California - Northern

[Audio51]

I am new to chickening as well. I have 6 buff orpingtons, and 1 blue orpington rooster boy in the brooder.
One of my 6 girls is turning into a boy quickly. ever since I got the chicks, I have been Chicken obsessed.
I am looking to add to the babies already. Wanting a few light sussex or chocolate orpington girls about 3-4 weeks old. They seem very difficult to locate. any ideas?

 

[Audio51]

Quote: This is a BB white. I have to look it up. The feed store guy said a few months.

I could do a few months.......but maybe next spring. Gotte get thru the meat birds first...

 

[Audio51]

So on my last hatch I had 31 out of 37 hatch.
The other six were fully formed. Seemed like some liquid in there.
Would that be too high humidity?
They were ALL Marans
And my OE that looked porous all hatched out. There were 8 of those

That's great hatch! Were they shipped or you own?

 

[Audio51]

Quote:
Yes, Campine is pronounced kam-PEEN, but I hear judges say it wrong all the time. So don't worry about it.

Quote:
What she said. You want your eggs to be as fresh as possible, in case them open them. But to win on uniformity, your absolute best bet is to have all the eggs come from the same bird. Of course, that isn't practical because then they'd be too old. Just make sure the eggs are the same size, weight, color & shape.

And...............I'm home! Got home last night around 7:00. DH still has his nine chicks he hatched living in the house (LF cochins) and he had a stryobator full of eggs "cooking" on the kitchen counter. They are 11 days along, so tonight I'll have to give them a candling.

Welcome home! Wish my DH was that interested in them. He just eats the eggs...

 

[Audio51]

Today is lockdown day for me. I'll candle after I get a few hours sleep and find out how the 23 are doing now.

 

[Audio51]

With only 2 Buffs its really funny to see the differences in personalities and really a contrast with the Dele's

Whenever we take the slightly larger chick out of the box to play with it the other remains silent and busy's itself but if we take that one out the other chick starts crying out. Is this any indication if one is male or female? The Dele's never did this. Of course there were 4 of them and we rarely had more than 2 out of the box at one time.

Now of course as we have to shuffle them around during box cleanings at times if the wrong one is left alone in the box it might cry out but they all now to explore and fly around so I consider this more of a "why not me" and each one has a different tolerance for loneliness.

As far as moving the Dele's back outside Im going to give them a few more days in the garage since they didnt seem to understand what the "upstairs" was for and its going to be a little cold and wet over the next couple of days.

This is the coop I bought. (Costco was cheaper than this link) I will say it was very easy to put together the only real downside is that it was not easily modified to be reversed so it has to be the direction shown. Im considering making some modifications to it in order to add light to the hen house part.
http://www.landmsupply.com/departme...=google_base&gclid=CNSzje6Avb0CFcg7MgodqQcAHw

I was considering finding some solar yard lights that I could insert through the roof and seal with silicone calk. Has anyone tried something like that. They usually provide a bit of light for a while in the evening but then go out. Also considering adding a regular lightbulb to the upper back side wall to provide a little heat. (Maybe 75 watt or something smaller)

As I will be designing a new larger hen house and run the will be connected to this one are there any other considerations I should look into. Do any of you use nipple water systems? I'm considering adding a tank that will connect to my drip system to supply water this way.

My daughters have started calling the Orp's Biddy Babies and the Dele's Biggie Babies. I sure hope I can integrate the two without too much problem when the time comes. Its amazing how fast they grow.

I use a solar rope light I bought at Lowe's for about $20. I have cup hooks around the top interior to hold it and the wire goes in thru the door. I bought it 2 years ago ans it still works great. I have gone out there up to a couple of hours after sunset and it will still be on, but the light dimmed. That is one of the great things about it...the light slowly dims an the goes out. No sudden off when they are not prepared

 

[Audio51]

@chiqita - Thank you Ill keep that in mind. The coop doesn't have a way to lock them in at the moment though can probably come up with something. Once I have a way to ensure they will be warm enough in it Ill try locking them in at night. They were really happy to be back in their nice warm box last night so much so they didn't mind being in the smaller space. Wont last long though I'm sure. We will get them back in soon enough. The temps are dropping a little low at night though that should pass soon (and they are getting older day by day) They should be fully 5 weeks tomorrow.

I have the same coop and have a broody in the upper and one in the lower with chicks. I gust put a piece of cardboard across the entrance to the upstairs.

 

[chowmaine]

Hi everyone! Just wondering if anyone has nice pullets available. We are incubating eggs but I am curious/anxious to get a couple older girls. Thanks!

 

[Audio51]

Quote:
Unless they have modified it since I bought mine, the nestbox cover is not coon proof (or even dog proof). It works on a pressure system so I can lift the lide, but the cickens can't.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Quote:
Ok, thank you.

Here are the rules here, for our County fair.

Divisions
Division 6014 Market Eggs (4H, FFA, Grange and Independent combined)

Classes
1.
Extra Large Minimum 27 oz.
2.
Large Minimum 24 oz.
3.
Medium Minimum 21 oz

Now, I'll just need to weigh my eggs.