California - Northern

[PetRock]

The Last I saw a price for Modesto Mills, it was $34.00 for 50 pounds. The cascade layer was $30.00. If you have a drop site for Azure Standard near you, that might be an option. My chickens eat less of it than the Modesto Mills. King Feed has a non soy non corn natural, not organic. It is not very far north yet, but is moving into the Sacramento and Davis area. It is in the Central Coast area and maybe up to the Bay Area. The price on that was around $23.00 for 50 pounds.

Look for information on feeding with Ultra Kibble. You mix it at a 7 to 10 ratio(I hope that makes sense)--I use a half pound of Ultra Kibble for seven pounds of Wheat or scratch). It is supposed to be a complete chicken feed if you supplement with free choice calcium for the layers.

Ozbo.com has it with $4.99 shipping. No Tax. It takes a while to get to California though. The Tractor Store is supposed to be able to order the big bag, but they did not get back to me. I will try them again soon.

I hope this helps,

Ron

I paid just under $32 for 50 lb of Modesto Milling organic non-soy layer pellets last month at General Feed in Santa Cruz. But I have received notice that their prices are going up as of July 1, I think. I love the idea of organic non-soy but my hens do not like the Modesto Milling organic non-soy feed. I usually go through 50 lb in 4-6 weeks but I went to fill the feeders last night and a couple of them were almost full and the other ones were only half empty. It's no wonder they mob me for treats every time I step out the back door. They've also eaten everything green that they can reach in the backyard. This month, I had my DH buy some Kings natural feed from Scott's Valley Feed instead and I mixed it with the rest of the Modesto Milling feed.

 

[zooweemama]

I feel my chickens are just pigs. I filled up their feeder yesterday and within hours it was almost empty and all over the brooder floor. They hook their beaks and shovel it out. I watch them. Is this normal? It's annoying as all get out because there is literally about 3 cups worth of feed on the brooder floor. And there is only 6 of them in this one brooder. Maybe a different feeder?

Looks like I will have to do some food research. I read that if you supplement the chickens with omegas- it crosses over into the eggs. Which is good for those who eat them. I would love to feed the chickens soy free, non gmo feed. I will see if I can find a feed store that sells something. I know one sells organic feed...but I think it's only starter and layer- I don't want either. Ahhh!

I won't know how many hens I have for a long time. My first batch was 4 Buff Orps and it looks like 3 hens and 1 roo and I got 2 BC Marans and it looks like 2 roos.

So no BCM hens from that batch. I bought 6 more BCMs- so fingers crossed I would LOVE to get at least 4 hens from that set. I have 6 more Buff Orps- and would love to get at least half hens. Lucky for me I have a friend who wants one of my extras roos. I'd really like to start a laying season off with 8 layers at least- no wonder people buy so many straight run. Your odds are a crap shoot! LOL Upside...I like chicken and dumplings.

I will have 11 ducks laying this September and ducks don't stop for winter- only for molts and then keep on laying. So we will have eggs this winter from some source. When I get my first egg I think I will throw a party. How exciting!

Working on part of the coop this weekend. I wish I could start today but a friend came from our of state to visit. I can't say no- I have to work on my coop. I haven't seen her in 3 years, So maybe there will be some daylight after they go. Or take off church tomorrow to really hit it hard. I am so excited to get my hands dirty. This city girl is gonna work on a chicken coop!

 

[zooweemama]

It's so late but I had to get on this thread & say hi! My schedule has been crazy but the chickens are are well lol.

Zoo: love the turkey pics!

Jeremy: I want that Platinum Roo!

Ron: Enjoy the processing... I'm so hooked on raising my own meat!

Cooper: I'm crossing my fingers!

And I LOVE those fatty Orps... What are they called? I only have buff...

Well, happy summer ya'll... Can't believe I had to light a fire tonight; woah what a difference huh? Last weekend we were all worrying about the chickens making it thru the heat & now I have rain & it's freezing! (Ok, not freezing but I did cover the babies' brooder outside w/ a wool blanket.)
Here are a couple pics of the babies... 4 weeks old tomorrow! (today I guess, better get to bed!)




I know of at least 2 roos for sure; a light brahma & a BR... there might be a RIR roo tho all those were supposedly females.
If I only get one or two roos, I'm gonna have a very hard time picking anyone to eat (the crowing & fighting was supposed to make it easy). That leaves me with about 38 layers...
Looks like I need to invest in egg cartons & get to the farmer's market! How much should I charge for a dozen organic eggs??

I'll post comparison pics in the breed/sex thread soon... I'd love people's opinions on the matter!

I pay about $4/dozen for organic eggs in the store. If people brought their own cartons- I'd discount like .25 each dozen. If the market is there- people might pay up to $5/doz but I doubt it when they can get it at the store cheaper. People will pay more for brown eggs. Funny but true. If you want to charge the $5-6 range- be sure to push that it is fresh (tell them how fresh), what you feed them, what that means for the nutrient content of the eggs, what that means for them- pimp that egg. If I know that someone is going above and beyond tossing out organic feed- I am likely to pay more. Have pictures of your chickens in action (basically nice in focus pictures of some of your bird). If they are free range- be sure to tell people that. To me free range is more important than organic feed. So for me personally- that's a huge selling point. I'm a photographer - so mental pictures and actual pictures really help sell a product. I charge $25 for an 8x10- someone who is happy with Walmart pictures is not going to get why and how I can charge that. They are not my target market. I am high end. The organic eater- is high end. Don't try to convince them about price vs deal- you just need to sell the product. They are already buying organic if they are talking to you so you don't need to convince them to go organic. You just need them to know what makes your egg special. And they ARE savvy shoppers- so there does need to be something a little more special about your eggs over the supermarket organic- which is really what it boils down to.

