NY chicken lover!!!!

[riqui1]

Okay, I apparently "misremembered" what my guinea eggs looked like when I hatched them and, after visiting a few sites, I have found that these may be guinea eggs in my bator and not Silkie!! How the heck can I tell? Maybe that's why they are not being incubated by a momma. Don't guineas like to get quite a few eggs in there before they sit on them? I think that I am going to string up the camcorder in the coop, just so I know what it is I am trying to hatch!! lol

 

[peggym]

Hi! Peggy here! I'm getting ready for babies from McMurray next Mon. I'll pick them up from the Lockwood P.O. So I moved the big girls and boys into the little coop; they are not happy campers. I've ordered some of the more rare and critical listed this time. Red caps and golden campines, also a whole bunch of others. I got roos to go with the hens for the red caps and campines, also some more cochins. They seem to winter well here. I actually ordered 2 polish buff and golden. I'm not sure how they will do, as they are so different looking from the others. I got some dominics and delewares, speckled sussex, as I've had them before and they're really sweet, if I had a choice I'd order a few of everything but DH says not so many. He's getting tired of building chicken coops. I'll let you know how they all are when I get them!!!!

 

[thetajmahalcoop]

OK it's official. I have NO willpower......

!!!! I went into TSC in Batavia today (was out running errands with my girlfriend, celebrating the fact we got into a bachelors program at Roberts Wesleyan ) and.....the cornish rock were on sale for 1.00$!!!! They had a bin right next to them full price but younger. This makes me think the cornish rock that were 1.00 are 2 weeks old as I believe TSC only gets a shipment once a week and the guy told me they were getting more chicks tomorrow....they also had other chicks on sale.....I left, went out to eat at Tullys (yum yum) and sent the DH a text, letting him know the sale prices, he called me back ,wanted to know if I could bring him home a burger from Tullys (I had already ordered him one to go.

) so he then said..."well do what ever you want....thats a good price!!!!" grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr he's such a ENABLER!

Nothing against the staff there but they are CLUELESS as to what they have !!! I told the staff I would take the rest of the cornish cross at a dollar and I told them...by the way, there is a very very dead one buried in there, ya might wanna clean this bin really well. It had obviously NOT died today. I asked what some of the contents of the bins were because half of them weren't labeled, they had no clue. I asked if they knew what kind of bantams they had....no clue, they said "mixed" I looked closely and I am 99% sure they are all WHITE silkies! Holy smokes! I bought 4 "assorted bantams" that are either 2 buff silkies and 2 white or else all white. I was shocked to see them at TSC!

So, I left with 11 cornish cross for 1.00 each that are very likely 2 weeks old already so that means I can butcher them in 6-8 weeks from now (they are HUGE and easily 3-4 times the other chicks), 6 assorted pullets that were 1.25 each as they were likely 2 weeks old already, pluse the silkies at 2.39 each. I had NO brooder setup, but quickly scrambled to set them up in my brooder on the front porch (ceramic claw foot tub), I have 2 red heat lamps in there and its a snug 90 degrees so far, would have liked to have them inside but this is not my first go round on chicks and know they will be nice and warm out there with the lamps/body heat and a blanket over the wire top I have on it. The first time I had chicks I was a nervous wreck. It makes me laugh now to think I'm a "pro" ha ha ha, not really, I just love to read!

So, that's my story for the day. I'm going to run over to the TSC in Dansville and Geneseo tomorrow mid day and see what else they have on sale because more come in tomorrow.....and I have all this spare room in the bath tub brooder now......hee hee hee I held out as long as I could!

 

[prncssprplfrog]

HaHa!!! What an enabler! My TSC had what I thought was silkies, but I didn't want to get 6- at the time all I needed was 1-2 to help out my lone hatcher.
If I didn't have 16 eggs in the incubator, I'd run to the TSC in Oneonta & see if they still have silkies- I wish I knew what kind of ducks they have- I'd get a few ducks & a few chicks as well.

 

[MissCluck]

I almost succumbed to the pullet bin there at TSC in Canandaigua.....

If I didn't have button quail in my brooder and duck eggs ready to hatch next week......

 

[Omani]

I know what you mean. We were at TSC yesterday just to buy some supplies. If they'd had something different than the "standards",I would have brought something home. The bins were marked cornish-x, ducks(no breed), and leghorn & red sex links. It didn't even say anythind about the black ones in there. I'm guessing that they are black sex links. I'm just going to have to start going to different TSC stores around here.
Does anyone keep their bantams with their standard size chickens? I was thinking of getting some bantams, but I don't know where I'd put them right now.

 

[thetajmahalcoop]

Hey Omani! How are ya? I have full grown bantams with my standards and turkeys, no prob. they get outta they way of the bigger guys and form their own little posse. I have the cornish rock chicks in the same brooder right now with the silkies and other standard chicks I got yesterday but will move the cornish out next week to their own brooder on the grass as they are getting HUGE! ROCHESTER! HUGE! (hee hee inside joke for the rochester peeps!)
i have to come down your way saturday to get feed and go to Earls of course! The black chicks you saw at TSC may have been black australorps, I have seen them at two TSC's in my area. Black australorps are calm, nice looking birds, I have 2 hens.

All my chickies did great overnight on the porch in the bath tub brooder, This is the first time I've had cornish meat birds before and can't believe how different they are from egg layers. Even at 1-2 weeks all they want to do is sit and eat..... my kinda life! DH helped me move my 3 marans into a bigger chicken tractor so I could put the maran rooster back in with them to collect eggs for philbee. I've noticed from having them in seclusion that it's a great way to study how eggs change color through out the laying season. I've seen it happen with cayuga duck eggs and EE eggs. Maran eggs definitely go through different color stages and it's interesting, I've been studying the color charts they have and mine look to be 4 out of 10? Now I want to get some welsummer eggs and black copper marans as they are even darker! There's a guy in caledonia that sells BCM chicks via craigslist and I think they go for 10$ each! Very interesting indeed.

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine but I wish it would stay warm!

Amy

 

[bufforp89]

Geez why cant my TSC ever have good stuff

They have mallards for ducks, assorted pullets that look like sexlinks, st run that all have bright red combs

and cornish rocks......I am still holding out that they will have assorted bantams at some point but it dosnt look good...

 

[LovinMyPeeps]

Quote:
I've been doing that, but let me tell you now the 2 bantams are seperated out. My 14 pound roo tries to do a number on the hen AND the roo. I feel bad for them streaking through the yard screaming "get him off me! get him off me!!!" So they are seperated and never the two shall meet again. I am having the amish build them their own insulated coop. I fear the winter though, I may have to get creative by November...

 

[Omani]

I just checked my McMurray catalog. Those chicks definately looked more like black sex links than australorps. They were black with a spot of cream under their chins. But I'm still kinda new to all this, so who knows what they could have been. Could have been peachicks for all I know. Now ask me about a baby fish or a puppy....
We have to go out for feed and such on Saturday. But it has to be early because the Sabres play at 1pm. Hey, did you see Earls on Diners,drive ins and dives? Nice exposure for the place.
I may have to rethink the bantams for now. We're putting an addition on the coop. We need room for the jacuzzi.

Maybe we can put a divider in it some how for the smaller birds. Just let them be together in the run. Oh, I can see it now. I'll be out there at least once a day to get the rooster unstuck from out of the bantams little door. Can't wait.