Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[AnneInTheBurbs]

I have a RIR roo free ranging on the farm that you can have for free. I got him as a youngster this past spring, so he's at his prime and has no hens of his own now. Since he's smart enough to survive the predators and farm machinery, I think he'd be an excellent breeder and flock protector. Very handsome now too, free ranging brings out the best plumage. He would see your place (and your hens) as an upgrade, even if he had to give up free ranging and settle down.

It may be a bit far to drive, but if you find yourself heading to this area, PM me and if he's still around (sometimes a predator takes out a roo, but he seems pretty savvy), I will catch him for you. I need a day's notice to catch him. I know where he sleeps, but he knows all the escape routes and a daytime pursuit will be useless. I have to use my technological advantage (a flashlight).

As for your extra Australorps, I wouldn't sweat it much. An ad on Craigslist will get a lot of interest this time of year. IDK the local market there, but they would easily get $5 each straight run around here. Sell a few to pay for the rest. Or if you have room, keep them all until sexable and sell the extra pullets for $15 each. That ensures you get to keep the number of pullets you want.

I may be able to help with transportation. We are headed to the Poconos on Sept. 8th for vacation.

As my last post alludes to, I'm feeling much better. Still weak from not eating (hey maybe I lost some weight!), but the pain and "fog" seems to be gone.

Yesterday we moved the turkey tractor and found a nest with 5 eggs. The Midget Whites that were hatched in late Feb or March are starting to lay! That's younger than a lot of the heritage chicken breeds we have. I wonder if I could selectively breed MW's for egg laying and sell turkey eggs for eating?

I asked my niece to only save CCL and Welbar eggs from now on, going to start slowing down for the end of the season. Makes me a bit sad, but it has been a lot of extra work. If anyone is interested in any chicks or keets, let me know soon. Of course friends from here get "special" deals. Or if you want any of the eggs we are no longer saving (it's tough to think of someone just eating a fertile Welsummer egg).

Glad to hear you are feeling better. Do you eat the turkey eggs? Or just fire up the bator? Is she sitting on the eggs? How long does it take for a turkey to become worth slaughtering? Sorry to be a pest, just getting info for the future....

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Hi, the fine people in the main forum said I might have some luck here. 

[COLOR=333333]I currently have 4 RIR hens, 2 barred rocks (1 pullet, 1 roo, we think--they are newly hatched) and currently 24 black australorp eggs in our incubator. The 24 was a mistake. We purchased a dozen eggs online and the seller sent double the amount!  We aren't sure what we're going to do with so many birds, since we're just backyard farmers, but anyway, we do have one problem. We lost our Rhode Island Red roo recently and we're looking for a replacement Red or White. We're in the Poconos, near Effort, PA. We were wondering if anyone locally is selling, or is willing to trade, a red or white Rhode Island roo to us. We will not cull him--our girls need him. If you were interested in our excess australorp chicks, we could arrange a trade around the 15th of Sept, when they'll be around 3 days old. Please only roos that are healthy. We would like to breed him. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]Please drop me a PM or email me: [email protected]. And thank you![/COLOR]

If you want one from Dheltzel or from someone else nearby, I will be heading to the Poconos on Sept. 8th. (I am in bucks county.)

 

[dheltzel]

I may be able to help with transportation. We are headed to the Poconos on Sept. 8th for vacation.
Glad to hear you are feeling better. Do you eat the turkey eggs? Or just fire up the bator? Is she sitting on the eggs? How long does it take for a turkey to become worth slaughtering? Sorry to be a pest, just getting info for the future....

Calling out the "chicken train", huh. I guess that beats a chicken tractor for transportation . . .
I was going to say that seems far off, but it's next weekend. The summer sure went by fast.

We are eating the turkey eggs, or rather selling them to a neighbor who really prizes them above chicken eggs. I'm pretty sure they are fertile, but they might be a cross with the black mottled tom in there. Both toms seem to be getting a lot of action. These hens are too young to set on them, I'm sure, though the fact they made a nest in the grass to put them in means they have some instincts to do that. Most of our turkey hens never go broody. We have one mixed breed hen (our first and oldest) who tries to go broody all the time, but when we remove the eggs, she goes right back to laying again.

These are midget whites and they never get big, a really large tom is maybe 12 lbs. They are a heritage breed that grows slowly compared to the broad breasted, but I never paid much attention to their growth rate.

