Illinois...

[cavemanrich]

Almost forgot to share a pic of Styx showing off her long legs.
View attachment 2913966

Do you have a male companion to pair up with STYX???

 

[Faraday40]

Do you have a male companion to pair up with STYX???

Sadly no. I only hatched 2 females. I may consider selling her Sister “Stones “. She got a blue ribbon and class champ at our country show. Styx can play piano so she’s staying.

They reside with the seramas. I’m sure their eggs would produce some funny-looking long-legged seramas.

 

[cavemanrich]

Sadly no. I only hatched 2 females. I may consider selling her Sister “Stones “. She got a blue ribbon and class champ at our country show. Styx can play piano so she’s staying.

NO NO NO,,, Take my advice,,, get more eggs and hatch out a roo.

 

[Faraday40]

NO NO NO,,, Take my advice,,, get more eggs and hatch out a roo.

My goal was to just get ONE female MGB. DS & I fell in love with MGBs the 1st time I saw one. It's those crazy, long legs!!! It took a few tries of 0% hatches to finally get MGB in our coop.

If I had hatched a male I may have considered keeping it. They are a very hard breed to find!

 

[cavemanrich]

My goal was to just get ONE female MGB. DS & I fell in love with MGBs the 1st time I saw one. It's those crazy, long legs!!! It took a few tries of 0% hatches to finally get MGB in our coop.

If I had hatched a male I may have considered keeping it. They are a very hard breed to find!

I forgot what the "M" in game bird stood for,,,, but can you rent a different game bird rooster,,,, and see what comes out of the cross???

 

[cavemanrich]

BTW,,, I like game bird hens. Have an Old English Game hen,,, bantie,, and she is not at bottom of pecking order by any means,,, even though she is small in size.
If you must reeeeeeaaaaaaaalllllllllllllly sell that Blue Ribbon Winner, I would be interested,,, But not at a Blue Ribbon Price.. Since I just keep pets.

 

[lesliedow]

Hi All
I am relatively new to Illinois and starting my flock this year. I'm in the Quad Cities (East Moline) and have a young flock of chickens that range in age from 6 months to 3 1/2 months. None of the little freeloaders are laying yet! Damnit.

My last flock was in Northern California where they laid all year. I never saw a drop in production and most of my girls were laying by 4-5 months or so. This flock is mostly Ameracuana, Orpingtons and EEs but I also have a Speckled Susses and a SF.

My question is for everyone in upper-mid Ill. Are your birds still laying? Is it usually for young birds to delay starting to lay if they come to maturity in the winter? Are mine just willfully refusing to live up to the Human-Poultry compact where I give them food, and they give me eggs? Or is this pretty normal for this part of the midwest!



Thanks in advance!
Leslie

 

[NotAFarm]

Leslie, welcome to Illinois!
I live just east of you in Lee County.
You don’t say what kind of flock you had in Cali, but my group of golden comets (a production breed-mine are18 months old) are still laying. They were hatched in late April 2020, started at 4 1/2 months and haven’t stopped. They kept going through last winter. I expect they will soon stop due to shorter days and molting.
The other breeds I have, or had in the past, usually started at 5-6 months and that would be sometimes be delayed if they were hatched in late June or later. You can try supplementing light, 14 hours total, to prompt them to start.

 

[lesliedow]

Leslie, welcome to Illinois!
I live just east of you in Lee County.
You don’t say what kind of flock you had in Cali, but my group of golden comets (a production breed-mine are18 months old) are still laying. They were hatched in late April 2020, started at 4 1/2 months and haven’t stopped. They kept going through last winter. I expect they will soon stop due to shorter days and molting.
The other breeds I have, or had in the past, usually started at 5-6 months and that would be sometimes be delayed if they were hatched in late June or later. You can try supplementing light, 14 hours total, to prompt them to start.

Thanks!

My flock in NorCal was EEs, Barred Rocks, Orpingtons, a couple of Campines, and one production Red. All laid like champs all year starting at about 3-4 months. Even the idiotic Campines, who have to be the most mindless birds I have ever been around, popped out tiny white eggs on schedule.

I might try the supplemental light.

 

[Molpet]

Thanks!

My flock in NorCal was EEs, Barred Rocks, Orpingtons, a couple of Campines, and one production Red. All laid like champs all year starting at about 3-4 months. Even the idiotic Campines, who have to be the most mindless birds I have ever been around, popped out tiny white eggs on schedule.

I might try the supplemental light.

My sex links laid even when they were molting, one laid 364 eggs in a year. They stopped laying around 2 yrs and I had to put her and her sister down, a week apart, at 2&1/2. They were internal laying.
Everyone else quits laying at molts and for a couple weeks beginning of January. They lay a lot less in-between. Most of the birds from 2017 and before don't lay a lot anymore. I should make soup but don't have the heart to do the deed. They are the friendliest.
I have hoop coops with clearish tarps, no lights. Cloudy weeks I get less eggs.