California-Southern

[froggiesheins]

Hi SurfCityBunpkin! Welcome! I'm new here too. I lurked for a long time doing all sorts of chicken research before I joined.

I'm in NOC too. In La Habra, pretty much right at the Fullerton border. My bf and I are still trying to finish building our coop. Hopefully there will be a erected roof tomorrow morning. Our chicks are getting big quickly.

I think chicken picking is fun and a very difficult personal choice. I mean, how can you choose when there are so many good options? Right now I have 4, which I got a the Yorba Linda Feed Store and Kruse's in La Habra. I get organic feed from Modesto Milling (the starter/grower crumbles) from Kruse's. However, I just learned of a store in Bellfower that sells Scratch & Peck, which is more appealing to me because it's whole grains and not processed crumbles or pellets.

As for chicks, I don't think you can really go wrong. The HB climate is so mild that you don't have to worry about heat or cold tolerance. I'm more inland, so we sometimes can get week-long heat waves in the high 90s or even low 100s in extreme cases, so I kept that in mind for my chickens and my coop. I have 1 barred rock, 1 Australorp and 2 Easter Eggers. They all are friendly, social, docile and have great personalities. I chose them for their egg-laying ability, looks and that they're less broody. My barred rock is really funny and makes a running beeline to me whenever I go outside. (They free range most of the day.) My Australorp is the runt of the group, but she's the most affectionate, sweetest and she's always eating. One of my Easter Eggers was the biggest cuddle bug, second to the Australorp, when she was younger. Right now, she's going through her prepubescent growing pains and doesn't want to be held, but she's still quite friendly and tame. The other EE was more skittish as a smaller chick and less affectionate, but in the last 2 weeks, she's been seeking attention more and even fell asleep in my lap! I didn't it'd be possible to have that with this particular chicken. It's been really fun watching them grow and their personalities develop.

My coop isn't even done yet and I'm already thinking I want at least 2 more chickens, but I'm having trouble narrowing the breeds I want down to just 2! I'm debating between Silky, Faverolle, Laced Wyandotte, Sussex, Polish or Hamburg. Eep. I hope my neighbors don't get mad or notice too much!

WELL HOWDY NEIGHBOR! I live down the hill from ya in Hacienda Heights! Chickens are the BOMB and we all are glad you got hooked.
Just so you know, we get together for fun chicken meet-up days 2X's a year, and the next one will be in Oct. after the heats gone....

 

[SurfCityBumpkin]

Hi Froggie! I grew up in Whittier, right around the corner! Thank you for all of the great suggestions and local places for supplies. I really appreciate it.

Hope you had a great chicken filled weekend!

 

[UrbanFarmOC]

WELL HOWDY NEIGHBOR! I live down the hill from ya in Hacienda Heights! Chickens are the BOMB and we all are glad you got hooked.
Just so you know, we get together for fun chicken meet-up days 2X's a year, and the next one will be in Oct. after the heats gone....

Hello neighbor! Ooh a chicken meet-up sounds interesting. How do I find out more about the meetups? What goes on at a chicken meet-up anyways? Do people bring their chickens too?

 

[hosspak]

Hello neighbor! Ooh a chicken meet-up sounds interesting. How do I find out more about the meetups? What goes on at a chicken meet-up anyways? Do people bring their chickens too?

Urban, here is a post from the last meet-up we had in Norco. It was posted by the lady who put it all together. All the pertinants will be posted in September....so leave the 2nd or 3rd weekend of October open for now!


Originally Posted by froggiesheins

CALLING ALL YOU SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHICKEN-HEADS
>>>> ITS THAT TIME AGAIN !!!! :

The 4TH ANNUAL SPRING CHICKEN MEET-UP!!!!

DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 12th

PLACE: NORCO- NEIL SNIPES PARK on the corner of 5th and Hammer

TIME: usually start around 10AM till the cows come home!

WHAT WE DO: TALK "SHOP' BUY / TRADE / SWAP / OOGLE EVERYONES BIRDIES & CHICKS! Bring the kids, bring your grandparents, come one come all!
Bring yer favorite birdies too and let them play in the sun and grass.....we all love to see every ones birds.
There is a beautiful open air pavillion w/ picnic tables that we use. PLEASE bring yer own lunch and drinks. If you want to share goodies…sell goodies….COOL BEANS!

IF there is interest we will have a raffle, so bring goodies to raffle off. The money pot from this will be raffled off to 3 lucky peeps 50% / 30% / 20% so its a great deal!

We will also have a 30 second seminar on injections and whatever else you might want to talk about...just let me know.

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!
P.S. Of course doggies are more than welcome to come but please remember they have to be on leash, not all of the birdies are used to dogs..Thank you for your consideration with this....LOL

 

[Sylvester017]

Thanks for the advice. Though I have a relatively large yard, I definitely don't think I want on run 2 flocks, even if my flocks would be small and even with good space planning. I certainly don't want to create an unhappy chicken situation by mixing bantams with LF.

