Consolidated Kansas

[Ralph Moyer]

About three weeks ago I sold the turkey pullets that a Royal Palm hen hatched out this spring. So she decided to go broody and moved in with two Muscovy hens, that had took her old nesting spot. I didn't think any would hatch because thy were always stealing eggs from each other. I noticed that at least one has hatched so I took a picture of the group. A good tile would be, " Who's your mama? LOL

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Hello everyone. I am taking a chance in hoping that maybe, just maybe there is actually some BYCers in far SW Kansas near the OK line!!!

! I have been raising chickens for almost 3 years now and so far I seem to be the only one within 100 miles that has breeds other than RIR, BR, WR, or other common breeds and hybrids....

This is both a positive and a negative. I seem to be the first to be bringing specialty birds to the area, which bodes well for future sales, but I would love to have someone to swap with!!!

So far I have kept most of my hatchery birds, but have added a lovely Wheaten Ameraucana pullet, and a pair of Buff Brahmas

I will be adding Jubilee Orps soon and ShowGirls are on my NEED list as well.

 

[chicken danz]

About three weeks ago I sold the turkey pullets that a Royal Palm hen hatched out this spring. So she decided to go broody and moved in with two Muscovy hens, that had took her old nesting spot. I didn't think any would hatch because thy were always stealing eggs from each other. I noticed that at least one has hatched so I took a picture of the group. A good tile would be, " Who's your mama? LOL

My bets are the turkey would be the best mama but I'll bet there's a fight over who owns the duckling.

Hello everyone. I am taking a chance in hoping that maybe, just maybe there is actually some BYCers in far SW Kansas near the OK line!!!

! I have been raising chickens for almost 3 years now and so far I seem to be the only one within 100 miles that has breeds other than RIR, BR, WR, or other common breeds and hybrids....

This is both a positive and a negative. I seem to be the first to be bringing specialty birds to the area, which bodes well for future sales, but I would love to have someone to swap with!!!

So far I have kept most of my hatchery birds, but have added a lovely Wheaten Ameraucana pullet, and a pair of Buff Brahmas

I will be adding Jubilee Orps soon and ShowGirls are on my NEED list as well.

You are kind of in the same boat I am. There is no major city close to me and it's been a few years getting my name out there and finding what I want. But that is good in way because otherwise, I'd have thousands of breeders instead of just hundreds. I'm certainly not from that direction but welcome to our forum. Feel free to join in and chat with us. We are very informal here and talk about anything but there is lots of knowledge in our group. Hopefully now that school has started some of our old friends will drop in more frequently.
I just got my load of feed shoveled off. I got only a couple hours sleep last night due to leg cramps. Let me tell you getting old sucks. Then I got up early for my no-show once again buyer. But at least the benefit was that I got feed shoveled before it was a hundred degrees out there.
I came in to fill my coffee cup but then I need to get right back out and feed and water. Looks like another busy day. I've got the new hoop coop almost to the point it will hold chickens so maybe with luck I'll finally get some moved today. I need to do some counting and figuring for a potential big scale buyer today too. It would be awesome to have the deal I am working on go through. I'd be set pretty good for winter.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

My bets are the turkey would be the best mama but I'll bet there's a fight over who owns the duckling.
You are kind of in the same boat I am. There is no major city close to me and it's been a few years getting my name out there and finding what I want. But that is good in way because otherwise, I'd have thousands of breeders instead of just hundreds. I'm certainly not from that direction but welcome to our forum. Feel free to join in and chat with us. We are very informal here and talk about anything but there is lots of knowledge in our group. Hopefully now that school has started some of our old friends will drop in more frequently.
I just got my load of feed shoveled off. I got only a couple hours sleep last night due to leg cramps. Let me tell you getting old sucks. Then I got up early for my no-show once again buyer. But at least the benefit was that I got feed shoveled before it was a hundred degrees out there.
I came in to fill my coffee cup but then I need to get right back out and feed and water. Looks like another busy day. I've got the new hoop coop almost to the point it will hold chickens so maybe with luck I'll finally get some moved today. I need to do some counting and figuring for a potential big scale buyer today too. It would be awesome to have the deal I am working on go through. I'd be set pretty good for winter.

