Hello to BYC members from Frostproof, Florida. Smack dab in the middle of the orange groves of Polk County.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
My Grandparents on Mother's side always raised chickens and ducks for meat/eggs. As my Grandmother grew older (75-80 yrs. old) she has a fox in her hen house one evening and went after it with a .410 shotgun. The outcome was the hens got the worse end of the deal. IIRC, she killed over half her flock and spent most of the night plucking, singeing and cleaning hens.
I hatched some mixed chics while we were living in NC in early '80s. Used a round galvanized incubator, not sure of the brand.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
NONE I recently purchased a new Little Giant w/turner, installed a plastic liner, added a computer type fan and added a combo thermometer and hygrometer. have tested in in one of the outbuildings and have too much temp. fluctuation due to outside temp. going up and down. In the past two weeks we've had outdoor emp. differences of nearly forty degrees, varying over twenty five degrees in shed. Will have to wait a little longer, unless I can convince the wife, Carolyn that "tabletop" means it's OK for the living room floor, at least until they hatch. Then I can put them in the outbuilding with a brooder light.
(3) What breeds do you have?
NONE I hope to hatch a batch of a variety of colors of guineas asap. I want them to do insect control in my one acre vegetable garden/ fruit tree compound.
Would like to follow-up with a batch of about five or six different variety chickens, such as Delaware, Buff Orpington, maybe a couple of var. of Marans (I like the lighter color Marans), Silver Laced and Blue Laced Wyandotte and Barred Rock. If I use the turner, I'll only have room for six eggs of each variety.
I plan to build a large (10' X 10') chicken tractor with laying boxes and roost mounted on the wheeled end of tractor. Plan to keep them confined in chicken tractor and move them about in the rows between fruit trees at garden.
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
I think it was a Google search for guineas that turned up some dialog from the forum.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Vegetable gardening, growing fruit trees, collecting firearms.
We raise a lot of vegetables and share with all the neighbors and still have some for the freezer, and would have plenty for the chickens.
Would also like to have maybe three doe rabbits and one buck to raise meat rabbit.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I'm early sixties, married to dear wife, Carolyn for 44 years. Two adult children, 4 grandchildren.
We farmed in NC for five years, from '78 to '84 and then moved back to FL. Worked all over South for next ten years installing turf grass on new golf courses.
I'm been disabled for 15 years. Can still do about everything I want to, some things hurt more and longer than others.
Don't have any pets at present. Seven years ago, we lost our faithful companion of 14 years, Cody, a female Norwegian Elkhound. Still to painful to think of having another.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
My Grandparents on Mother's side always raised chickens and ducks for meat/eggs. As my Grandmother grew older (75-80 yrs. old) she has a fox in her hen house one evening and went after it with a .410 shotgun. The outcome was the hens got the worse end of the deal. IIRC, she killed over half her flock and spent most of the night plucking, singeing and cleaning hens.
I hatched some mixed chics while we were living in NC in early '80s. Used a round galvanized incubator, not sure of the brand.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
NONE I recently purchased a new Little Giant w/turner, installed a plastic liner, added a computer type fan and added a combo thermometer and hygrometer. have tested in in one of the outbuildings and have too much temp. fluctuation due to outside temp. going up and down. In the past two weeks we've had outdoor emp. differences of nearly forty degrees, varying over twenty five degrees in shed. Will have to wait a little longer, unless I can convince the wife, Carolyn that "tabletop" means it's OK for the living room floor, at least until they hatch. Then I can put them in the outbuilding with a brooder light.
(3) What breeds do you have?
NONE I hope to hatch a batch of a variety of colors of guineas asap. I want them to do insect control in my one acre vegetable garden/ fruit tree compound.
Would like to follow-up with a batch of about five or six different variety chickens, such as Delaware, Buff Orpington, maybe a couple of var. of Marans (I like the lighter color Marans), Silver Laced and Blue Laced Wyandotte and Barred Rock. If I use the turner, I'll only have room for six eggs of each variety.
I plan to build a large (10' X 10') chicken tractor with laying boxes and roost mounted on the wheeled end of tractor. Plan to keep them confined in chicken tractor and move them about in the rows between fruit trees at garden.
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
I think it was a Google search for guineas that turned up some dialog from the forum.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Vegetable gardening, growing fruit trees, collecting firearms.
We raise a lot of vegetables and share with all the neighbors and still have some for the freezer, and would have plenty for the chickens.
Would also like to have maybe three doe rabbits and one buck to raise meat rabbit.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I'm early sixties, married to dear wife, Carolyn for 44 years. Two adult children, 4 grandchildren.
We farmed in NC for five years, from '78 to '84 and then moved back to FL. Worked all over South for next ten years installing turf grass on new golf courses.
I'm been disabled for 15 years. Can still do about everything I want to, some things hurt more and longer than others.
Don't have any pets at present. Seven years ago, we lost our faithful companion of 14 years, Cody, a female Norwegian Elkhound. Still to painful to think of having another.
