Consolidated Kansas

[ChooksChick]

Hey guys. Yesterday I received a book from Ebay called "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" Anyone here familiar ? And by the way - it's not that there isn't a wealth of information here on BYC, just that I like to know EVERYTHING about activities i undertake. I saw a similar book at the feed store called "Chick Days. . . " http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781603425841 but while it had pretty pictures, didn't seem to contain enough detail for my tastes.
Lastly - Does anyone feel like it may be better for a beginner to start out with bantams? Is there any benefit in terms of handling, manageability beyond the obvious less space/feed etc ? I have my brooder set up with all the basic equipment now, but have just started to decide what species to start out with. Thanks All !

That's a good resource, and you'll enjoy it. You can also find lots of info in folks' blogs, or in articles on sites like Estes Hatchery and MyPetChicken. In my signature is a link to my hints, and there are lots of articles there, too.

If I were starting out with those choices...it'd look like this:

Oh and another puppy just left. She is going to live near Hutchinson.

PM me your home phone so I can text it to Sandy- I know they were REALLY busy today.

Yep, these people were thrilled. They totally fell in love with my dogs and Fluff fell in love with their little boy. I think they actually got the very best looking pup out of the litter. He was huge for 7 weeks. I'll bet he weighed 25 pounds easy. Had he been a girl I would have kept him myself.
My stupid phone has rang all day and it's just chit chat. I really hate that. I'm just not a phone person!! I get up tight and feel like I need to be doing something. DH thinks I spend too much time on the computer but when I'm here I'm busy reading, writing, or researching.
It got so cold out today. The sun was out and it felt good but the wind was cold. Then it got cloudy and it just felt miserable. Now I can't get my feet warm.

Ditto here- my chill went right through me and I had to come in the house and sit with my laptop on my bed with the heated mattress pad on! Now it's time to go back out to the farm and Im not looking forward to it. Thank God for wool and insulated overalls! It's the match made in Heaven!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Yep, these people were thrilled. They totally fell in love with my dogs and Fluff fell in love with their little boy. I think they actually got the very best looking pup out of the litter. He was huge for 7 weeks. I'll bet he weighed 25 pounds easy. Had he been a girl I would have kept him myself.
My stupid phone has rang all day and it's just chit chat. I really hate that. I'm just not a phone person!! I get up tight and feel like I need to be doing something. DH thinks I spend too much time on the computer but when I'm here I'm busy reading, writing, or researching.
It got so cold out today. The sun was out and it felt good but the wind was cold. Then it got cloudy and it just felt miserable. Now I can't get my feet warm.

That's great they liked them! Sounds like a HUGE baby!! My mood was light today-- because of the sun, thank goodness. But the cold is no fun since I just want to be outside and finish my project already. My neighbors are gone, so not only did I have to stall my horses, feed them, bring in the chickens, etc... I had to go and do it all over again on their place. I just have to do it tomorrow night and I'm done for them. They pay me in beef. Seriously! They usually buy a 1/4 or 1/2 a cow and then have so much, they like to pay me with rolls when they have to leave. They are gone about once a month at least-- so I get fresh beef all the time! It's amazing how much better it tastes.

If I were starting out with those choices...it'd look like this:

Reds are not as happy to be held and can be bossy to other breeds. Leghorns are flighty as all getout and can be annoyingly standoffish. Polish are WONDERFUL- but can be prone to mites and lice, can't see well due to the tophat, and other breeds are sometimes abusive to them, so you end up needing to separate them when it happens...so you'd be jumping into a second pen and coop quickly.

Handle your chicks daily for a prolonged period, and get several kinds to start so they are accustomed to different types, or they will focus on newbies too much when you get a new color/breed later.

Ditto here- my chill went right through me and I had to come in the house and sit with my laptop on my bed with the heated mattress pad on! Now it's time to go back out to the farm and Im not looking forward to it. Thank God for wool and insulated overalls! It's the match made in Heaven!

Definitely listen to Chooks here-- she has a lot of experience with these birds. As much as I love my Polish, they get their tail feathers plucked out almost daily and sometimes get their topknots grabbed by the bigger birds. They can't see to know which way to run away, so they often just decide to cower or go screaming in a direction-- which attracts MORE attention to them and then that's not good. Hence.. why I said, I think if I did it all over, I'd just have the Polish only. But I love my barred rocks-- they are super sweet and LOVE to be held. They are real pets.

Renee-- this cold today is NO fun. When is spring?!?!?! Sheesh. I mean, we've had a really mild winter and I still can't stand it. I went out at 6:30 and got all my chores done on the early side. I'm pretty worn out today. I swear the weather has a direct link to my brain function. When it's warm and sunny, I'm unstoppable!! Do you ever talk to Jenn anymore? She's been rumbling about coming back to Kansas (Lawrence?) and I was wondering if she was going to do it. Her lavender silkie project is really fascinating!

Okay-- almost time for my little ones to go to bed-- YAY!!!!

(they were particularly cranky today!)

 

[Hawkeye95]

about to head off-- but forgot to ask Checoukan... how did your show go?? Did you take any pictures of the other birds there? Which birds did you take? Was it a good turn out?? Who did what (win)? Sometimes I wonder if there is a favored breed... Anyway, hope you had fun and enjoyed yourself!! I was thinking about you today!!

