"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[LemonMeringue]

They sounds like a lot of chicken fun! I hope you will post pictures when you can. I would love to see them.

 

[justoldbobo2]

They sounds like a lot of chicken fun! I hope you will post pictures when you can. I would love to see them.

My Birchen

Fbcm

My EE

 

[justoldbobo2]

 

[LemonMeringue]

Then you are not far too from us. Beautiful birds!

 

[catdaddyfro]

Trust Jeff Everytime I've ever asked sex or breed He has always been right! One reason I've begged him to come back. Pam

. Well I don't know all but I can getter close most of the time. Now some of these newer mixes an stuff will get me off kilter sometimes but I'll still give um a whirl lol

 

[LindaB220]

Well, just got back from picking up my Blosl White Plymouth Rock cock. Local fellow BYC La bigjohn shows birds and wanted them. But after getting them he decided that white is not a good show bird . Especially this large size. So my win. So now I have both cock and pullet plus a XW cockerel and 2 pullets. I'm going to get as many straight Blosl as I can hatch. Then I'm going to do a combo of Blosl over XW hens. The are supposed to be better than each strain. But the Blosl is silver gened and I'm wanting to make superior Golden Comets with a German NH over the XW pullets. That'll be a while because I'll have to start with eggs. But the NH grow fast I hear.
I have my Marraduna Basques in the incubator now. I'm not going to be breeding these. They are my funtime hobby. And after the first of the year I'm going to get some Lavender Australorps from Jennie RD in S La. Gonna be busy this next year. White Rocks, 2 kinds, German NH, Lavender Australorps. I'm lucky I'm in the deep south and we can hatch year round.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Interesting observation: of my six RIR chicks, two are definitely lighter in color than the other four. It sure would be nice if those two turned out to be roos -- I haven't ever heard of being able to color-sex RIRs but it would sure be terrific if that were the case. I have noticed since they hatched they were paler & also they have no head markings - the other four are darker & have darker areas on their heads also. I think I'll band those two this weekend so I can keep up & see what happens. I don't remember noticing this in the RIRs I hatched a couple of years ago - they were all very even in color & markings.

 

[Ron Skekel]

I spent part of my day at a farm that started getting stock from greenfire farms. He even has a breed that hasn't been released to the public. They sent him the wrong order so he got to keep them plus he got the breed he ordered. He has the Jill Reese CCL. I told him put me first on the list for eggs they aren't laying yet. Their is a big difference in quality breeding. He has other goodies I'd like. Some I've never herd of. So it was fun.Pam

 

[LindaB220]

I spent part of my day at a farm that started getting stock from greenfire farms. He even has a breed that hasn't been released to the public. The sent him the wrong order so he got to keep them plus he got the breed he ordered. He has the Jill Reese CCL. I told him put me first on the list for eggs they aren't laying yet. Their is a big difference in quality breeding. He has other goodies I'd like. Some I've never herd of. So it was fun.Pam

Ooooo!!! What a chance!! Let us know when you get them.

I've know all along the joys of fermented feed, but my new Big Boy I got today had his first taste. The girls were chomping down and he moved in and took a peck, then another and all of a sudden he was engulfing it. I looked out the back door a few minutes ago, checking on the birds and I saw him fly off the 5' roost across the 12' coop. He must be happy. Bigjohn said that he has been lonely since I bought the rest of the flock 3 mo ago or so. Good food, a place to fly and 6 lovely ladies to impress. Happiness!!

 

[LaDoodler]

@LaDoodler , do you get your feed in LC? We usually get it from the TSC in Moss Bluff. I'm going to try that feed store on Broad today.

I think I need to switch to pellets. We went through the whole 50 lbs of crumbles in a week with only 15 chickens. Better feeders would help, too. We just need a few changes all around.

So sorry for such a late reply! I have been so focused on many tasks around here. I've been spreading my time putting a net over their pen to reduce hawk attacks, keeping my garden looking reasonably well. I've also was overseeing the building of our 40' x 60' metal building. I'm now building shelves in it to hopefully hold most of the stuff accumulated from our two families that live here, which is currently in boxes scattered the garage, in the attic, in bedrooms, etc.

Consequently, I just neglected visiting here for a while.

I continue to get my chicken food from Currie and Son on Broad St. in Lake Charles. However, since October (or maybe earlier) I have been feeding them the "Broiler Grower" by Texas Natural Feeds. It is definitely more expensive than Lone Star or brands at Tractor Supply, but it has a high protein content, and the mineral content is more than satisfactory to me. It is non-GMO and non-soy, which I like also. All my girls and rooster appear to be very healthy.

But, I must point out that my choice may not fit many other's expectations, situations or philosophy, for that matter. I only have 6 RIR hens and Rudy, my RIR rooster (I lost two to a hawk a few weeks ago). I do plan on expanding my flock this spring. So, mine is not a large flock that might help prove or disprove my choices. As of 12/17, the hens are 26 weeks old and some have been laying for a little over a month. We are getting about 4 eggs a day now - nice brown eggs, beautiful colored yolk and strong shells.

I brought Rudy here from another BYC member's flock and kept him in quarantine for almost 3 weeks. During that time he lost quite a bit of feathers - especially around his neck and head. We examined him for lice or mites, but found none. We saw no other symptoms that might indicate some other cause. So, we assumed that it was a response to the stress of the change of habitat, food, confinement, etc.. He now has been with the girls for about 2 months, and his feathers have filled out beautifully! Each morning he announces to the world his presence, and is actively fulfilling his "duties".

I prefer to continue with this food and I supplement it with oyster shell and crumbled egg shells so that Rudy won't be taking in excess calcium. I let all of them out of their pen each morning into my chicken yard. It includes a stand of trees and a relatively large grassy area. I love to treat them with a limited amount of game bird scratch that I also got at Currie and Son, to which I add BOSS. It appears to have better content that regular scratch, but don't have an analysis on the bag to confirm that. They gobble it up, but as I said, I limit how much I give them in that I am following the advice from many that scratch is just that, a treat.

And once or twice daily I give them almost as much as they can eat of either lettuce, mustard greens, or turnip greens (along with small turnips) from my garden. They look forward to that as much or more than the scratch. Come spring, I plan on starting a culture of black soldier fly larvae, just to add to their variety of foods.

I am retired, and other than my self- appointed tasks, I have the time and am very blessed with the health that enables me to pamper them as I do. I look forward to my visits with them each day, and I dutifully lock them up in their coop each night.

This is my typical answer to such a question - lengthy.

I guess it is the teacher coming out in me, plus I love sharing all of the fun and adventure I have with my girls and Rudy.