geminijoy

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Hi,Debbie, I think we joined BYC on the same day.. sorry about the loss of your birds. When I first got all mine this summer, I originally had four Lavender Orpingtons, five Silverlaced Wyandottes, what I was mistakenly told were five Light Brahmas (thanks again, Dragonthehunter!) Which turned out to be Favorelles, and two ducks. I lost three of the Lavenders within two days, for no discernible reason. We made a small pool for the ducks and I came out one morning to find one of my Wyandottes in the pool, drowned. I was devastated, and made sure to put steps inside and outside the pool, and no more fatalities. But it hurts to lose a pet and that's what they are. My husband complains that I spend more time watching them than I do him (although he's pretty, too, even after 39 years of marriage!)
 
Thank you, Teila, for the advice on how to post pictures, since Dragonthehunter immediately knew what I have. I also have two Polish, hen and cockerel, and call the hen Ghost and the rooster Smoke. Ghost has a beautiful topnot, but Smoke's is pretty raggedy looking, as though some of the feathers stay looking like pin feathers in the center of his topnot.
This is my third time to raise chickens. I was lucky enough to be given my first flock, Black Jersey Giants, when we lived in Kansas. I loved those birds, all 28+1, (Marvin the Meanie), but we were victims of the flood of '93 and all our animals were rehomed as we had to move.
In Oklahoma, I was silly enough to take all the leftover chicks from our local feed store, 11 of them, after Easter. Little orange and pink and blue dyed chicks, who all turned out to be roosters, every one of them. Two turned out to be actually blue Aracaunas, the rest who knows.
Out here on my sister's place, I added to the small herd of 11 miniature donkeys, two horses, three pygmy goats, an Anatolian/Great Pyrenees, a Border Collie, a Standard Poodle, a chiweenie, and the little Yorke puppy my sister gave me since I lost my last Yorkie to lymphoma two years ago, with all my feathered pretties. Oh, I forgot about the four RIR's I also bought, but sold when they cornered Blue, my only Lavender, behind the warterers and plucked all her tail feathers out til she just had a bloody, naked butt. I cried and held her all afternoon as I put an ad on Graigslist for the four culprits. Have I mentioned that Blue is my favorite?
We also have three heifers and a steer, and another Standard Poodle puppy that my sister hopes to show coming next weekend. A full cast of characters!
Thanks again for all the warm welcomes, advice, and onfo
 
The Favorelles are really lovely chickens. No wonder you want to get some. Aren't the roosters magnificent? Now that I know what breed I have, I want a rooster lol. Jbk
 
I got an email on my phone yesterday saying that I had received an ovation. I tried to look on my phone and it denied me permission, so I tried on my tablet and again I was denied. I appreciate the thought and wish I knew how to view it!
My pullets are about 6 months old now. Should they be ready to start laying yet? My Jerseys were already laying when I got them, and I obviously didn't get any from my bunch of Easter boys, so this is my first time to worry and hover over my ladies in expectation. Should they be on layer crumbles only? I started mixing chicken starter and layer crumbles. I didn't know if, like dogs and cats, they needed to change gradually, so I tried to err on the side of caution. I also read on BYC that I should hang up oyster shell seperately, so whoever feels that they need it can get to it.
 
Howdy Geminejoy

To see your ovations go to your 'My Profile' option:




Then select the Ovation option:




This will show your ovations received and given. Note: while you may receive one ovation, the count may jump up by 3 or 4 etc. I think this has something to do with the ovation count of the person who gave you the ovation. If their received ovation count is high, your total increases by more.

With regards your gals not laying, I recommend checking in with your local thread which you can find here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you ‘Find your State’s thread.

May be this Texas one: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/44/texas/40510

This could just be due to time of year, daylight hours etc.

Personally, I switch my youngsters from chick start to grower and do not feed them layer feed until they start laying.

Yep, oyster shell is best left separate from their food but available for those who feel they need a calcium top up.
 
I was so lucky to get my flock! A friend of my husband's who was his fishing and hunting mentor, and was getting up there in years decided he could stand to give them away so he could have some peace and quiet on his mornings, gave them to me, along with a huge, gorgeous rooster, who (besides being a holy terror) had an extremely big mouth. He was named after a guy who worked at the convenience store three miles away, who had long, silky black hair. He had a very bad habit of tossing his hair back over his shoulder every few seconds, and so did our Marvin. The long thin feathers on his neck were beautiful and glossy and he was very fond of tossing his head. Thus, Marvin. And I learned if I wanted to escape unscathed, I had better take a broomstick into the chicken yard with me. And you have Marvin the Meanie. If you had tossed one of my kids in with him, they would have learned to fly! But his ladies were the most well mannered chickens, always polite and courteous. I don't remember ever having my hand pecked when retrieving big, beautiful brown eggs.
 

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