 

[averytds]

I'm not sure when we left exactly. Maybe 130-2pm maybe. Checoukan's birds had been judged, but the judge was still working the area and we couldn't go look. He still had more to go even after that so...... Long day! She may fall down once she gets home, gets everyone put up and the adrenalin tanks.

Lots of really nice bantams.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

JosieChick: Love your chick pics! Too, too cute.

 

[tazcat70]

So TAZ, are you hatching some peafowl eggs?

Yes, but I can't keep them. Renee's trip to Wichita is perfect. She can take them back with her. (If they hatch) This is my first time with Pea eggs.

My sister-in-law just told me about a Pea Fowl Farm that had 100's of birds (her words.) Not too far from here. They took some pics, and just a quick glance to my very untrained eye, I saw pieds.

So MAYBE SOMEDAY I will be able to hatch some out and keep them.

 

[ChooksChick]

Okay, so I went out to the farm to put everyone to bed and ended up talking for a long time to a new guy out there who just bought an adjacent property and I'm STILL thawing out. I know we had a really mild winter to this point, but I'm never going to handle cold well.

I had my insulated overalls, my awesome gloves, and a Scottish lambswool sweater, my general farm uniform, BUT- my fur boots have finally mostly died. I LOVE my mukluks and they can make ALL the difference in the world between warm or not. They have fractured in several places and it's just sad...I have to get new ones.

I was cold and my feet are still dying due to the Raynaud's. I'm here to say: Bearpaw boots 'Kola II' are the warmest thing I've ever worn, and I will own a pair always until I find something better. My feet have never been cold in them, even after hours of work out in the cold all winter last year. That says sooooooo much, because of the vascular issues I have!!

Without them I'm miserable.

That's great they liked them! Sounds like a HUGE baby!! My mood was light today-- because of the sun, thank goodness. But the cold is no fun since I just want to be outside and finish my project already. My neighbors are gone, so not only did I have to stall my horses, feed them, bring in the chickens, etc... I had to go and do it all over again on their place. I just have to do it tomorrow night and I'm done for them. They pay me in beef. Seriously! They usually buy a 1/4 or 1/2 a cow and then have so much, they like to pay me with rolls when they have to leave. They are gone about once a month at least-- so I get fresh beef all the time! It's amazing how much better it tastes.



Definitely listen to Chooks here-- she has a lot of experience with these birds. As much as I love my Polish, they get their tail feathers plucked out almost daily and sometimes get their topknots grabbed by the bigger birds. They can't see to know which way to run away, so they often just decide to cower or go screaming in a direction-- which attracts MORE attention to them and then that's not good. Hence.. why I said, I think if I did it all over, I'd just have the Polish only. But I love my barred rocks-- they are super sweet and LOVE to be held. They are real pets.

Renee-- this cold today is NO fun. When is spring?!?!?! Sheesh. I mean, we've had a really mild winter and I still can't stand it. I went out at 6:30 and got all my chores done on the early side. I'm pretty worn out today. I swear the weather has a direct link to my brain function. When it's warm and sunny, I'm unstoppable!! Do you ever talk to Jenn anymore? She's been rumbling about coming back to Kansas (Lawrence?) and I was wondering if she was going to do it. Her lavender silkie project is really fascinating!

Okay-- almost time for my little ones to go to bed-- YAY!!!!

(they were particularly cranky today!)

Thank you for the kind words! I will say that the mini binder clips from office depot work to hold their crests back so they can see, and Polish are really fabulous birds, gentle and inquisitive.

And I agree the BR are great lap-chickens! They were my first breed, and I will always have some. I just got eggs from Kathyinmo's heritage flock and I'm delighted to add to my lone heritage roo. He's with hatchery hens, but I'd like to go for the really wonderful quality- her birds are sooooooooooo amazing!

 

[Trish44]

Well I drove out to Goddard this afternoon to pick up some rabbit cages that were on Craigslist & man did that woman have a bunch of chickens at that place. They were running all over everywhere & then there were more in pens & cages in the backyard. I couldn't even tell you how many she might have had. I asked her what all she had & she said "you name it." Unfortunately they didn't all look that great, so I don't know how much care they get. She had some pretty EE roosters running around though. On my way back then I decided to stop in at Atwoods in Derby to pick up another feeder & waterer so I would have some more when my chicks get here & of course I had to walk by the chick bins. Atwoods doesn't have anything identified, they just have heavy breed straight run or mixed pullets or whatever. I asked two different people if they knew anything about what breeds were in there & they had no clue whatever. There was quite a mixture in there though. Then they did have a few guineas left, some ducks, & some geese, the turkeys were all gone. So I actually got out of there without bringing any chicks home, yay for me. I would just prefer to know what I'm buying if I'm going to buy any.

 

[ChooksChick]

Yes, but I can't keep them. Renee's trip to Wichita is perfect. She can take them back with her. (If they hatch) This is my first time with Pea eggs.

My sister-in-law just told me about a Pea Fowl Farm that had 100's of birds (her words.) Not too far from here. They took some pics, and just a quick glance to my very untrained eye, I saw pieds.

So MAYBE SOMEDAY I will be able to hatch some out and keep them.

Silly girl! You and I were posting at the same time! I have a Pied! He's a Pied White-eye India Blue. I also have an IB hen and a BS Purple pair. When you're ready just let me know!

 

[tazcat70]

Silly girl! You and I were posting at the same time! I have a Pied! He's a Pied White-eye India Blue. I also have an IB hen and a BS Purple pair. When you're ready just let me know!

You got it!