San Diego Chicken meetup and Chat thread

[perchie.girl]

I have 11 more CCL pullets and 5 cockerels, if anyone is interested!

I wish I could jump on that....

 

[melnjerm]

I wish I could jump on that....

Well what's stoppin ya?? Lol!

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Not living at home for the time being. Home is sixty miles away on eighteen acres. Right now I am caregiving for my 99 year old grandmother.... Shes going to be 100 this July.

deb

 

[melnjerm]

Not living at home for the time being.  Home is sixty miles away on eighteen acres.  Right now I am caregiving for my 99 year old grandmother....  Shes going to be 100 this July.

deb

Holy cow! That's amazing! Tell your grandmother congratulations and Happy Birthday! Well, I will definitely have more in the future! I'll keep posting as I hatch more.

 

[Hearns Chicks]

Hi other San Diego peeps! I am very excited to have found this site, and mostly this thread! It is a little shocking to me that the San Diego thread has the most activity.

Anyway, I am new to the chicken thing. I recently convinced my husband to build a coop and get some chickens. We are leaning toward Easter Eggers (2-3), Welsummers (1-2), and maybe an Olive Egger. The thought is it would be a great experience for the grandbabies when they come over. Oh, who am I kidding? I like the idea of having the fun colored eggs. ;-) I've tried to find someone local that has these breeds, but I haven't found Welsummers or Olive Eggers yet. Also, I am a little leery of buying hens from a feed store or TSC, because I am not convinced we would get the breed or sex we want. Especially since I am not knowledgeable enough to decipher this on my own.

We live in the high desert, so I am trying to learn about chicken care with the really hot summer temps and the snow in the winter. So far, I know what DLM means! Hopefully that process works well here.

Any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated. Also, I looked back a few pages and didn't see anything about an upcoming meetup. Did I miss it?

 

[perchie.girl]

Hi other San Diego peeps! I am very excited to have found this site, and mostly this thread! It is a little shocking to me that the San Diego thread has the most activity.

Anyway, I am new to the chicken thing. I recently convinced my husband to build a coop and get some chickens. We are leaning toward Easter Eggers (2-3), Welsummers (1-2), and maybe an Olive Egger. The thought is it would be a great experience for the grandbabies when they come over. Oh, who am I kidding? I like the idea of having the fun colored eggs. ;-) I've tried to find someone local that has these breeds, but I haven't found Welsummers or Olive Eggers yet. Also, I am a little leery of buying hens from a feed store or TSC, because I am not convinced we would get the breed or sex we want. Especially since I am not knowledgeable enough to decipher this on my own.

We live in the high desert, so I am trying to learn about chicken care with the really hot summer temps and the snow in the winter. So far, I know what DLM means! Hopefully that process works well here.

Any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated. Also, I looked back a few pages and didn't see anything about an upcoming meetup. Did I miss it?

Helllooooo fellow high desert person..... My place is in Jacumba at about 3000 feet. we do get snow in the winter about 72 hours worth total. High temps max out at about 105-110 for a few days but the rest of the summer is around mid nineties.

The feed stores ONLY get in female chicks and they are sexed at the hatchery.... but there is that one percent that make it through and winds up being a cockrel. The feed store usually will take em back if you want.

I got some beautiful Wellsummers from Double S Feed a couple of years back.... They were using Redwing Hatchery up north. But you can ask your feed store which hatchery they order from.

There are a couple of breeders here that have Wellies and just about anything you want. The nice part about Wellsummers is they are autosexing... meaning you can tell which sex they are just by looking at their color patterns.

The San Diego meetups have fizzled out. We used to meet at Lake Murray, a park in Ramona, and a couple of members houses. I think i been to seven total. But the ones that took the lead took a break and no one jumped up to take the organizer hat. So we joined up with the Southern California meet up which often meets at Lake Elsinore or another park in Norco some place.

I stopped going at all a while back Logisitics issues for me....

the heat is not an issue with the breeds you are choosing. They all handle both the heat and cold quite well. The prime concern is protection from the wind year round. My coops are 100 percent dog kennel panels. including the roof. I use tarps for the top strapped good and snug so the wind doesnt shred them. In the winter I add more wind protection because in winter the winds come from a different direction in my area.

