California - Northern

[Hangtown Farms]

Chickengirl, yer brahmas are making me drool!

Jason, has Anakin returned yet?

Anybody know anything about Anatolian shepherd dogs?

no not home yet
anatolian shepherds are a very handsome breed

Hi everyone! I've tried to catch up on the goings on but I'm still a week behind BUT, we just got back from a week in Fort Bragg and my mom was collecting eggs for me so I opened the cartons to check the eggs and imagine my surprise when I found THIS!

My very first egg from my very first Olive Egger! I was just looking at her this morning and didn't think she was red enough yet. I asked her when she was going to lay her first egg....she was probably wondering why I wasn't congratulating her! She's a beautiful Blue Marans/Silver Ameraucana. I'm SO happy with her color! My Blue Marans are Wade Jean I got from Papa Brooder. I had so much trouble getting here. I bought six and they had black mold and lost half of them within the first few weeks but ended up with 2 blue pullets and one beautiful blue cockerel. When they were finally able to join the flock the cockerel went missing one day so I ended up with just the two blue pullets. They lay a nicely dark egg for blue's. I am pleasantly surprised at the darkness of this egg coming from blue Marans.

Here's a little line up but the colors didn't come out very well. I also was treated to a couple of the fart eggs from the Polish pen. I've rarely been gifted with these tiny eggs so two within a few weeks is a treat but now I'm wondering who's doing it and why twice. Should I be worried or feel blessed?


Here's some pictures of the 4 month old Black Copper Marans cockerels from the extremely dark eggs I got from Deb and Sunny. They are really beautiful, sorry for the fuzzy pictures, they're quick little buggers! Anyway, I picked out the one I'm keeping and I think I have five for sale. If anyone is interested PM me. I also have a really nice baby that's about 9 weeks from my roo from Deb Black Copper Marans and one of the Blue Copper Marans .



Here's the eggs they came from...


Miss everyone....been really busy hauling kegs of beer and bottles of wine to our farmers market and Party in the Park. Now I'll go back and try to catch up...better then unpacking from a weeks vacation right?

nice eggs

Hello there, I'm new to the chicken world and this thread. I'm in the SF Bay area and have five 10 week old chickens. They were supposed to be all girls but it looks like I have a bantam EE roo! I need to find a new home for him. Anyone interested? Free to a good home.

welcome to the thread

 

[lawatt]

Hi everyone! I've tried to catch up on the goings on but I'm still a week behind BUT, we just got back from a week in Fort Bragg and my mom was collecting eggs for me so I opened the cartons to check the eggs and imagine my surprise when I found THIS!

My very first egg from my very first Olive Egger! I was just looking at her this morning and didn't think she was red enough yet. I asked her when she was going to lay her first egg....she was probably wondering why I wasn't congratulating her! She's a beautiful Blue Marans/Silver Ameraucana. I'm SO happy with her color!

what a gorgeous olive-y egg! i'll be interested to know whether they stay that dark for you -- my first few Amelia (CL x pene) eggs were nearly that dark (although not quite) and very olive-looking, but they faded pretty quickly and are now a light green. still very pretty -- but i'm curious to know if other OE crosses have more staying power with the color?

just got home from campus and hooray, all six chicks are still looking fine! except for one, one of the CL/SFH crosses (judging by the chipmunk pattern in the down), which is all fluffed up except for its head, it still looks as though the down is damp, but it's not -- i wonder is some part of the membrane might have gotten stuck & dried on? it makes the chick look like its head is too small for its body, but i think its normal, jsut not fluffed up. it also seems generally weaker than the other five. i've given it a drop of vitamins and put save-a-chick in their water. they are now all out of the nesting box & jsut hanging out with their mom on the floor of the henhouse (not the main run) -- hoping they stay there for a few more days, as the big chickens pretty much spend all day in the run, so the henhouse is quiet.

and cute thing: remember that my broody SPPR Frances was acting as "aunt" to the campine chicks? her SPPR sister, Bella, is sitting on eggs in the nesting box next to Amelia #2's, and when i first opened up the henhouse door to check on everyone, i could only find five chicks -- until one popped out from under Bella! and like her sister, she didn't seem to think it was hers & made no attempt to "follow" -- which is good, since her own eggs should be hatching on saturday or so.

so, all's well -- i may go try to take some more photos.

