NY chicken lover!!!!

[cheeka]

Cheeka,

What breeds did you get? Very Cute.

I just placed my order for a dozen Red Dorkings, and and working on some wheaten Marans for Spring.

I am also planning on hatching. I am so lucky that my wife tolerates my obsession.

Framac.

They are all EE's. I'm hooked on the Big Heads and Muffs and Beards... they are cold hardy, and fairly friendly birds... plus I really love the colored eggs. and for now, I don't have $18 per bird for True Ameraucana's or much less $68 per Araucana... maybe when I retire...

Okay, what is a flock block made from??? Never seen it.

Flock Blocks are great, compressed grit, oyster shell, grains, seeds, some have dried fruits... chickens love them, encourages pecking on the block rather than on each other too (Purina makes them)

 

[Framac]

They are all EE's. I'm hooked on the Big Heads and Muffs and Beards... they are cold hardy, and fairly friendly birds... plus I really love the colored eggs. and for now, I don't have $18 per bird for True Ameraucana's or much less $68 per Araucana... maybe when I retire...


Flock Blocks are great, compressed grit, oyster shell, grains, seeds, some have dried fruits... chickens love them, encourages pecking on the block rather than on each other too (Purina makes them)

Where are you getting you birds from? I only ask, because outside a very nice show bird, and wanted to breed/sell SQ birds, I'd be hard pressed to pay 68 per chick/chicken. I know there is a few people around with Ameraucana's, myself included that would be willing to sell them for less than that.

The flock blocks I think are about 12 dollars at TSC. They last my 20 birds 2-4 weeks per block.

Framac

 

[cheeka]

oh what a day...! out of the blue, someone is knocking at my door... so I check, okay... I know this person, haven't seen her for 4+ years, not really sure what she's doing up on the hill, maybe car trouble??? so I let her in. BIG mistake. She's drunk out of her mind. took me an hour to get rid of her. seemed like an eternity. she spilled her 5th of stanky yellow booze all over my ultra suede couch. fell @$$ over teakettle, clearing half the contents of the coffee table and knocking over the trash. stepped on the dog twice. never, never will I ever open the door for her again.

it was a blustery cold day, whipping winds, swirling snow. the vinyl strips covering the Chicken Dome were flapping somewhat, but held steady, and it was certainly calmer inside the enclosure than outside... glad the winds have died down, but it's still flaking snow, because of the great winds, it's only a mere dusting, a nuisance... glad it's supposed to be a bit warmer for the rest of the week!

so, here's my dilemma: I haven't told my "better half" about the chicks. I started to tell him on Thanksgiving day, but as soon as I mentioned more birds, he immediately cut me off, told me I have enough, that I always overdo things... funny, this coming from the man who has a destroyed spine, lives in a tiny apartment, on the 2nd floor, 16 steps up, 100% unpotable, toxic water, and he has 4 fish tanks totaling 120 gallons for which he has to haul water from his folks place, gallon by gallon up those 16 steps... and I overdo things...
we ended up having a spiff on Thanksgiving evening, and he left the next day, while we've been talking, he hasn't been back since. I've been putting him off, but I can't keep it up forever... he wants to come up on Saturday. I'm so not looking forward to the lecture.

 

[cheeka]

Where are you getting you birds from? I only ask, because outside a very nice show bird, and wanted to breed/sell SQ birds, I'd be hard pressed to pay 68 per chick/chicken. I know there is a few people around with Ameraucana's, myself included that would be willing to sell them for less than that.

The flock blocks I think are about 12 dollars at TSC. They last my 20 birds 2-4 weeks per block.

