California - Northern

[threadgeek]

Happy NorCal sunset everyone!

Stunning photo!

Welcome to the new friends on the thread!
My family is looking at me like I've lost my mind again. I'm peeping at the eggs in lockdown, they should know to expect it by now. Only 3 or 4 more days.

Ha, DH and I were both peeping to the chicks before they hatched! We still do it and they are a week old.

 

[SilkieRose]

Muah ha ha ha... your welcome The Hubs and I just "forced" his grandma to watch Chicken Run with us last night. The second you said that a nice rooster would put an end to hen drama, I thought of Fowler!

LOL!!!! That's hilarious!! It's the younger girls that are being mean; the new ones. They are being nasty. I can't catch them, but my 3 year old can!! LOL!! I wish I could have a roo!! City rules are dumb! I have a silkie chick that was pathetically trying to crow the other day, but I couldn't figure out who it was.
That's what I did, Ron; pop her head lightly, but she just kept doing it more aggressively, that's when I put her on time out. I checked them now that she's out & they are all fine, roosted where I placed them. I hope I don't have to re-home any of them. I definitely don't like my sweet girls hiding in the corner or under the coop

 

[gryeyes]

GallusGirl, isn't Bradshaw Feed the <I>BEST</I> feed & supply you've ever seen? It's been my favorite since I bought my first chicks in October, 2009. Unfortunately, I no longer visit there on a regular basis. They still refer folks to me who want fertile eggs to stick under broody hens.

Uh, that's not why they are the best. That relationship developed over time; the manager and employees were so surprised and amused that I actually hatched Trader Joe's eggs. Then they learned I had taken up incubation because they didn't offer breeds I wanted (at the time).

Anyway, welcome to BYC and the NorCal thread from wine country in the Western Sierra Foothills! I'm really pleased you "found" Bradshaw feed, too! The employees are so very nice and helpful. They won't steer you wrong, either.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Hi all!
I'm relatively new to the forums so thought I'd take a minute to introduce myself. I've had chickens on/off for a few years and heavily relied on advice given here but have hid in the shadows.

I live about a half hour south of San Francisco on the coast. I literally have 'backyard chickens'. We had 4 for a couple of years that went to a neighbor when we last moved. After months of getting organized, unpacked and trying to find the right spot to build a new coop...I desperately missed the fresh eggs and the hours of chicken entertainment...I took the plunge and bought a pre-fabbed coop and hatched out a couple of eggs in a homemade incubator. Of the 8 eggs that I received (from back east so fertility may have been bad after shipping) three developed. All 3 hatched into healthy happy chicks...a splash orpington, a black orpinton and an americauna. The black ended up being a boy - the local feed store took him and 'sold him to a nice family' - I think I could have culled him if I needed to...just not sure I could have eaten any of it. This saved me having to make that decision. We picked up 2 more started pullets at that time - a blue laced red wyndotte and a California white leghorn.

We had some integration issues initially but all 4 have worked out their issues. It is interesting seeing the different dynamics at play...but I digress....

The girls have a 3.5'x3.5' coop with 3 nesting boxes and a 3.5' x 9.25' run. They are let out each day...typically mid-morning to 'free range' through the backyard and return to the coop each night. I'm building another 6 foot extension for the run for the occasions where we need to leave them for a weekend. We spent a LOT of time working with our lab when they were chicks - putting them on her when she was in a submissive calm state. The chickens still climb on her and 'groom' her but she completely ignores them.

We don't show our chickens - although that's how we talked my husband into getting them originally - 4H...but he likes the eggs and entertainment enough that we now just enjoy them. Our chickens are totally our pets. We get so much entertainment value from them. And I can't wait for this new batch to start laying to have fresh eggs in the house again. And what a pretty basket it's going to be. Eventually I want to add a welsummer or maran to get a chocolate colored egg and a cream legbar or true araucana for a blue egg to complete my rainbow. I'm just not sure I could convince hubby to let me have a brooder inside again right now...so would either need started pullets or wait until next year.

Kids went with a "P" naming scheme this time....
Pio - Americauna
Pippy - Splash Orpington
Pumpkin - Blue Laces Red Wyndotte
Penny - California White Leghorn

Anyway, thank you all for being such a great resource through the years! And I hope to 'get to know' you all a bit better and be more actively involved on here.
Kim

Welcome Kim!

What I noticed on my hatch with the Brinsea that has that thing in the middle that the humidity pump drops water into, the chicks go back to the shell they hatched from. Even if they found their way around the divider, they always worked their way back to their shell. Has anyone else noticed that?

Well, I'm not sure they<I> always </i>return to their own shells, because I've seen shell-squatters a few times which "belong" to shells a couple of cups away but YES they do manage to maneuver around the humidifying strip over a period of time.

It's pretty cute.

Always is hardly ever always is it? I'll tell you if my experience is the same in the Saturday the 20th hatch.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

The pups are back. someone took them in and called animal control with there number saying they would keep them there until someone called in....


Chickee love the chicks.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Wow, thanks to the people with warm welcomes. BYC has seemed great, but Northern Californians are clearly the best!You can have a Silver Sebright chick photo as a thank-you!

​

Sorry if I can't do a lot of helping with other people's problems yet, I had chickens when I was a little kid, but my parents definitely did all the troubleshooting for me back then. Now I've got my own chicks, hopefully I'll become an expert slowly but surely, with enough time reading through sage advice on BYC!
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welcome welcome

Happy NorCal sunset everyone!

 

[liz9910]

I'm in Davis and have 4 5-week old Sebright chicks, 2 Golden and 2 Silver, that I got at Bradshaw Feed in Sacramento. I'm still not totally sure on the genders of all 4, (2 I think are definitely female, significantly smaller and very little crest development, so at least my odds aren't THAT bad) but I'm starting to deal with the fact that my favorite, the sweetest and most cuddly since the car trip home, is probably a roo. I was planning on going the Craigslist route with any that turned out to be roosters but if anyone on here would like or knows anyone that is interested in keeping a Golden Sebright rooster, please let me know. This chick has been meticulously cuddled every night, and is a beautiful little bird with the most amazing personality. He'd make a fantastic pet for a kid, or a great addition to any little flocks.

Welcome to the thread! I can't have roosters either.

 

[liz9910]

I am SO glad! It felt so good when you looked at the chicks for the first time and said they were the cutest chicks you had ever seen 

It was so nice meeting you. Wish we could have spent more time talking! Hope your trip home went well 

They are sprouting little wing feathers now and becoming more active. We had a quick meeting for sure the ride home felt much quicker than the drive there for sure. My dad told me that I need a farm, lol.

 

[OR4-hmom]

The pups are back. someone took them in and called animal control with there number saying they would keep them there until someone called in....


Chickee love the chicks.,

So glad they are home now. I do the same thing with lost dogs out here, drives DH nuts wondering if I'm adding to our head count.
I picked up a whippet mix years ago when coming home late one night. I let it in the house, it ran straight for the bedroom, jumped on the bed and dived under the covers. I don't know who was quicker, Eric flying out of bed or dog diving under the blankets.

 

[PetRock]

The pups are back. someone took them in and called animal control with there number saying they would keep them there until someone called in....

Glad that they are safely home!