Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[LittleMissPurdy]

I started making my nest boxes 16 inches cubed (instead of 12) and they like them much better, haven't found any eggs in the old boxes since the new ones went in. Anyone know the best dimension for turkey nest boxes? I'm thinking 24" would work. Will turkey hens use the higher one if I stack 2 on top of each other, or do they only lay at ground level?

you got to the answer before I asked the question!!

...hhahaha..that would be a great starting point for the nest boxes I need..these girls are "big-bottom" girls.

My run is approximately 5 x 20. I have 6 girls. Can I have more or am I at a realistic level now? I do not really want to build another run, although I am trying to plan a way to add on to the existing one. Hearing you all talk about the different breeds isn't helping!

they do make things hard here don't they????.....

...hey, I am feeling the same thing here!! All this talking of eggs in incubators and I don't have any eggs right now to eat let alone hatch

...very frustrating...i am sure you haven't noticed...

Regular chokes are not hardy here, they grow them in California mostly. Jerusalem Artichokes might be worth trying, not related at all and grow as underground tubers. Other ideas:
Rhubarb
Garlic
Shallots
Egyption or Walking Onions
Herbs (chives, oregano, mints, etc)

i was thinking about Jerusalem artichokes for the birds...haven't done it yet though..have read some others feeding them to their birds.

Not gonna get much help of that sort here. I think you may need more chickens instead . . .

haha, you be funny..

...& SHhhh....that is why I am getting a rooster in the spring..hee-hee

What are your feelings about wyandotte personalities? I only have one, so I certainly can't offer any useful information. My one wyandotte has been skittish and very hard to catch and/or hold. She has been like that since she was a chick. Even though she was hand raised and pampered she is very standoffish. Just curious if this is more typical of wyandottes, or if I just got a Diva.
I think they can be grown, but they are treated as annuals up here. Have you ever tried Jerusalem Artichokes, also called Sunchokes. They look like a cross between a potato and ginger. They have a water chestnut texture and can be eaten raw, fried, mashed, baked etc. they are are a perennial closely related to sunflowers. They grow just about anywhere, but can become invasive because they grow so well.

Edited to add: Dhetzel beat me to it!

hahaha, you beat me too...
Wyandottes are all Divas,..haha...mine are very vocal to Dh & myself..make a lot of different purring/clucking noises..they like to talk. They are laid back and social for the most part..mine actually follow me around..i can call them into bed, and back from the fence to the neighbors house, (this was started as soon as I got them)...I know where I stand though, my head is not too big

..I am the bringer of FOOD..and that is pretty much ALL that matters to this group. Over-all they are good birds, would be better if they were laying eggs right now.

 

[stake]

my two wyandottes are very standoff-ish also. I know that they're hatchery stock so maybe that makes a difference but I've had them since they were two weeks old. Always pampered and hand raised but still won't come willingly except for a treat and you beget not try to touch them, they panic.

my wyandotes are energetic about coming for some scratch and will mill around under foot,,,,but get skidish when you try to pet them..my two cents...

 

[stake]

My run is approximately 5 x 20. I have 6 girls. Can I have more or am I at a realistic level now? I do not really want to build another run, although I am trying to plan a way to add on to the existing one. Hearing you all talk about the different breeds isn't helping!

LB:
My main run is the same as your run....If you have the 'right breeds' you can have more...maybe twice your current flock...depend on how your birds bear confinement...I suggest looking on mypetchickens....for breeds that bear confinement well....

 

[LisaYolkUm]

You realize Wyandottes are all brown egg layers, right? Not to try to talk you out of them.

For dark eggs, I favor Welsummers because they are sexable at hatch, though I can sex BCM's at about 3 months by the combs. Maran hens seem calmer to me, and being bulkier in shape, they might be better winter layers. We are getting 3-4 eggs a day from 4 Maran hens, and less than 10 from 18 Welsummers, but most of the Welsummers are a lot younger than the Marans, so I don't consider that a fair comparison. Just that the Marans are laying better than I expected from their reputation compared to Welsummers. Welsummers are so pretty too, they are among my favorite breeds for sure.

For blue eggs -- our best blue eggs layers right now are the "super blue egg layers" from a cross I made last spring (white leghorn hens and Lavender Ameracauna roo). I don't find the hens that attractive (white with some random black patches), but others do (say they look like owls). The other thing I didn't like about them is that they took a long time to sex out. This year's cross will be Barred Holland hens (great layers of white eggs, but the eggs are smaller than I'd like, hopefully because they are still young) to a Black Ameracauna roo (for blue eggs, larger egg size, and to sex link the chicks). These blue egg laying black sex links will be a big seller, I hope, and along with Welsummers (that seem to always sell out) should make some money for my niece's college fund.

Other options for blue eggs are the CCL's and Ameracaunas. I can't say enough good things about the CCL's, they might edge out Welsummers as my favorite this year (I'll probably just have multiple favorites). The only disadvantage I see is their higher cost due to rarity, but I hope to help fix that by building a larger flock and hatching a lot to sell to local hobbyists. The Ams are popular, but they take too long to sex out to be a viable contender for my favorite. As part of a black sex-link cross, I think they are great.

