Colorado

[suncatcher]

I hope you get some more snow there Pozee! People just don't get excited about moisture unless you have livestock or a garden. This will help our pastures immensely! I too remember the wind, now that you mention it. I also saw a dust swirl as I was driving up the Interstate, just glad I did not have to drive through it, as it was really tall!


I don't have Welsummers, yet! They are on my list though..... My one daughter added some BC Marans this last fall, I should add them to my siggy, but technically, they are not mine.

Oh okay now I feel less guilty - I just paid for 12+ Welsummer eggs that shipped out today, so I should have them Monday or Tuesday, and then when I saw them in your sig file I thought, Oh No!!!  LOL - fingers crossed I get a hatch.
So I have some other news, too - I participated in an auction to benefit a little girl with Hodgkins Lymphoma and won 8+white Bresse eggs for less than a chick from Greenfire, and 12 Mille Fleur D'Uccle chicks e - they won't be here for 2 or 3 months I'm sure butt I am very excited   I saw Mayah's MF D'Uccle and I guess I'd just never seen one in person, and once I did I thought, wow, I would really like to have some of those!  I honestly expected to be sniped out of them but was not.

Nice on the Welsummers, and congrats on the MF D'Uccle (I know, so cute!) and the Bresse, lovely breed too, and yes, I have them on my wish list too!! I will say you are bringing in some nice breeds of chickens! Yay!

Tru has one little MF D'Uccle, so very sweet looking. Are Welsummers in my Siggy? I will check, as I am not seeing them there???? lol

 

[suncatcher]

Pozee do you still have your website? Just tried loooking at it and it took me to the GoDaddy website page????

 

[Skidchik]

Hi! I know the answer to my question is within these 1800 + pages but I'm gonna ask anyway

I live in Loveland at Carter Lake and I am all ready for the baby chicks but wanted to get y'all's input on the type of chicks to get. I was thinking americana's, Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Red. What about the Barred Rock? Is there any other good layers anyone can suggest?

And I was thinking of getting them from Jax unless anyone here knows someone reputable near me that sells day old chicks.

Thank you thank you thank you!

Skidchik

 

[suncatcher]

All of those breeds are great egg layers, and perfect for a first time flock, you can't go wrong with any of them. Get the breeds that you are drawn too, you may change your mind later on, that is ok too! And, welcome to the Colorado BYC thread!

 

[Percheron chick]

Hi! I know the answer to my question is within these 1800 + pages but I'm gonna ask anyway

I live in Loveland at Carter Lake and I am all ready for the baby chicks but wanted to get y'all's input on the type of chicks to get. I was thinking americana's, Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Red. What about the Barred Rock? Is there any other good layers anyone can suggest?

And I was thinking of getting them from Jax unless anyone here knows someone reputable near me that sells day old chicks.

Thank you thank you thank you!

Skidchik

I don't know when Jax starts getting chicks in but Ranch-Way will start on 2-7 and Feeder's has them in now (and a much larger selection of chicks). There is a gal in Loveland that sells chicks for her daughter who advertises on CL but I haven't seen any postings yet. She also has a very extensive inventory of breeds.

Ranch-Way is also having a Poultry Seminar on March 8 at 10 and when they have one of those, they tend to have LOTS of chicks and some good deals. Feeder's will have one or 2 in the spring as well but haven't seen a posting for them. They both post quite a bit on CL.

There are so many beautiful chicken breeds out there to choose from. I love my BR both personality wise and good egg production. Good easy going hens. EEs (not ameraucanas) are fun, colorful and no 2 are alike. Green eggs are the bonus. Wyandottes are good first time hens. Golden laced wyandottes are what got me hooked. Not the world's best layers but they make up for it in looks. Get whatever hens grab your fancy. I have 14 hens and 10 different breeds. If they are raised from day 1 together, they tend to be a more cohesive flock.

 

[trsturself]

I agree to go with what works best for you. If eggs are the main reason then go with a good layer like a leghorn. Our BR, BA, and EE are great layers too. And all very friendly. We also have breeds that aren't such good layers but like them anyway (cochin and polish). We also have a bantam (with plans to get 2-3 more) because we like the smaller eggs as well. We sell our extra eggs and one of our customers loves the bantam eggs because she said they are a perfect serving size for her younger kid. My husband likes them for pickled eggs because they fit in the jar better and are bite size. I like having a few on hand because they work great when halving recipes.