I buy from my husband's uncle. They are not organic but they are fresh and although I am a mostly organic eater of foods- fresh and local is better than organic sitting in a store fridge. So I'm happy. We pay just under $3/doz. I save my cartons and give them to the person I buy eggs from and they fill them up and hand them back. Sometimes I just give them my extras.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

The little chick is eating alot.. just still bouncing around. how many days would you give her?? in the er pen.

 

[Adriennesmom]

So handsome! I love his little drake curl!! I love the little duckling stage (minus the mess). We started with 12 ducklings and lost 3 along the way, then when they were 3 weeks old bought 8 more ducklings. Re-homed some drakes and now sitting pretty with just over a dozen. Can't fit anymore ducks so I thought- why not geese? So now we have 2 goslings. Totally different than ducks- but love the fluffy cuteness. Way to go on the the make shift brooder and hatching!

Thank you so much!! I love his little drake curl

. That is wonderful that you have a dozen ducks! So sorry to hear that you lost some

. There is always that risk with the little guys. My husband and I are planning on getting a couple of goslings later in the year. We just have to prepare another enclosure. We can't wait! I really lucked out on the makeshift incubator. I am so happy he made it. It was so amazing to see Shamus develop in his little egg. He was a few days past his hatching date. I was an absolute wreck worrying about the little guy. I slept in my office for a few days waiting for him to hatch. It was amazing to finally see him peck through his egg and zipper through it! It took him aobut ten minutes and he was already up and running! Shamus has begun a new habit of flying over to me in the yard! He is definitely enjoying the use of his wings!

 

[Adriennesmom]

Hopefully! I always love when you hatch your own eggs!

Definitely!!

 

[ronott1]

does anyone know of any Penedesenca and or empordansea breeders in Norcal??? or anyone who keeps them? tired of shipped eggs...

I checked the California the Whole State Thread and did not see any. I also checked another source. Is there a Penedsenca thread here?

Just curious, are these known for being hard to hatch?

My incubators are empty right now....and I love a challenge

Ron

 

[Hangtown Farms]

I checked the California the Whole State Thread and did not see any. I also checked another source. Is there a Penedsenca thread here?

Just curious, are these known for being hard to hatch?

My incubators are empty right now....and I love a challenge

Ron

I hatched 4 crele's out of 11 eggs 3 hens a roo. there is a thread I have a few lines from some fellow members just impatient I guess....

 

[ronott1]

Quote:
I understand how frustrating shipped eggs are. I have had some terrible hatches from shipped eggs.

I hope you find someone with Pendsenca or Crele's close to you. If you hatched nice ones, you could hatch your own this Fall.

Ron

 

[ronott1]

I feel my chickens are just pigs. I filled up their feeder yesterday and within hours it was almost empty and all over the brooder floor. They hook their beaks and shovel it out. I watch them. Is this normal? It's annoying as all get out because there is literally about 3 cups worth of feed on the brooder floor. And there is only 6 of them in this one brooder. Maybe a different feeder?

Looks like I will have to do some food research. I read that if you supplement the chickens with omegas- it crosses over into the eggs. Which is good for those who eat them. I would love to feed the chickens soy free, non gmo feed. I will see if I can find a feed store that sells something. I know one sells organic feed...but I think it's only starter and layer- I don't want either. Ahhh!

I won't know how many hens I have for a long time. My first batch was 4 Buff Orps and it looks like 3 hens and 1 roo and I got 2 BC Marans and it looks like 2 roos.

So no BCM hens from that batch. I bought 6 more BCMs- so fingers crossed I would LOVE to get at least 4 hens from that set. I have 6 more Buff Orps- and would love to get at least half hens. Lucky for me I have a friend who wants one of my extras roos. I'd really like to start a laying season off with 8 layers at least- no wonder people buy so many straight run. Your odds are a crap shoot! LOL Upside...I like chicken and dumplings.

I will have 11 ducks laying this September and ducks don't stop for winter- only for molts and then keep on laying. So we will have eggs this winter from some source. When I get my first egg I think I will throw a party. How exciting!

Working on part of the coop this weekend. I wish I could start today but a friend came from our of state to visit. I can't say no- I have to work on my coop. I haven't seen her in 3 years, So maybe there will be some daylight after they go. Or take off church tomorrow to really hit it hard. I am so excited to get my hands dirty. This city girl is gonna work on a chicken coop!

It's hard to keep them from throwing the food when they are so little. I try to make them eat what they knock out before I refill the feeder. When they are older, it helps to hang the feeder so that they can't try to "scratch" the feed out of the feeder. Have you seen what they eat when they free range? A guy on the Heritage RIR site feed his older ones steer manure(just a bit and only after giving the horses good grains)

. It's supposed to make their feathers shine. Eating off of the floor of the brooder is not so bad.

I hope you get some pullets out of the new ones. My two FBCM babies are starting to crow. Three of my crowing ones went to freezer camp yesterday, so of course two more have to start up...

Ron