Framac

my birds are hatchery stock. the original gang came from McMurray, but they weren't my order, they were completely misdelivered to the wrong state and all the trucks were gone by the time they were found... so they were put in my charge to find homes for them. out of 26, I kept 9, lost 2 (EE's) to a fox @15 weeks, picked up 3 others from a fellow byc'er... the new chicks came from My Pet Chicken. I could have gotten EE's cheaper, but they have a nice variety of colors, and being in Ohio, it's not that far for the chicks to travel... Most hatcheries do not have the true Araucana or Ameraucana, but will sell you EE's under that name... MPC calls em what they are. Easter Egger Mixed Breeds. MPC claims to have the "true" breeds, and those are their prices, and I've seen similar prices at private breeders, but haven't done all that much research. I'm not a "show person" of any animal... I like to go to shows, and see the critters, but showing is not for me... I think, as the years go by, and I get closer to retirement, and more time to spend with them, that's the point where I will look for a more serious "quality" chicken breed. besides the EE's, I have a pair of RIR hens, and a pair of BR hens.
folks up here like the EE's pretty shell colors and their overall hardiness, and are interested in buying hatching eggs and chicks in the Spring, because they are "mutts", I'll sell them really inexpensively, with full knowledge that they are simply EE's. my postal customers clean me out of eggs every day, so the additional ladies are necessary not only for keeping the boys content, but to boost my egg count...

 

[Lynzi777]

Hello Everyone,
Remember me?!? Haven't been on in a while and figured I'd pop in and say hello...

Been busy the last few months with family visiting, I was keeping up with the horseback lessons but those have slowed down since the weather has been crummy on the days I'm available, now Christmas is coming and I've been out shopping at every moment I have the opportunity to without the kids.

Good news, all of my hens are still laying, even my 2 orpingtons have gone back to laying an egg a day!

One of silkies (Pearl, the one I got from Tab) has gone broody. When I checked her last she was sitting on 5 eggs. Haven't been able to get another look without her pecking at me so I've just been leaving her. I do want to see what happens with this so I'm going to let her sit on them, my only problem is, I'm going to have to move her inside. By the time these eggs hatch (IF any hatch) it will be around Christmas day and my coops aren't heated. So I'm trying to come up with the best way of moving indoors and into my basement without stressing her out too much. My basement is unfinished so I figured I'd bring her in and let her raise the chicks until Spring down there and won't have to worry too much about them messing anything up down there. So I'll be back to building unless I can find something to keep them in for that amount of time. And it'll be fun and keep the kids and I busy during the winter months.

Welcome to all the newbies!! I see we have quite a few...

 

[rancher hicks]

Welcome back. Don't stay away so long.

 

[Lynzi777]

Mission 1 Completed! I switched out the eggs from nest box to shoe box so I can move Pearl tonight. She's right back on her nest as if nothing changed. Now for the big move tonight, hoping it doesn't stress her out too much.

 

[SunnysideupstateNY]

If anyone is ambitious enough, I've made my own flock block with gelatin from the store and a bag of birdseed which cost a lot less in the long run. You could add in whatever you wanted. I even added some molasses to the mix, the girls loved it. Mother earth had an article with directions for small birdseed ornaments...I just took it to the next logical level...

If you google bird seed ornaments you'll get all kinds of directions. I think country max sells it as the "pecker wrecker".

 

[Adoravachick]

Mission 1 Completed! I switched out the eggs from nest box to shoe box so I can move Pearl tonight. She's right back on her nest as if nothing changed. Now for the big move tonight, hoping it doesn't stress her out too much.

Let us know how it goes tonight, I will be thinking of you!

If anyone is ambitious enough, I've made my own flock block with gelatin from the store and a bag of birdseed which cost a lot less in the long run. You could add in whatever you wanted. I even added some molasses to the mix, the girls loved it. Mother earth had an article with directions for small birdseed ornaments...I just took it to the next logical level...

If you google bird seed ornaments you'll get all kinds of directions. I think country max sells it as the "pecker wrecker".

Sounds like fun! What a great idea.

 

[vmdanielsen]

If anyone is ambitious enough, I've made my own flock block with gelatin from the store and a bag of birdseed which cost a lot less in the long run. You could add in whatever you wanted. I even added some molasses to the mix, the girls loved it. Mother earth had an article with directions for small birdseed ornaments...I just took it to the next logical level...

If you google bird seed ornaments you'll get all kinds of directions. I think country max sells it as the "pecker wrecker".

Did you hang yours? Or place it in a bowl?