Thanks for the welcome.
What are some of everyone's favorite breeds?
The Orps and Brahmas have stolen my heart.

 

[chicken danz]

I am definitely an orps and brahmas kind of person. I've had just about every breed there is but these huge fluffy birds are so gentle and easy going. The other bird breed I wouldn't be without are speckled sussex. They are natural lap babies and the most friendly chickens ever. I have some heritage barred rocks which make the hatchery ones look like trash but they aren't as friendly as the brahmas,sussex, and orps. I also have rare Breda fowl which are just gorgeous. Very hard to find but they are docile and naturally sweet as well as being quirky looking. Most people either have not heard of them or aren't impressed by pictures. But when people come here and see them they fall in love with them. I had one gal drive 3 hours yesterday to get 4 chicks in them. She ended up taking 6 once she actually saw them.
All of these birds are top notch layers except the Breda fowl. I guess I just have to have the extra eye candy around as well. I also have true Araucanas. They are very rare and pretty hyper. There eggs aren't enormous but they are gorgeous blue. I mostly have them because they are an endangered bird that is hard to find. Their rather comical to watch.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

LOL I understand! My next eye-candy will be Jubilee Orps! Has anyone had good luck with shipped Jubilee Orp eggs? They are just so pricey and I've been told that that breed doesn't ship well. I MUST HAVE THEM

I also want to breed my own Showgirls, no white, just buff, black, or possibly Splash! Any breeders out there???

 

[HEChicken]

My bets are the turkey would be the best mama but I'll bet there's a fight over who owns the duckling.

Muscovies are excellent mothers and with the language barrier between turkey and duckling, my bet would be that the duckling will choose to hang with the adult ducks and follow them around. Last month I had a muscovy hen hatch 13 of her own, and then, 10 days later - when her ducklings were double their hatch size - I had two more hatch in my incubator. I gave them to the mother duck to raise and though at first she looked a little askance at them, within a couple of days she was caring for them as much as the original 13. When one of the adopted ducklings got stuck a few days later, she hovered anxiously while I freed it, checking it all over as soon as I gave it back to her, to be sure it was really okay. I really wouldn't expect any fights. My turkeys and muscovies all get along super well and I really couldn't imagine them fighting - even over a duckling

. Though come to think of it, I've actually never had any two birds fight over a baby, even the chickens. They really do seem to work out a pecking order that they all know and accept. More than once I've seen birds standing around grooming each other. The turkey grooming the chicken while the chicken cleans the beak of the duck.

Thanks for the welcome.
What are some of everyone's favorite breeds?
The Orps and Brahmas have stolen my heart.

I raise heritage Barred Rock and heritage New Hampshire Reds from Good Shepherd lines. I also have a flock of layers that are a variety of breeds and mixes, as I like a colorful egg basket. But I settled on those two breeds because the heritage birds are huge and in every way - size, feathering and personality - nothing like their hatchery counterparts. The idea is that it is a self-sustaining flock this way. I can produce more, as needed, to keep my number of layers stable, and excess cockerels have a purpose as well. Danz is right that they don't tend to be as friendly, but I have enough friendly birds from among my laying flock that it doesn't bother me to have birds that are more aloof. Also, I suspect they would be more friendly if I hand-raised them as I hand-raised some of my mixed birds. However since I decided to focus on these two breeds two years ago, I've had so many broody hens that almost every NH and BR I own now, was raised by a broody hen.

I continue to work on food preservation. In the evenings I've been letting some of the sheep out to graze and I have to stay out with them to ensure they don't get into mischief. Two nights ago my goat doe was also out with them and she went into the coop to hang out (no feed in the feeder so she was out of luck there). As I passed the door doing my chores I did a double take. One of my BR juveniles had decided the goat makes a great roost and was all settled in on her back, preparing to go to sleep. The goat, who is flighty around me, was standing perfectly still to let the little one snooze - wish I'd had my camera. Last night the sheep were perfectly behaved, grazing only where they were supposed to and upon my saying "Okay, ladies, time to go back in the pasture", they obediently filed over to the gate and waited for me to open the gate to let them in. If only they were always so amenable.

