California - Northern

[tommysgirl]

So I am running some chicken breeding thoughts through my noggin:

this year I wanted to add colored and white egg layers and so I did. I also got my higher quality Del pair from Kim and hatched a beautiful choc rock girl from Chook'sChick, Renee, in addition I will be getting a HQ NH roo from my uncle. You with me so far??

I think it would be fabulous to put the NH roo over the Chocolate barred Rock and see what happens. If I get sex-link chocolate stars it would be super cool

Deb can hook me up with a NH girl so I would have a Del trio and a NH pair so all of the chicks from any pure or mixed pairings there would be good dual purpose birds too.

Toss in the chocolate stars and I think I am going have some cool chicks running around the place next spring and summer.

I thought I could get choc rock eggs from Renee but she is selling off all her chocolate every things. I had a choc rock cockerel which I gave to a colleague of mine and can probably borrow back for breeding. Short of that I would have to buy hatching eggs from whomever gets her stock. Any thoughts on what would be better?

 

[tommysgirl]

Does anyone in marin mendocino, lake or sonoma counties have a couple of silkie or any type of Bantam girls to spare? We don't care if they are after POL retirees because get enough eggs around this place but we just need a couple of girls for my uncle's lonely roo.


I will be headed through on Tuesday after dropping Erin off at SFO.

 

[Ali707]

And then there were 13...... Yeah I know the 10 Little Indians didn't go up to 13, but I am sure that is how my chickens are feeling.

I found what I think will be a good home for what I think was my last Rooster from my hatch at the end of April. They are 13 weeks this weekend and he started crowing with regularity yesterday. Not super loud but a pretty good crow. Today he was doing it a lot more and it seemed to echo around my yard........ that or I am just hyper sensitive since I am not supposed to have them.

I think I really have to get this processing thing down. It is ridiculous for me to keep eating store bought chicken when I could have something that was raised and processed much more humanely and probably a whole lot cleaner.

PetRock? Are your plans progressing for the possible "teach city slickers to process a chicken" class?

Deb? Any more thoughts on your all out Turkey Hoedown around thanksgiving? Or is it a Turkey wrangling party? I can't recall now. All I recall is that you have an abundance o' Turkey and Thanksgiving is coming up!

 

[daesee]

oh how cool! i teach in the environmental studies department, i'm the jack-of-all-trades social scientist -- here's me there:
http://www.sonoma.edu/ensp/faculty/laura_watt.html

which high school do you teach at?

I don't post much, but am learning a lot by reading all of the chicken adventures on this thread. Small world...my son goes to Sonoma State and my daughter starts there in a few weeks. Her major - Environmental Studies. Maybe she will eventually be in one of your classes.

 

[ronott1]

I don't post much, but am learning a lot by reading all of the chicken adventures on this thread. Small world...my son goes to Sonoma State and my daughter starts there in a few weeks. Her major - Environmental Studies. Maybe she will eventually be in one of your classes.

Hi! It is great to hear from you.

I hope your daughter has Laura for an instructor too.

 

[ronott1]

And then there were 13...... Yeah I know the 10 Little Indians didn't go up to 13, but I am sure that is how my chickens are feeling.

I found what I think will be a good home for what I think was my last Rooster from my hatch at the end of April. They are 13 weeks this weekend and he started crowing with regularity yesterday. Not super loud but a pretty good crow. Today he was doing it a lot more and it seemed to echo around my yard........ that or I am just hyper sensitive since I am not supposed to have them.

I think I really have to get this processing thing down. It is ridiculous for me to keep eating store bought chicken when I could have something that was raised and processed much more humanely and probably a whole lot cleaner.

PetRock? Are your plans progressing for the possible "teach city slickers to process a chicken" class?

Deb? Any more thoughts on your all out Turkey Hoedown around thanksgiving? Or is it a Turkey wrangling party? I can't recall now. All I recall is that you have an abundance o' Turkey and Thanksgiving is coming up!

Good job re homing the roosters. It does help with the feed bill.

 

[tommysgirl]

And then there were 13...... Yeah I know the 10 Little Indians didn't go up to 13, but I am sure that is how my chickens are feeling.

I found what I think will be a good home for what I think was my last Rooster from my hatch at the end of April. They are 13 weeks this weekend and he started crowing with regularity yesterday. Not super loud but a pretty good crow. Today he was doing it a lot more and it seemed to echo around my yard........ that or I am just hyper sensitive since I am not supposed to have them.

I think I really have to get this processing thing down. It is ridiculous for me to keep eating store bought chicken when I could have something that was raised and processed much more humanely and probably a whole lot cleaner.

PetRock? Are your plans progressing for the possible "teach city slickers to process a chicken" class?

Ali it is great that you found everyone a home. I hope it works out for all of them to have large harems and lots of space to roam.

I am with you on the processing. I am going to approach the 4-H office and ask if they can put something together. I think If I start out with someone else's birds it would be easier for me to make the leap to doing my own. We don't have enough space for me to raise all my own meat but I do feel like I would be wasting a good meal rehoming a roo that I knew would be someone else's dinner.

I got a nice email from the guy who took my lovely SFH roo. Said he is BIG and beautiful...I don't think he would have gone out of his way to get in touch if he had eaten or was going to eat him right?

 

[tommysgirl]

I don't post much, but am learning a lot by reading all of the chicken adventures on this thread. Small world...my son goes to Sonoma State and my daughter starts there in a few weeks. Her major - Environmental Studies. Maybe she will eventually be in one of your classes.

Glad you posted: The hen in your avatar is gorgeous.

 

[tommysgirl]

Anyone along 101 with Silkies or other Bantams to share?

 

[lawatt]

I would have signed up for your classes for sure. They sound fascinating! I teach at Clear Lake High in Lakeport. Have you ever been to Lake County?

yes I've been to Lake County -- before I worked at SSU, I worked as an environmental consultant in SF and one of my two biggest projects was helping to write a 20-year resource management plan for the Ukiah office of the BLM, which includes a LOT of land in Lake County -- always loved driving up there. (also worked on a similar plan for the King Range, aka Lost Coast, up on the north coast -- probably my most favorite consulting project ever.)

I don't post much, but am learning a lot by reading all of the chicken adventures on this thread. Small world...my son goes to Sonoma State and my daughter starts there in a few weeks. Her major - Environmental Studies. Maybe she will eventually be in one of your classes.

oh, how fabulous! I'm not teaching any freshmen classes myself this fall, but tell her to stop by my office & say hi -- I just recently became Chair of my department & would be happy to answer any questions she might have.

haven't checked on the baby chicks yet this morning, after being away down at Stanford all yesterday afternoon & evening (my dad & step-mother are moving away, after being there since 1969 and 1979 respectively, and it was our last time to go look at the house etc.) -- but i did just order another dozen birchen marans eggs for my two NEW broodies to hatch -- chicken math strikes again!

and i had a long chat with one of my next door neighbors friday about processing, both wanting to learn -- so maybe we'll actually manage to DO it one of these days!