Colorado

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Nice! I emailed that hardwick hatchery about if they sell hatching eggs and he said later this year he would be happy to, so I can add RIRs to the list of eggs I will hatch! Guess they are only getting a 50% hatch rate right now. :/ He blames the temps outside, said the eggs are getting so cold it's damaging them.

 

[EHook518]

How's your hen doing?

Better thanks. She is hanging out in the bathroom. Drinking well and showing more interest in her food.

 

[wsmith]

Better thanks. She is hanging out in the bathroom. Drinking well and showing more interest in her food.

Good. I had a pullet that started limping for a week or so, and she is now fine. We don't know what happened either. Chickens are tough!

 

[coloradogal]

I'd like to get some guineas for my brother as he has tons of land. Does anyone know where I can get them or does anyone here have them? I don't mind hatching if I have the eggs.

 

[suncatcher]

Better thanks. She is hanging out in the bathroom. Drinking well and showing more interest in her food.

Glad to hear she is doing better.

 

[suncatcher]

I'd like to get some guineas for my brother as he has tons of land. Does anyone know where I can get them or does anyone here have them? I don't mind hatching if I have the eggs.

there was a local Craigslist ad several weeks ago, he had chickens and Guineas to sell. I posted his name and e mail on this thread. Will look it up and re post it if you like???

 

[Pozees]

That's my understanding too. I'm going to stick with just NPIP stock. I don't even believe we can go to a show can we, if our birds will be around non-NPIP. Do swaps have a section just for NPIP?

That's kind of what I was wondering - I have adhered to the requirements and have no plans to do otherwise, I just wondered whether there was something that covered swaps or purchases at shows - for example, the show at the Cow Palace is an APA show, I think, which would mean they would be testing all the birds who came into the building, including any swap/for sale birds. I don't know if that in combination with a seller being NPIP certified satisfies the rules.

 

[littlelizzy]

Hello all!!

New to this wonderful site, but it has already been an immense wealth of knowledge! I raised chickens back home in Iowa with my grandmother when I was little (Just for fun, no eggs or fried chicken) and we had ALL kinds! Like Murray McMurray hatchery exploded in our outbuildings! (which happens to be only a few hours from my hometown, so no shipping for those little guys, just drove out and picked em up.) We got some lovely little ducks from there as well. Since we had no pond, my grandmother filled an old cattle tank with water, put some water plants in, and a few 2x10s as a ramp, and we had happy ducks! We also had a farmer friend of my dad's drop off a really cute little Barred Rock chicken that we named Henrietta. Except it wasn't a hen, it was a demon Henry rooster that would chase us into the house as soon as we got off the school bus. He was wild, and always skulking in the shadows, waiting to pounce.

However, I now live in Colorado Springs proper, out by Garden of the Gods and Centennial. Our new-to-us house has fairly good sized yard with a garden and completely fenced yard. Here in the Springs we can't have roosters (which doesn't bother me much, I still think of Henry.) We can have up to 10 hens. I think 4-5 is a good number in my run of the mill subdivision plot.
My question is where should I think about building my coop? The house sits on the east side of the plot, with the yard on the west side. I have an over hanging deck, as my house is a split-level-1970's-trackhome-abomination. Should I put it under the deck, it would be more protected that way. Or would it smell too bad? On my farm back home everything smelled like hogs and cattle, so I can't be certain if the chickens actually smelled, but I remember cleaning the coop out once every two weeks or so... Or would it be better against a fence somewhere? Also, how big should it be for 4-5 chickens? What kind of chickens do well in our ridiculously hot summers and freezing winters?

Thanks everyone for being here!

 

[gardendufus]

Quote: I went last year in Jan. Was a total waste of my time. Not saying it always is, just was that time. Maybe 8-10 vendors in total. some selling older turkeys. One selling a Silkie Rooster. One selling an old nesting box. No breeders. One nice lady representing her 4H Club.

 

[WendyGeisler]

Hello all!!

New to this wonderful site, but it has already been an immense wealth of knowledge! I raised chickens back home in Iowa with my grandmother when I was little (Just for fun, no eggs or fried chicken) and we had ALL kinds! Like Murray McMurray hatchery exploded in our outbuildings! (which happens to be only a few hours from my hometown, so no shipping for those little guys, just drove out and picked em up.) We got some lovely little ducks from there as well. Since we had no pond, my grandmother filled an old cattle tank with water, put some water plants in, and a few 2x10s as a ramp, and we had happy ducks! We also had a farmer friend of my dad's drop off a really cute little Barred Rock chicken that we named Henrietta. Except it wasn't a hen, it was a demon Henry rooster that would chase us into the house as soon as we got off the school bus. He was wild, and always skulking in the shadows, waiting to pounce.

However, I now live in Colorado Springs proper, out by Garden of the Gods and Centennial. Our new-to-us house has fairly good sized yard with a garden and completely fenced yard. Here in the Springs we can't have roosters (which doesn't bother me much, I still think of Henry.) We can have up to 10 hens. I think 4-5 is a good number in my run of the mill subdivision plot.
My question is where should I think about building my coop? The house sits on the east side of the plot, with the yard on the west side. I have an over hanging deck, as my house is a split-level-1970's-trackhome-abomination. Should I put it under the deck, it would be more protected that way. Or would it smell too bad? On my farm back home everything smelled like hogs and cattle, so I can't be certain if the chickens actually smelled, but I remember cleaning the coop out once every two weeks or so... Or would it be better against a fence somewhere? Also, how big should it be for 4-5 chickens? What kind of chickens do well in our ridiculously hot summers and freezing winters?

Thanks everyone for being here!

HI!
Welcome! Just wanted to let you know that you might need to really really check your HOA ordinances about having chickens. We just moved away from GOG/Centennial and had quite a dispute with our HOA over chickens, even though there was nothing in the bylaws about having them. We met with 2 lawyers who went over the covenants and told us we were allowed and then were harrassed about having them. Just want to give you a heads up. I hope your property is ok to have chickens We love our chickens and ended up moving to keep them. Wendy