(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Had chickens as a child but they were wild - ate from the field and laid eggs in the hay barn
2010- got chickens as an adult
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
We had a flock attack last month so we current have a single lone chicken who lived and five that are a couple weeks old. The flock will stay small, that's the plan.
(3) What breeds do you have?
The surviving chicken is Welsummer.
The chicks are Whiting True Blue.
I'm leaning toward a flock mix of heat tolerant birds - kind of a barnyard mix but a mix of breed I like - which are the high producers that are heat tolerant. We don't have much chance of frost bite in our area. That might change if the Whiting True Blues turn out not to be my favorite. Right now, at two weeks, they sort of stand in line and wait for their turn to be held and get their meal worms. If they turn out to be standoff-ish after all this attention as chicks then wow, I will be surprised. .. and switch breeds.
I had a Brahma that I gave away because she never would come near me and laid very few eggs. She was a beauty though. The heat really bothered her. I could see her suffering.
I loved my Splash Ameraucana as she was very friendly to me and to other birds. LOVED HER. She and the Welsummer are/were very much more heat tolerant than the 'Production Reds' and the Brahma.
The Production Reds were great as far an egg/day but they can't handle heat at all.. or at least they look like they are suffering.
Hatched eggs for the first time this year because I could not see how to buy Whiting True Blue's.
Well, it started a just an experiment because we had an incubator laying around from a neighbor. Then we got serious and had to buy a "better" one.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Eggs
And feeding them. They love fresh arugula and red wigglers and oh boy, the dried meal worms.
I grow Korean Melons for them - they got 1/day all last year. This year I'm rich in watermelon so this should be good!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Work, garden, trees, hiking.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
This is alot! i work in tech. Looking to leave California. Grew up on a commercial cattle ranch. Now I would just like a few to keep the freezer full.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I joined about 12 years ago but lost that account.
I joined this second time, a couple months ago I think, because I wanted to be able to ask a question.
Had chickens as a child but they were wild - ate from the field and laid eggs in the hay barn
2010- got chickens as an adult
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
We had a flock attack last month so we current have a single lone chicken who lived and five that are a couple weeks old. The flock will stay small, that's the plan.
(3) What breeds do you have?
The surviving chicken is Welsummer.
The chicks are Whiting True Blue.
I'm leaning toward a flock mix of heat tolerant birds - kind of a barnyard mix but a mix of breed I like - which are the high producers that are heat tolerant. We don't have much chance of frost bite in our area. That might change if the Whiting True Blues turn out not to be my favorite. Right now, at two weeks, they sort of stand in line and wait for their turn to be held and get their meal worms. If they turn out to be standoff-ish after all this attention as chicks then wow, I will be surprised. .. and switch breeds.
I had a Brahma that I gave away because she never would come near me and laid very few eggs. She was a beauty though. The heat really bothered her. I could see her suffering.
I loved my Splash Ameraucana as she was very friendly to me and to other birds. LOVED HER. She and the Welsummer are/were very much more heat tolerant than the 'Production Reds' and the Brahma.
The Production Reds were great as far an egg/day but they can't handle heat at all.. or at least they look like they are suffering.
Hatched eggs for the first time this year because I could not see how to buy Whiting True Blue's.
Well, it started a just an experiment because we had an incubator laying around from a neighbor. Then we got serious and had to buy a "better" one.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Eggs
And feeding them. They love fresh arugula and red wigglers and oh boy, the dried meal worms.I grow Korean Melons for them - they got 1/day all last year. This year I'm rich in watermelon so this should be good!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Work, garden, trees, hiking.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
This is alot! i work in tech. Looking to leave California. Grew up on a commercial cattle ranch. Now I would just like a few to keep the freezer full.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I joined about 12 years ago but lost that account.
I joined this second time, a couple months ago I think, because I wanted to be able to ask a question.
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