In the summer all you need is shade. Shade for the coop and shade over the water. I mistakenly sat the water bowl in a sunny spot while cleaning. Later on that day I reached for the water and it was hot enough to make Tea.... I dumped it and the automatic filler filled it with nice cool water again. Then I moved it to shade.

Lots of people love nipple waterers because they are easy to keep clean and there is no waste I can see the draw.... I dont use them because of the heat. I figure they dip to get a drink and their wattles get in the water and help them cool off.

Another thing remember chickens regulate their own temperature by fluffing out or flattening down their feathers. In extreme heat a chicken that has its wings out and pants Is just hot..... but if they are also lethargic they need to be cooled down slowly. Before they get to that point if you offer up a wet spot in the yard or in the run where they can walk about and get their feet wet they will.... the water will help by evaporation. Shade shade shade.... They will use it or not... And like us they will lay low during the hot part of the day.

I could go on and on... but I dont want to over whelm... but I met a fellow on line here that has chickens and Water fowl in Death Valley. 140 degrees occasionally but 120 is not uncommon.... It can be done quite successfully.

deb

 

[Hearns Chicks]

Thanks, Deb, for all the great info! I had no idea that the stores ONLY have females. That makes things SOOOO much easier. I will see if I can find some Welsummers and Olive Eggers here. Easter Eggers seem to be everywhere. If not, maybe I could order them from MPC, since they seem to be a popular hatchery.

I am actually just west of you in Blvd. I don't get to say I am west of very many people in San Diego. ;-)

 

[room onthebroom]

North County here. As far as snacks go, we give ours corn in the winter, but we never give them corn in the summer because we heard it heats them up somehow. In the summer we give them watermelon which keeps them cool & hydrated. In the Fall we give them chilled pomegranate seeds also to keep them cool & hydrated. I've heard some people say that when its really hot, they put their dried mealworms in the fridge (I haven't tried that yet but might in August/September when we get desperately hot.) Like Deb said, "Shade! Shade! Shade!" & extra water. Ventilation is also extremely important all year. Above all, predator proof!!! The raccoons here are vicious, monstrous, beasts. They have done terrible things to my neighbors chickens, by reaching threw the chicken wire ... I wont go into details. Suffice it to say, spend the extra money for hard wire cloth & have it on all six sides. Raccoons are smart & they have opposable thumbs which means they can open just about anything that a small child could, so watch your latches!

Good luck, have fun & welcome!

 

[perchie.girl]

Thanks, Deb, for all the great info! I had no idea that the stores ONLY have females. That makes things SOOOO much easier. I will see if I can find some Welsummers and Olive Eggers here. Easter Eggers seem to be everywhere. If not, maybe I could order them from MPC, since they seem to be a popular hatchery.

I am actually just west of you in Blvd. I don't get to say I am west of very many people in San Diego. ;-)

Kewl.... Blvd gets a little more snow than we do. I am just past McCain valley in Bankhead Springs. Then south about a mile and a half.
In NO CELL land.... All those big rocks. Have to drive to a little place we call cCell phone hill to make a phone call.

line of sight down the freeway. I dont know if the feed store in Campo has chicks. I havent been in there in a while.

I visit home about every few months right now... I still have a horse up there who has an army of people at her beck and call. Neighbor feeds The black smith comes up from Mexico.... and one of the feed store guys used to be her farrier and brings up the hay for me.

I miss it soo much.

deb

 

[room onthebroom]

Thanks, Deb, for all the great info! I had no idea that the stores ONLY have females. That makes things SOOOO much easier. I will see if I can find some Welsummers and Olive Eggers here. Easter Eggers seem to be everywhere. If not, maybe I could order them from MPC, since they seem to be a popular hatchery.

I am actually just west of you in Blvd. I don't get to say I am west of very many people in San Diego. ;-)

The feed stores in North County will only give you a 90% guarantee that you'll get pullets. That leaves a 10% chance you'll get a cockerel (& we've definitely had an accidental few over the years that we've needed to rehome.) Welsummers, Red & Black Sex Links (or Stars) & Cream Legbars off the top of my head are a few that are auto sexed at birth. They all lay a brown egg, except for the Cream Legbar which I think lays a blue.