Idaho?

[Aimin4strz]

My daughter's 2 Blue Laced Cochins turned out not to be quality (They were DQ'd due to Hock feathers)...So they are Pet Quality only... They should start laying any day now... She is wanting to sell them for $10 each if you know of anyone that's interested... she wants to use those funds towards having something of quality for fair this year. We are in the Meridian area. Thanks in advance!

 

[Chickenhill]

My daughter's 2 Blue Laced Cochins turned out not to be quality (They were DQ'd due to Hock feathers)...So they are Pet Quality only... They should start laying any day now... She is wanting to sell them for $10 each if you know of anyone that's interested... she wants to use those funds towards having something of quality for fair this year. We are in the Meridian area. Thanks in advance!

Matt McCamon out of Ohio breeds some excellent Cochins. if they are a bird of choice you want to work with, you can PM me to get a hold of him.

It was great to meet a couple of you at the show that chat on here Sorry, I could not hang more!! Being involved with the show did not leave much time to enjoy everything but totally worth it!
Over 600 birds there and many top breeders from the West. The show was stiff competition and superior birds to look at. Breeders came all the way from Canada, UT, WA, OR, NV, and CA.
Picked up a trio of female line breeder Partridge Wyandotte in the sales cages from a super wonderful gentleman that came down from UT. Beyond tickled to get them!
One of our bantam Black Wyandottes pullets placed Reserve of Breed so pretty tickled with that. It's extremely tough to place with the whites.

 

[Aimin4strz]

It was a great show Tisha! Everyone from IBBA did an incredible job putting it together... You had some great looking birds there! Also really glad to see that they did the involvement with the youth and the Showmanship competition! I really believe that this is the best way for these kids to build these connections... A lot of the activities that they need to complete for their 4-H projects require access to breeders and their facilities to watch and ask questions and we got some great breeders that were willing to let the kids ask questions etc... Overall, and awesome experience!

 

[Chickenhill]

It was a great show Tisha! Everyone from IBBA did an incredible job putting it together... You had some great looking birds there! Also really glad to see that they did the involvement with the youth and the Showmanship competition! I really believe that this is the best way for these kids to build these connections... A lot of the activities that they need to complete for their 4-H projects require access to breeders and their facilities to watch and ask questions and we got some great breeders that were willing to let the kids ask questions etc... Overall, and awesome experience!

Awesome to hear! The 4hers were brought up at the last meeting. We were brain storming on how to inter twine them more as they are the future for our shows and the ones that will pass the wealth of knowledge down to others. We are always open to new ideas and willing to help the kiddos in any way possible.

Thanks for the compliment on our birds. Every variety is always a work in progress.

 

[MeAndTheBoyz]

Had a fun time at the show - My son had a great time looking at all of the different birds and took a ton of pics. He even took a shot at the quizbowl. Our goal was to find a decent quality bird for him to have a good 4H experience with and he fell in love with the Seramas because of their size and personality. I sat on the fence too long and watched my favorite Serama cockerel get sold to someone else, but we did pick up this pair from a local breeder:

 

[MeAndTheBoyz]

We are offering our pet-quality bantam cochins for sale - a mixed roo and 2 pretty pullets, nearing POL. The roo is filling out nicely and has more coloring on his neck - I'll see about getting updated pics. The frizzle has already found a new home.
Thanks!

 

[Robbo]

Advice for winter proofing Idaho chicken/duck areas? my chickens are so bonded with my ducks I am worried about them... they sleep outside roosting on branches, near the ducks. We do have a walk in closer for the ducks (no front so they can easily access it, just keeps snow and rain out but not wind, ect.) I was thinking of putting hey in the outside duck lean to and putting up a heat lamp and roost under there? the chickens wont sleep in the coop because the ducks wont...

 

[Mo5C]

I am glad I winterized my coops when I did... one is shrink wrapped (the plastic you put on with double sided tape and a hair dryer) and one has old feed bags all over it to cover up where any drafts might get in, boy did it get cold fast. I also have a heat lamp in the coop where my bantam hen Bella resides. I hope my winterizing helps keep them warm this winter, I even put a make shift roof/covering over part of my enclosure (I used old sheets of green fiberglass roof material I found under the old cattle truck in our pasture).

 

[Chickenhill]

Had a fun time at the show - My son had a great time looking at all of the different birds and took a ton of pics. He even took a shot at the quizbowl. Our goal was to find a decent quality bird for him to have a good 4H experience with and he fell in love with the Seramas because of their size and personality. I sat on the fence too long and watched my favorite Serama cockerel get sold to someone else, but we did pick up this pair from a local breeder:

Seriously cute! Your boy is one happy camper. The Seramas are so perfect for kids!

 

[MeAndTheBoyz]

Advice for winter proofing Idaho chicken/duck areas? my chickens are so bonded with my ducks I am worried about them... they sleep outside roosting on branches, near the ducks. We do have a walk in closer for the ducks (no front so they can easily access it, just keeps snow and rain out but not wind, ect.) I was thinking of putting hey in the outside duck lean to and putting up a heat lamp and roost under there? the chickens wont sleep in the coop because the ducks wont...

i have 2 chickens (a standard and a bantam) that refuse to roost in the roomy dry coop - unless it is tornado weather, lol - they prefer their own little branch, high in the corner of the run. The bantam snuggles under the wing of the standard - fun thing to see. I would let your birds roost where they choose, as long as they can get in out of the weather I would think they'd be just fine.

last year we tried 3 heat lamps above the coop roosts when the temps dropped below 20 degrees - my power bill went up about $50. I've been advised by several people to NOT supply the heat lamps. So that is what we are doing this year - birds have survived 100s of years without our help

That being said, i did use weatherizing plastic around each of my coops (to shut out any missed drafts) and a portion of the outdoor runs (to help keep the muck to a minumum). I made insulated inserts for my airflow windows and the lower 3/4 of my walls are already insulated. We use the deep-litter method so there is plenty of bedding for the birds to nest in if needed.

We are also upgrading to 18% protein feed for the winter time. I add cooked cracked wheat cereal to their diet when the temps stay low. They really go nuts for their breakfast!