BYC members in Massachusetts?

[windyridgefarm]

Would you mind elaborating? I have not had any luck finding local breeders. Is there a list or somewhere I could look them up? Thank you

I have tried breeder lists and websites in the past with little if any success as the listings are usually out of date. I would suggest craigslist as a good place to start most breeders list there at some point. I would also like to stress that it helps when people give their location (a town) when asking for leads on local sources. Then local breeders can reply to your request knowing you are not at the far end of the state hours away.
I have Sexlinked EE OE and Legbars as well as Welsh Harlequin ducks that can be sexed at hatch Others are straight run or sold once I am able to sex them.

 

[Lozuufy]

Quote:

That's them! They rent incubators AND hens! I guess it's so people can try out chicken keeping. They said it's been really successful.

That's very smart of them, get people addicted to chickens. Once the addiction sets in there is no turning back

 

[ChickAsThieves]

Quote:

That's very smart of them, get people addicted to chickens. Once the addiction sets in there is no turning back

Exactly! They allow you to buy your rental hens from them, but then of course you want to add to your flock so you buy some chicks from them... genius marketing! Honestly, they're very nice people and they're birds are beautiful. I have an OE, Cream Legbar, Swedish Flower, and FBCM roo that I bought from them. All healthy birds.

 

[Lozuufy]

Seems like a great place, too bad I live in western mass, the drive would be a little long. Plus I really don't need more chickens, even tho I have some coming in the mail and will be setting a couple dozen from my hens for the Easter hal. Also have 16 3 week old chix and 20 eggs due to hatch in 2 weeks. When I add it up it starts seeming a little crazy...

And there is no way the hal will be my last hatch of the year

 

[Merrymouse]

Exactly! They allow you to buy your rental hens from them, but then of course you want to add to your flock so you buy some chicks from them... genius marketing! Honestly, they're very nice people and they're birds are beautiful. I have an OE, Cream Legbar, Swedish Flower, and FBCM roo that I bought from them. All healthy birds.

Do you have any pictures? I have been in contact with them through FB today. Do they attempt to try to give you hens if you ask? I was thinking of Swedish Flower, FBCM, Barred rock, OE and cream legbar for a nice mix. Is your cream legbar loud or flighty? Are they all pretty docile? How many did you get from them and how many roo's did you end up with? You hear horror stories of folks ending up with all roos. I can't keep any roos, I have a friend that can take 2 or 3 but not more than that. Thanks

 

[Merrymouse]

I just looked at my previous post and that is an obnoxious amount of questions, sorry

 

[ChickAsThieves]

I just looked at my previous post and that is an obnoxious amount of questions, sorry

Haha! It's not! They're the same questions that I would have.

Let's see... The Cream Legbar is auto sexing so, no issue there. I would say that they are pretty matter of fact about the sexing issue. You get what you get, and you don't get upset. I got two Swedish Flowers from her, and one was a roo. My FBCM is a roo, but I wanted a roo so I intentionally chose the biggest one in hopes that it would be a cockerel, which it was. My OE just happened to be a hen. Ella has no problem letting you pick the chicks you want.

As far as having a roo goes, I don't think we are actually supposed to have roos in our town althoug tons of people in town raise chickens so I don't think anyone is really out policing that rule. I live in a neighborhood and although we have a good piece of land ( acre and a half-ish) we do have nearby neighbors. I didn't want a roo because of the crowing, but I came to feel that they were an integral part of a flock, PLUS I wanted to hatch out so fertile eggs. Long story short, our rooster wears a No Crow collar. It doesn't hurt him or keep him from doing any of his normal activities, but it doesn't allow him to take a deep enough breath to crow. He makes a noise, but it's honestly pathetic sounding. My Silver Spangled Hamburg hen is WAY louder than he is. So, the No Crow collar is a great option if you get a handsome roo and want to keep him.

My Cream Legbar is flighty. She got out of the run once and flew on top of the coop, and I was VERY scared that we'd lose her. However, I think well handled chicks are less flighty. The CL and OE were raised by a broody.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like! I'll see what I can dig up for pictures.

 

[sincitychicken]

Would you mind elaborating?  I have not had any luck finding local breeders.  Is there a list or somewhere I could look them up?  Thank you

Angie's chickens in Ipswich ma might have what you are looking for

 

[sincitychicken]

Would you mind elaborating?  I have not had any luck finding local breeders.  Is there a list or somewhere I could look them up?  Thank you

Ashley's chickens in topsfield

 

[Mom2Sav]

Any opinions on when my chicks can be transferred to outside coop? They range from 2-3 weeks. My next step is to take them out of my dining room

area and put them in my back laundry room in a crate with the heat lamp. At what point can they handle the temps on their own? I have never raised chicks before and am not sure at what point they are fully feathered. I was kind of wanting to avoid using a heat lamp in outside coop if I could. Thanks in advance for all your advice.