Illinois...

[Molpet]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss, I was just checking in as a new Illinois member and seen this and wanted to say I'm sorry.

Hello! Coming from West Central Illinois (near the Tri-State [Iowa, Missouri, Illinois] area)

Welcome to the thread And BYC

What kind of poultry do you have?

 

[Mom2bret]

Welcome to the thread And BYC

What kind of poultry do you have?

We currently have 9 hens, a couple Buff Orpingtons, a couple Rhode Island Reds and one leghorn. Looking at getting a couple more and maybe even a rooster this year. Have been keeping chickens for 5 years now. At one point had 24 but a mink decided to show us that we weren't quite as predator proof as we thought, that was 3 years ago and no losses since. Fingers crossed.

 

[Molpet]

We currently have 9 hens, a couple Buff Orpingtons, a couple Rhode Island Reds and one leghorn. Looking at getting a couple more and maybe even a rooster this year. Have been keeping chickens for 5 years now. At one point had 24 but a mink decided to show us that we weren't quite as predator proof as we thought, that was 3 years ago and no losses since. Fingers crossed.

Sorry about the mink.
Last year I had a raccoon and owl problems with poults free ranging. I think I have taken care of the racoons. I will just have to share with the owls.

 

[Faraday40]

Just curious, can you request other carriers besides USPS?? Would FedEx be able to deliver, and would they handle the package gently??? I'm only referring to eggs, not chicks. It may cost just a little more but worth if it means getting fresh, and not old. Or Scrambled.

I've had 70ish% hatch & 0% hatch from shipped eggs. Distance doesn't seem to matter much. How they're packed makes a difference, but most people selling eggs know what to do. They want happy customers. The one thing that really worked was having eggs shipped in the live animal boxes - like when one would buy chicks. Those are handled more carefully. I hatched some eggs sent from California that way and got about 70%+ Of course it's very costly, so not practical if there's only a doz eggs.

For me it's better to find a breeder within a few hours drive, plan a family day trip to some attraction nearby, and pick up my egg order on way home. (Twice I got 100% hatches, once 92%) Definitely worth it.

Where are they located?

Did those bantam orp pics tempt you too?
The breeder's from Fountain Run, KY. I honestly don't know much about them. Only loved the pics on ebay & kept checking prices throughout the past year. Fun to dream.

 

[Faraday40]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss, I was just checking in as a new Illinois member and seen this and wanted to say I'm sorry.

Hello! Coming from West Central Illinois (near the Tri-State [Iowa, Missouri, Illinois] area)

Thank you.
and

 

[Faraday40]

Sorry about the mink.
Last year I had a raccoon and owl problems with poults free ranging. I think I have taken care of the racoons. I will just have to share with the owls.

Wow! I didn't know owls would go after a big turkey. I hear owls at night & am probably the only one here who has never seen them. (My kids tell me & by the time I'm looking, they fly off. I guess they don't like to be spotted.)

We once had an owl standing on the short run - just staring in at my frightened flock. DD opened the back door of the garage and was suddenly about 15 ft from the giant bird. She screamed and ran back into the garage. DS then ran out so he could see it too. All the screaming, running and door slamming scared it off before I got there. The kids said it was HUGE like a red-tailed hawk.

 

[Molpet]

Wow! I didn't know owls would go after a big turkey. I hear owls at night & am probably the only one here who has never seen them. (My kids tell me & by the time I'm looking, they fly off. I guess they don't like to be spotted.)

We once had an owl standing on the short run - just staring in at my frightened flock. DD opened the back door of the garage and was suddenly about 15 ft from the giant bird. She screamed and ran back into the garage. DS then ran out so he could see it too. All the screaming, running and door slamming scared it off before I got there. The kids said it was HUGE like a red-tailed hawk.

The owls got poults up to 6 months old, the last one was 6 month small jenny. She was roughed up looking one morning, had been fine the night before... I thought she had been fighting with turkey. But she started a death rattle the next day and I found punchers in her neck so I figured owl. She didn't survive, I should have harvested her right away, but didn't look that bad until the rattle started. .. and then I wasn't going to eat her.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

We currently have 9 hens, a couple Buff Orpingtons, a couple Rhode Island Reds and one leghorn. Looking at getting a couple more and maybe even a rooster this year. Have been keeping chickens for 5 years now. At one point had 24 but a mink decided to show us that we weren't quite as predator proof as we thought, that was 3 years ago and no losses since. Fingers crossed.

Welcome to the thread.
I have a Black australorp rooster that I have 2 weeks to rehome or process if you are interested.......... I'll deliver if he can have a good home.

 

[megpie021]

I also have a little rooster to rehome. A bbs Andalusian.

we moved all the little ones out to the coop yesterday. They are mostly still camping out in the pop up crate but they are getting more adventurous. The big girls just look at them like what’s your problem hoping it stays this uneventful.

 

[BReeder!]

Just catching up finally. Down in FL this week. It's been fun for the most part - beaches, the scenic drive on hwy 1, seeing and feeding alligators and other animals and just exploring. Then tonight we ended up at the ER because DS had an bad allergic reaction. Pretty sure he is allergic to shellfish just like me. He tested negative for shellfish allergy a year ago in a prick test, but the bunch of shrimp he had for dinner was the only likely culprit. Anyhow, he is doing better now that he got an epi shot, benedryl, steroids and a breathing treatment. We didn't get back to our lodging until about 3am EST though. Just happy he is better. Tomorrow is our last full day here so we are hoping he wakes up in good spirits to have some laid back fun at the beach.

Also, we pick up our puppy on the way home on Saturday!!! (Leaving Friday, but it's a long drive...)