Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[brightpennies]

People have told me that when they look in a chicken's eyes they see static. OK, sometimes my girls are a bit dim, but today we had four or five giant/loud pieces of equipment on the property. Everyone (ducks, turkeys, chickens) went into hiding in the chicken coop, except the tom who is too big to fit through the coop door. As soon as I came up to the coop, everybody came pouring out and followed me around, but only if I stayed close to home base. They know who they can trust! They weren't begging for food, either... there was food down, but they were afraid to come out and eat unless I was there to supervise. They definitely recognize and respond to their people.

Man, I love birds. I don't know how I ever lived without them. I'm glad you're finding people who do their best to be good chicken-parents!

 

[dheltzel]

I live just outside a town where people are only allowed 4 laying hens per household. They can't even buy from TSC, since they have a minimum purchase of 6 chicks or something

and of course no big hatchery is going to sell you four pullets without adding on a giant shipping fee. I'm glad you're doing what you do. Beautiful chickens/turkeys for everyone!

They need to get at least 6 to ensure they are getting at least 1 pullet. Someone brought me 6 mostly grown chickens they bought from TSC as "pullets" -- 4 were roos. Not happy TSC customers any more, but you can sure see how that could happen, they really don't know what they have in those bins.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Anne,

They are men's socks. They cost like $15

Thanks! I'll look into these the next time I need to go.

People have told me that when they look in a chicken's eyes they see static. OK, sometimes my girls are a bit dim, but today we had four or five giant/loud pieces of equipment on the property. Everyone (ducks, turkeys, chickens) went into hiding in the chicken coop, except the tom who is too big to fit through the coop door. As soon as I came up to the coop, everybody came pouring out and followed me around, but only if I stayed close to home base. They know who they can trust! They weren't begging for food, either... there was food down, but they were afraid to come out and eat unless I was there to supervise. They definitely recognize and respond to their people.

Man, I love birds. I don't know how I ever lived without them. I'm glad you're finding people who do their best to be good chicken-parents!

I love birds so much I have some we keep in the house, (parrots)

 

[TillyPeeps]

Nice people too. I can't even count how many new friends I've made. It's a little worrisome to send vulnerable chicks off with people I barely know, but mostly these people try very, very hard to make the best possible life for them. I sometimes get pictures of those chicks all grown up and livin' the life of luxury.

I especially like when kids come along to pick out their chicks. Sometimes they name them with kooky names right on the spot. Kids and chicks are a natural fit because kids have time to socialize the chicks and I really believe the chickens enjoy their humans also.

My two year old boy just told me last night that he's going to name his chicken "Bear". I tried to explain to him that those chickens are girls and need girls' names. The little man stared at me like I'm nuts! And he insisted:Bear!

 

[TillyPeeps]

They need to get at least 6 to ensure they are getting at least 1 pullet. Someone brought me 6 mostly grown chickens they bought from TSC as "pullets" -- 4 were roos. Not happy TSC customers any more, but you can sure see how that could happen, they really don't know what they have in those bins.

It's why I never wanted to order from TSC. I talked to the lady in charge of ordering chickens and the only thing she knows about chickens is "some of them red, some of them white. They'll be here by end of Feb." And I read so many people got mean birds from large hatcheries, that makes me nervous. I really like you "no bully" police. As pets, the number one requirement of my birds are not aggressive towards humans.

 

[dheltzel]

My two year old boy just told me last night that he's going to name his chicken "Bear". I tried to explain to him that those chickens are girls and need girls' names. The little man stared at me like I'm nuts! And he insisted:Bear!

A significant proportion of the bears in PA are girls. Just sayin' . . .

He's going to win this one you know.

 

[theemerichfam]

My two year old boy just told me last night that he's going to name his chicken "Bear". I tried to explain to him that those chickens are girls and need girls' names. The little man stared at me like I'm nuts! And he insisted:Bear!

my children named their silkies Henrie and Dinosaur. my daughter was the one who named here Henrie (I mean, it's a normal name) and my son on the way home from picking them up told me his was Dinosaur (he's a blue silkie) so I proceeded to say "Dinosaur?" and he goes "yes, because he's scary."

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Got my incubator! It works but needs cleaned up. It looks like it's been in storage for a while. If anyone is looking for one, keep an eye on pennswoods.net. They get posted on there periodically and that's where I found this one.

 

[dheltzel]

It's why I never wanted to order from TSC. I talked to the lady in charge of ordering chickens and the only thing she knows about chickens is "some of them red, some of them white. They'll be here by end of Feb." And I read so many people got mean birds from large hatcheries, that makes me nervous. I really like you "no bully" police. As pets, the number one requirement of my birds are not aggressive towards humans.

IDK that it is ever possible to breed out all aggression. Some is probably not genetic. The most "people aggressive" roos I've ever had are silkie bantams, and if any chicken has docility "in it's genes" it would be silkies, but there are a few bad apples . . .

There is certainly a large genetic component that can be bred for, and that should be done by culling, which is the way to deal with the rougue individual anyway. It's easy to select for nice manners, just like it's easy to select for egg qualities, just preferentially incubate the best looking eggs.

 

[dheltzel]

Got my incubator! It works but needs cleaned up. It looks like it's been in storage for a while. If anyone is looking for one, keep an eye on pennswoods.net. They get posted on there periodically and that's where I found this one.

Excellent deal for sure. It's worth twice that in the mechanical parts alone.

They are not that hard to clean thoroughly, since all the metal trays slide out and can be washed/disinfected separately. If you take out the screws on the back, the whole panel pops off easily and makes it much easier to see and clean. I am putting hinges on the back of the one I'm building, to make it easier to open and clean. I have a number of other "enhancements" I'm experimenting with. I will share about how they work after I try them out.
If you find anything needs replacing, PM me and I can tell you where to get the parts, I did hours of "research" to figure out what I wanted to build and know who has every part imaginable.