Just joined BYC looking for place to buy day old chicks near Davis, CA

[boufsquat]

Hi there folks! My family just relocated from Tucson, AZ to Davis, CA. We had to leave our hens behind and would love to surprise our kids with some new chicks for Christmas. Having a hard time finding any 'round these parts. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Bryce

 

[Brechin]

Hi!

I live about an hour away from you but I do have some chicks due to hatch on the 21st! They are a test hatch of Euskal Oiloas (Basque) and some Trader Joe White Leghorn production chickens. I should have a few to choose from. I also have a few rare bantam breeds, wheaten marans, and Blue Laced Red Wyandottes due on new years day. Do you know what breeds you are interested in? How many chicks are you wanting to obtain?

The Trader Joe chicks would be *fantastic* egg layers and be a topic of interest with friends.

The Basque are a very rare breed, from GreenFire Farms lines, that lay quite well, they are also the most friendly and outgoing chickens you will ever have! Even right out of the shell!

PM me if you are interested! Also, if you list some specific breeds you are looking for I can try and point you in the right direction. At the moment there are not many chicks to be had because it just isn't the season for them and it is too cold for shipping less than 20 at a time. But there are PLENTY of BYC members here that live near by and can provide you with some top rate chickies in the spring!!

AGAIN! WELCOME!!!

 

[boufsquat]

Hi Brechin, thanks so much for your quick reply! I've actually got my heart pretty set on Rhode Island Reds or Buff Orpingtons. The kids like the chickens, I like the eggs! The Reds and BO's we've had in the past were pushing out about 6-7 good size eggs per week. While I prefer day olds, pullets would be ok too. And advice? I've found a real nice guy who has RIR and BO's but he's 2.5 hours away. Was hoping for something a little closer.

 

[Brechin]

Buff Orps are a nice egg laying breed for sure. I like them, I have English Blue Orpingtons in my own laying flock, but I fell in love with the Basque because of their overt friendliness. I have 1 yr old twin boys and those chickens are SO patient and kind. They are one of the only ones, besides my Tolbunt Polish, that don't run away but actually come to you for pets and treats. As far as egg production, the Basque actually lay as well as traditional Orps and the eggs are actually considered jumbo in size compared to the Medium to Large eggs from Orps. So even if you don't get an egg a day you will have a bog enough egg to count for 2 regular sized eggs.

The best thing about them too is that they are smaller and are fantastic foragers. So if you plan to free range, Basque hens will eat up all the critter bugs in the yard and keep the weeds down, this in turn means less feed. I have also had eggs from them straight through winter as apposed to my other laying breeds that go on strike. The Basque are rare, that is a fact, but they were bred to be the ultimate farmyard chicken with stellar egg production and egg size as well as foraging abilities. We have not have the privilege to know them as well as other breeds here in America. But with time I am sure they will become a favorite in egg laying flocks across the US.

I know many breeders who have beautiful Orpingtons. You might end up with a different color besides buff unless you order form a hatchery. But Just Struttin Farm in Novato (where I got my English Blue Orps from) has lovely Blue and Lavender Orps and The Omelet Ranch in Lafayette has lots of very nice egg laying breeds. If you are not looking to spend too much you can wait until spring when feed stores will have bulk hatchery chicks available or if you don't mind hatchery chicks you can order as few at 6 from places like My Pet Chicken So there are lots of options!

 

[boufsquat]

hmm, got me interested in these basque's! So, realistically, would you say more like 3 eggs per week or 5-6? And how many do you have?

 

[Brechin]

At this point almost all of my day olds are accounted for in this batch except 3. They are due to start hatching out tomorrow afternoon. As long as they do well during hatching they should be fluffed up and ready to go to their new homes by this weekend. I also have a few more available for my New Years Day hatch, all of my Basques are sold $15 straight run. In California I have had about 4-5 eggs per week, and they generally lay pretty well in the winter with no real egg strikes. I just love how outgoing and fearless they are and they lay lovely cream to light brown colored big eggs. All in all I say they are an uncommon but fantastic backyard egg layer. How many chickens are you looking to have total? It is always nice to do a mixed flock so you can enjoy different kinds of good egg layers. PM me if you are interested!

 

[boufsquat]

That sounds great. Do you still have those three? I don't know what PM is or how to do it! My e-mail is [email protected]

Thanks so much!

 

[boufsquat]

Great, can I come today (Dec 24) and pick them up?

Thanks so much!

Bryce