 

[ChrisIsIt]

Got a dozen columbian wyandotte eggs off ebay, got 2 broody hens, figured why not, my rooster is still young and those stubborn birds wont give up. Those rir look nice, wish my truck was finished id take em all,got 2 coops now and the one is pretty large, seems empty,

 

[emorems0]

Looks like all of the RIR are placed... I convinced my sister to stop waiting for the perfect time to get chickens, the perfect time is when your sister has a bunch of chickens to re home! She tried to get a coop on Craigslist, but the one she wanted was sold already. Being the helpful sister that I am, I'm going to take a trip back home and help her throw together a quick pallet coop on Labor Day weekend. It will be about half the size of mine since she wants to be able to move it around the yard. I'll be sure to post pictures!

The bantams are still all unclaimed though... There are 4, the white roo, the black roo, and a pair (roo and hen) that are brownish speckled... I don't know the breed names, sorry. They are so cute, I really wish we could take them, but we don't have space and we're already pushing our luck keeping Romeo in our little development.

 

[BullChick]

 

[OneMountainAcres]

....yes... but it's BACK TO SCHOOL DAY! WOO! For my kids anyway lol

 

[Sally Sunshine]

hmmmm sitting here staring at the screen for 15 minutes thinking about everyone, and not sure how to say hello or explain my absence.



its so funny, it seems like only yesterday I was watching over my first set of eggs in the bator in panic, wondering if I was doing it all right or ohhhh so wrong! Now its like changing the toilet paper roll! (dont ask me why I use that definition, must be the meds!)

First let me admit, I have been on other internet support groups, not for fowl but for my health. Been a tough year plus for me, the family and I am hoping on the upswing not the downswing. We did indeed have to sell even more of our birds, I saved a trio of my best Brahma, some Legbars, and of course we couldnt break HarmonyAnns heart and get rid of her serama aka "Curly Sues". In fact from her and Daddy having to take care of the flocks she ended up saving enough cash to purchase more serama breeders. Now I need to get better so I can make her more pens in the serama saloon so she can separate them better.

I have in the past several months hatched some more brahma that are looking amazing, hard to believe this is the 4th generation! I have cleaned my first coop last week for the first time in a year all by myself! yes I was in bad shape and it wasnt until this summer that I actually got to go outside and hangout with my kids by the pool and chickens, too many surgeries and too sick to wonder around, I will admit that I am happy to NOT have to do the GROCERY shopping anymore! I hated that and now he does it! My Mom is still coming to do my wash and its funny because she knows I can do it, she doesnt want me to! She is bored now that she retired, and I love her visits almost daily now! she lives less than 200 yards from us!

I dont ship anything because I couldnt keep up the npip so I only ship PA and local pick up. Its not even paying for feed right now, not sure if I will keep the CCL either, we have been eating all the eggs except for HarmonyAnns serama, as she is hatching and selling eggs a plenty. I do have a few of our mixed breed Barred Rock hens that are my project birds, I know stupid to keep them and rid most brahma, but brahma eat and poop alot and for eggs the BR project "crested Barred rock" are great layers of huge eggs and meat birds.

We also have 26 meaties growing out, they are about 19+/- days old. first time for them, so far so good. Got them from Ideal poultry and they sent extras and they all made it. I also ordered some bantam dark cornish to see if we can raise them for meaties, but not sure bantam was the right way to go. oh well I will grow them out and see what happens. We are very lucky to have great friends and one of them gave us a freezer for our garage to keep our meat! What a blessing that was!

Eric wants to try quail again, but I need to research the best tasting. Last time we didnt enjoy the very dark breast meat, or I dont know how to cook it. So I will research them and try some chicks or eggs since I already have the set up and empty. So as u can tell I have the fowl itch back again and heading more to feeding us than selling them! I just wish this AI crap would go away and I dont have that threat to take my flock someday, but we can only practice our best BIOSEC! I dont want to bring anything in or send anything out because of all the states changing importations, its too much to figure out per order and until we NPIP again we are stuck, not that its hard to get, its just a pain I cant do right now.

We are still raising a few English Springer Spaniel pups, HarmonyAnn and Daddy had really stepped up to the plate helping with the litter!

I know most of you have kept in touch via other social groups and know most of this, but I wanted to drop in and send a hello while I am online to search for feeding of these CornishX meaties and we all know where the best place to research is!!! I forget how I am to feed them as they age and I have to look up quail too!

Blessings and Love to all....

 

[OneMountainAcres]

@Sally Sunshine Sorry to hear that you haven't been well. I hope that each day finds you better and better I'm not sure that I've ever met you on here before but I've heard of you, your birds, and probably read an article or two lol. Welcome back and good luck on all your adventures!

ETA: Those puppies are stinking cute!

 

[LadyBehir]

Looks like I get to learn how to clip wings today. Little stinkers.