Bay Area BYCers!

[jeremy]

I am ordering 6 bantam Orpingtons from Brandi's Fancy Feathers in Louisiana (on Facebook). She has a 10 chick minimum, would anyone like to split an order? She has Orps and bantam Orps. Let me know if you want any, thanks! BTW I am in Santa Clara.

I'm considering ordering some bantam BBS babies from her, as my bantam hatch this Spring didn't turn out well at all.

That said... my bantam Chocolate & Black flock started giving me eggs this weekend! 2 eggs, one from Saturday & one from today!

 

[Honora]

I'm considering ordering some bantam BBS babies from her, as my bantam hatch this Spring didn't turn out well at all.

That said... my bantam Chocolate & Black flock started giving me eggs this weekend! 2 eggs, one from Saturday & one from today!

Cool, how big are the eggs? My husband is anti-bantam because of the small eggs, but I convinced him that bantam Orpington eggs would not be that small. ?

BTW I ended up changing my order of 6 into an order of 12, lol. I am now trying to figure out how I will fit 12 chicks into my plastic bin brooder. A friend of mine wants 3 of the chicks, but she wants to be sure they are pullets before she takes them, so her kids don't get too upset about having to get rid of one that turned out to be a rooster. So somehow I am going to have 12 chicks in my spare room this winter!

If I end up having more than 6 pullets or if you want a cockerel or two you are welcome to have some of my extras! Trying to figure out what I will do with the cockerels, too. This whole thing will be a new adventure to me.

How soon can you tell the sex of Orpingtons?

 

[AlpineButterfly]

That said... my bantam Chocolate & Black flock started giving me eggs this weekend! 2 eggs, one from Saturday & one from today!   

Congrats on the eggs!

Cool, how big are the eggs?  My husband is anti-bantam because of the small eggs, but I convinced him that bantam Orpington eggs would not be that small. ? 

My bantam hens lay eggs about 40g. I have bantam Brahmas, Easter Eggers, and a Cochin.

A large egg is about 60g.

 

[jeremy]

Cool, how big are the eggs? My husband is anti-bantam because of the small eggs, but I convinced him that bantam Orpington eggs would not be that small. ?

BTW I ended up changing my order of 6 into an order of 12, lol. I am now trying to figure out how I will fit 12 chicks into my plastic bin brooder. A friend of mine wants 3 of the chicks, but she wants to be sure they are pullets before she takes them, so her kids don't get too upset about having to get rid of one that turned out to be a rooster. So somehow I am going to have 12 chicks in my spare room this winter!

If I end up having more than 6 pullets or if you want a cockerel or two you are welcome to have some of my extras! Trying to figure out what I will do with the cockerels, too. This whole thing will be a new adventure to me.

How soon can you tell the sex of Orpingtons?

They're smaller than LF, but not tiny. I just snapped this pic of the egg they gave me today next to a regular store bought egg.



I expect them to get a bit bigger with time too, as pullet eggs are initially a bit small.

What colors are you getting from her? I told her I wanted Blue, Splash, and a few Mauve.

My bantam babies that I hatched earlier this year were pretty easy to sex early on, definitely by 4-6 weeks old. I have my fair share of experience hatching and rearing chicks though, it sometimes takes others longer. If you need another set of eyes, just let me know when you're ready & I'll try to help out as much as I can!

As far as excess roos, if you end up with more pullets than you want it's always easier to rehome roosters if you can sell a pullet with them. I hardly ever let pullets go by themselves, and if I do the price is much higher than if the buyer takes a roo home too. I would suggest eating your excess cockerels, that's what I have done in the past, but these guys are bantams. After all the work processing I don't know how worth it would be to eat a bantam bird!

 

[Honora]

Thanks for the info jeremy & AlpineButterfly. I am getting 12 blue/black/splash, don't really have a preference. It seems like a lot of people are requesting blues so maybe I will end up with a lot of black chicks. I ordered some rubber bands for their legs so hopefully that will help with telling them apart.

The mauves are pretty too but we already have brown chickens so we want some color variety. Still trying to get my brooder set up; I am thinking now of cardboard boxes with a plastic-lined floor. Definitely looking forward to getting these chicks! Hope it won't be too long of a wait.

 

[jeremy]

A few pics of our bantam Chocolate Orpington flock, they're looking a bit messy after the recent rain we had, but I figured it was time to show them off.

The cockerel, who wouldn't pose at all, is split to Chocolate.

 

[FoxholeFarm]

Does anyone have spare solid-wall carriers for small animals? The ones sold for cats are ideal and I need 2. I would love to buy them off you for a reasonable price, or trade for EE/OE chicks in the spring when I start hatching.

 

[chiqita]

Does anyone have spare solid-wall carriers for small animals? The ones sold for cats are ideal and I need 2. I would love to buy them off you for a reasonable price, or trade for EE/OE chicks in the spring when I start hatching.

I get all mine at garage sales and second hand stores. Good luck!

 

[dldolan]

Hi Jeremy!!
Love your little beauties! I've been beguiled by the bantams as well. I still work on my Splash Marans, but have fallen for the little Mille Fleur and Calico Cochins. How are things? Back in the Bay? I'd heard you had left? But I'm not on here very often so maybe i missed something...!
Dawn

 

[jeremy]

Hi Jeremy!!
Love your little beauties! I've been beguiled by the bantams as well. I still work on my Splash Marans, but have fallen for the little Mille Fleur and Calico Cochins. How are things? Back in the Bay? I'd heard you had left? But I'm not on here very often so maybe i missed something...!
Dawn

Hey Dawn!

Nope, I've always been here... just took a long chicken break, was off BYC forever. I sold most of my birds, kept my original imported Orp hens, lost my rooster so I didn't breed any birds for almost 2 years, I went back to school full time and just couldn't keep up. kinda lost the nerve after I lost my rooster, so I sold all my incubators, etc... but the itch never went away.

We started back up again this year with bantams. Should be getting large fowl again next Spring, we'll see.

How are you? The last time we talked you had just built a new barn.