Consolidated Kansas

[Pat Doll]

Welcom cj_dunham !! I live in Topeka ... only have 2 layers that I enjoy very much -- 1 egg a day from each -- love'em !!

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Welcome Neil and Jena, and Now Pat. We have a great time here teasing each other and talking about about our birds.
Update on Foxy the Sour Crop chicken; She seems almost normal today but I expect she is weak. I had to express her crop a few times and she basically only drank yogart water for a week. She does pick the seeds out of tomatoes. I now think she will survive. Summary: If your chicken gets sour crop it will be down about 2 weeks but can survive. Put yogart in water keep her warm, and dont let the crop fill to bulging. Do not think you can gently express it in the house. The smell is way bad.
You know roos and Hens its time to pick another meeting date and location, Any suggestions?

 

[Myabcs3]

It is great to see all the new faces/names! Welcome to all!

Thanks for the update Mike. I am glad foxy is going to make it! And I appreciate the advice on expressing crops in the house, not one I will forget!

 

[averytds]

to all the new peeps.


ck_dunham - You may be able to find whatever you're looking for locally and just get the # you want. There are also lots of shows and swaps in the spring to buy from and meet up with breeders. Hutch, Yates Center, Sedalia, Gardner, etc. I get much better quality of birds from breeders vs hatchery and it shows. Other than a few breeders working in early stages with a mix, it's very easy to just look at a bird in my flocks and tell if it's from one vs the other just by size alone without even knowing the standards.

 

[Myabcs3]

Quote:
Averytds - you are spot on with your comment. My first set of birds came from the hatchery/feedstore. While they are all healthy, have good dispositions and lay well, my other flock and current set of chicks that came from my own eggs and ChooksChik are definitely healthier and overall quality is much better. You can definitely spot the difference. We are building a great network on here within Kansas of individuals with different breeds. I would rather support my "neighbor" be it in Wichita or further north or west and use hatcheries as a second option.

 

[averytds]

I don't have a problem with hatcheries and will still and probably always use them for certain things. If I want something specific breed wise, outside of a production strain, I'll always try to get it from a private breeder first though.


Our BB roo is a mix of hatchery and private breeder stock, hatchery hens/breeder roo. He's halfway between the size of a hatchery Brahma and breeder Brahma. Someone with a hatchery Brahma will think he's huge and a breeder will think he's tiny. Having sought out breeder hens for several years, I now understand why his breeder went with the hatchery hens. If we had decided to pursue the breed, there's a good possibility we would have as well.


If you never see nice breeder stock of your breed though, you'll likely never notice and may not care even if you do. DS has some really nice LF Sumatras. He's done quite well with them in the shows this year. At Nationals, the judge marked them as too young because they were easily half the size of the competition. They're not too young, probably older than some of the competition was, it's the difference in the stock. I don't know their breeding history, but I would say there is bantam or hatchery in them, their breeder is just starting out or they were culled because of their smaller size. Don't know and don't care, but if DS decided to pursue them for breeding I would be getting a privately bred roo to cover them. No point for us anyways unless you're improving with your breeding. If the goal is to just have more birds, that's quickly accomplished with a chick order.


For small numbers of things considered more rare, it may take a little longer or just talking to the right person, but most things can likely be had from an individual and not even too far from home. You also get history/info that you'll never get from a hatchery and possibly a new friend and/or sounding board. Big pluses in my book, no matter what my intentions are for the bird.

 

[OzawkieBantams]

Quote:
I cant this week maybe next week. My wood stove has wiped out my bank account this week.

 

[Little peeper]

Hi fellow kansans.

im new here

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Welcome Little peeper what city or area of Kansas are you in? Feels cold out today with the wind blowing. Here is a question; Do Bantys often hide their nest compared to standard chicken.
I have one silky and she has laid about 2 eggs that I have found. Have not seen one since. Wondering if the other chickens are just eating them. You know how small dinky bird eggs are; takes a gazillion to make one standard chicken egg!

 

[FondofChicks]

Quote:
Maybe the two you found were just freakishly large bantam eggs and the normal eggs just aren't visible to the naked eye!