It's when you want so many breeds as a newbie you don't realize that not all breeds get along in a mixed flock. I didn't heed the knowledgeable advice I was given not to mix Silkies/bantams with LF breeds. Having 2 Silkies we went through rehoming some LF bullies who at first seemed to fit but they eventually showed their true bully colors. A 7-lb Marans bullied the Silkies and kept challenging the alpha leader so was rehomed. We had a gentle 4.5-lb White Leghorn who was a gentle leader for THREE years but then she got aggressive toward all her flockmates and would not settle down so she was rehomed. We added a Buff Leghorn (calmer than either White or Brown Legs), and a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana who both submit to the matriarch Silkies. However we're seeing the Buff Leg getting assertive with a younger Silkie so don't know if she'll stay calm - the oldest Silkie can still chest bump the Leg and keep her in her place. We hope to add 2 gentle Breda to the flock Spring 2015 - we considered gentle Polish but I have too many crested/bearded/muff birds already. If unable to get Breda we will go with 2 Dominiques which we have had before and seem to be a gentle breed. We'll see.

If you decide on a Bantam flock realize that most bantams are broody and that cuts into their egg output and it is time consuming getting them out of their nestbox to eat/drink/dust-bathe 2 or 3 times a day to keep from getting ill or dehydrated. You will get at least 100 eggs from each Silkie but Cochins are not as prolific. Most bantams make excellent broodies to hatch other breed eggs and are devoted mothers - even to ducklings they are given to hatch.

If you want chickens to have eggs then stick with an all-LF flock and stay with just egg laying breeds rather than dual purpose breeds. Dual purpose tend to give less eggs. The only breed I know in Dual Purpose that usually doesn't go broody and gives lots of eggs is the RIR who lays about as well as the White Leghorn but the Leghorn will be easier on the feed bill than the RIR for the same amount of eggs per week. Another excellent layer are the EEs or the APA Ameraucanas who generally are not broody types and give an assortment of LG-XL eggs in colors. Our Ameraucana gives light blue eggs. My friend's 3 EEs give pink, greenish blue, and minty green.

Thank you everyone for all of the great tips. I was told that as long as chicks grow up together they should get along, but I know we can't always believe everything we hear. How about Silkies and mini Cochins? Is that a fair enough balance of size?

Chicks can get along but the larger faster growing ones will peck on the smaller gentler breeds eventually. At full maturity around 18 months to 2 years of age the LF will bully simply because they can. Bantam Cochins and Silkies are both bantam breeds and will do fine. Realize there will still be pecking order squabbles (after all they ARE chickens) but the sizes and weights are similar so the fights should be fair. Silkies are not good to mix with LF because they have a soft skull that injures if pecked hard by bigger bully breeds. Other than the skull issue they are hardy outdoor foraging chickens like any other breed and love the rain just like the LF.

Silkies: Cute, hardy in hot and cold climates, easy to handle, generally calm and gentle natured, roughly 100 eggs/year. Drawback: Soft skull easily injured, can't fly, crest impairs vision causing skittishness, feathered feet, annoyingly broody.
Cochins: Cute, hardy in hot and cold climates, easy to handle, generally calm and gentle natured, no crest to impair vision, not as good layers as Silkies. Drawback: Broody, feathered feet.
EEs/Ameraucanas (also come in bantams): Cute, does well in cold climates, easy to handle, good pet, generally gentle natured, non-combative, excellent layers, usually non-broody. Drawback: Noisy/talkative, bottom of pecking order, EE/Amer LF will need a yard water mister turned on and bowl of water to stand in on heatwave days, cheek muffs/beards often dirty.
Polish: Cute, hardy in hot and cold climates, easy to handle, generally calm and gentle natured, not known for a lot of egg production but good. Drawback: Crest impairs vision causing skittishness - trimming crest doesn't always help as back feathers will fall forward after trimming anyway.
Jaerhons/Campines/Gull-type breeds/Fayoumis/Buttercups/Hamburgs: Beautiful plumage, lightweight birds, hardy breeds, good layers of MED to some LG eggs. Drawback: Wilder independent non-docile temperaments, flighty breeds. (These are good farm breeds as they are good foragers, predator alert because of being skittish, and enjoy the freedom of space. Some of these breeds will not even go into a coop to roost at night)

 

[calichicken]

Hi and welcome! I have Bantam Cochin and Silkie to gether and they get along great..usual chicken squable! Both lay eggs consistantly..but my Bantam does go broody...and is right now...so you do have to address it by breaking the broodiness or getting fertile eggs for her to hatch. Both are very loving, social and look forward to seeing us everyday! Lots of fun!

