California - Northern

[liz9910]

Worm them!

This is the time to do it. In six months test for worms before treating.

Best!

I agree, I'd worm them.

Ok never wormed a chicken before lol only dogs, cats and horses. I think you guys just helped Amy Beth not too long ago. Can u point me in the right direction from your own experiences please?

 

[liz9910]

What cute babys..I am in the Eureka area about 2 miles south in Fields Landing and I have ducks.. 4 Pekin  1 drake and 3 hens... 3 Mallards ..1 drake and 2 hens... I put 6 pekin eggs under my broody mallard and got 3 babys this morning... the mom was pekin and the dad was my drake mallard.. I got 2 all black babys with black feet and bills.. and 1 that looks like a mallard baby.. Is their such a thing as a black pekin

Welcome to the thread

 

[liz9910]

My birds were enjoying the warm weather so much that I just had to share pics...

Chicken mosh-pit Talk about getting a dirt bath! And one of my DS...

Aww 2 of my favorite things babies and chickens

 

[capayvalleychick]

I'm looking for a bird that is cold hearty, a decent egg layer, and friendly. I guess the importance would be in that order. I definitely want the birds for eggs, but they don't necessary need to be laying like crazy. It really is important that they are cold hardy since the city is so chilly at night. Ideally, they would be friendly as well since we'd like to bring them inside sometimes.

Do you guys have any suggestions? So far, it seems my best option would be Buckeyes but they seem to be hard to find.

I saw Buckeyes at the Woodland Tractor Supply last week. I made a call to someone, who may have bought them all. There is a breeder in Sonoma Co. http://thodefamilyfarm.webs.com/

There's a wonderful feed store in Santa Rosa (can't think of the name) that gets all kinds of breeds. So you might call any feed stores in your region and ask what they're getting in.

I know it gets chilly & damp in SF, but do the temps really get that low? Chickens can tolerate cold much better than people. It's been dropping into the low 20s here, this winter and my chickens have been fine. If it freezes for long periods of time and you don't watch the humidity in the coop, there is a possibility of comb damage with single comb breeds. Other than that, chickens are fine in the cold. AFAIK, any breed would do well in SF.

 

[lawatt]

I saw Buckeyes at the Woodland Tractor Supply last week. I made a call to someone, who may have bought them all. There is a breeder in Sonoma Co. http://thodefamilyfarm.webs.com/

There's a wonderful feed store in Santa Rosa (can't think of the name) that gets all kinds of breeds. So you might call any feed stores in your region and ask what they're getting in.

I know it gets chilly & damp in SF, but do the temps really get that low? Chickens can tolerate cold much better than people. It's been dropping into the low 20s here, this winter and my chickens have been fine. If it freezes for long periods of time and you don't watch the humidity in the coop, there is a possibility of comb damage with single comb breeds. Other than that, chickens are fine in the cold. AFAIK, any breed would do well in SF.

my two cuckoo marans came from the Thode Family Farm, very nice people & lovely chickens -- and agree that SF (where i lived for many years) is cool but shouldn't be trouble for any chicken breed. that said, you might think about Basques or Swedish Flower Hens, both with reputations of being SUPER friendly & quite sturdy in various temperatures.

and the feedstore in question in Santa Rosa is Western Farm Center: http://www.westernfarmcenter.com

 

[ronott1]

I have a question for you guys…

I've been doing a lot of research recently to try and figure out which type of chickens would be best to get for my situation. I've been getting a lot of conflicting information online.

I'm looking for a bird that is cold hearty, a decent egg layer, and friendly. I guess the importance would be in that order. I definitely want the birds for eggs, but they don't necessary need to be laying like crazy. It really is important that they are cold hardy since the city is so chilly at night. Ideally, they would be friendly as well since we'd like to bring them inside sometimes.

Do you guys have any suggestions? So far, it seems my best option would be Buckeyes but they seem to be hard to find.

You will get a lot of opinions on the best breed. Cold hardy really counts where it is below zero. In the Bay Area, just protect them from drafts and you can have any type of chicken you want.

Combs freeze off on big combed roosters. The Spanish breeds and Mediterranean have trouble even with the hens sometimes.

If you want a fairly quiet breed that lays in the winter, the Rocks are a good choice. A lot of breeders here have Silver Penciled Rocks. Partridge Rocks are a good choice too. Both are smaller than Barred Rocks yet lay a similar egg.

Black Australorps are one of the quietest breeds. The are also hardy and the Hatchery version is easy to get from feed stores.

Google Herndersons chicken chart.

 

[waititout]

Ok found another rubbery egg looked like a sea turtle egg that had hatched, strange and the yolk was on the floor. They have free access to calcium, are on layer pellets. Should I wait it out or worm them? I believe the culprit is the Jersey Giant that was born last July, as I've witnessed everyone else in the nest box.

Worm them!

This is the time to do it. In six months test for worms before treating.

Best!

The same thing has been going on with one of my girls this week! I have been in denial about worms, but I guess I'm in the same boat. Now I feel terrible, I just sold one of my laying pullets a couple of days ago, she wasn't having any trouble laying, in fact, she is probably my best layer. I hope I did not sell her with worms!!! And now when they are finally all back from vacation I have to do the worming. Classic newbie mistake.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote:

I wish the screens were larger on smart phones! Its so difficult to read the microscopic text!

Scroll to the bottom of the BYC page and switch to the mobile mode. You won't believe how easy it is to read, especially when you turn your phone sideways! You can even do multi quotes.

 

[chickee]

Thanks!

Well, none yet. We (the Hubs and I) are waiting to pick up some pullets after the coop is done. He'd love to get a Brahma or Buff Orp and I'd love to get an Ameraucana. The local farm stores around don't have any pullets in any of those breeds. At least one feed store has "Americanas" which after reading around BYC are most likely EE's (and I'll be picking their brains about that to see if that's the case). So the only way to get the breeds we'd like are ordering chicks from a hatchery or purchasing what the feed stores have: Barred Rocks, Rhode Islands, Red Sex Links, something labeled as "production red", the shady "Americana" and the speckled sussex.

And the Northern California group

Yep, not going to get true Ameraucanas from the feed store. I should have some in wheaten/blue wheatens in few months. I am on the outskirts of Grass Valley

If you don't mind Hatchery quality birds, Echo Valley Ranch feed store in Auburn will special order chicks for you. That way you can get just a few chicks (they add them to their order) in the breeds you want

 

[ronott1]

Quote: The same thing has been going on with one of my girls this week! I have been in denial about worms, but I guess I'm in the same boat. Now I feel terrible, I just sold one of my laying pullets a couple of days ago, she wasn't having any trouble laying, in fact, she is probably my best layer. I hope I did not sell her with worms!!! And now when they are finally all back from vacation I have to do the worming. Classic newbie mistake.

It is ok!

Any time you get new chickens they should be dusted and treated for worms. Do that during the two week Quarantine period. Hopefully the person that got yours followed this protocol.