I might do an olive egger cross too, by putting a blue Am hen into the Marans pen. I'm not sure how popular they will be, since they are not sexable at hatch.

For colorful eggs, you have an abundance of choices.

thanks for your very informative post...................I will definitely be checking in with you come spring.......................

I do realize the wyandottes are all brown egg layers.............I just enjoy their feather patterns and overall features...............so I am interested in collecting various varities of them

CCL
Welsummer
Blue egg layers that are pretty and nice birds too

for some reason..........when I looked into Marans............i found them less attractive and people wrote about a mean streak? not sure if this was just one temperamental bird or a tendency of the breed.

I found the appearance of Welsummers striking.

I looked at the rhodbar thread on here and feel the pictures of them are very nice too.........................just feel uninformed mostly about rhodebars..........what is their egg color?

one additional feature.......is I would like chickens who are less likely to get frostbitten combs etc............its just a worry I have for them.................I can put vaseline on them on very cold days or just pick ones with smaller more winter hardy features to begin with..........wyandottes are good this way.........

 

[dheltzel]

thanks for your very informative post...................I will definitely be checking in with you come spring.......................

I do realize the wyandottes are all brown egg layers.............I just enjoy their feather patterns and overall features...............so I am interested in collecting various varities of them

CCL
Welsummer
Blue egg layers that are pretty and nice birds too

for some reason..........when I looked into Marans............i found them less attractive and people wrote about a mean streak? not sure if this was just one temperamental bird or a tendency of the breed.

I found the appearance of Welsummers striking.

I looked at the rhodbar thread on here and feel the pictures of them are very nice too.........................just feel uninformed mostly about rhodebars..........what is their egg color?

one additional feature.......is I would like chickens who are less likely to get frostbitten combs etc............its just a worry I have for them.................I can put vaseline on them on very cold days or just pick ones with smaller more winter hardy features to begin with..........wyandottes are good this way.........

Rhodebars lay light brown eggs. Their main attraction is that they are autosexing, calm and lay well. Kind of like the CCL's, but different appearance (both the birds and their eggs).

I prefer Welsummers to Marans, but I haven't found the Marans mean at all. Not as calm as the New Hampshires they shared a pen with for a while, but not hard to work with. Their eggs are pretty.

The trade off with smaller comb types (Wyandottes and Ameracaunas, for ex) is that the roos are not apparent as soon as with the single comb breeds. Frostbite is an issue, I've got some of that already on the large combed roos. Hopefully someone will add rosecombs to the Legbars and Rhodebars, then they would be perfect production birds for small operations. In the mean time, I'm creating hybrids that are sex-linked, lay blue eggs, have rose combs and are either black or blue in color.

 

[LisaYolkUm]

how come rhodebars are not listed in the breed section on this site?

I guessing it is some complicated genetics reason..............but who knows?

 

[hendricks115]

Regular chokes are not hardy here, they grow them in California mostly. Jerusalem Artichokes might be worth trying, not related at all and grow as underground tubers. Other ideas:
Rhubarb
Garlic
Shallots
Egyption or Walking Onions
Herbs (chives, oregano, mints, etc)

The hubby and I grew jerusalem artichokes the past 2 years. They taste delicious and have wonderful health benefits but there is a terrible side effect we couldn't eliminate no matter how we prepared them. If you do plant them, invest in some gas-x.

 

[dheltzel]

how come rhodebars are not listed in the breed section on this site?

I guessing it is some complicated genetics reason..............but who knows?

I never noticed that, guess I don't read that section much. They are fairly new to the US and not as "glamorous" (high priced) as Crested Cream Legbars or Ayam Ceyamis. I suspect no one has written a review of them yet and that may be what starts a new breed for the site. I might just need to go do that.

 

[stake]

how come rhodebars are not listed in the breed section on this site?

I guessing it is some complicated genetics reason..............but who knows?

:Lisa:

There is a Rhodebar thread....https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/582327/the-rhodebar-thread

It looks as though its not seen any action lately and is low down the list...I noticed a few of the posters are the same as on the CCL thread....

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

The hubby and I grew jerusalem artichokes the past 2 years. They taste delicious and have wonderful health benefits but there is a terrible side effect we couldn't eliminate no matter how we prepared them. If you do plant them, invest in some gas-x.

that is very good to know...I wonder why, what is "in" them to make them so ?

..will have to look-up..I am also wondering, do chickens suffer "side effects"?....

Rhodebars lay light brown eggs. Their main attraction is that they are autosexing, calm and lay well. Kind of like the CCL's, but different appearance (both the birds and their eggs).

I prefer Welsummers to Marans, but I haven't found the Marans mean at all. Not as calm as the New Hampshires they shared a pen with for a while, but not hard to work with. Their eggs are pretty.

The trade off with smaller comb types (Wyandottes and Ameracaunas, for ex) is that the roos are not apparent as soon as with the single comb breeds. Frostbite is an issue, I've got some of that already on the large combed roos. Hopefully someone will add rosecombs to the Legbars and Rhodebars, then they would be perfect production birds for small operations. In the mean time, I'm creating hybrids that are sex-linked, lay blue eggs, have rose combs and are either black or blue in color.

sounds like you are in the works for making the perfect winter hardy egg-layer!..would you post some pics once you have them were you want them..I would be very interested!