Colorado

[Minchi]

I know this was posted days ago, but I'm just catching up with my light reading. I wanted to mention the problem I'm having with one lady, my easter egger. Nearly two weeks ago, she was looking lethargic and not eating, so I moved her inside for a few days, gave her vitamins, etc. The first day she was inside, she laid an egg. Nothing more the next few days she was inside, which was fine. Even after moving her back into the coop, though, she has laid nothing ... until yesterday... but nothing today. So, in two weeks, I've gotten one egg from her. She's eating fine, and very active. She's only a year old, and she is not molting. I'll give her a little more time to see if she picks up again. If not, I'll need to make a very hard decision soon. I really don't want to be feeding a chicken that isn't laying. I feel cruel even thinking that. :-

Sorry about that...

Although I don't know what the planning person was talking about, chickens are allowed in Parker. I found it in the charter. Also the way my new HOA words it they are allowed in my HOA as long at it is not more then 4 and they are pets. Legaleses can be helpful.

 

[gardendufus]

So I can't keep up with who all is breeding what kind of birds on our forum.

My neighbor's daughter trades me fresh baked bread for eggs, but has been showing some interest in getting her own chickens. Right now she's still in the 'I'm thinking about it' stage. She's convinced she wants them, just not sure when she wants to start. Maybe with the fall influx of chicks. She's also not sure yet whether she wants chicks or POL pullets. She went on the Chicken Coop Tour in May, and is pretty set that she wants Rhode Island Reds. I told her I'd try to get some info for her.

1. Do any of you breed RIR?
2. Can RIR chicks be sexed, someone told her she could ONLY buy them straight run, I'm sure that's not true from a hatchery, but not sure if she finds a local breeder if she might be limited to straight run. She sure doesn't want to get tied up with multiple roosters on her first try. If they can't be sexed at hatch, how old do they usually have to be before the sexing is pretty accurate, 8 weeks?

I'd rather she buy from someone fairly local if she can, so I'm looking around for her.

 

[samsr]

I was tilling my new 4x16 foot raises garden bed yeaterday and started turning up some grubs. The ones commonly found in manure piles. The chickens were out free ranging at the time. I got done and started to toss the grubs out of the bed and the chickens came running. They ended up tilling the bed again. Now it is their favorite place to be. Grubs a la composted manure must be a good treat. They sure did enjoy themselves and i got six eggs today out of six laying hens as a prize
I should have taken a video. I havent seen carnage like that in a long time.

 

[gardendufus]

I was tilling my new 4x16 foot raises garden bed yeaterday and started turning up some grubs. The ones commonly found in manure piles. The chickens were out free ranging at the time. I got done and started to toss the grubs out of the bed and the chickens came running. They ended up tilling the bed again. Now it is their favorite place to be. Grubs a la composted manure must be a good treat. They sure did enjoy themselves and i got six eggs today out of six laying hens as a prize
I should have taken a video. I havent seen carnage like that in a long time.

LOL, for dumb birds, chickens can be amazingly smart. My garden is next to my run, separated by a 4' walkway. My girls have learned that when I go in to weed, I put all the garden refuse into a container and when I am done I take it into the run and dump it out for them. Now they line up by the gate to the run as soon as I go into the garden and talk/beg/complain until I am through and they get their greens (usually about an hour). On a side note, my neighbors little girl loves to feed the chickens. I used to give her scratch to throw to them. Then I figured out I could train her to pull the weeds in my yard and feed THOSE to the chickens. Now I have a free weeding service. LOL

On another note about smart chickens: my little ones are light enough that they can climb a structure in my run that is used to support a trumpet vine that has been there forever but on which the leaves are too high to reach unless you climb to the top of the structure. Then they climb out onto the branches and grab onto the leaves. This is a delicate process, as the limbs are really thin twigs and once the chicks get on them they bounce up and down with every movement. The big girls are too large/heavy to elevate themselves to the top or to the leaves. But they have learned that when the younguns climb onto the delicate limbs, some of the branches come down enough that if they have perched themselves in the middle of the structure they can stretch and sometimes grab a leaf. So now, whenever they see a littleun jump onto the structure, the biguns immediately grab a position in the middle and wait for the littleuns to hop onto a branch and lower those leaves.

