Colorado

[uzisuzuki]

I'm actually surprised I'm still getting an egg a day & from the looks of the eggs, from two different hens. They've only been out of the barn a few times since Christmas as the weather in our area has just been cold, windy & miserable, but they still seem happy and healthy. I keep expecting a feather pecking apocalypse every time I go out there at night after work, but nothing so far. My poor little rooster is still not agreeing with the dust in the barn so he's still getting his nightly beak/nare cleaning in the house (only one poop accident, last night, so far and no dog attacks). I don't mind giving him a little extra care and I like that him coming in the house gets the dogs more used to chickens, especially since my brother just got a 8wk old husky on Tuesday night. But I would like to get them out of there sooner rather than later to give him a break from the dust. I know I don't like the reactions I have to all of it in our area, I'm sure it's got to be irritating for anything else, too.

I did have a question for anyone who was interested in the rare/heritage breeds: have any of you had experience with those long-tailed Japanese chickens? Looking into possibly trying to hatch a few eggs from a BYC seller if they are still selling eggs next month. Kinda trying to figure out what breeds I'd like to try & raise & what breeds I can afford to try & raise still since I've got a month or so before I can even consider hatching and then another couple of months before the coop(s) & run(s) are built.

EDIT: Welp. Nevermind on the long-tailed chickens. Just saw that a scammer was posting that ad. Kinda bummed out now.

 

[Ashdoes]

Feather fixer is made by Nutrena I believe. It also has some sort of mite protection and minerals to help with the egg shells. It's at big r, although from what they said they have a hard time keeping it in stock, no matter how much they ship in. If I don't find it inside, I ask someone, and they check the stock outside and I drive back to pick it up. It's a bright blue bag, with a pretty rooster on the front.

 

[Double Kindness]

Well.. I did it. I ordered 24 white bresse hatching eggs to arrive Monday.

I think my laying pullets are hen pecking my roo Lenny of his feathers. He looks a bit bald. I should have perp peeps hatching soon.

I saw my friend the other day, if anyone wants dwarf olandsk chicks, chocolate bantam orpington hatching eggs let @kerstiens know

I'm so eggcited.

 

[suncatcher]

Uzi, Go to the Buy Sell Trade section and search in the box there for Long Tails, there was a gal on there last year selling hatching eggs. They may not be the Japanese, but they are still really cool looking.

I think I finally got my one lone chick who hatched in October integrated into the flock! Yay, took forever, and she still runs and hides if any grown chicken comes up to her, but is a beginning.

I am back to fermenting feed again, had to stop during the super cold spell, as it would freeze as soon as I fed it, hope it helps with the egg laying.

Dbl, So when are you hatchlings due? So eggsiting is right!!! I think I read somewhere that all Breese here in America are from GFF, as they are the only ones who have imported this breed. I am curious how they also come in black and blue if they are all from the same line???????

 

[chlskt]

Does anyone here have experience showing birds? I would like to get started in it with ducks, but I don't know where to start, hoping someone here has experience. I've looked on the Feather Fanciers site, but I'm just not finding answers to questions that I have.
Thanks for your help!

 

[uzisuzuki]

Well.. I did it. I ordered 24 white bresse hatching eggs to arrive Monday.

I think my laying pullets are hen pecking my roo Lenny of his feathers. He looks a bit bald. I should have perp peeps hatching soon.

I saw my friend the other day, if anyone wants dwarf olandsk chicks, chocolate bantam orpington hatching eggs let @kerstiens know


I'm so eggcited.

Oh my goodness. PM sent on the DOs! AND my incubator should be arriving tonight - I'm jumping out of my skin I'm so excited!

Uzi, Go to the Buy Sell Trade section and search in the box there for Long Tails, there was a gal on there last year selling hatching eggs. They may not be the Japanese, but they are still really cool looking.

I think I finally got my one lone chick who hatched in October integrated into the flock! Yay, took forever, and she still runs and hides if any grown chicken comes up to her, but is a beginning.

I am back to fermenting feed again, had to stop during the super cold spell, as it would freeze as soon as I fed it, hope it helps with the egg laying.

Dbl, So when are you hatchlings due? So eggsiting is right!!! I think I read somewhere that all Breese here in America are from GFF, as they are the only ones who have imported this breed. I am curious how they also come in black and blue if they are all from the same line???????

Thanks for the tip! I hadn't realized (obviously) that the Japanese long-tails are nonexistent here in the US, so my best bet is to look for a breeder with Phoenix for sale. I think I'd probably do better with them since the Japanese ones don't molt(?) and that would be a lot of upkeep. I just wish people weren't so crummy that they scam others like that. My mom just went through this on CL with husky puppies when trying to help my brother find one. Just a real bummer!

 

[COChix]

Feather fixer is made by Nutrena I believe. It also has some sort of mite protection and minerals to help with the egg shells. It's at big r, although from what they said they have a hard time keeping it in stock, no matter how much they ship in. If I don't find it inside, I ask someone, and they check the stock outside and I drive back to pick it up. It's a bright blue bag, with a pretty rooster on the front.

Thank you! I will check it out next time I am at the feed store.

