Consolidated Kansas

[milomac]

My Wyandottes and Barred Rocks have always layed really well. My neighbors had Buff Orpingtons, and I swear they laid better than anything I had. ZigZag-- you mentioned you haven't heard anyone mention a breed that doesn't lay well. I call tell you quite honestly that Silkies are horrible layers. An egg every three days. And they often go on strike because they go broody at the drop of a hat. Which is why I hatch all year long, I have to gather and hatch everything I can collect! ha! So there you go! A really bad layer to add to your list.

Trish-- I sure wish they would eat mice as well as frogs. I am mouse-ridden in the barn. It's ridiculous. I have set traps and am now moving to the enclosed bait (where they have to walk inside of the bait house). I hope I can start to thin them down. The chickens just watch the mice eat right out of their feeders and do nothing about it. Sheesh!

MIlomac, why do you think the Silkie roo makes the flock more flighty? Is he predator watching and making calls for them to hide? Or is he just really rowdy? Depending on how well he can see, he might be pretty active. My Silkies boys really can't see worth a darn, so they are less active/reactive and would make horrible predator patrol.

In my case he is predator watching but considers me a suspious character, my previous silky rooster did not consider me or the dog a threat. Another plus with previous rooster his crow was muffled like a juvenile learning to crow, neighbors never figured out what the noise was. Trish on another note I spent the am north of Winfield chasing quail, cold but rewarding

 

[zigzag45]

Nice @Hawkeye95 - I have a ton of birds on my good layer list and one breed on my bad list.

On the leghorns, I wonder how much it depends on the birds they are around. I have just one, and she is a bit more skittish, but my broody raised mutt chicks are harder to get close to than leghorn. She's almost as calm as my Danz White Orp (which, @chicken danz - she is the nicest, big bird we have). Not much harder to catch than any of my australorps or buff orps.

@milomac - Turkens are the weirdest looking birds. I've seen pictures but not ever in person. MyPetChicken lists them as fair layers (2 a week), the link @Trish44 posted gives them three of six eggs for laying. Orp's are given 3 eggs along with Plymouth (Barred) Rocks, leghorns 6 eggs. I'm surprised orps weren't rated higher. Anyways, that's a bit of comparison.

 

[chicken danz]

My Wyandottes and Barred Rocks have always layed really well. My neighbors had Buff Orpingtons, and I swear they laid better than anything I had. ZigZag-- you mentioned you haven't heard anyone mention a breed that doesn't lay well. I call tell you quite honestly that Silkies are horrible layers. An egg every three days. And they often go on strike because they go broody at the drop of a hat. Which is why I hatch all year long, I have to gather and hatch everything I can collect! ha! So there you go! A really bad layer to add to your list.

Trish-- I sure wish they would eat mice as well as frogs. I am mouse-ridden in the barn. It's ridiculous. I have set traps and am now moving to the enclosed bait (where they have to walk inside of the bait house). I hope I can start to thin them down. The chickens just watch the mice eat right out of their feeders and do nothing about it. Sheesh!

MIlomac, why do you think the Silkie roo makes the flock more flighty? Is he predator watching and making calls for them to hide? Or is he just really rowdy? Depending on how well he can see, he might be pretty active. My Silkies boys really can't see worth a darn, so they are less active/reactive and would make horrible predator patrol.

I have that problem Hawkeye and my mice have become immune to the bar bait. I adopted a female cat and she had a trio of kittens which are wild as the wind and they live on mice. Problem is they stay out in the old barn and really aren't hunting next to the pens where I really need them. I take them food but not all that much. From what I've seen they are the fatest cats around. I don't even know what sex they are. I am afraid that they would prey on chicks if I had some free ranging though. If she gets pregnant again I am going to lock her up to have kittens. I don't want a bunch of feral cats around here. I know you personally don't like cats. I've tried everything else around here. I am planning to attempt to build some feeders that will only let a tiny bit of grain out at a time. If they work that is what I'll use for the chickens. I know they won't work for the game birds though.

Nice @Hawkeye95 - I have a ton of birds on my good layer list and one breed on my bad list.

On the leghorns, I wonder how much it depends on the birds they are around. I have just one, and she is a bit more skittish, but my broody raised mutt chicks are harder to get close to than leghorn. She's almost as calm as my Danz White Orp (which, @chicken danz - she is the nicest, big bird we have). Not much harder to catch than any of my australorps or buff orps.

@milomac - Turkens are the weirdest looking birds. I've seen pictures but not ever in person. MyPetChicken lists them as fair layers (2 a week), the link @Trish44 posted gives them three of six eggs for laying. Orp's are given 3 eggs along with Plymouth (Barred) Rocks, leghorns 6 eggs. I'm surprised orps weren't rated higher. Anyways, that's a bit of comparison.

