California - Northern

[ronott1]

When I quickly skimmed your post and saw Pluots and thought it was a Pinta crossed with ?. Then when I saw plums written next to it I figured it out. Sorry, its still early.

It is good to hear that Debi and I are not the only ones thinking about Pita Pintas!

 

[sewandgrow]

It is good to hear that Debi and I are not the only ones thinking about Pita Pintas!

Me too............Me too...................Debi is bringing me some soon.......................LOL

 

[tommysgirl]

Which feed store are you buying them from? When we first got chickens, we were given a hatchery barred rock so of course we had to buy more to keep her company. We purchased an EE (labeled an Americana), an Australorp, and a Golden Sex Link from the Brentwood feed store. They are not breeder/show quality of course but have been excellent chickens. We added to that another hatchery barred rock and two hatchery silver laced wyandottes. The next year we bought some real Ameraucanas from a couple breeders and added a hatchery Buff Brahma and a hatchery Langshan to the mix. Those were the last hatchery birds that we purchased or will ever purchase. It was fun to try different breeds and we learned that some breeds that we really wanted we ended up not liking. Everyone has their own opinions about breeds and the hatchery chickens can be as different in temperament from breeder birds as they are in body conformation & color.

I currently have a breeder pair of Rhode Island Reds that we will be putting into a breeding pen tomorrow if you want chicks in the future. I also have brooders full of Pita Pintas, Pita Pinta mixes that lay green or brown eggs, a few Bresse, and some Langshans. If you are interested in any of those breeds, drop me a PM.

@caychris Debi's experience is pretty similar to most of ours. We start out in chickens with hatchery birds then see breeder versions and go "WOW" love our original flock but have found both aesthetic and moral reasons to go with breeders instead. You are close enough to a bunch of us to choose your next chicks from some great breeder stock. Even if you have no intent to show..I don't. You can get beautiful culls from breeders. I will have lovely Dels at some point from @capayvalleychick 's culls and I will be happy to sell you a straight run of chicks if the timing works out.

I do too... this hatch has convinced me to "update" my incubator though (I have a Little Giant). Which is a good and bad thing. I had to help out one of the chicks who was drowning in some sort of fluid, caused by too much humidity. The chicks also won't dry after hatching; they get all caked in the slick egg.. stuff.

Hoping to get a nice Hovabator soon.

I had the same trouble...I think Ron said it is realted to the struggles most LG users have with keeping the darn thing at a steady temp. I also opened it too much during the last two days when chicks were hatching so I screwed that part up without any help for the LG.

I got my Brahma and Langshan from them three years ago. They told me that they get their chicks from Privett Hatchery. I don't know if that is still where they get them from.

FWIW The EEs from Privett that we bought last year are big girls that lay a lovely colored egg. Their chicks arrived healthy and hearty...2 of them are as sweet as can be. (In your lap kind of curious). The other two were more standoffish but still curious.

How frusterating!
And I got my chicks from Nor Cal Chickens in Forest Ranch.

I hope to get bantam hatching eggs from them at some point

What age do cockerels become fertile or rather when should I separate them from the hens if I just want eggs?

You won't need to worry about anything other than eggs as long as you collect your eggs regularly. The only eggs that will actually begin to develop into chicks are the ones you allow a broody to sit on for a couple of days. If you collect one or more times a day there won't be a problem

Some ppl are creeped out by the thought of fertile eggs though and if that is you then just watch them. It is very obvious when they begin to get that lovin feeling

How deep should a brooder box be?

My first Dells were the first ones out of the brooder/Roosting on the feeder or the heat lamp. A deep rubbermade tub with a makeshif bent chicken wire "lid" worked just fine to keep them in.

So, when my husband brings our new girls tomorrow night (

), would I be right in telling him that it may be a couple of weeks before they start laying again?

Yay!!!!! By now you have them safe and sound in your garage...did you come up with new egg dish names for them??

Quote:

The Genesis arrived today! Got it set up and stabilizing. Will move the egs to it as soon as it settles. I also got the quail eggs (40 of them) so I guess I will st them too. Can they be incubated with the chicken eggs?

YAY!!!!!! for the arrival. I have no idea about the rest of it though

Taking the d'uccle eggs for incubation!

Heehee This is what I do too. @capayvalleychick got a kick out of the fact that I also strapped in my carrier carrying my chickens. So glad you found a source for incubation. Where?

Hello everyone! I hail from the Bay Area. I'm just starting out - getting things ready to build our coop/run and we'll be getting peepers in May!

I've already learned so much from this thread - it moves FAST. Looking forward to learning more

Welcome!!!!!

