California - Northern

[PetRock]

I have both Bobwhite and Coturnix. The Cots you have to push aside with your hand when you reach in their cage, so I'm sure they could be tamed quite easily. I find my Bobwhites to be NUTS. I've had them for ages and they still go into a panic when you come near them.

Cots - incubate in 15-16 days, Bobs - incubate in 24-25 days
Cots - lay/mature at 6 weeks, Bobs - lay/mature at 5 mos
Cots - make a screeching sound, Bobs - lovely "bobwhite" call
Cots - lots of colors, Bobs - beautiful black/white/brown pattern
Cots - beautiful speckled eggs, Bobs - tiny white eggs

I keep several trios of bobwhites because I like their looks, call and tiny white eggs. But the rest of my quail rack is full of coturnix for their many redeeming qualities. I just set 107 coturnix eggs on Thursday.................in two weeks, I should have quail available, LOL

Thanks for the good info, Deb! So, what do you do with that many quail babies??? Do you sell eggs and chicks?

 

[chiqita]

Too late. When I was young I dreamed of having big fluffy ladies.....A Buff Orpington to be exact. I am in my late 30's and I finally said...just do it. LOL I told my hubby 2 weeks ago I was getting chickens, and he jumped on building the coop.I know what breeds I want after researching, and can't wait to fill my coop with them!. Sadly some of the breeds I want are hard to get, and I have to start with pullets. We have 4 cats and a small house which is not conductive to chicks

I am so excited....I have waited 25 years for chickens

Yay! I'm sure some time this year, the way things are going, I will have Marans pullets. This whole 100% hatch thing has put a cramp in my brooder space. I went from not enough to OMG WHAT HAPPENED CHICKEN EXPLOSION. I'm sure they wont all sell as chicks and Ill end up with juvies. I also have some silver leghorns that are ready to go outside, but thats not on your breed list there. MY MArans are big fluffy butts that eat a ton and carry a wide load.

And WELCOME!

and this may be a case of be careful what you wish for... one of my SPPRs has now apparently been on the nest ALL day, puffs up when i try to look at the eggs under her, and pecks at my hand... hmm.

a couple of minutes later, edit: yep, i gathered some of the eggs from under her (left her sitting on 3 fake ones), and she's pulled a bunch of feathers from her underside, so it looks like i now have TWO broodies, one on day 6 and the other... hmm, whether to just hatch some of my own mutt eggs (SFH x various), or get some others?

You have 2 options, get at least one breed you have been eyeing, it will be fun!

This post is for chiqita! This is a guessing game called "Who's your daddy?" (Also, who's your mommy because almost all of these hatched out when we weren't looking!) These are the 7 chicks that we hatched from eggs that Shantih gave us. They are from her mixed flock before she separated them for breeding. I love trying to figure out what they are! (Please excuse my photography. There are so many good photographers on this thread that it is intimidating to post pics!)



This black chick came from a Marans egg so I'm guessing your Marans roo is the daddy and he is pure FBCM? He has two toes that are webbed/fused. I am thinking about separating them this weekend. I think that he is a he and I might not do it because he is destined for the dinner table if he's a boy.
THAT IS A PURE FCBM. I HAVE NOT HAD ANY FUZED TOES, BUT I HAVE HEARD IT CAN HAPPEN. WAS THAT EGG IN A COOL SPOT IN THE BATOR?

This tiny Icelandic mix chick hatched from a tiny white egg (pullet egg?). Do you think that your Cream Legbar Orlando is the daddy?
tHAT LOOKS LIKE CL/ICELANDIC. ALL MY ICELANDIC SURPRISE MIXES ENDED UP BEING huge SO i THINK THEY ARE MARANS MIXES. LUCY HAS BEEN HANGING OUT WIHT THE DAUPHIN SINCE HE HAS NO ONE TO GIVE TREATS TO.


This reddish chick hatched out of a light brown egg (or possibly a blue egg). It has lightly feathered legs & feet. Do you still think that your silkie roo Flame could be the daddy? What about the mommy? He/she is a big, fat, fluffy chick just like all the other ones except for the Icelandic mix.

ID GUESS ITS FLAME/ICELANDIC, BUT IM GUESSING ILL TAKE A PICTURE OF MY RED ONE AND SHOW YOU.


This yellow chick also hatched out of light brown or blue. Do you think that Orlando is the daddy?

Then I have 3 chipmunk marked chicks. The first one has muffs & beard and the other 2 look almost identical except one has a sharper V on her head.

I'M GUESSING THAT IS AN ORPHINGTON ( BUFFY OR DOLLY, DEPENDS ON IF IT GETS HUGE AND FLUFFY OR JUST MED AND FLUFFY) AND ORLANDO. HE LOVES HIS YELLOW GIRLS NO ONE ELSE GETS CLOSE TO THEM
Chick w/muffs & beard. EE??? Orlando again???
YES VONNIE/ORLANDO
Same chick as above.