I am confused by the laying ability of orps as well. I and my daughter both have had orps that have laid two eggs in one day. Broody raised chicks are almost always like feral cats. They are really anything but tame.
Speaking of that, Sharol that sussex boy refuses to be caught. He is running free and being very aloof. He did come in yesterday when I was feeding though. I think he is starting to get hungry which may ultimately make him become sociable with the other chickens. He stays out south of the chicken pens most of the time and I'm not sure if he is sleeping in the hen house or where. I let a barred orp rooster out to free range after he got beat up by his pen mates the same day. He is following me around like a puppy.

 

[sharol]

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Speaking of that, Sharol that sussex boy refuses to be caught. He is running free and being very aloof. He did come in yesterday when I was feeding though. I think he is starting to get hungry which may ultimately make him become sociable with the other chickens. He stays out south of the chicken pens most of the time and I'm not sure if he is sleeping in the hen house or where. I let a barred orp rooster out to free range after he got beat up by his pen mates the same day. He is following me around like a puppy.

I don't know that I ever tried to "catch" him as such. He would go in his pen when I called him with a cup of scratch. He would follow me anywhere for scratch -- just put it in a plastic cup and shook it, and he came asap. He would let me pick him up and put him on the roost in the coop before he and his brother got confined to the hoop. Maybe he is just leary of the other chickens (and you?).

 

[chicken danz]

Quote:
I don't know that I ever tried to "catch" him as such. He would go in his pen when I called him with a cup of scratch. He would follow me anywhere for scratch -- just put it in a plastic cup and shook it, and he came asap. He would let me pick him up and put him on the roost in the coop before he and his brother got confined to the hoop. Maybe he is just leary of the other chickens (and you?).

I'm sure he'll warm up to me eventually. Those sussex are such sweethearts. I'm on the fence about what to do with his Daddy when I switch them out. Then there is the oldest sussex rooster. Your boy and he really got into it and he beat the old boy up pretty bad. DH put him in that smaller house/pen in the yard yesterday. He wasn't doing very well. It would actually be a blessing if he died because he is at least 4-5 years old and just being a yard bird. He is an awesome good rooster though. Very gentle with the girls and a good protector.
That's my biggest problem when it comes to chickens. I can't seem to get rid of the older ones after they've done a good job for me. I could eliminate at least 15 of them right now because they are over the hill but it just doesn't seem fair. I wish someone just wanted some yard birds to eat bugs or something. I don't feel right selling them as bakers either.

 

[sharol]

I'm sure he'll warm up to me eventually. Those sussex are such sweethearts. I'm on the fence about what to do with his Daddy when I switch them out. Then there is the oldest sussex rooster. Your boy and he really got into it and he beat the old boy up pretty bad. DH put him in that smaller house/pen in the yard yesterday. He wasn't doing very well. It would actually be a blessing if he died because he is at least 4-5 years old and just being a yard bird. He is an awesome good rooster though. Very gentle with the girls and a good protector.
That's my biggest problem when it comes to chickens. I can't seem to get rid of the older ones after they've done a good job for me. I could eliminate at least 15 of them right now because they are over the hill but it just doesn't seem fair. I wish someone just wanted some yard birds to eat bugs or something. I don't feel right selling them as bakers either.

I know what you mean. I'm still stalling butchering the 2 cockerels. I'm leaving for a week on Saturday, and I'll be leaving possible problems for DH if the other SS gets pushy, but at this point he is behaving himself and hanging with his broodmates. They are just so pretty I hate to eat them.

 

[chicken danz]

I know what you mean. I still think you'll get them sold if you hang on just a while but you have to know what you can put up with. I think the worst problems are usually these young boys who don't know how to handle their hormones yet.

 

[sharol]

I know what you mean. I still think you'll get them sold if you hang on just a while but you have to know what you can put up with. I think the worst problems are usually these young boys who don't know how to handle their hormones yet.

Yeah, as usual I picked a bad time to be gone. On the upside, if they get obnoxious, DH can put them in the hoop. The weather is supposed to be ok for a week or so while I'm gone.

 

[chicken danz]

Is there ever a good time to be gone? I haven't found one. It's kind of like when my DH is on night shift. It's when everything seems to go wrong. I'm just holding out hope that winter ends soon and we can get on with spring. Of course that creates a whole new set of problems but at least I can stand to be outside working then.

 

[cherwill]

By Unknown Author

Is there ever a good time to be gone?

Good question! It never fails that DH is at some weeklong out of state training thing when things go wrong.

Old Sophia has picked now to go broody. It's not so bad, though, because she keeps the eggs warm and they don't freeze before I get to them.