California - Northern

[valschicksrus]

Hi everyone, I am new to the board. having chickens all the time and now getting into breeds and so much more out there. I love learning about it. I am in Lincoln, ( Roseville- Rocklin area) just an hour north of Sac. on 5.5 acres out skirts of town. here having fun and learning. hope to see you here. tina

Hello there neighbor!! I was reading all the info here on sick chickens just to learn more. I too have joined recently, have 14 chickens of 5 different breeds. I live in Grainte Bay, so close to you!!! I started my chicken fever this year. Welcome, Val

 

[Wishing4Wings]

good luck with everything, Lynda!! hope there's no major troubles brewing...

Thanks Laura! Just found out my sister is probably going to have her dog put down next week. Sesame is an 11 yr old Neopolitan, Bull Mastiff cross. 135 pounds of love. Like losing a family member. *sigh*

Not sure yet what's going on with my chicken, if anything. Whatever it is, think it was caught very early, so hopefully she will be alright. After what happened to Lucy, though, you never know.

Hope you had a good day after what must have been a trying night. I think Lucytoo (or derivation thereof) would be a great name for a new pullet.

Off to check for mites!

~Lynda

 

[lawatt]

Hope you had a good day after what must have been a trying night. I think Lucytoo (or derivation thereof) would be a great name for a new pullet.

it was a weird, long, sleep-deprived day of car repair, random meetings and etc at school, and then a good friend over for dinner and a fine bottle of syrah, which helped matters. plus a phone call saying the LOCAL (no shipping!) chicks i'd ordered a month ago have finally hatched, so i get to go pick them up tomorrow -- i suppose, one door closes and another window opens.

looking forward to tomorrow,
laura

 

[egg-lady]

Hello there neighbor!! I was reading all the info here on sick chickens just to learn more. I too have joined recently, have 14 chickens of 5 different breeds. I live in Grainte Bay, so close to you!!! I started my chicken fever this year. Welcome, Val

Hi neighbor, I take Sierra College goes right to Grainte Bay. i have 50+ chicks of different breeds right now. I don't have just one fav i have LOTS!! working on finding out what i like and don't and who can lay eggs on days like today. so i am new to this breeding venture. but sure are enjoying it. thanks tina

 

[valschicksrus]

Hello out there, sorry to read about the troubles with chickens here. I get very attached to any animal I raise and its hard to lose them.
I wanted to know if mites are a big issue with chickens and what do I look for?? It was said here that you can not see them in the day time. Is there more info on this elsewhere ??
Nice to meet you all in Northern Calif.---------Val

 

[Papa Brooder]

Just wanted to share my cream legbars with you guys. Anyone from norcal who has been following any of the color debates regarding the legbars, I'm curious if anyone is getting males with less of the "chestnut" coloring on the back? Also curious how your females compare in regard to the coloring. they are more similar to me but have varying size crests and slight different crest coloration, one lighter and more "greyish" than the other too.



Here is my roo. when compared to the UK pics, he has a lot of the chestnut coloring which I have to admit I prefer to the UK pictures, but again curious how those of you who have them in norcal are seeing the boys grow out in regard to color?









The girls have been fantastic. been getting two eggs a day from the three girls. my one who almost died has been a bit slow to resume but she did lay... and on the ground instead of the nest box! Grrrr. As you can see my ground is not so hospitable to eggs! My Blue copper marans lay a beautiful egg only to have it crack on the rock she decided to lay on.. she was new to her coop so I'll give her a break for now, but man i wanted to hatch a chick from an egg so dark at the end of the season!

Anyway, gonna post some of my swedes photos as well!

 

[Papa Brooder]

So, the swedes are starting to kick it into gear. If all goes as planned I should be having these guys giving me 8 eggs per day! still trying to figure out my breeding strategy... as far as cresting goes, as far as color goes. i know some folks separate into like color pens: red, white, mille fleur, etc. I think for now I just want them all together and want to see what they hatch out. I know there has been some discussion regarding breeding crested to crested... well I have 4 roosters that are of age and all are crested even though they are from three different sources, my females are split about 75% not crested to 25% crested. my favorite hen is the one with the blue lacing pattern below. She's still coming of age so I can't wait to see how she matures over the next month or so. Right now, just two have been laying for about two weeks but the others should be starting up in about 2 weeks. I've got the up and comers separated already so that I don't have to worry about purity whenever they do start to lay. Also, so excited that one of my rhodebars has started to squat and has turned bright red in the past week or so. I'm liking how some of those pullet are developing and have 7 roos to choose from. anyway, just blabbing about my chickens! because I know in here people actually like to listen.


