Colorado

[gardendufus]

Well, Hi guys, thankful for all the rain. Hoping for no floods.

I went out to the coop a little while ago to start setting up a separation area (waiting for Wendell to decide which pullets he doesn't want

) and both my Barred Rocks (now 18 1/2 weeks old) squatted for me. WooHoo, I understand that to be one sign that these ladies may be getting ready to lay. Yes, No???

On a concerning note, my GLW who is now 13 1/2 weeks old and who I have been a little concerned about because her/his face and comb have been reddening for the last several weeks jumped up on the roost in front of me. First of all, I'm thinking this face reddening is earlier than my other girls. May be a quirk of the breed, may be a quirk of this bird in particular, may be a quirk of my aging mind, I'm not sure. But, when it jumped on the roost it put her/his legs directly in front of me. Well, there are little tiny bumps, like small wart size, only skinny warts, starting to protrude from the back of its legs maybe and inch, from what I would call the heel. Spurs? Do pullets ever get spurs? I hate to beg, but tell me pullets sometimes get spurs. I'm gonna try to go out and get some pics to post in the pullet or cockerel section, but all my birds are hard to get pics of and especially this one. SIGH, my most beautiful bird threatened with re-homing. SIGH!

 

[dennarahl]

Well, Hi guys, thankful for all the rain. Hoping for no floods.

I went out to the coop a little while ago to start setting up a separation area (waiting for Wendell to decide which pullets he doesn't want

) and both my Barred Rocks (now 18 1/2 weeks old) squatted for me. WooHoo, I understand that to be one sign that these ladies may be getting ready to lay. Yes, No???

On a concerning note, my GLW who is now 13 1/2 weeks old and who I have been a little concerned about because her/his face and comb have been reddening for the last several weeks jumped up on the roost in front of me. First of all, I'm thinking this face reddening is earlier than my other girls. May be a quirk of the breed, may be a quirk of this bird in particular, may be a quirk of my aging mind, I'm not sure. But, when it jumped on the roost it put her/his legs directly in front of me. Well, there are little tiny bumps, like small wart size, only skinny warts, starting to protrude from the back of its legs maybe and inch, from what I would call the heel. Spurs? Do pullets ever get spurs? I hate to beg, but tell me pullets sometimes get spurs. I'm gonna try to go out and get some pics to post in the pullet or cockerel section, but all my birds are hard to get pics of and especially this one. SIGH, my most beautiful bird threatened with re-homing. SIGH!

The squatting is a good sign. Most of my girls have started squatting about a half a week before giving me eggs.

My SLW's started reddening and growing their combs about that point in time too. Much earlier than all of my other chickens with the exception of the boys. At 22 weeks, they still haven't laid eggs (as far as I can tell) but I'm pretty sure they're girls because my rooster mates them all the time and they take it like a girl. All of my girls have that little bump in the spur place, it hasn't ever gotten bigger since it first popped up.

 

[Minchi]

Well, Hi guys, thankful for all the rain. Hoping for no floods.

I went out to the coop a little while ago to start setting up a separation area (waiting for Wendell to decide which pullets he doesn't want

) and both my Barred Rocks (now 18 1/2 weeks old) squatted for me. WooHoo, I understand that to be one sign that these ladies may be getting ready to lay. Yes, No???

On a concerning note, my GLW who is now 13 1/2 weeks old and who I have been a little concerned about because her/his face and comb have been reddening for the last several weeks jumped up on the roost in front of me. First of all, I'm thinking this face reddening is earlier than my other girls. May be a quirk of the breed, may be a quirk of this bird in particular, may be a quirk of my aging mind, I'm not sure. But, when it jumped on the roost it put her/his legs directly in front of me. Well, there are little tiny bumps, like small wart size, only skinny warts, starting to protrude from the back of its legs maybe and inch, from what I would call the heel. Spurs? Do pullets ever get spurs? I hate to beg, but tell me pullets sometimes get spurs. I'm gonna try to go out and get some pics to post in the pullet or cockerel section, but all my birds are hard to get pics of and especially this one. SIGH, my most beautiful bird threatened with re-homing. SIGH!

I have a SLW and I was worried because at 5 weeks her comb started turning red. I found many pictures of SLW and GLW with red combs and waddles so I think you are fine but if you want to post a picture we can be sure. This is min at 7 weeks it is actually more red then in the picture.

