North Carolina

[starlingdaly]

Tammyfarms, this is a Jolly Ball: http://ohanaspetproductreviews.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/jolly-pets-jolly-ball/
Indestructible ball with a handle...a handle that makes throwing it an easy thing for Levi to so. It has now been relegated to being an outside toy, since throw it he does!

I've seen those for horses! Neat that there's a dog version too!

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Good morning folks

Good to see you back Tammyfarms.

It would seem we are slowly moving and changing how and what
we do with the chickens......but isn't that what all of us do? We
pick and choose a few birds.....add to those birds for one reason
or another and then refine what we are doing to reach a goal
we have in mind as we learn more about the birds. Grand, isn't it.

hope everyone has a good day

 

[tammyfarms]

@tammyfarms Nice variety! I remember you were starting with the Rhodebars when we came over and picked up those cedar shavings!

Well things changed a lot for us in the past 18 months! We moved to the northern part of Sanford and bought our first house! It came with a shed even bigger than the one we had been converting at the old place so we sold the old one and I converted (by myself!!) the new shed into a chicken house. It still has little things that need tweaking and I need to put some ventilation into the top but it works well for what it is.

I sold a lot of birds before we moved but am still focusing on French Black Copper Marans. Add to that blue/splash silkies, exchequer leghorns and a few cream legbars (mostly for an OE project but may breed in the future) plus several layers and some of my original birds. Oh and a duck. I wanted to get into ducks this year but had some trouble with dog attacks so now I only have one drake who roosts like a chicken.

Newest endeavor since we moved in May has been quail! I have been enjoying that quite a lot.

Star, glad to hear you are doing well! My legbars were bought as chicks with a hope that they would be breeding stock. One looks like a legbar, the other like a rhodebar... the roosters were definately not breeding stock so they went off to freezer camp. I do like the rhodebars as they can be sexed at hatch and so far are pretty decent layers.

Tammyfarms, this is a Jolly Ball: http://ohanaspetproductreviews.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/jolly-pets-jolly-ball/
Indestructible ball with a handle...a handle that makes throwing it an easy thing for Levi to so. It has now been relegated to being an outside toy, since throw it he does!

Hollow, I love the jolly ball... when we get a dog, I will definately have to remember to get one! I can imagine Levi playing with the horse sized one! LOL.

 

[tammyfarms]

Good morning folks

Good to see you back Tammyfarms.

It would seem we are slowly moving and changing how and what
we do with the chickens......but isn't that what all of us do? We
pick and choose a few birds.....add to those birds for one reason
or another and then refine what we are doing to reach a goal
we have in mind as we learn more about the birds. Grand, isn't it.

hope everyone has a good day

Hi CSB! It is great to be back talking with old friends!

My chickens are in a constant state of change, different breeds, different ages, numbers, etc. Right now, I have decided that many of the fancy birds aren't for me. There are just too many problems with many of them. I am going to work on the Rhodebars. BHep hatched some for me last year and I kept those hens. I got lucky and found a couple of male chicks up at Cooterville, I grew them out and kept the best one. The 10 week old chicks I have from that pairing look pretty good.

My English Orps will be breed with American Orps and I am looking forward to seeing how they develop. Other than those and the EE's, I am going to focus on providing my egg customers with eggs. To do that, I am purchasing leghorns, buff comets and red stars.

At least that is the plan as of today..... it could easily change and that is the fun part!

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

I'm going the same route. I'm selling off all my English BBS Orps. Well, most of them. I'm keeping a couple girls for eye candy and broodies. I'm getting a couple English Buff cockerels to breed into my hatchery pullets to improve them a bit...not for show stock, of course, but just to make my backyard layers a prettier line. And I'm keeping my Golden Cuckoo Marans to continue to work with, and the Welsummers, too...and least for now. I really don't need two dark egg layers, so I'll need to choose at some point. The rest...layers, mostly. I need to get some Ameraucanas. I have a few girls, but I'd really prefer blue wheaten, and they are hard to find. Thought I had some last year, but the breeder ended up not providing what she said. But I need to keep a small flock so I don't breed the blue out of my EEs! But yeah, concentrating back on where I started, with my layer flock. I have no luck with the fancy breeds, I'm ow too paranoid to show, and I just have burnt out on trying.

I started the Jolly Balls with the horse balls, actually! But the ones for horses are not as durable. Reilly chewed the handles off pretty quickly. They are still out there, though. They don't collapse, so they are still playable balls. But the hard, meant-for-dogs Jollys are best!

In ten days, all the madness will be over and everyone will be back in their own homes. Except my son, who is moving in with us for a couple weeks, between leases. But he's easy. I can not wait until it's over!

 

[Chicken Hound]

Good mourning everyone

Yes I am one of the quiet ones....lol It I just learn so much reading posts on here I run out of time to type...my flock has been fairing well, the two youngest have been steady layers and one of the older girls started laying again last week. My flock grew this bast summer and I need to build a larger coop cause I have plans to add more this spring. With the extra acreage I am purchasing I now have room to free range, now do I move them or just make a gate? The wife has mentioned she would like some ducks and likes the idea of goats, but not sure I am ready for all that. I don't have any kind of pond for ducks to swim, I have heard some use plastic kiddie pools, and do they need some type of coop? Lots of plans very little budget fun fun.

On another note We have a new baby about 4 mo old yellow lab is my guess. She came to us like a few other dogs, a young couple that quickly found out that they did not have time for her. Spent most her day in a small kennel with little play time. They said she could not be house trained, strange two days here and she had it figured out. She was generally healthy tho a little under weight when we got her but is much better now. She is fitting in with the rest of the pack. Our alpha female has taken her under her paw and she is learning her place. Amazing how they teach each other manners and rules. With 8 dogs 12 chickens and the fact we keep finding dogs needing a GOOD home the says I need to open a non-profit animal shelter....lol I can't stand to see animals miss treated.

Looking forward to the Morganton show in Jan that will be my first. Hope everyone is staying warm and health.

 

[tammyfarms]

Hollow, if you find someone with Blue Wheaten am's let me know. I have been thinking about going that route. I can't imagine not having blue egg layers. I have a few EE hens from two years ago and some from last year along with my two year old Lavendar Am roo who is two. At what age do roos lose their potency for making babies? This guy is great with the girls and with people but everyone has a job and our place is not a retirement home.

Hound, BYC is a great place to learn about chickens and a lot of other topics! Be warned: once you start expanding coops it can become addictive... I started with a 4x5, then doubled it, then added another, and another. Now I have 5 small coops, one medium and one 8x10.

Your new lab baby sounds great. We need more folks willing to take in those who would otherwise go to a shelter or worse, be abandoned.

Happy Thursday all! It's the gateway to the weekend!!!

 

[ramirezframing]

I have had 9 yr old roosters fertilize eggs before, so your 2 yr old rooster should be just fine.

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Good morning folks

One of the things I love about this season is how people are
during it. They become happy, friendly, helpful and giving.
Folks become festive. I like this side of people......just wish
it didn't take a holiday to bring that out of them and that they
would be this way all year long.

hope everyone has a good day

 

[tammyfarms]

I have had 9 yr old roosters fertilize eggs before, so your 2 yr old rooster should be just fine.

Thanks RF! I thought he should be fine but wanted to check with others.

Good morning folks

One of the things I love about this season is how people are
during it. They become happy, friendly, helpful and giving.
Folks become festive. I like this side of people......just wish
it didn't take a holiday to bring that out of them and that they
would be this way all year long.

hope everyone has a good day

Absolutely! There are reasons every day to treat people well, smile and be happy... it shouldn't be seasonal.
Happy Friday everyone!