) last night. Every single one was growing. I couldn't see in the dark eggs but the Isbars and Olandsk's look great! I don't take them out to candle, just open my lid and put my flashlight up to the eggs (takes about 30 sec).

congrats

 

[sewandgrow]

Quote:
I do so love raising the chicks & hatching is the best. I have room now for eggs, chicks & growing out birds but am totally out of room for grown birds. I get cracks made about the Winchester mystery coops.....LOL
The custom quail cages I had made are ready to be picked up today & I don't know if I want to give up the convenience of having the quail in the brooders that are all but empty....We'll see.....LOL. Everyday is a new adventure. I am going to go out now & try to rake some of the pounds of feathers in the runs. Everyone was in a molt & there are feather everywhere.

LOL! My DH calls our coop/run the Winchester Mystery Coop! I keep having him add on differnt things in order to support more chooks. I have been recently thinking about converting our shed into a second coop. But what will I do with all the theater things stored in there? I am much more into chicken drama these days so I guess it would be out with theater and in with chickens!

You go girl..........I will be rooting for you the whole time. I need as much company in my obsession as possible......LOL

 

[sewandgrow]

Quote:
I like Bantams since the birds are mostly for my daughters. They are easy for them to handle. I like how they don't take much room, they don't eat as much and the clean up is not as bad as my standard birds. I do have a pair of buff polish that are standard and then some rocks and other misc layers. I am so in love with my bantams. I really hope that the Olandsk dwarfs eggs I got from greenfire make it. I would love to add those little guys to my banty flock.

Oh and taking about the Greenfire eggs, I candeled (couldn't resist) last night. Every single one was growing. I couldn't see in the dark eggs but the Isbars and Olandsk's look great! I don't take them out to candle, just open my lid and put my flashlight up to the eggs (takes about 30 sec).

Good for you Sarah. I will keep my fingers crossed for you..................

 

[mycutekitties]

Y
Quote:
LOL! My DH calls our coop/run the Winchester Mystery Coop! I keep having him add on differnt things in order to support more chooks. I have been recently thinking about converting our shed into a second coop. But what will I do with all the theater things stored in there? I am much more into chicken drama these days so I guess it would be out with theater and in with chickens!

You go girl..........I will be rooting for you the whole time. I need as much company in my obsession as possible......LOL

lol I am excited to have new babies! My youngest are 7 weeks old and will be ready to hang with the babies outside soon! I brood in my house (in the master bathroom). I like to have them close. For me they do better inside.

 

[sewandgrow]

Quote:
You go girl..........I will be rooting for you the whole time. I need as much company in my obsession as possible......LOL

lol I am excited to have new babies! My youngest are 7 weeks old and will be ready to hang with the babies outside soon! I brood in my house (in the master bathroom). I like to have them close. For me they do better inside.

Sarah, I brood indoors too. I live in a very old house that has a closed in front porch & we built my brooders in out there right near the incubator so my new chicks spend their first week out there with me checking on them first thing every morning. We can actually watch them through a big 4 foot window while sitting at the dining room table.....LOL. There are a few kinks....I have not found a water system that I like for them so have gone back to the plastic quart jars with the screw on water trays. What a daily job to clean & refill those all the time & they do make a mess scratching around & kicking out their litter. I am always sweeping & vacuuming. Funny how quickly they become accustom to the vacuum noise. I just keep it right out there in the porch where it is close to grab. After the chicks get big enough & are feathered out I move them to a grow out pen that is in a patio of that same porch. It is outdoors but totally covered & I use a 5 gal nipple waterer & larger hanging feeders which makes it much easier. They stay in there for weeks sometimes & then I move them totally out doors under the carport roof out back with the rest of the chickens. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many chickens. J.S. West comes again today with my 3 300lb. barrel of feed that is gone waaaaaaaaay too soon.....LOL
Tomorrow is the due date for my last eggs & they are Frizzled Cochins for my daughter I thnk. I have the door of the incubator marked.

 

[cherylcohen]

Quote:
lol I am excited to have new babies! My youngest are 7 weeks old and will be ready to hang with the babies outside soon! I brood in my house (in the master bathroom). I like to have them close. For me they do better inside.

Sarah, I brood indoors too. I live in a very old house that has a closed in front porch & we built my brooders in out there right near the incubator so my new chicks spend their first week out there with me checking on them first thing every morning. We can actually watch them through a big 4 foot window while sitting at the dining room table.....LOL. There are a few kinks....I have not found a water system that I like for them so have gone back to the plastic quart jars with the screw on water trays. What a daily job to clean & refill those all the time & they do make a mess scratching around & kicking out their litter. I am always sweeping & vacuuming. Funny how quickly they become accustom to the vacuum noise. I just keep it right out there in the porch where it is close to grab. After the chicks get big enough & are feathered out I move them to a grow out pen that is in a patio of that same porch. It is outdoors but totally covered & I use a 5 gal nipple waterer & larger hanging feeders which makes it much easier. They stay in there for weeks sometimes & then I move them totally out doors under the carport roof out back with the rest of the chickens. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many chickens. J.S. West comes again today with my 3 300lb. barrel of feed that is gone waaaaaaaaay too soon.....LOL
Tomorrow is the due date for my last eggs & they are Frizzled Cochins for my daughter I thnk. I have the door of the incubator marked.

I've been brooding week olds inside the room in the garage but are now moving them after that to my brooder inside the middle pen. I have heating lights and a cover on it (I think mot of you have seen my setup) We just bought an autowater at the feed store need to build a platform for it, it'll let you know how it works. I'm so tired of changing the brooder water....

 

[sewandgrow]

Me too Cheryl. My brooders are enclosed & are only 12" high so I am limited as to what I can do as far as waterers go. I tried the nipple feeders but the chicks walk under them & make them drip so I had a muddy mess so stopped that right away. I couldn't deal with the mess & knew if wasn't healthy for the chicks. I would love to find a better water system that would work.