 

[froggiesheins]

[COLOR=0000FF]Urban, here is a post from the last meet-up we had in Norco. It was posted by the lady who put it all together. All the pertinants will be posted in September....so leave the 2nd or 3rd weekend of October open for now![/COLOR]


[COLOR=333333]Originally Posted by [/COLOR][COLOR=333333]froggiesheins[/COLOR][COLOR=333333] [/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]CALLING ALL YOU SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHICKEN-HEADS

>>>> ITS THAT TIME AGAIN !!!! :[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]The 4TH ANNUAL SPRING CHICKEN MEET-UP!!!![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 12th[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]PLACE: NORCO- NEIL SNIPES PARK on the corner of 5th and Hammer[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]TIME: usually start around 10AM till the cows come home![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]WHAT WE DO: TALK "SHOP' BUY / TRADE / SWAP / OOGLE EVERYONES BIRDIES & CHICKS! Bring the kids, bring your grandparents, come one come all![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Bring yer favorite birdies too and let them play in the sun and grass.....we all love to see every ones birds.[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]There is a beautiful open air pavillion w/ picnic tables that we use. PLEASE bring yer own lunch and drinks. If you want to share goodies…sell goodies….COOL BEANS![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]IF there is interest we will have a raffle, so bring goodies to raffle off. The money pot from this will be raffled off to 3 lucky peeps 50% / 30% / 20% so its a great deal![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]We will also have a 30 second seminar on injections and whatever else you might want to talk about...just let me know.[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]BE THERE OR BE SQUARE![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]P.S. Of course doggies are more than welcome to come but please remember they have to be on leash, not all of the birdies are used to dogs..Thank you for your consideration with this....LOL[/COLOR]

hosspak is my BESTEST slave! He takes care of all my work for me......

I will be posting info AND pming everyone starting in Sept about the meet-up!

They are a BLAST! buy/sell/trade anything and everything....plus show off yer favorite birdies...(bring the whole crew!) We have had mini-seminars ... raffles... the skies the limit! Pretty much one BIG frat party...

 

[SurfCityBumpkin]

Thank you for the info Sylvester and Cali. I wish I had read your reply, Sylvester, before I went to the breeder! I ended up with a silkie and 2 mini Cochins and a brahma....all females. I wanted the brahma for the larger eggs but chose one of the smaller ones they had. The 3 bantams are 5 weeks old, the brahma is supposed to be 7 weeks but looks younger, closer to 5, I would say. I have been getting mixed reviews on the chances this will work out. I'm a newbie and thought I had done a lot of research but the size mix of a flock never came up. I'm already losing sleep over this!

 

[UrbanFarmOC]

[COLOR=0000FF]Urban, here is a post from the last meet-up we had in Norco. It was posted by the lady who put it all together. All the pertinants will be posted in September....so leave the 2nd or 3rd weekend of October open for now![/COLOR]


[COLOR=333333]Originally Posted by [/COLOR][COLOR=333333]froggiesheins[/COLOR][COLOR=333333] [/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]CALLING ALL YOU SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHICKEN-HEADS

>>>> ITS THAT TIME AGAIN !!!! :[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]The 4TH ANNUAL SPRING CHICKEN MEET-UP!!!![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 12th[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]PLACE: NORCO- NEIL SNIPES PARK on the corner of 5th and Hammer[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]TIME: usually start around 10AM till the cows come home![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]WHAT WE DO: TALK "SHOP' BUY / TRADE / SWAP / OOGLE EVERYONES BIRDIES & CHICKS! Bring the kids, bring your grandparents, come one come all![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Bring yer favorite birdies too and let them play in the sun and grass.....we all love to see every ones birds.[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]There is a beautiful open air pavillion w/ picnic tables that we use. PLEASE bring yer own lunch and drinks. If you want to share goodies…sell goodies….COOL BEANS![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]IF there is interest we will have a raffle, so bring goodies to raffle off. The money pot from this will be raffled off to 3 lucky peeps 50% / 30% / 20% so its a great deal![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]We will also have a 30 second seminar on injections and whatever else you might want to talk about...just let me know.[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]BE THERE OR BE SQUARE![/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]P.S. Of course doggies are more than welcome to come but please remember they have to be on leash, not all of the birdies are used to dogs..Thank you for your consideration with this....LOL[/COLOR]

hosspak is my BESTEST slave! He takes care of all my work for me......

I will be posting info AND pming everyone starting in Sept about the meet-up!

They are a BLAST! buy/sell/trade anything and everything....plus show off yer favorite birdies...(bring the whole crew!) We have had mini-seminars ... raffles... the skies the limit! Pretty much one BIG frat party...

Thanks for the information Hosspak & Froggiesheins!! My guy and I might be attending a wedding in early Oct, but we hope we can make it whenever it is!

 

[froggiesheins]

Thanks for the information Hosspak & Froggiesheins!! My guy and I might be attending a wedding in early Oct, but we hope we can make it whenever it is!

CHICKEN MEET-UPS are WAAAY MORE important than weddings and Anniversaries...right hosspak??

There are also meat-ups in San Diego so there is NEVER a shortage of them. .just in the summer months when it is too FRIGGIN hot to move!

You are on my LIST now..so no worries...