San Diego Chicken meetup and Chat thread

[oddbirdranch]

I co hosted a meet up last Feb., and jumped on board the Serama show for the next one. This one is a group effort. I am in no way the "leader"..you stop that!!

Aw but you do it so well.... I nominate you. lol

 

[oddbirdranch]

Quote: Those are really cute, I don't know if I could keep up with the shearing and what I would do with it. I have been wanting pygmy goats for some time now. Haven't convinced DH but found this interesting and really cool info here. Who knew we were allowed this in the city of SD?!
http://www.sandiego.gov/development-services/news/pdf/keepinggoats.pdf

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I have two Nigerian Dwarfs and one Pygmy. All bottle baby Withers from one family. My Pygmy is an escape artist. A bulldozer with hooves and a Baaaa. LOL. Pygmys were bred as meat producers so they get pretty chunky. The Nigerians were bred as milk producers and are fabulous milkers if you decide to get a female to breed. Also their milk has a higher fat content than other goat breeds. My Nigerian boy Diego is the smallest even smaller than my Pygmy Domino. Diego is very very sweet low man on the pecking order.

If you want sheep that dont need to be shorn try hair sheep. I am thinking of getting Barbados Black Belly sheep. But there are about twenty different breeds. the thing about Hair sheep is they dont get that fat on thier backs. I dont know if Hair sheep come in mini sizes though.

deb "just rambling here getting ready to go up to the house for the day"

 

[RHRanch]

I have two Nigerian Dwarfs and one Pygmy. All bottle baby Withers from one family. My Pygmy is an escape artist. A bulldozer with hooves and a Baaaa. LOL. Pygmys were bred as meat producers so they get pretty chunky. The Nigerians were bred as milk producers and are fabulous milkers if you decide to get a female to breed. Also their milk has a higher fat content than other goat breeds. My Nigerian boy Diego is the smallest even smaller than my Pygmy Domino. Diego is very very sweet low man on the pecking order.

If you want sheep that dont need to be shorn try hair sheep. I am thinking of getting Barbados Black Belly sheep. But there are about twenty different breeds. the thing about Hair sheep is they dont get that fat on thier backs. I dont know if Hair sheep come in mini sizes though.

deb "just rambling here getting ready to go up to the house for the day"

I want wool, so shearing is just part of that. The sheep will also be for my mom to play with... I am a bit worried about it being lonely, but the person selling the sheep doesn't have any more for sale.

 

[aaajjss1]

Would some one at the meet up please show me how o sex my birds? I would really appreciate it. If there is any one who knows how.

 

[perchie.girl]

Would some one at the meet up please show me how o sex my birds? I would really appreciate it. If there is any one who knows how.

How old are they. I know how to feather sex chicks of the breeds that are feather sexable...(is that a word?) As they get older cockrels get their feathers in later than the pullets. If you have different breeds and ages it might be a little more difficult.

I am certain there are several people here that are pros at it. Pictures would help too.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: I know goats do OK without a buddy but they really do better with a pal. They are herd animals. Probably best to keep looking for a pal for him/her.

Nice pair of gear driven Oster clippers with a head for shearing. A little practice and you'll be off and running. Mom used to clip her own poodles. I clipped my horses over the years. And nowadays they even have ceramic blades they stay sharp much longer. The only kind of blade that will cut through my horses bridle path. (little strip of mane behind the ears where the bridle and halter lay) I believe there is a woman or man in Ramona that shears sheep for people and I know they will teach you how to do it. I learned how to trim my goats hooves by watching one of their YouTube videos. Had to laugh when I read their contact info at the end of the video.

deb

 

[Cryptkeeper]

What a night.

I wake up @ 0300 this morning to chickens screaming and running into my chain link gate that leads from the back yard to front yard. My son forgot to close up the coop last night. So i go out start picking up all the girls , bring them back to the coop 2 at a time. I get back there to see an Opossum staring at my from their roost... S.O.B.

Got rid of the critter and a 2 hour chicken hunt started... let me tell ya lots of fun looking in all the hiding spots on the property. Found all but one. Wake up this morning to let them out and there was the missing one walking around the yard looking for her sisters.

TRAVESTY AVERTED !!!
Thank goodness, my daughter would have been devastated.

 

[wwmicasa1]

What a night.

I wake up @ 0300 this morning to chickens screaming and running into my chain link gate that leads from the back yard to front yard. My son forgot to close up the coop last night. So i go out start picking up all the girls , bring them back to the coop 2 at a time. I get back there to see an Opossum staring at my from their roost... S.O.B.

Got rid of the critter and a 2 hour chicken hunt started... let me tell ya lots of fun looking in all the hiding spots on the property. Found all but one. Wake up this morning to let them out and there was the missing one walking around the yard looking for her sisters.

TRAVESTY AVERTED !!!
Thank goodness, my daughter would have been devastated.

Soooo happy to her all is well.~!

 

[Aumlet]

Our rescued bun is fitting right in! She lives in with the chickens, and I've been letting her out to free range the backyard every late afternoon - to get her back in at dusk, I've been taking one of my dogs on leash to gently pressure her back to the run. [I use the dog so that she doesn't associate me by myself with being chased - the dog is the trigger for the action] This doesn't scare her. It just gets her moving. The last two evenings, when I've gone out, I've found her in the run, hanging out on top of her hutch near my bantams.

What a good girl! I've never had a rabbit, so I didn't know if she'd ever go back into the run willingly at dusk, as that's an active time for rabbits.

Ironically, she hangs out under her hutch and on her hutch, but never inside her hutch. I store her food there.