this hen has an opinion and is not afraid to share!


my main roo


the swedes day to free range



the up and comers




my favorite pullet... looking forward to seeing her come into her own


my biggest crest

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Hello out there, sorry to read about the troubles with chickens here. I get very attached to any animal I raise and its hard to lose them.
I wanted to know if mites are a big issue with chickens and what do I look for?? It was said here that you can not see them in the day time. Is there more info on this elsewhere ??
Nice to meet you all in Northern Calif.---------Val

Hi Val. From what I understand, mites live in the coop by day and on the birds at night, so you won't see them during the day. (Rotten little vampires!) They are easiest to see around he vent, where I would expect to see redness and irritation if present. Just did a thorough exam by flashlight, and my girls looked clean.

There are also scaly legs mites, which are different from the body mites. There is at least one type of lice (louse?

) that chickens can get too. I've never had to deal with any of this, so am learning too. This is part of my search to find why my pullet suddenly has a shrunken and pale comb.

I think all of these things are carried by wild birds, worms too, so exposure will happen. Not sure how prevalent it is. My parents had farm chickens for 20+ years in this area, and I only remember one case of leg mites and one of coccidiocis, which came when new chickens were brought onto the property, so I guess not all chickens necessarily get mites or lice.

Good places for dust bathing can reduce the chance of infestation. I also put some DE (diatomaceous earth) into the nest boxes as a mechanical preventative. Try a general net search or on this site. There's lots of info out there, but as always, consider the source.

I try not to get too paranoid and worried, but I don't want to lose my girls either!

Glad you joined the thread!

~Lynda

 

[Wishing4Wings]

anyway, just blabbing about my chickens! because I know in here people actually like to listen.

Thanks for sharing the pics! I love the crests your birds have. Reminds me of a very friendly little BR x Polish x mystery bantam from my childhood. She was colored like a BR and had that type of crest. We always called it a topknot!

Are your Legbars the creme variety? Blue eggs? I was thinking that if you like the chestnut color on the roosters (so do I) then why not develop a strain that looks like that? Is there a set standard you are trying to achieve?

I've never heard of Swedes before, let alone seen pics. They are really neat!

Are they heat tolerant also? Auto sexing? I can see why that one pullet is your favorite. Does she have a crest?

Excuse all the questions. I try looking at threads for specific breeds, but you have to wade through a lot before finding any basic facts.

Love seeing the pictures. My chicken wish list keeps getting longer!

~Lynda

 

[Papa Brooder]

Quote: ha, no worries. yes, cream legbars. they are auto sexing. regarding the color there is a lot of discussion on the legbar thread with people on both side of the fence. the UK standard calls for a much less colorful roo but has "some chestnut permissible". Most of the pics of seen folks have roos more similar to mine in the US. I think he looks great and love the look of the females as well. One of my girls is laying huge eggs consdering she just started 3-4 weeks ago!!

The swedish flower hens are not auto sexing. so far they have done fine in our 110plus heat this week. One of my legbars died, although after some further investigation I think that she got locked in the coop and didn't have access to water... so sad. i think my roo tried to roost on the coop door and dislodged it trapping her inside. I didn't notice until I went to collect eggs the next day after I found her passed out practically on the nest box. I fixed the issue so it won't happen again, but I was glad to know that it wasn't just the breed having trouble in the heat. She got too dehydrated to recover. my favorite pullet is not crested, but i just love the blue lacing on her. i do like the MF patterned pullet with the big crest a lot too, though.

Yes, that is the problem with pictures is that it just makes you want everything. I have at least 14-16 breeds right now and need to cut that number in half so I can really work dilligently with the breeds I have... so next spring I'm gonna be on a chicken selling spree!! at least I keep telling myself that. I did just find a place to add in 4 more breeding pens. so, if i built everything that's in my head, that would make 23 separate pens. I have vowed that I won't build the next set until i have some steady income from selling eggs, chicks, chickens or something to at least offset some of my costs. i currently have 16 and over 300 chickens... we will see, we will see.