San Diego Chicken meetup and Chat thread

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

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Where/ what is this place and why don't I know about them!?!?!?

 

[dfdesigns]

That Frizzle boy is Phyllis Diller reincarnated as a chicken! He is seriously cute...

Economizers Hardware also goes by Hurricane & Poway Fence Company. They are a hole in the wall kind of place that you'd easily miss if you weren't looking for it. It is huge - the lot goes way back there, and they have about every kind of fencing and hardware under the sun. They've always beat "down the hill" pricing for us, but sometimes you've got to ask.

Website with directions: http://www.economizers.doitbest.com/home.aspx (Basically they are in the east end of town, near where the 78 and Main Street collide.)

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

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X2 as far as fencing prices go. They were trying to get rid of the last few rolls of hardware cloth and gave me a ridiculously low price on it, like half of what I'd been quoted elsewhere.

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

Flower- that Polish is adorable!!! I didn't think I liked them until I saw that picture!!

Unfortunately I don't have accommodations for any more roosters.

 

[PsychoChicken]

Hi,

I am in San Diego and am new to keeping chickens. I read that chickens will stop laying in winter- is that true of San Diego "winters"?

I got three 1 year old laying hens 5 weeks ago (2 Plymouth Rocks and 1 Araucanian) and only one of the Plymouths is laying. She lays an egg a day and has been since we got her. Last weekend we added two 4 month old Australorps and haven't had any real integration problems. The Australorps aren't laying yet because of their age. I'm just wondering when my other 2 OG chickens will start laying. Maybe they are stressed? Or is it that the days are shorter?

Do you guys use a light during the winter to extend the days?

Thanks!
Hilary

 

[perchie.girl]

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Hi Hilary,

from the San Diego High Desert of Jacumba... I dont have chickens right now I have Guineas. But I have raised at least three separate small flocks.

My hens didn't stop laying but they did slow down. And doing the light thing is in my opinion just adds a little more stress to their lives. Unless you reallly need the eggs in the winter. Winter time is for them to recharge the ole factory.... with Five chickens you will be swimming in eggs in no time. The barred rocks are cold hardy birds and I believe so are the Astralorps. My flocks had quite a few Americanas and they laid sporadically through the winter.

I was in hopes I will get an egg or two from my Guineas before the cold set in but that wont be the case now. The wind blew the top off my coop last week without real damage, and i had to re place it.

welcome again

deb

 

[dfdesigns]

Hi Hillary! (And to Amy, too - I'm not sure if I've met you yet.)

I'm still having fairly good egg production, but things have slowed down a bit with the cooler weather. Is it possible that some of your older girls are molting? That usually stops production for a while, and has definitely impacted me. I don't do auxiliary lighting, either, other than some solar lighting that is pretty tame.

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

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Oops - I've been following this thread for a while and completely forgot to introduce myself

My family and I live in Ramona and love it. We moved here two years ago for my job - and then I got laid off a year later

But being unemployed has allowed me to finally build my coop and get my little flock going (and spend more time with the horses, dogs, cats, rabbits and fancy rats - oh, yeah, and the kids, too

)
Re: fencing and other building material - Economizer has the best prices on fencing materials up here that I've found, but if you're looking for sand, gravel, etc., the building supply place across the street has better prices. And if you need delivery, their delivery price is cheaper, too.
This thread is great - so many nice posts from such nice people. I'm looking forward to meeting you all at the next meet-up!

 

[craftychicken]

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Hi
Our ameracauna (~1.5 yrs old) stops laying for the winter , but our RIRs (~1 yrs old) are still going.
I am just so bummed about the daylight savings time change, because it's too dark to visit with the chickens when I get home from work.

 

[PsychoChicken]

CraftyChicken,

I feel the same way! It's dark when I get home now and the girls have already gone to bed.