Colorado

[Mtn Margie]

Still snowing here as well, around 6 inches so far.
We had a "barn" raising party here yesterday. It still needs tin but the new sheep shed is at least up and the girls will be safer this winter for sure. Coffee up!

 

[Bridger Davis]

Still snowing!?! I'm jealous! We only got a few inches here and it melted in a few hours.

 

[PirateGirl]

Still snowing!?! I'm jealous! We only got a few inches here and it melted in a few hours.

We ended up with about 4 inches, of course when I was late to work because the road was a sheet of ice, I was the one who looked bad because there was virtually nothing just on the other side of the pass and all the roads near the office were totally clear! Ours has yet to fully melt, but it's supposed to be in the 50s for a week. And my one laying hen of course did not lay an egg on the coldest day. I don't know if anyone else will EVER lay now that the days are getting so short and cold. We'll see. Thinking of giving them my LED lantern at dusk for an hour or two until they fully mature. I dunno, I didn't want to supplement light. We'll see.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Hang in there! Many of mine that stopped last fall started up just after winter solstice.

Supposed to be warm here for a few days. Such a bummer that I am horridly sick with some upper respiratory crud. Sinus headache to end all headaches.
Of course the fall bulbs I ordered arrived just after the snow!

I had hubby take half of them to his work and give them away. That leaves me with about 80 needing planted.

I hope everyone is staying healthy! I am staying inside and keeping my germs all to myself.

 

[Bridger Davis]

Sorry to hear that @21hens-incharge ! You better get out those essential oils!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I'll be OK. Just miserable for now.

Nyquil has been helping at night. I am going to try and get a nap in today.

 

[GoDogGo]

Hi Colorado folks! I am a returning BYC member and wanted to say hi to others from CO! I live in Yoder and have LF Colombian Wyandotts, Basque Hen Chickens and a couple of Ayam Cemani along with a mixed layer flock. I also have turkeys and Lady Amherst Pheasants and a small farm of other critters. I hope to start getting involved with showing next year!
I am also wondering if there are any other CO members who have Wyandottes, Ayam Cemani or Basque hens?
Anyhow, Hi From me to you!

 

[PirateGirl]

Welcome back @GoDogGo ! I don't know where Yoder is, so it's safe to say it's far away from me if I've never driven through! How many chickens do you have total? How much land do you have?

I just have a small flock of 5, and 2 of them are wyandottes because I liked the first one so much I had to get a second wyandotte. They seem to be hardy. The first wyandotte survived when a respiratory infection hit my girls and I lost 2 other birds and she survived after being on death's door. That's when I got my second one, when I was bringing my number back up to 5. The second one, Lola, is currently the first and only layer of the bunch so far despite the early onset of winter weather this year. So I'm convinced they are absolutely perfect for life in the mountains and the harsh environment.

I hope to one day have a small farm of other critters too. We're working on a financial plan to get a chunk of agricultural zoned land.

 

[GoDogGo]

Welcome back @GoDogGo ! I don't know where Yoder is, so it's safe to say it's far away from me if I've never driven through! How many chickens do you have total? How much land do you have?

I just have a small flock of 5, and 2 of them are wyandottes because I liked the first one so much I had to get a second wyandotte. They seem to be hardy. The first wyandotte survived when a respiratory infection hit my girls and I lost 2 other birds and she survived after being on death's door. That's when I got my second one, when I was bringing my number back up to 5. The second one, Lola, is currently the first and only layer of the bunch so far despite the early onset of winter weather this year. So I'm convinced they are absolutely perfect for life in the mountains and the harsh environment.

I hope to one day have a small farm of other critters too. We're working on a financial plan to get a chunk of agricultural zoned land.

Yoder is about 30 miles east of Colorado Springs out on the plains. It's not really a town as most people know the word, but rather is a post office and a community!
I have about 50 chickens which is down from what I have had in the past. I have 4 turkeys and a few pheasant. We live on 40 acres.
I have found the Wyandottes to be a very sweet and calm breed and their comb and chubby full body is idea for our climate and year round laying. Although it is a fairly well known breed it has become difficult to find if you want a true to standard bird. There are very few show breeders in the US sadly and some colors have almost become rare when it comes to show quality birds and preserving the breed. I plan on increasing my Wyandotte flock and be able to start showing them next year. As far as the Ayam Cemani and the Basque Hen I want to help them get APA recognition and am trying to help the clubs for those breeds do so.
Are you a member of any of the Colorado poultry clubs? Have you ever considered showing? Also, are you a member of the Face Book page "Colorado Chickens"?

 

[PirateGirl]

@GoDogGo
I am not a memeber of any poultry clubs and new to chickens this year, we finally have a house with a yard instead of a condo, so I'm super excited about the possibilities. Showing poultry sounds like fun and I can see getting into that down the line. When I was on Facebook I found the Colorado Chickens group to be a great resource. I think next time I'm looking for birds I will definitely start there. Next I'm on to ducks! It actually sounds like they do better than chickens in the cold, so maybe I should have started there. I know what you meAn about rarer colors. When I started I had a white Orpington and a Lavender Orpington and they were beautiful, however they were the aforementioned ones that didn't make it through the illness. How is the grass for grazing animals in your part of the state? The big dream is cattle/yaks/goats, once we can save up more for land.