Well, back to my hot kitchen where my canner awaits….

 

[Trish44]

Hello everyone. I am taking a chance in hoping that maybe, just maybe there is actually some BYCers in far SW Kansas near the OK line!!!

! I have been raising chickens for almost 3 years now and so far I seem to be the only one within 100 miles that has breeds other than RIR, BR, WR, or other common breeds and hybrids....

This is both a positive and a negative. I seem to be the first to be bringing specialty birds to the area, which bodes well for future sales, but I would love to have someone to swap with!!!

So far I have kept most of my hatchery birds, but have added a lovely Wheaten Ameraucana pullet, and a pair of Buff Brahmas

I will be adding Jubilee Orps soon and ShowGirls are on my NEED list as well.

Welcome, I'm in South Central KS almost to the OK border so depending on how far west you are we might not be too far apart. I have a big variety of breeds I raise, some rare & some heritage breeds. I do have Wheaten Ameraucanas if you decide you want more of those & I also raise lavenders. I just added two new pullets this year that are growing out & haven't laid yet of the wheatens & also have new lavenders growing out, so hopefully by spring they will be. I have been trying to get Jubilees going but so far only have one lonely bird out in my pen. No the eggs don't ship well, I got 3 batches of them recently in the mail & I'm going to be lucky if any hatch at all in a few days. I sure want some friends for that lonely bird out there. I'm not sure on sex yet on it but to me it's starting to look like a rooster, it's going to be huge. I also have been trying to get Mottled/Spangled going as well but so far only have one of those. I have lavender Orps & Buffs also. You can see in my signature line I have quite a few breeds here. I'm still working on getting breeding stock going in some of the breeds.

LOL I understand! My next eye-candy will be Jubilee Orps! Has anyone had good luck with shipped Jubilee Orp eggs? They are just so pricey and I've been told that that breed doesn't ship well. I MUST HAVE THEM

I also want to breed my own Showgirls, no white, just buff, black, or possibly Splash! Any breeders out there???

Well I have therapy this afternoon & I think it will be my last session for this time. I have made some progress but with my arthritis & fibromyalgia I just can't push myself like they want me to or they set me back every time for 3 days. The Dr. I went to this time told me not to push myself to just do gentle exercise & try to get the leg settled down but that's not what the therapists want to do, so maybe it's time for me to just do the rest of the work on my own.

 

[chicken danz]

LOL I understand! My next eye-candy will be Jubilee Orps! Has anyone had good luck with shipped Jubilee Orp eggs? They are just so pricey and I've been told that that breed doesn't ship well. I MUST HAVE THEM

I also want to breed my own Showgirls, no white, just buff, black, or possibly Splash! Any breeders out there???

I have English Jubilee orps. They should start laying any day now.They are almost 8 months old. Can't wait. I do have a couple people wanting chicks as soon as I hatch some.
Quote:

Quote: Oh I didn't mean actually fight over the ducklings. I meant all of them trying to be a Mom. I just see the mama turkeys being nonstop worryers and protectors of their babies, where ducks don't seem to have all that "New Mama syndrome."
I had a full days work in by 1:30 today and I am really dragging. We had a cool front move in and actually got rain for maybe 10 minutes. But the sun is coming back out and I'll bet the heat follows. I still need to do more work but I'm sure tired. I've just been pushing too hard the last several days.

 

[Trish44]

You got rain danz, wow we have sun here & heat & more heat, we sure could use some rain everything is dying.

I don't see ducks as really great mommas either, not like chickens & turkeys.

Well I just got back from my last therapy session for this time, it was mutually agreed that I would just continue the exercises on my own & go at my own pace. I'm kind of at a standstill with any more advancement & the insurance company wants to see progress so I'll just work on it myself.