Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

Oh & I saw an ad on Craigslist for Silver Spangled Hamburgs at the place where I bought my 4 leghorn pullets. I was really tempted to go get a couple, but I really don't need them. I just think they're really pretty, so it would just be yard eye candy if I got them. They don't lay very big eggs, so they wouldn't be that great for that. I did order 4 Silver Laced Wyandotte chicks from a guy to be hatched in March. He lives close by, so it won't be a drive or any shipping to get them. I really like my gold laced Wyandottes, so I decided to get some silver ones too. These aren't hatchery birds, so they should be nice ones. I just like the contrast of the black & white.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I am thinking a rabbit hutch as a brooder. Just adding sides to it to hold in heat.
My mom is so excited about helping me out around here and that excited me too. Not only am I getting help but I get to reconnect with my mom and that makes me feel good. I have missed her so much. She calls me daily and I just love to hear her voice. I am going to try to get her to sign up on here to learn more stuff. She lives in Raytown MO and I live iin Drexel MO it is a few hours away and we didint get to spend much time to visit in the past but she is working it out that she is coming out once a week, spending the night and going home the next evening. I am happy about this. I want my mom in my life.

 

[chicken danz]

Thanks for the post Josie.
I do know what you are saying about wishing someone had told you these things. So do I, but in the beginning I wouldn't have cared anyway.
I thought people were asinine to spend a fortune on a bird just to show it. Over time my opinions have changed a little.
I am trying to breed for exhibition for the first time ever right now and have spent a fortune getting to that place. In the past I was just buying birds and not worried because I had no intent in the slightest of showing anything. Other than my bantam polish which came from SQ birds in the first place. I just didn't want people to read this and think that my birds are all crap.
My focus in the past was to have some eye candy, pets, and just sell eggs and cockerels for meat. I decided I needed to start making more money so I sold hundreds of birds and have given away a ton more. Just so I can keep the best for breeding and laying.
I'm not trying to gain a reputation as a show breeder per say. Personally I could care less about the SOP. But since I am trying to work on some top quality stock now, I don't want people to think that they can't trust me in those particular breeds. I will still have a few household breeds that sell cheap for people who want a pure bred bird but not a show bird.
I still don't intend to show them myself but my focus has shifted to preserving some of the pure heritage breeds and building a base of some of the new rarer breeds discovered elsewhere in the world. And I want top quality stock for that.
And of course I am breeding for my egg layers which don't have to be typey at all. Just lay like fools!

I still have a couple of mutt birds around here that are favorites. They can just lay eggs for me and hang around. They won't be getting bred to the fancy birds.
Checoukan that looks great so far. I am dying here wanting to build so bad. I am so envious. I want all things bird out of the house, and some of the work made a lot easier. I was just looking at some building adds today. I would have to have someone build it or it would never ever get done.
Michelleml that looks like an awesome chicken house. Does it have a concrete floor. If so it might have been an old wash house. I am envious. I could so use that for a grow out coop!

 

[Trish44]

I forgot to say michelleml that building looks awesome for a chicken coop, I would love to have something like that. Just make sure it has enough ventilation, that seems to be one of the biggest problems when converting a building of any kind to a poultry building. You may have to add some vents in it.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Are my posts not posting?

 

[chicken danz]

Maidenwolf that is great. You are building memories you will cherish as long as you live. I am so happy your Mom is wanting to reach out to you. I think you guys will have some fun together too. I'm so happy for you!!!

 

[chicken danz]

I'm not sure what you have posted. Just read that one I commented on. Oh and congrats on the chicks. You'll be in chicken heaven.

 

[JosieChick]

Oh this is fabulous! Why can't I have something like this? And it has electricity, lucky duck! I don't know how many birds you need but I do know a lady contacted me a while back and said she could buy eggs from me for $2 a dozen if I could get her 12 dozen or so a week and she was near Topeka. Of course I have no where near that many eggs! If you just want to sell locally you could buy something like Danz's red stars that are really good layers. Just keep in mind that in two years they are going to be done laying and you would probably want to butcher or sell them as spent hens or else you will have a barnyard full of old birds who don't lay anymore like me!

We have this building in the front part of our pasture not sure what it was used for but it has electric its 11x14 with two windows and a door. I'm wanting to use it as my chicken coop will just need to replace windows and build a run for it. What do you think i currently have 6 birds total but would like to add a few more. My hope is to have enough laying hens that i can have enough eggs for us and sell the rest to help pay for feed. How many birds do you think i would need to make that happen?

I am green with envy!!! That is going to be awesome!

Just got in. DH got called out on a water leak. I hate the 24/7, and truly dis like it this time of the year, with these temps. Talk about COLD, and if they get soaked while working.
Anyway took some pictures this morning, will get them up.

Hard to tell anything at first, but he barn looks alot different now than when they started this morning.
This is the south side of the barn. This will be 32 x 60 with a 20ft over hang on the east for me to put stuff like feed trailer, dog kennel, and parking if I want too.