Well.. I did it. I ordered 24 white bresse hatching eggs to arrive Monday.

I think my laying pullets are hen pecking my roo Lenny of his feathers. He looks a bit bald. I should have perp peeps hatching soon.

I'm so eggcited.

Should be pretty exciting to watch all the hatches we will have in the Colorado board this spring. Can't wait to see what everyone does. What a free education we are all getting and sharing our knowledge.

I think I finally got my one lone chick who hatched in October integrated into the flock!  Yay, took forever, and she still runs and hides if any grown chicken comes up to her, but is a beginning.

I am back to fermenting feed again, had to stop during the super cold spell, as it would freeze as soon as I fed it, hope it helps with the egg laying.

So can you give tips to us newbies on integrating one bird into the flock, especially a baby.
I have heard/read that it is easier to do with more birds, as I experienced trying to integrate our one eyed girl back into the flock by herself. Glad she is finally integrated.

Oh my goodness. PM sent on the DOs! AND my incubator should be arriving tonight - I'm jumping out of my skin I'm so excited!

Thanks for the tip! I hadn't realized (obviously) that the Japanese long-tails are nonexistent here in the US, so my best bet is to look for a breeder with Phoenix for sale. I think I'd probably do better with them since the Japanese ones don't molt(?) and that would be a lot of upkeep. I just wish people weren't so crummy that they scam others like that. My mom just went through this on CL with husky puppies when trying to help my brother find one. Just a real bummer!

I saw picks on those long tails and they are soooo pretty. Is that a cold hardy breed, I know nothing about them.

 

[suncatcher]

CoChix, She was in a breeding cage inside the coop for a long time, she could see them, and they could see her, this helped make the transition finally work. She still hangs out by herself mostly, but at least she is in the coop with them, and not in the house!

 

[trsturself]

CoChix, Sounds like surgery is on!! Is harder on us as we get older. Not sure if you are taking vitamins, but Vit C helps with healing, really, really well!!! Also, bone meal might be a good one to ad to aid in healing the bones.

Trst, Very frustrating having other chickens there and the owner not being very concerned over them. We are going through the same here with my daughters friends horses. Paying less than she said she would, then her horse getting injured, and expecting us to medicate it without compensation, etc, she seems to care less. I have come to the conclusion is never a good idea to do favors that involve animals with friends, unless you have an iron clad contract , in writing!! Also, I did not mean to underplay your flooded basement, but had read that same day of a house burning down, so it could be worse, but I did not mean to sound flippant about it........


Still no eggs today, this is really, really getting old! Are you guys who are getting eggs heating the coop? Lighting? I guess it is time to put up my solar Christmas lights I bough last month, will see if it helps!

Don't worry I didn't take it that way. It could definitely be worse! I'm all about seeing the silver lining and there were multiple in this experience. It really makes you appreciate the sense of loss people must experience when they lose everything. We were very fortunate that it was mostly our basement and only part of our main living area. Not so fortunate that it was $60K in damage! Fingers crossed insurance will pick up all of that.

I am also not getting any eggs. We use Feather Fixer feed, and that seems to have high enough protein, but hasn't kick started egg production. I'm actually going to start sprouting BOSS again, just to see if it helps. I don't have the time or patience to start fodder, of any kind, so sprouted is the way to go.
At least the feather fixer isn't more expensive then other feeds, so I don't feel like I'm over spending....unlike dog food.

We're not getting many eggs either. About 1 every 2 days from nearly 50 birds. I stopped sprouting while we were on vacation but it's time to start again.
Have you looked at Diamond Naturals at Big R for dog food? They're ratings online are almost as good as Blue Mountain (4.5 vs 5 stars) but about half the price. At our Big R we get 40lbs for around $30. My mom just did a ton of research on dog foods before she takes one of our puppies and decided to go with Diamond as well. They have a grain free version also (personally, I'm ok with my dogs having grains since they are omnivores, but in case you care). We used to do a BARF diet for our dogs when we lived in CA but the price of meat in CO is so much more that it doesn't make sense to do it for 3 dogs. Our cat still gets raw meat but that's because their digestive systems aren't made to handle anything else and it's just one cat. lol

Oh my goodness. PM sent on the DOs! AND my incubator should be arriving tonight - I'm jumping out of my skin I'm so excited!

Thanks for the tip! I hadn't realized (obviously) that the Japanese long-tails are nonexistent here in the US, so my best bet is to look for a breeder with Phoenix for sale. I think I'd probably do better with them since the Japanese ones don't molt(?) and that would be a lot of upkeep. I just wish people weren't so crummy that they scam others like that. My mom just went through this on CL with husky puppies when trying to help my brother find one. Just a real bummer!

Finding anything in demand (like housing) on craigslist is difficult to wade through all the scammers. It's so annoying!

 

[Latestarter]

I'm not providing heat or additional light in the coops. All the pullets that are doing the laying are hatched end of May 2014, which puts them at about 7 1/2 months old... When the temp allows (above freezing during the day) they get FF, if the day time temps are below freezing, they get a dry mix of the same grains/stuff in the FF, just not fermented. My mix would be between 14-18% protein.