***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Kassaundra]

Eggs are due to hatch next Sunday. Candled and removed duds at 10 days. Added a second batch of eggs in to empty cups. Those are due Christmas Eve.
Then candled today removing a few quitters and duds from hatch 2.

We had to put our Gracie to sleep Dec 5. Her health plummeted rapidly and she was suffering. Just could not let that continue. We will miss her.

NanaK, so sorry about Gracie

 

[artsyrobin]

@NanaKat and anyone else, have you heard of any restriction on injectible antibiotics being pulled in January?

 

[NanaKat]

There have been no changes that we know about.

 

[artsyrobin]

There have been no changes that we know about.

looks like its a california thing - whew

 

[NanaKat]

Merry Christmas Okies!
Have a joyous New Year!

Babies are hatching today...all six have pipped.

 

[limited25]

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[dunnmom]

I hope everyone had great holidays and are staying warm.

 

[LittleCheepers]

Hi - I am fairly new to BYC and am not sure if I should just jump in here or what, but here goes. We live in the Choctaw area and I have been on here daily for the last three months or so and have become a true BYC addict! A little history - in September DH surprised me with baby chicks from TSC. He was told the minimum number he could get was six so, not knowing any better, he just picked them out of the straight run bin that were marked as Australorps. It was love at first sight! We made a brooder in one of the spare bedrooms and while they were growing we got a coop, built a run and made it as predator-proof as we possibly could. It wasn’t too long before it became obvious none of the chicks were Australorps - not that it mattered! They all appear to me to be barred Plymouth Rocks although only three of them have yellow feet and beaks, the other three have white feet and beaks. They are all SO sweet and come running whenever they see me and eat out my hand. Now comes the heartbreaking part and I’m crying while even writing this, but they are ALL roosters, all six of them! We are in the county but live in a subdivision and we can’t keep even one of them, not that I could choose! We are going to get more in the spring and start all over but that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye to these guys and I’m just sick about it. I have no idea what to do or even how to go about finding anyone that would want them and give them a good home. I understand it can be a dilemma getting rid of just one - how do I find homes for six of them?! If anyone has any suggestions they would certainly be welcome, as well as suggestions on where to go in the spring to get new chicks (that is not TSC!). I am sorry this is so long and for just jumping in the middle of this thread, but I wasn’t sure how else to do it. I look forward to hearing from any of you and to making some new BYC friends!

 

[NanaKat]

@LittleCheepers Welcome to the Okie Thread. I live in Meeker. It has been pretty slow lately with Holidays and family. Hopefully things will pick up again soon and more Okies will chime in.

I'm making the assumption that you want to find good homes for your roosters since they are pets. The hard reality is it is very hard to find homes for the boys.
The reality of coming to grips with having to sell them to someone who will most likely send the boys thru freezer camp can be emotional. Learning to do the deed yourself can be very hard too since you are so attached to your young birds.
Running an ad in the paper or on Craigslist opens you up to folks you don't know and has other downsides.
Facebook has several poultry sites local to Oklahoma where you can join and post photos of your birds.
Again there is no guarantee that your birds will find a forever home.

TSC and Atwoods usually purchase their chicks from Ideal Hatchery. Some employees know more about the breeds that are bulk purchased. Always pay extra for visually vent checked pullets rather than the straight run bins. You might still end up with a rooster, but one is better than six!

I wish you luck.

 

[LittleCheepers]

Thank you for your reply! I know it is probably unrealistic to hope for someone to take all six of my guys to keep as pets - even though they are totally awesome! I don’t really do Facebook on a regular basis but will certainly check out the local poultry sites, that is a great idea. A couple of them have started cock-a-doodle-doo-ing in the morning when I let them out so I’m going to have to do something pretty quickly. Again, thanks for your reply and it is nice to meet you!