DH just for kicks and grins. Getting ready to start setting trusses.

Looking down center of barn


North side of barn looking southwest. This photo above.

this photo above, is the first truss going up on the west end of the barn.

I think it is important too for anyone who is reading along here to recognize that you can breed two exhibition quality birds together and get a huge range of genetic variety and expression. Hatching eggs and chicks can be a major gamble if you are looking for show birds because you can get anything from a really nice bird to a really poor bird. I hatch from really nice birds and get everything from really nicely typed birds to birds that are just awful and culled. It is just the nature of the beast. It is just like dog breeding. In any given litter you may get one or two top quality show pups, several breeding quality animals and a few pets in the mix.

And OF COURSE, I didn't sell Danz's nicest seramas because they are out in my breeding pens! A good breeder keeps the cream of the crop for themselves and sells their culls as breeding or pet quality birds.

I was hoping HEchicken would get one of each of our birds so she had some genetic diversity. It is hard to say for sure if that white roo you had in the pen wasn't the father to both her birds because he was the most dominant boy in the group and most of the ladies stuck with him. I am surprised the white boy doesn't have better type because his dad was pretty typey but that is what you get when you hatch. Some really nice and most of the rest are inferior to the nicest of the birds. It is just a gamble with hatching and breeding.

Thanks for the post Josie.
I do know what you are saying about wishing someone had told you these things. So do I, but in the beginning I wouldn't have cared anyway.
I thought people were asinine to spend a fortune on a bird just to show it. Over time my opinions have changed a little.
I am trying to breed for exhibition for the first time ever right now and have spent a fortune getting to that place. In the past I was just buying birds and not worried because I had no intent in the slightest of showing anything. Other than my bantam polish which came from SQ birds in the first place. I just didn't want people to read this and think that my birds are all crap.
My focus in the past was to have some eye candy, pets, and just sell eggs and cockerels for meat. I decided I needed to start making more money so I sold hundreds of birds and have given away a ton more. Just so I can keep the best for breeding and laying.
I'm not trying to gain a reputation as a show breeder per say. Personally I could care less about the SOP. But since I am trying to work on some top quality stock now, I don't want people to think that they can't trust me in those particular breeds. I will still have a few household breeds that sell cheap for people who want a pure bred bird but not a show bird.
I still don't intend to show them myself but my focus has shifted to preserving some of the pure heritage breeds and building a base of some of the new rarer breeds discovered elsewhere in the world. And I want top quality stock for that.
And of course I am breeding for my egg layers which don't have to be typey at all. Just lay like fools!

I still have a couple of mutt birds around here that are favorites. They can just lay eggs for me and hang around. They won't be getting bred to the fancy birds.
Checoukan that looks great so far. I am dying here wanting to build so bad. I am so envious. I want all things bird out of the house, and some of the work made a lot easier. I was just looking at some building adds today. I would have to have someone build it or it would never ever get done.
Michelleml that looks like an awesome chicken house. Does it have a concrete floor. If so it might have been an old wash house. I am envious. I could so use that for a grow out coop!

I want to make cookies but I only have one egg and I don't want to go out to the coop in the cold to look for another egg!! How terrible is that?

 

[michelleml]

[COLOR=0000FF]I guess that would depend on how many eggs you use for your family & how good the layers are besides how many you hope to sell extra. I can tell you though you don't make much money on eggs, at least I don't. The people around my area will only pay $2 a dozen & some people practically give them away at $1.50, which I refuse to do. I have about 30 hens now in my general laying flock, not all of those are laying yet. Out of the ones that are old enough I'm getting about 10-12 eggs a day. You always have some molting & some just not laying for one reason or another, so you will want to have a few more than you think you really need. I have decided I want to get a few new ones each year so that I have some to take up the slack for the ones getting older & cutting back or those in molt. It worked out pretty good this year to do that because some of my new ones I got in the spring started laying about when my older ones went into molt. I have bought a few lately at point of lay & that was nice, they are starting to lay for me now & then I have a few that aren't quite old enough & I just got two 3 month old barred rocks too so they will lay in about 2-3 more months. Some breeds lay better in the summer & some lay better in the winter too. My Ameraucana hens went through molt & have decided to take the winter off I guess, I hope they start laying soon again because I will need those eggs to hatch since I have people waiting for chicks.[/COLOR] We use a about a two dozen in a week. The eggs around here sell for 2.00 a dz also even if its just a little to offset the cost of feed I'll take it. [COLOR=0000FF]Well I mixed up my fermented feed this evening, so we'll see how that goes in a couple days. Danz, I just had one bucket right now, so I'm going to try your method & see how it goes. The hardest part of it in the first place was getting it stirred up after I added water to it. The layer feed clumped up & didn't want to stir very well. Hopefully after it sets awhile it will get soaked up & be easier to deal with. I'm glad it's going so well for you, I hope it helps my birds as much as everyone is saying. It certainly is worth a try.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000FF]My DH went & got wood today & I had to send him back on his way to work tonight to exchange the plywood. I guess they saw sucker printed on his forehead or something & they sold him the most expensive plywood they had. I looked at that receipt & about croaked. They had given him $28 a sheet plywood & it was only 1/4 inch thick. I looked up how much it was at Lowe's & it was half that, so I had him call them back & see if he could bring it back & get the cheaper stuff. Geez, he told them he was using it in a chicken coop too. He must have not looked like he knew what he was doing & they just took advantage of him. I will go with him next time & make sure that doesn't happen again. All I need it for is to put across the 2x4s for the half wall I'm having built in there, it doesn't have to be fancy or anything that thick, just something to divide the rooms. I plan to use chicken wire from the top of the wall up to the ceiling so they can't fly over.[/COLOR] Checoukan, that barn is looking good, I know you're really excited!