The two twins. Orlando and ??? There were 2 blue eggs that hatched. Could these be pure Cream Legbars???

Same chicks as above.


LOOKING AT THOSE EGGS, I THINK THEY ARE ORLANDO EE, THE EGGS LOOK GREEN YES? IF THEY ARE CREAM LEGS ID THINK AGAIN.

i WILL POST SOME PICTURES OF MY ULTRA MEGA EE'S i HATCHED THIS MORNING SO YOU CAN COMPARE.

 

[debs_flock]

Quote:
Me: Honey let's get a few chicks from the feedstore for fresh eggs.
H : Sure, I'll build a coop
8 weeks later
Me: I NEED show chickens (son showed poultry in 4H 20 years ago), I forgot how much I enjoyed having them.
H: Sure, I'll build a coop

Two years later, thirty-five coops, 300+ chickens, countless chicks, four incubators with a combined capacity of around 500 eggs..................

Heed the warnings!!!!!


Just added another breed (or two) last night. And we're not counting the ducks, geese, quail, turkeys, sheep, alpaca, llamas, dogs........................I need a government subsidy for the feedstore.

Hmmmmm, now to find a housesitter so we can take a vacation, LOL

 

[PetRock]

Today,we are working on our breeding pens at the farm. Does anyone know where to get hardware cloth that is less expensive than Lowe's or Home Depot?

 

[debs_flock]

Quote:
I've done a big hatch of them like that before and they sold on CL. And yes, I do sell eggs too. We get a couple of dozen quail eggs per day. We eat them, but you can only eat so many. Any of these that don't sell will most likely go into the freezer.

 

[chiqita]

Glamor shots of the Silkies!!! 3 months old. First bath & blow out!! lol they are so funny!!



Charlie



Hope- May be Rico Suave



Benina



Peep

Sheery has the best silkies in the country, IMO. I love your smooth sizzle and frilkie. Frilkies are the most fun of all feather sets, I think. You have some pretty babies!!

My new naked neck hens! Judy and Nancy.

I still get startled when I see NN. And my non silked showgirls look almost the same, but somehow the black skin makes it seem less... naked!

I know, I thought it would be really hard. I was presently surprised how mine liked the blow dryer...

yes! Mine don't like being washed but the blow drying they love. I need a better blow dryer. I inherited mine from my mother in 1979.....

Quail are so adorable! I'm a bantam girl with chickens, but in Davis we can't keep roosters and bantams are usually only available straight run (plus you can only have 6 pullets). Maybe quail would solve all my problems...
Do they tame down at all? I'm a big fan of avian cuddling.

They never LOVE being held, but the more friendly ones will sit with you and demand treats. I finally had my first major hatch of quail, now to get started calling people. ( deb are ALL those quail decendent from my eggs? wowzors)

Love all the pictures! Pretty chicks, Silkies and Naked Necks!

How are the babies?

Last night my H and I had this conversation:

H: How many eggs are in there?
Me: 35
H: And how many chicks are you getting later this month
Me: Well I am only keeping like 8-10 of those
H: I know but how many are coming here?
Me: 25
H: Have you done the Math?
Me: Yes but ... I was hoping you wouldn't
H: laughs,

I didn't bother to explain chicken math to him but I'm pretty sure he understands the general concept.

ok, too awesome to live. I think its pronounced CO-turnix. But I have heard COT turnix too. M ario never counts chicks, but once the juvies get out of control he looks at me so sadly....

 

[debs_flock]

Today,we are working on our breeding pens at the farm. Does anyone know where to get hardware cloth that is less expensive than Lowe's or Home Depot?

Sorry, we've been buying it at Home Depot and trying to ignore the price.

 

[debs_flock]

Quote: All the coturnix are.

 

[PetRock]

Sorry, we've been buying it at Home Depot and trying to ignore the price.

Thanks, Deb! Anyone else???? We are headed out the door to the farm. George is jingling the keys! We don't mind driving a ways if it means saving a bundle!

 

[chiqita]

Today,we are working on our breeding pens at the farm. Does anyone know where to get hardware cloth that is less expensive than Lowe's or Home Depot?

Online, but that wont help today.

MArios work has gone into overdrive on some accounting project and he is buried in databases and cursing. he was at it all night last night, and all this morning.

I DID manage to make him come out and have dinner on the porch, finally warm enough and light enough to enjoy it. I must say, our outside tables did NOT winter well, time to figure out what to do.

Poor plank is back inside again, someone picks on her and she cant get away. I am going to set up a seperate silkie breeding pen today and put her wiht them, so she doesn't get picked on, but can be outside. she misses the sun.

Does anyone have any tips for wild bird lice besides DC and invectmian ( sp) ? The birds keep giving them back to my chickens, and Im afraid im going to overuse the inv. Im going to red de all the dusting spots but these tiny bugs are annoying!