Yes, I have a MF D'Uccle. We love her. She is pretty and friendly. My daughter used her for 4H showmanship. She wants a porcelain D'Uccle now.

 

[Mtn Margie]

Hi everyone. It has been a while since I have been on, life has been a bit crazy. I am going to try and catch up on recent events but I figured I would say 'Hi' before diving in.

Anyone on here ever lived in Texas? We will be moving in a few months. El Paso. I am not thrilled about the location right now or the fact that we will be living in an apartment but it's a good job.

The nice thing about El Paso is that you are close to New Mexico and the Silver City area is spectacular and check out the Gila Cliff dwellings. Big Bend is also very nice. Good luck on your move!

 

[Mtn Margie]

Did you have trees down and all that, or was it stuff that was already loose and just blown in? I'll bet you slept like a baby!!! That's a hard day's work!

Already in piles from a summers worth of mitigation. Just had to brush the snow off and find them......

 

[Aacre]

I had been feeling the "get more birds" bug lately and today, my hubby and I got a pair of Araucanas OR Americaunas- not sure which it is now. I didn't know much about them, we only wanted to change up the breeds in our flock and never had this breed before. I'm in love with the colors of the rooster and both his and his hen's personalities are docile and personable. They are about 4 years old and the people we got them from said that the hen still lays eggs, so I look forward to getting some of hers- hopefully some to hatch as well.

 

[Pozees]

Nice on the Welsummers, and congrats on the MF D'Uccle (I know, so cute!) and the Bresse, lovely breed too, and yes, I have them on my wish list too!! I will say you are bringing in some nice breeds of chickens! Yay!

Tru has one little MF D'Uccle, so very sweet looking. Are Welsummers in my Siggy? I will check, as I am not seeing them there???? lol

Well no they aren't, so I guess I was just seeing things LOL sorry The Bresse were suggested to me as a dual purpose alternative to Leghorns, and I really hadn't done any research, but saw them in the auction and decided to try a bid, and it was successful. The owner says they have the best hatch rates of any eggs she's shipped, so hopefully I will get at least a few. Shipped eggs are such a challenge, as we recently discussed, but it was for a good cause. The Welsummers are just because I found a reasonable deal and again, maybe I'll get lucky and get a few. I know Mayah wanted them last year and I don't know whether she still does, she's focusing more on blue eggs this year and has been getting some really pretty ones.

I was surprised at myself for how drawn I was to the D'Uccle, I am not generally a Bantam person, except my Silkies, and if I had never seen Mayah's in person I don't think I would have bid on them. Her little one just mingles with the whole flock of all sizes, like her Silkies do, and I think she said she'd gone broody at least once as well. Broodiness is a characteristic I am deeply appreciative of - especially for shipped eggs; if a Silkie can't get them hatched, nothing can LOL. Once the girls have had a little break and have been laying well for a while I'll probably let them hatch again - I could probably get them to sit on the Welsummer eggs, although I'd like them to have a longer break. The two that were most serious have been most active since they finally gave up, and I think they need time to get fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. They all held great weight, thank goodness. A few weeks off will be good for them, especially since it's gotten so cold again!

Well, off to give the birds some scratch before night settles in again. I have 5 hatched and 5 pipped in the hatcher, so far everything hatched is black so probably part or all Barred Rock. I bought some 2x4 pieces of foam insulation board to put around the pen I have the brooders in, I bought two of those hover brooders from Premier that are like the Brinsea Eco Glo except you can buy covers for them that keep the chicks off them, and they're quite a bit less expensive than the Brinseas; I want to convert the whole pen to a brooder, makes better use of the space and give the chicks more room to run around. Hope to get that all put together tomorrow. I have some chicks I want to keep for a while, and the ones hatching this weekend will be for sale once they're dried out, in a brooder, and eating and drinking. I'd just as soon put them all together for warmth and exercise, so I got some of those colored rubber bands to mark chicks so I know what's what - wish I'd thought of it when the Ameraucanas and EEs were hatching 2 weeks ago, arrgh! Oh well. Not too many of them to hang onto for a while and see what I've got.

Can you tell I really don't want to bundle back up and go outside? LOL