NY chicken lover!!!!

[tao chick]

I know, me too! Constantly checking lol. I got my silkies from Marshas silkies on here. She had the porcelain coloring I want. I have two porcelain silkies now and that's my color focus for them. Those are some cool rare breeds. I've thought about isbars too, but I'm not sure on their temperament.

Porcelain is an awesome trait. I would consider silkies but I'm already going in more directions than my coops can accommodate.
The Brabanters are great. They free range but still stay near home. I hope your hatch goes well.

I forgot to say welcome to mountain top. HI!

I built my current incubator, and if the system works I will be building a bigger one. This one holds 15 eggs in the automatic settings. I had borrowed a still air incubator that held 40something eggs and I had too much trouble with it. Ideally I could build a fully automatic incubator that holds 32 eggs. I drew up plans and just need to get through the troubleshooting of this hatch before I build bigger.

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Speaking of silkies...if I breed my silver partridge rooster over a white silkie, what kinds of colors can I expect? Or is it impossible to tell?

 

[Beer can]

that's crazy. Vacations are for winter when you want to be away from the house. We're taking a mini vacation this month then I'll be a home body until November.

We'd like to go during winter but we use a outside wood boiler for heat. It's a smaller one than some people have, only takes 3' wood, I cut it 2' now because I use a wood splitter now. Tried 16", double stacked in it but it made it a pain in the butt. Warm weather like now I only load it around noon and again before I go to bed. Cold weather it sometimes needs 3-4 times a day. It would last longer with the 3' wood, but hard to split by hand. Bad enough getting someone to take care of the chickens and dogs, don't think I would want them to take care of the fire also. Could switch to the oil furnace and just keep the water circulation pump going on the boiler to maybe keep it from freezing, shouldn't freeze...And then, what if the power goes out...What if it snows a lot. Too many worries. Much easier in the spring, no frozen water dishes, no shoveling.

 

[tao chick]

We'd like to go during winter but we use a outside wood boiler for heat. It's a smaller one than some people have, only takes 3' wood, I cut it 2' now because I use a wood splitter now. Tried 16", double stacked in it but it made it a pain in the butt. Warm weather like now I only load it around noon and again before I go to bed. Cold weather it sometimes needs 3-4 times a day. It would last longer with the 3' wood, but hard to split by hand. Bad enough getting someone to take care of the chickens and dogs, don't think I would want them to take care of the fire also. Could switch to the oil furnace and just keep the water circulation pump going on the boiler to maybe keep it from freezing, shouldn't freeze...And then, what if the power goes out...What if it snows a lot. Too many worries. Much easier in the spring, no frozen water dishes, no shoveling.

That makes sense. We're lucky to have people to help us out, and traveling in spring and summer is much easier. My desire to work the farm this year is actually inspiring me to prepare my house for a family reunion here this summer instead of traveling to somewhere.
I hope you enjoy your vacation!

 

[Chicken girl 15]

@Chicken girl 15 I have been looking into NPIP. I think the minimum birds you have to have are 30 and they can tear up to 300 a year. I was thinking NPIP was more necessary if you plan to sell hatching eggs and chicks somewhere other than within New York State

I'm not selling anything out of state so I guess I won't bother with npip . Thank you.

 

[boskelli1571]

I'm not selling anything out of state so I guess I won't bother with npip . Thank you.

I briefly looked at NPIP, but gave up on it. If you are NPIP, you can only buy from NPIP people...which makes it a bit restrictive - for me anyway.
If you are looking at starting a breeding program for a specific breed, someone gave me the suggestion to buy and develop your stock then go NPIP. That makes a great deal of sense to me. To be honest, I have never asked if anyone was NPIP nor have I been asked..

 

[rancher hicks]

1) it raised our premium up $103 a year for $2500 gross income
2) I have no clue what you mean by rider, sorry.
3 & 4)$2500 worth of chickens/ eggs/ meat sold from my flock.
5) not a lot of claims at all for poultry farms. My agent covers many farms and has never had a claim on poultry.
6) mainly in case someone who consumes anything raised on our FARM (yay I can call it that now) and ends up with food poisoning their not able to sue me and their medical for the inconvenience is covered by the insurance. Im too broke to pay thousands in someone else's medical so, $100.00 a year to be covered it is.
I can give you better details once I get all my paper work. I do know I am able to have a roadside stand and sell produce, eggs, chicks, chickens ( live or processed) . however I can only have $2500.00 farm income per year or I have to increase my premium. It goes in $2500 increment.

1. Do commercial farms pay this type of amount?

2. Your coverage is based on sales?

3. How do they know how much money you've grossed? It's not how much profit you net?

4. A "rider" is an attachment on top of your other homeowners insurance. For instance, if you had a pool you might have to have a "rider" to cover the pool. Or a dog. Even a swing set might require a rider.

5. How will someone who eats your eggs chickens etc. etc. prove they got sick from your food?

6. Do they require inspections every year? ( I have a friend who sells eggs too). Does it cover donated eggs?

 

[rancher hicks]

You should be able to get $ 10- $ 20 each for them they are laying & will lay at least another year .
My Budgie was the top hen ...she was a red sex link ..maybe it is their nature .

Thank you everyone for your Kind Words ...I am dealing with it slowly

Now I'm going to go out on a limb and lay it on the line. It might get me into trouble but what's new?

I don't get folks who want to pay $10 for a year old either POL or laying hen. Chicks cost about $5 (shipping included). I don't know how much it costs to hatch your own but there is energy to be considered plus labor of maintaining the incubator.

I drove to Amsterdam, NY for Cuckoo Marans and while they weren't chicks they couldn't have been more than 4-6 weeks old and I paid $10 each.

Then I drove to PA to get Lavender Orpingtons and paid $20 each for chicks.

It just makes me crazy when folks go to craft fairs and think something costs too much. Not considering how much time it takes to make an item or what it cost for the tools to make it. (sure YOU could make it but what will you do with those tools you've paid for.)

My point is this. I know I'm absolutely right when I say it's WRONG to expect to buy a point of lay hen or one that just started laying for $5 or $10. It doesn't matter the breed either. I wouldn't buy from someone I don't trust.

Certainly the seller can do so if they choose, but that doesn't make it right for the buyer to take advantage.

If I were certain of a supply, I'd skip the chick thing altogether and just buy hens that are just starting to lay. No chick starter to bother with, no incubator, no brooder lights to worry about, no shavings to buy, no brooder to clean.

Please don't debate me on this, as I stated previously I know I'm right.

Rancher, tells it as it is, Hicks.

 

[akaruby]

Speaking of silkies...if I breed my silver partridge rooster over a white silkie, what kinds of colors can I expect? Or is it impossible to tell?

Here's a genetics color calculator http://www.breedbook.org/?action=geneticscalculator&tab=CHICKEN

 

[myfivegirls]

Finally caught up with all the posts, haven't been on here lately.
Hope those who had losses and sickness are doing better! But, glad most everyone is doing good.

A few pages back there was talk about gardening info specific to NY. Last year I found & bought from a few seed companies with great "local" seeds - Turtle Tree Seeds & Hudson Valley Seed Library. I also buy Baker Creek, some from eBay & sometimes the $Tree cheap ones or Christmas Tree Shops when they have clearance. Plus, I save my own pole bean, peas, squash & tomato seeds.