Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[SilkieSensation]

Anyone here have any fertile EE or OE eggs available. A family that's friends with my daughter wants us to hatch them some for them.

[COLOR=0000FF]I usually have OEs but not recently. My eggs are only brown and cream now….kinda boring.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000FF]I have a Marans Pullet that I'd like to sell. Thought I'd offer here first. She's healthy and lays quite a dark egg, but she's got some qualities that I can not pass on to my flock. Her tail is too high, she has no feathering on her shanks and NOW I noticed that she has white earlobes (gasp!). I attempted to add size and egg color from a different line of Marans, after the raccoon was finished with my flock I had only this pullet left from that line. I see now that she will not be adding size or color to my group but has several other poor qualities (DQs) to pass on, so I need her gone. She's not particularly attached to any of the other chooks, roosts alone at night, forages just a slight distance away from the others, so I don't' feel back about separating her. [/COLOR] [COLOR=0000FF]So this is my long way of saying…she lays dark eggs but should NOT be used as a breeder for anything other than Olive Eggers. Anyone interested?[/COLOR]

Since my flick is already a menagerie of mis-matched birds with no 2 the same she would fit right in around here. Too bad the trip is so far.

[COLOR=0000FF]I didn't get much viewing time in at the show yesterday, I sure hope I can get back there tomorrow.. we'll see. Here are some pics, I know you wanted to see some LMP:[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000FF]I realize this next one is focused on the bars (duh) but it shows his 'type' better than the other shots. Gotta love the Bantam Cochins[/COLOR]

Thank You sooo much!!!! ....awesome pics..beautiful birds!!! You are sooo tempting me with your lonely Marans girl...must have control.. ..okay, DH says.."we have enough..for right now"....we are getting a couple turkeys & a couple "meat" birds this spring...Thank you again for the pics Blarney!! What breed was the Turkey champion? I know a bunch of you raise 'meat' birds...In your opinions, what are the best to raise..*temperament/ *size/* time it takes to fill out, we would like to keep it to no more than 10 wks..., and anything else I am missing...I have been reading up some...seems like a lot like the "cornish x" better than "freedom ranger"...any thoughts on this? Oh yeah...the DH wants the kind that don't crow too... ..good grief...just ignore that one We have pretty much decide on the turkey breeds we want, now looking to the meaties....Thank you-Danielle

Here is what I found with my meaties: Cornish cross are by far the fastest growers but also encounter the most health isdues because of the fast growth. I found that putting them in with other birds kept them more active & from gaining weiht too rapidly. This greatly reduced flip & leg problems. You can order all pullets to solve the crowing issue, but I had all males & they reached butchering size before crowing. Hens tend to be a bit smaller. I liked them best for meat quantity & growth rate. They eere also easier to pluck. I also did red broilers & black broilers. The roos grew pretty rapidly & got nearly as big ad the cx. They took about 3-4 weeks longer to reach weight & the hens never did get as big as I would have liked them. They were much healthier & more active than the cx. Drawbacks, a bit harder to pluck & some had dark spots from the dark feathers once plucked. They did have better flavor than the cx but never got as big. I grew them 4-8 weeks linger than the cx.

 

[Kiomey]

Where outside of Williamsport? That's my area. If we didn't have cable and the booster attachment, we'd have no cell service at our house. 

It's the weeee town called Waterville ^^ my da's family's hunting cabin, yay outhouse

 

[LadyBehir]

About 10 miles from my house! Pine Creek is beautiful. Oh, the yellow area on my map is my coverage area. I put a LOT of miles on my car every year.

 

[Kiomey]

Yup been going there since I was walking lol tubing pine creek was always the best lol my lil brother graduated from penn tech in wilpo ^^ good to know the range of my chicken keeping buddies!

 

[CrazyRays]

To everyone who replied, I broke my ankle last year, just after I started. It is a steep walk down the hill and I have repeatedly fallen. After my wife broke hers, I wasn't going through all that crap and walked it off. I just saw my doc again and he said this one is not broken. "stretched Perotoneal Nerve" in my calf causing the numbness and drop foot/limp. It will come back with time two -three weeks. It was easier when I was a younger strapping man, with a bronze tan and svelte body., LOL, now I'm just and old man enjoying his chickens, whose a lot wiser, but still going up and down that hill twice a day. Thanks for the concern my chicken cohorts!

 

[vicki5112]

Hey folk:

My sick roo is starting to make a comeback! I am tickled pink to see my boy getting stronger...I think he's turned the corner and its about getting back to stud muffin status....may take a week or so....but that's a small effort.....

So glad to hear that...it was all that tender care

 

[Hounds51]

Aquarium heaters! Clever. Now does the water leak or dribble much when the chickens are drinking? I've never had these kind of waterers, and read that it could be an issue...is it?

I built one simular to this, except that I added a tray in reverse, making it a hood so the girls dont accidently keep knocking the nipples.
They worked great till this week! Then they froze up, even with my bucket heater running full bore.
The only problem I can see with the nipples are that they are isolated too far from the water source and thus will freeze up in extreme low temps.
But I have not have any problems with the nipples leaking.
And the wateres are real easy to make out of a 5 gal bucket. I think I made mine for about $15.00
I think I will investigate the Aquarmun heater more closely.

 

[dheltzel]

I built one simular to this, except that I added a tray in reverse, making it a hood so the girls dont accidently keep knocking the nipples.
They worked great till this week! Then they froze up, even with my bucket heater running full bore.
The only problem I can see with the nipples are that they are isolated too far from the water source and thus will freeze up in extreme low temps.
But I have not have any problems with the nipples leaking.
And the wateres are real easy to make out of a 5 gal bucket. I think I made mine for about $15.00
I think I will investigate the Aquarmun heater more closely.

Be careful with aquarium heaters. I've used them in aquariums a lot and I can imagine the chickens drinking all the water (or it developing a leak). Then the glass heater will get very hot and melt through the bucket, maybe even fall to the bedding and start a fire. Or, if the glass is partially exposed to the air and the glass is hot (while it's heating) and you dump in a bunch of cold water -- CRAAACK ! Then you have water and live electricity in your water bucket, never a good combo.

Consider a livestock tank heater instead. I little more expensive but no glass to break and probably UL tested when run dry (or at least they should). I'm all for saving money where you can, but not if it compromises safety.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

To everyone who replied, I broke my ankle last year, just after I started. It is a steep walk down the hill and I have repeatedly fallen. After my wife broke hers, I wasn't going through all that crap and walked it off. I just saw my doc again and he said this one is not broken. "stretched Perotoneal Nerve" in my calf causing the numbness and drop foot/limp. It will come back with time two -three weeks. It was easier when I was a younger strapping man, with a bronze tan and svelte body., LOL, now I'm just and old man enjoying his chickens, whose a lot wiser, but still going up and down that hill twice a day. Thanks for the concern my chicken cohorts!

HA! makes me think about christmas day when family was here. I dont remember how it even came up but we got into the discussion of Mother falling in the chicken run and being unconscious and the chickens eating her. gasps, not me her.... they wouldn't do such a thing, your chickens are so nice!

muwhahhaaaa ummmm mother, chickens are beggars and if I fall and die in my run they would start pecking and eating me in less than 24, she has been upset ever since! LOL

edit to add: my older sons where here and they then proceeded to mom that what is left of the bodies I feed to the dogs....... ha ha ha

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: Thank u for taking the time for the pics Blarney!