New member from Alberta, Canada!

[Denwendairy]

I just replied to your question of gender of your birds! Our Sussex is definitely working to be the alpha bird in our flock! Not aggressive but definitely in charge. We were happy to re- home the brown leghorn and Rhode Island Red as they could cause quite a disturbance!
Happy to have found someone with the same birds as me!

 

[Tricia108]

I'm

That is awesome, I might have to have my mom on the lookout for them in Leduc for me, I usually pick up from Rochester Hatchery, as I'm only 15 minutes from them.

I'm in the Onoway area and was thinking of contacting Rochester. Their website doesn't seem to open properly fit me, do you know if they carry ready to lay pullets or just chicks?

TIA

 

[boyswillbeboys]

I'm
I'm in the Onoway area and was thinking of contacting Rochester. Their website doesn't seem to open properly fit me, do you know if they carry ready to lay pullets or just chicks?

TIA

Their website does have a few glitches. You can order ready to lay pullets (hybrid breeds only), for pickup in westlock, you can also order breeding stock at the end of the season. I actually picked up two Silkie hens and two Black Australorps hens this way. I didn't like that I could only get straight run heritage breeds, and with the silkies I wasn't even guaranteed to get silkie chicks, let alone the girls (as chicks) I got perfectly even pullets and Roos from my batch of EE chicks, 6 of each. I know the heritage breeding stock is gone for this year, but I'm not sure about the hybrids, as I already had 1 year old hybrid hens.

 

[Tricia108]

Th

...

Their website does have a few glitches. You can order ready to lay pullets (hybrid breeds only), for pickup in westlock, you can also order breeding stock at the end of the season. I actually picked up two Silkie hens and two Black Australorps hens this way. I didn't like that I could only get straight run heritage breeds, and with the silkies I wasn't even guaranteed to get silkie chicks, let alone the girls (as chicks) I got perfectly even pullets and Roos from my batch of EE chicks, 6 of each. I know the heritage breeding stock is gone for this year, but I'm not sure about the hybrids, as I already had 1 year old hybrid hens.

Thank you so much for the info! I think my best bet will be to call them directly to see what is currently a available.

Appreciate your help!

 

[gloken]

Yeah, that website is a mess.
Do you know what time of year you can get ready to lay pullets from them? It might be a good idea for me to do.

I suppose I could do it the old fashioned way and make a phone call.

 

[Denwendairy]

Hi All
Sorry- double post with below...
Happy Canada Day!

 

[Denwendairy]

Hi All
You can also try duckopolis.com
We got 5 pullets there. Not sure if he has anything ready to lay but he had a good selection of heritage chickens at various ages. He also posts on Kijiji- might be the best place to find out what he currently has available.
A coworker of mine bought some ducks from him and was very happy.
A word of warning, don't wear your good shoes if you head out to see him! And that's coming from a farm girl!
Happy Canada Day!

 

[Tricia108]

I tried Duckopolis. Sent him an email and left him a message but he didn't respond at all.
I actually placed a want ad on Kijiji myself and was able to find some red and black Sussex's. We picked them up this afternoon.
Unfortunately my German shepherd pup is obsessed with trying to get into their coop. I'm sure he'd eat them if he ever gets in. My husky cross is more curious than anything and I don't feel she'd harm them. Guess we've got some training to do there...
Also, we already got our first egg!! One of the girls laid it right in the middle of the run and we scooped it up.
When we went to check on them this evening we found someone had laid another egg and 4 of them were eating it. I'll have to pick up some golf balls so they know where to lay.
One more question, any tips for getting them all inside at night? I'm sure we would've won a prize from AFVs if someone had videoed us trying tonight! Lol
Thanks for all your helpful tips!

 

[Denwendairy]

I tried Duckopolis. Sent him an email and left him a message but he didn't respond at all.
I actually placed a want ad on Kijiji myself and was able to find some red and black Sussex's. We picked them up this afternoon.
Unfortunately my German shepherd pup is obsessed with trying to get into their coop. I'm sure he'd eat them if he ever gets in. My husky cross is more curious than anything and I don't feel she'd harm them. Guess we've got some training to do there...
Also, we already got our first egg!! One of the girls laid it right in the middle of the run and we scooped it up.
When we went to check on them this evening we found someone had laid another egg and 4 of them were eating it. I'll have to pick up some golf balls so they know where to lay.
One more question, any tips for getting them all inside at night? I'm sure we would've won a prize from AFVs if someone had videoed us trying tonight! Lol
Thanks for all your helpful tips!

That's crazy! I am sorry to hear that! We had a good experience with them!
Congrats on your first egg! We're still quite a few weeks away from that event. I put the nesting boxes into the coop but have them locked out until they start to lay. I learned that on the forum! So much great info on here.
I am not an expert but we used the old food trick to train ours to come in. From an early age, we would feed them mealworms and would say 'chick, chick, chick' in a ridiculous voice when we fed them. Now all we have to do is say 'chick, chick, chick' and there's a flock of running chickens coming at us! The funny thing is that the new pullets we added learned that behaviour really quickly from the original group...we keep up with favourite treats some of the time we call them so hopefully they don't tire of us calling them! At this point, its easy to get them in. I think it'll get easier for you too, once they've spent a night or two in their new home.
Speaking of occasional treats- try some leftover corn on the cob! They ignored it for a few minutes the first time we gave it to them but stand back now! Its hilarious!

 

[Tricia108]

Lol. That's great! I'm sure my boyfriend would bust a gut a me standing their calling chick chick chick but seeing as my dog wants to eat them all I'd say we are some time from free range anyways. :\
I also have learned so much from this site and also the Raising Chickens group on Facebook. Lots of great info everywhere I think.