I am going to try to answer a couple of posts that may have been missed.
Mike: Those SA Ducks that Amy is getting sound awesome! They are described as a super Dual purpose Duck with great meat and great egg laying. Also they are supposed to be very hardy.
Jeff: Yes, having a Baby at home is a great experience. It was weird getting the Birth Certificate. We were asked what the emergency was that kept us from getting the Hospital. Don't forget to get the Social Security card for taxes this year.
Laura: Hope your cats are not too depressed with the rain. Maybe let them out anyway?
Deb: Same thing here with hatching. I am so happy that this thread is taking off like it is. One thing I missed after the Easter hatch was the community it built up.
Kim: Did Paul make it ok finishing the roof in the rain in Chico? I hope he is home now.
CaliChck and Amy: You can't go wrong with Rocks! They were Americas Homestead breed for a reason after all. Partridge and Silver Penciled are great options and have a bit better feed conversion because they are a bit smaller. They are all so friendly too.
When the feed stores stock up with chicks- maybe I will grab 2 to try out. The Orps are little piggies but the rest of my crew seem to be pretty easy on the feed. Wouldn't mind having a few more easy on feed.
Quote: Yes Amy, I really like the Genesis incubator. It is a great starter incubator and when you get your Cabined incubator, you can use the Genesis for hatching during staggered hatches. you could hatch 40 chicks or so a week that way.
Watch for deals. Last January, GQF had a deal. If you bought the kit, they would send you Quail eggs along with the incubator! Gotta love it
Quote: Check with your feed store. Some will special order from Ideal, so you can get Partridge Rocks sent as chicks to the feed store that way. If you want some of the PRs or SPRs let me know. I plan on ordering with Jason from Sand Hill this January and they have both PRs and SPRs. Also, Jeff has SPRs so you could get some from him. They are a line from Chicken Grandma Cheryl and are very nice.
The 2013 Sand Hill catalog is not out yet, but last year they sold them for $3.00 each straight run(only way they sell chicks). You should check out what they have.
CaliChck and Amy: You can't go wrong with Rocks! They were Americas Homestead breed for a reason after all. Partridge and Silver Penciled are great options and have a bit better feed conversion because they are a bit smaller. They are all so friendly too.
The SPPRs from Cheryl are very nice birds! I hope to start breeding them this spring with my farm friend. She has the roos on the farm and I have 4 pullets here in town. And if you are looking for a dual purpose breed, the extra boys taste good and dressed out at 20 weeks at 3.2-3.9 lb. each.
So sorry to hear about your coops! Your chickens are all okay, though? We did not get as much wind where we are here in the Bay area but it still blew some things around in my yard. My chickens are not straying far from my covered run so far today. I think that they know that there is more rain to come. I hope that you are able to find some coops for your flock.
Bummer about the hoop coops but I'll bet if you stick another roost in the new coops they'll all be fine in those until you get more. Good timing on the two you got anyway. It was crazy windy all night. Woke up to stuff all over the property! Our new rubbermaid box for wood completely fell apart!
Trisha, glad you have power, ours went out long enough to have fix the clocks!
Welcome Americangame, what questions didn't you get answered because I think you got some nice comments and even someone offered to incubate your eggs for you. The thread does move fast, maybe you missed the comments. Very friendly people here, I think you'll like it.
I went outside to check on the ones in the coops thinking they'll be fighting.hey were all shoulder to shoulder eating and drinking together. Such a relief! Hopefully they can all remain friends until the other 2 coops get delivered.
This weather is a bear. At least I don't have the contractor here today, first day in six weeks without my doors open and men walking in and out. I'm actually to the point of being able to put some stuff away today.
I heard a loud noise last night around midnight that made the dogs all bark. I haven't ventured out into the rain yet today to investigate.
I'm glad I didn't lose power last night, my hatch is started (not to mention two more incubators of eggs still cooking). Out so far, three seramas (including one out of an egg so small it looked like a quail egg), a blue silkie and a blue showgirl.
Several more pips, they were actually due today, so lots of time yet.
Hope everyone is making it through the rain/wind without too much damage (sorry about the hoop coops).
It is coming down in buckets here! Our power went off for a few minutes last night too. I am working up the nerve to wade through the mud to do a food refill for the ladies. They were up early this morning singing the egg song. Every time I look out back they are staring at me from under the covered part of the run. They do this when they want set free, which is every time they are locked up, LOL. So pitiful!
This weather is a bear. At least I don't have the contractor here today, first day in six weeks without my doors open and men walking in and out. I'm actually to the point of being able to put some stuff away today.
I heard a loud noise last night around midnight that made the dogs all bark. I haven't ventured out into the rain yet today to investigate.
I'm glad I didn't lose power last night, my hatch is started (not to mention two more incubators of eggs still cooking). Out so far, three seramas (including one out of an egg so small it looked like a quail egg), a blue silkie and a blue showgirl.
Several more pips, they were actually due today, so lots of time yet.
Hope everyone is making it through the rain/wind without too much damage (sorry about the hoop coops).
I was pretty worried about the power as well, we lost power last week for 7 hours and I had eggs in the incubator an chick hatching and another in the hatcher and a few chicks in the brooder. They all ended up in front of the propane heat stove in a basket wrapped in towels. I have been researching some ways to keep the incubator running without using the generator for short outages.
The Orps are little piggies but the rest of my crew seem to be pretty easy on the feed. Wouldn't mind having a few more easy on feed.
Your chickens are all okay, though? We did not get as much wind where we are here in the Bay area but it still blew some things around in my yard. My chickens are not straying far from my covered run so far today. I think that they know that there is more rain to come. I hope that you are able to find some coops for your flock.