 

[ronott1]

Ok so probably not lacking light yet. I'm "patiently" waiting for eggs!!!

Shipping stress causes them to stop. they will start up again soon though.

 

[lawatt]

hooray, they were all up and about, so managed to get pictures of all six -- although the light is getting a bit low, so focus is not spot-on -- but here they are:


mostly-gray body, dark brown head, light tummy -- perhaps a SPPR x SFH?


black and cream -- i'm guessing this is Daisy Jr (australorp x SFH)


the chick with the some-dried-on-stuff-on-its-head -- chipmunk pattern says CL x SFH -- and i'm not sure whether/how to help clean it up? or just leave it til it seems stronger?


medium-golden brown and gray mixture -- maybe a basque x SFH?


more of a reddish brown and very blotchy -- also guessing a basque x SFH


and white-spot-on-head -- probably the other CL x SFH

quite a varied collection! i suppose one should expect no less with an SFH dad!

 

[Happy Chooks]

My pullets that start laying in the fall usually lay all through winter.

Gorgeous olive egg Pam!

 

[ronott1]

My pullets that start laying in the fall usually lay all through winter.

Gorgeous olive egg Pam!

Mine usually do to!

I hope the UofA Blues keep laying over the winter.

chickengirl is waiting on the two year old English Orps from Greenfire to lay after shipping. I would be impatient too.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Ah, then yes, they will likely molt this winter.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote: I would think that cross would keep the color until end of season... I used a Blue Copper Marans hen covered by my Ameraucana Roo. We'll see if she stays laying this nice color, although I'm sure it will fade somewhat. Funny, one of my Easter Eggers that has a more olive colored egg just laid a really deep color again. If she wasn't in another pen I would have thought that was my OE laying! Guess that's why we separate if we want to know for sure, but I really wish they could all free range. I think someone mentioned that the Olive Eggers second generation won't keep the olive egg. I have her in with the Marans so I'm hoping that will keep the dark. Then stick that hen back in with the Ameraucana??????

My pullets that start laying in the fall usually lay all through winter.

Gorgeous olive egg Pam!

Thanks! I'm really eggcited!

hooray, they were all up and about, so managed to get pictures of all six -- although the light is getting a bit low, so focus is not spot-on -- but here they are:


mostly-gray body, dark brown head, light tummy -- perhaps a SPPR x SFH?


black and cream -- i'm guessing this is Daisy Jr (australorp x SFH)


the chick with the some-dried-on-stuff-on-its-head -- chipmunk pattern says CL x SFH -- and i'm not sure whether/how to help clean it up? or just leave it til it seems stronger?


medium-golden brown and gray mixture -- maybe a basque x SFH?


more of a reddish brown and very blotchy -- also guessing a basque x SFH


and white-spot-on-head -- probably the other CL x SFH

quite a varied collection! i suppose one should expect no less with an SFH dad!

AARGH....all these chick photo's have me wanting to start up the incubator! It's been off for two months!

I'd let that sticky head alone for a couple of days. It's pretty stressful for them to wash them but it does take a few days and some fluffing to unstick it. If I'm selling them, I wash them off but if I'm keeping them I just let them go.