I forgot to say michelleml that building looks awesome for a chicken coop, I would love to have something like that. Just make sure it has enough ventilation, that seems to be one of the biggest problems when converting a building of any kind to a poultry building. You may have to add some vents in it.

will keep the vent thing in mind thanks

[COLOR=000080]Oh this is fabulous! Why can't I have something like this? And it has electricity, lucky duck! I don't know how many birds you need but I do know a lady contacted me a while back and said she could buy eggs from me for $2 a dozen if I could get her 12 dozen or so a week and she was near Topeka. Of course I have no where near that many eggs! If you just want to sell locally you could buy something like Danz's red stars that are really good layers. Just keep in mind that in two years they are going to be done laying and you would probably want to butcher or sell them as spent hens or else you will have a barnyard full of old birds who don't lay anymore like me! [/COLOR]

[COLOR=000080]I am green with envy!!! That is going to be awesome! [/COLOR]

[COLOR=000080]I think it is important too for anyone who is reading along here to recognize that you can breed two exhibition quality birds together and get a huge range of genetic variety and expression. Hatching eggs and chicks can be a major gamble if you are looking for show birds because you can get anything from a really nice bird to a really poor bird. I hatch from really nice birds and get everything from really nicely typed birds to birds that are just awful and culled. It is just the nature of the beast. It is just like dog breeding. In any given litter you may get one or two top quality show pups, several breeding quality animals and a few pets in the mix. [/COLOR] [COLOR=000080]And OF COURSE, I didn't sell Danz's nicest seramas because they are out in my breeding pens! A good breeder keeps the cream of the crop for themselves and sells their culls as breeding or pet quality birds. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=000080]I was hoping HEchicken would get one of each of our birds so she had some genetic diversity. It is hard to say for sure if that white roo you had in the pen wasn't the father to both her birds because he was the most dominant boy in the group and most of the ladies stuck with him. I am surprised the white boy doesn't have better type because his dad was pretty typey but that is what you get when you hatch. Some really nice and most of the rest are inferior to the nicest of the birds. It is just a gamble with hatching and breeding. [/COLOR] [COLOR=000080]I want to make cookies but I only have one egg and I don't want to go out to the coop in the cold to look for another egg!! How terrible is that? [/COLOR]

 

[chicken danz]

Really I have so much to learn about breeding genetics. I guess if you start from a good foundation you end up with better birds but it's still a gamble. I can learn a lot here with all your help.
I had two boys from some top SQ d'uccles. This guy culls and demands total perfection. His birds are awesome. But the two boys I hatched are far from top quality. One of them has a tail that is a little wry and the other seems a little large to me. I have some others that are up and coming from good stock they show but not all top show stock. I am thinking one of those boys are going to end up being much nicer than the SQ bred ones. So I see what you are saying.
Birds I sell for the 4H kids to show; I normally let the kids and the parents pick out which ones they want. If I see they are making a poor choice with my limited knowledge I will try to explain why they should choose a different one. I don't like seeing the kids heartbroken for sure. Some parents do have a lot of knowledge and are very good at picking winners. Those parents make me look good. On the other hand I have had some people come for testing and I almost feel bad wasting their time knowing that nasty old bird they bought is going to be eliminated before they get it in the cage. I was appalled at some of the crap they had for birds at our local fair. Some of them weren't even the right breed they had marked on the cage. Dull ratty rough feathers and dreary eyes. I would have been embarrassed to bring a bird like that in public.
Speaking of ratty birds, I have a chick with something I've never seen before. This is one of the chicks the mamma hen has been raising in the greenhouse. I noticed it limping and it appeared to be missing toes. DH nabbed it and brought it in for me. All of his toes on one foot are dead. They had been there but they are black and dry and will definitely fall off. One and a half toes on the other foot are the same way. The others appear normal. So this bird walks on these little balls of his feet. Seems perfectly healthy and gets around well other than hobbling a little. The only thing I can figure is something either broke his toes or they might have gotten frozen off. It's obvious it wasn't a birth defect because the toes had grown and then died. I have never seen this before. It kind of reminded me of my rescue cat when she broke her tail before it dried up and fell off. It amazes me this little pullet functions so well. Had she not been raised by a broody she would have never survived.