 

[wsmith]

2.  Can RIR chicks be sexed, someone told her she could ONLY buy them straight run, I'm sure that's not true from a hatchery, but not sure if she finds a local breeder if she might be limited to straight run.  She sure doesn't want to get tied up with multiple roosters on her first try.  If they can't be sexed at hatch, how old do they usually have to be before the sexing is pretty accurate, 8 weeks?

My understanding is that RIR can't be sexed at hatch. (Edited to add: unless you are adept at vent sexing or have a lot of experience and familiarity with a particular line) Perhaps they can be feather sexed at about 1 week or so. Other than that, you would have to wait until they show the larger combs, different build, etc.

I have a couple of Dom chicks (5 weeks) that I was pretty sure of gender, but I have reservations now. With these, I will have to wait until at least 6-8 weeks to be sure. I know, Doms can be sexed at hatch, but these chicks are from a different line than I am used to, and some of the sexing characteristics are more subtle in this line......

 

[wsmith]

For those who didn't see the announcement on the Colorado Chickens FB group or on our Windy Ridge Dominique FB page, we currently have 13 eggs in the incubator that are developing. These are out of Abraham and the hens in pen #3 !
We threw away 11 that were duds, and put an additional 12 in. Very happy about this new development. We are planning on hatching until the end of July if we start having successful hatches.

The current 8 (we lost one a couple of weeks ago, a pullet

) are growing nicely, and are nearly fully feathered. We have been weaning them off the heat lamp. The thermostat we purchased for the heat lamp works well, but is a little tricky to set to the right temp. This coming Saturday we will put this group into the growout pen in the main run area to get them used to the mature birds, and vice versa.

The two Bronze turkey poults in with them are now nearly 7 weeks, and are starting to grow VERY fast. They are getting good at hunting flys as well.

 

[can you hear me now?]

Yes, Rhode island Reds can be sexed at hatch from a hatchery. From a breeder as well if they know how to sex them. I know I am not from or near Colorado but I thought I would add my two cents.

 

[wsmith]

Yes, Rhode island Reds can be sexed at hatch from a hatchery. From a breeder as well if they know how to sex them. I know I am not from or near Colorado but I thought I would add my two cents.

True, and I assume they are vent sexing. I don't know anyone who is skilled enough at it who doesn't or hasn't done it at a hatchery. Then again, i don't raise RIRs. so there you go.

Dominiques can be sexed as soon as they are dry after the hatch, with very good accuracy. Even more so when you are familiar with the line.

 

[wsmith]

I was tilling my new 4x16 foot raises garden bed yeaterday and started turning up some grubs. The ones commonly found in manure piles. The chickens were out free ranging at the time. I got done and started to toss the grubs out of the bed and the chickens came running. They ended up tilling the bed again. Now it is their favorite place to be. Grubs a la composted manure must be a good treat. They sure did enjoy themselves and i got six eggs today out of six laying hens as a prize
I should have taken a video. I havent seen carnage like that in a long time.

That's Awesome!

 

[cosbackyard]

I was tilling my new 4x16 foot raises garden bed yeaterday and started turning up some grubs. The ones commonly found in manure piles. The chickens were out free ranging at the time. I got done and started to toss the grubs out of the bed and the chickens came running. They ended up tilling the bed again. Now it is their favorite place to be. Grubs a la composted manure must be a good treat. They sure did enjoy themselves and i got six eggs today out of six laying hens as a prize
I should have taken a video. I havent seen carnage like that in a long time.

If they're the grubs I'm thinking of they give me nightmares,



They eat up my seedlings every year.