Michigan

[MrsChickendad]

Quote:
I don't know about ducks, but two weeks is not long enough for chickens. My bantam cochin Leroy "blessed" my BLRW big girls and I didn't wait long enough. Anyone want some BLRW-Cochin crosses? They are pullets. . .

 

[wyliefarms]

Good Morning!

Chilly out side but the sun is beautiful

Today is my SIL, the one with cancer, birthday. so we are going over and taking lunch to celebrate with her. My sister is picking up KFC. It will be fun. SIL isn't feeling great this morning, so hopefully she will feel better in a couple hours.

Off to get the house picked up

Sarah

 

[SweeChee]

My husband keeps telling me he wants to get a rooster (he is wanting something male around...got 2 daughters, me, and 2 female dogs along with 9, hopefully, female chicks!). We're still waiting for our chicks to grow to see if we already have one.

We currently have 9 chicks they range from 5 - 8 wks (guesstimating). When we should be able to tell if any of our chicks are roosters?

Could you tell me the pros and cons of having a rooster?

 

[Olive Hill]

M2EM - Have you thought about a buried wire fencing system for the dogs? It wouldn't affect the tortoise, but you could keep the dogs out of anything you want -- flower beds, chicken coops, etc.

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
You should already be able to tell. They start showing subtle differences around 2 weeks old, by 3 weeks those differences are pretty obvious in, I'd say, 99% of cases. Every once in a while one will slip through a late bloomer but by 5-8 weeks even the late bloomers are usually pretty obvious.

Pros of having a rooster? Fertile eggs, crowing, eye candy.

Cons of having a rooster? Fertile eggs (if you sell them some people care), crowing (it annoys some people), additional responsibility/liability.

Honestly, we don't treat our roosters any differently than our hens. I think one important thing with roosters is that before you take one on you are sure you are capable of killing him should he get too big for his britches. If you're someone that gets too attached/is too emotional and don't have someone who can do it for you, don't get one. Otherwise, go for it. A good rooster is always nice to have around.

 

[SweeChee]

Quote:
These work great! We have them around our vegetable garden and the dogs stay clear. It's funny because my husband tilled another spot to move our strawberries to and the underground fencing isn't around it yet, but the dogs still stay clear! Now that we have chickens we'll have to put some 'real' fencing around the garden.

Unless they develope some type of chicken shock collar!!

 

[SweeChee]

Quote:
You should already be able to tell. They start showing subtle differences around 2 weeks old, by 3 weeks those differences are pretty obvious in, I'd say, 99% of cases. Every once in a while one will slip through a late bloomer but by 5-8 weeks even the late bloomers are usually pretty obvious.

Pros of having a rooster? Fertile eggs, crowing, eye candy.

Cons of having a rooster? Fertile eggs (if you sell them some people care), crowing (it annoys some people), additional responsibility/liability.

Honestly, we don't treat our roosters any differently than our hens. I think one important thing with roosters is that before you take one on you are sure you are capable of killing him should he get too big for his britches. If you're someone that gets too attached/is too emotional and don't have someone who can do it for you, don't get one. Otherwise, go for it. A good rooster is always nice to have around.

Thank you for your quick response. Maybe I'll get pictures posted and see if you all can help me out. This is our first time with chickens so I don't have a clue!!

 

[tororider]

Quote:
You should already be able to tell. They start showing subtle differences around 2 weeks old, by 3 weeks those differences are pretty obvious in, I'd say, 99% of cases. Every once in a while one will slip through a late bloomer but by 5-8 weeks even the late bloomers are usually pretty obvious.

Pros of having a rooster? Fertile eggs, crowing, eye candy.

Cons of having a rooster? Fertile eggs (if you sell them some people care), crowing (it annoys some people), additional responsibility/liability.

Honestly, we don't treat our roosters any differently than our hens. I think one important thing with roosters is that before you take one on you are sure you are capable of killing him should he get too big for his britches. If you're someone that gets too attached/is too emotional and don't have someone who can do it for you, don't get one. Otherwise, go for it. A good rooster is always nice to have around.

Fertilized eggs could be a selling point if you make it one, they have about half the cholesterol as unfertilized eggs. Just another positive for us roosters, hehe.

 

[tororider]

Quote:
Walleye is very good, Northern Pike is pretty close.

 

[SillyChicken]

Quote:
Well... there was this one time, I went fishing in the mountains of Colorado, for rainbow trout in a mountain fed stream.... we had to drive part way up, and climb the mountain on foot the rest of the day to get there. Set up camp, and spent the evening fishing. There was lake up there but the fish were only biting in the stream between the mountain and the lake. When we'd catch them, we would toss them on a pile of snow. Cooked the evenings catch over a camp fire, and packed the rest down from the next mornings fishing. Now those were some of the best fish EVER!

I have to also share, that although not many people would go up there the last time I went, a group of people must have had a blast. We found anatomically correct, Mr and Mrs potato heads.. both sacrificed to the "gods"... Mrs potato head was burned at the stake and mr potato head was set afire and adrift on a stick raft... funniest thing I ever saw. Good times!