 

[gardendufus]

The squatting is a good sign. Most of my girls have started squatting about a half a week before giving me eggs.

My SLW's started reddening and growing their combs about that point in time too. Much earlier than all of my other chickens with the exception of the boys. At 22 weeks, they still haven't laid eggs (as far as I can tell) but I'm pretty sure they're girls because my rooster mates them all the time and they take it like a girl. All of my girls have that little bump in the spur place, it hasn't ever gotten bigger since it first popped up.

Well, I have several friends and favorite posters on this site. But right now, at this moment dennarahl you are my FAV.

 

[tkilg71]

Hello fellow Colorado chicken lovers. I am new and posted my obligatory Hello just a few moments ago but wanted to be more specific with who I am saying hello to so hopped on here as this thread has been interesting, enlightening and just plain fun to read through.

As I have not started to raise chickens yet, I am looking for ideas and thoughts on this process. We live on 40 acres south of Colorado Springs and plan to go off grid within the next 2 years. This includes raising our own food. Yes, I will be eating some of the chickens I raise but will also be raising layers for eggs and just fun. Does anyone have a good plan for a chicken coop for the layers? We need to start with the building so our little hen house can be ready for it's new homesteaders when we purchase. As we have lots of ground, size is not an obstacle and we plan to have about 12-15 layers.

Seems the Rhode Island Reds are what I am looking at raising as they have many good qualities that work in Colorado from heat to cold resistance. Also, they are a heritage breed and are not so genetically altered to scare me. Do we really eat chickens that grow to full size in less than 12 weeks??? Makes me want to be a vegetarian until we are up and running here on the farm.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the rain and am hopeful to get some great ideas.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Welcome tkilg! I would say that if space isn't an issue you may want to go with a shed style. Much easier to clean if you can just walk in! If you want to go cost efficient, quick, and über green there are all kinds of options. There was a thread around about creative coops. There was an old airstream converted into a coop, a moving truck conversion, an old fireworks stand, ect. The options are just about limitless. You can also build smaller coops out of pallets and lots of places give those away for free. I think there are some examples in the coops section too. . Good luck, and have fun!

 

[ShysCreations]

A note that the Brighton swap is tomorrow 7am-10am at the co-op feed store near Bromley Lane & Hwy 85. Across from the Walmart. We're bringing about 30 birds, mostly silkies and a few bantam cochins.
Oh! Also anyone interested in the Denver County Fair, entry deadline July 26. Fair runs Aug 10-12.

 

[gardendufus]

OK, you wanted pics...hehehe........here they are: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/686150/glw-at-13-weeks-pics

 

[gardendufus]

Hello fellow Colorado chicken lovers. I am new and posted my obligatory Hello just a few moments ago but wanted to be more specific with who I am saying hello to so hopped on here as this thread has been interesting, enlightening and just plain fun to read through.

As I have not started to raise chickens yet, I am looking for ideas and thoughts on this process. We live on 40 acres south of Colorado Springs and plan to go off grid within the next 2 years. This includes raising our own food. Yes, I will be eating some of the chickens I raise but will also be raising layers for eggs and just fun. Does anyone have a good plan for a chicken coop for the layers? We need to start with the building so our little hen house can be ready for it's new homesteaders when we purchase. As we have lots of ground, size is not an obstacle and we plan to have about 12-15 layers.

Seems the Rhode Island Reds are what I am looking at raising as they have many good qualities that work in Colorado from heat to cold resistance. Also, they are a heritage breed and are not so genetically altered to scare me. Do we really eat chickens that grow to full size in less than 12 weeks??? Makes me want to be a vegetarian until we are up and running here on the farm.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the rain and am hopeful to get some great ideas.

HI tkilg71 and

Wish I could help ya out but I'm limited to a much smaller area than you. I'll put some pics of my coop on my page if they are not already there, but it's a very basic, rustic 8 X 10 essentially with a semi-open southern facing side. There are others here with much better ideas than I.

 

[gardendufus]

I have a SLW and I was worried because at 5 weeks her comb started turning red. I found many pictures of SLW and GLW with red combs and waddles so I think you are fine but if you want to post a picture we can be sure. This is min at 7 weeks it is actually more red then in the picture.

Minchi, your bird gives me hope.