 

[ChickNmamma]

Quote: Sounds like you have a great pair of surrogate mommies in those SPPRs! I have one chick I hatched out, hoping for a girl like your pair!

hooray, they were all up and about, so managed to get pictures of all six -- although the light is getting a bit low, so focus is not spot-on -- but here they are:


mostly-gray body, dark brown head, light tummy -- perhaps a SPPR x SFH?


black and cream -- i'm guessing this is Daisy Jr (australorp x SFH)


the chick with the some-dried-on-stuff-on-its-head -- chipmunk pattern says CL x SFH -- and i'm not sure whether/how to help clean it up? or just leave it til it seems stronger?


medium-golden brown and gray mixture -- maybe a basque x SFH?


more of a reddish brown and very blotchy -- also guessing a basque x SFH


and white-spot-on-head -- probably the other CL x SFH

quite a varied collection! i suppose one should expect no less with an SFH dad!

The sticky head one will clean itself off in time. They do look funny - but that is the white that wasn't used up when they were growing and it helps them move around in the egg - and it crystalizes and falls off when they start cleaning themselves. I believe mommy will help them too.

Quote: I would think that cross would keep the color until end of season... I used a Blue Copper Marans hen covered by my Ameraucana Roo. We'll see if she stays laying this nice color, although I'm sure it will fade somewhat. Funny, one of my Easter Eggers that has a more olive colored egg just laid a really deep color again. If she wasn't in another pen I would have thought that was my OE laying! Guess that's why we separate if we want to know for sure, but I really wish they could all free range. I think someone mentioned that the Olive Eggers second generation won't keep the olive egg. I have her in with the Marans so I'm hoping that will keep the dark. Then stick that hen back in with the Ameraucana??????

My pullets that start laying in the fall usually lay all through winter.

Gorgeous olive egg Pam!

Thanks! I'm really eggcited!

hooray, they were all up and about, so managed to get pictures of all six -- although the light is getting a bit low, so focus is not spot-on -- but here they are:


mostly-gray body, dark brown head, light tummy -- perhaps a SPPR x SFH?


black and cream -- i'm guessing this is Daisy Jr (australorp x SFH)


the chick with the some-dried-on-stuff-on-its-head -- chipmunk pattern says CL x SFH -- and i'm not sure whether/how to help clean it up? or just leave it til it seems stronger?


medium-golden brown and gray mixture -- maybe a basque x SFH?


more of a reddish brown and very blotchy -- also guessing a basque x SFH


and white-spot-on-head -- probably the other CL x SFH

quite a varied collection! i suppose one should expect no less with an SFH dad!

AARGH....all these chick photo's have me wanting to start up the incubator! It's been off for two months!

I'd let that sticky head alone for a couple of days. It's pretty stressful for them to wash them but it does take a few days and some fluffing to unstick it. If I'm selling them, I wash them off but if I'm keeping them I just let them go.
The reason they say the second cross to an OE won't keep the olive eggs is that the hen and rooster from the OE cross have one blue and one white egg gene. Brown eggs are genes that coat over a white egg base. Crossing that would give you the possibility of green or brown eggs. I think its 50/50 - but because the brown eggs have more than one gene they may be lighter than the original cross if they loose some of those genes as they only have one copy of them too. If you cross to the Marans you will probably keep the dark, but you may loose the blue. Going back and forth will work for half the kids.

 

[ChickNmamma]

Hello there, I'm new to the chicken world and this thread. I'm in the SF Bay area and have five 10 week old chickens. They were supposed to be all girls but it looks like I have a bantam EE roo! I need to find a new home for him. Anyone interested? Free to a good home.

Hello and Welcome to the Nor Cal thread, and Welcome to BYC!

I have a bantam EE rooster that started out very similar to your guy - he's the one in my avitar. Unfortunately I ordered 3 straight run "Americana" Bantams, lost one chick (probably the female) and ended up with two boys. I gave one to my mother and kept my Eagle.

Where did you get yours from? I couldn't order sexed chicks - I got mine from McMurray last year. I would like to see pictures of your girls because I want to make more like my boy (he is very handsome) and I don't know what the girls would look like to pair him with!

Here's a collage I did of him through the stages of growing up, he changed so much!