Being new to this. I will say that the Delawares are much more confident and adventurous birds compared to the Buff Orps. But the Orps seem to be more interested in "hanging" with the human family. With now 2 week feather growth they fly to the top of their box when they hear us in the room but are not interested in escaping just want to be included. They hop onto hands and arms offered them to come out and "play" and actually seem interested in being with members of the family. They sit on and arm or hand and just stay there where the delawares were more apt to move on after perching for a minute. The BO's are very sweet. The biggie babies outside are ok being held, though they would rather go exploring if they had their way. It is a fun adventure so far.

Dels are exactly as you described them. Adventurous and confident but with the right incentives they can become lap chickens.





This is one of our original hatchery girls. She isn't really a house chicken but if you leave the door open she makes herself at home.

I lent 3 of my 4 incubators out so no chicks for me. I figured it is better to get the incubators out of the house otherwise eggs mysteriously start hatching from them.

I saw your CL ad. Looks like people are happy to take you up on your INSPIRED offer

 

[PetRock]

It is good to hear that Debi and I are not the only ones thinking about Pita Pintas!

Who, me??? We spent yesterday afternoon moving and setting up breeding pens at the farm. I think that my Pita Pintas are going to end up going out there but I need to make a better pen for them. None of the ones we have are good enough for them!

 

[PetRock]

When I quickly skimmed your post and saw Pluots and thought it was a Pinta crossed with ?. Then when I saw plums written next to it I figured it out. Sorry, its still early.

Pintas on the brain, huh?!!!

 

[tommysgirl]

In my news, my new silkie broody did break which is good for her health, no so great for her lonliness so I went back to the Petaluma KOA yesterday and picked up a friend for her, a little black sizzle who may be her daughter I am not sure. My original contact told me the broody girl had hatched a clutch before there are a bunch of birchenish sizzled roos in the pen. My first girl is silver the new girl is jet black. My original contact wasn't there yesterday and I am going to ask her but viewing our communication track record I have no idea if she will answer me Anyway she is super sweet. I thought I lacked the silkie gene too but apparently it was latent and is now full blown!

 

[debs_flock]

Saw this on Facebook.

 

[PetRock]

In my news, my new silkie broody did break which is good for her health, no so great for her lonliness so I went back to the Petaluma KOA yesterday and picked up a friend for her, a little black sizzle who may be her daughter I am not sure. My original contact told me the broody girl had hatched a clutch before there are a bunch of birchenish sizzled roos in the pen. My first girl is silver the new girl is jet black. My original contact wasn't there yesterday and I am going to ask her but viewing our communication track record I have no idea if she will answer me Anyway she is super sweet. I thought I lacked the silkie gene too but apparently it was latent and is now full blown!

Good for you and your two new girls! I currently have 6 broody pullets/hens and every day there seems to be a new one that decides to join the group. DH is taking one broody to KristyAnn today. That will leave a nest box open for the next one. I really only wanted a couple of them to go broody! All are pullets under a year except for my head hen. They spend the day playing musical nest box and sitting on each other's eggs. The only ones that don't do this are my head hen who no one messes with and the girl that is going to KristyAnn. I am setting up a broody area today for the one pullet whose eggs are due to hatch this week.

 

[Audio51]

Saw this on Facebook.

Pretty funny!!

Quote:
I grew up in the Cambrian Park area of San Jose. Went to Cambrian Elementary (now condos from what I understand...) Dartmouth and Blackford Jr High and Branham High School.
I grew up in Cambrian Park, behind the Plaza Shopping Center. I lived on the corner of Wyrick and Berry. I went to Oster Elem, then Dartmouth, then they changed the lines so I went to Union in 8th grade. I then went to Camden High School, which has been closed since 1980.

I still have old spirit badges to beat your school during sporting events.

How odd, I've met people from SJ plenty of times, but never from the same neighborhood! My best friend lived on New Jersey, right off Camden.

I was probably there before you though, I graduated HS in '71.

We were born on Custer Drive near Foxworthy. My oldest brother went to Ida Price. Then we moved the Central Park Drive. Lived there for many years until my parents divorced, then lived in several other places in the same general area. Did you hear the Cambrian Plaza has been sold and may not be there much longer? I am hoping they at least save the carousel. We (along with most of the residents in that area, I assume) used to imagine the family up there was us...especially since I am a twin and that was what was being pushed around in the shopping cart. We used to go to the bowling alley and "Ben Franklin" back when it was essentially a penny candy store.

 

[PetRock]

Saw this on Facebook.

This was shared on the Easter Hatch Along thread. I think that it is really funny!