Smoky Mtn East TN

[BowGuy21]

Any immediate egg layers available this time of year? I guess I'm kind of late to the race

 

[RedRidge]

Most were hatched in Jan and Feb and won't begin laying until July.

 

[pbandj]

If anyone is interested in Araucana, I have listed some on http://www.showbirdauction.com/ !

My apologies on the above link since it does not seem to work. Here is one that should

http://www.showbirdauction.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.pl?action=dispcat6

I also have about 5 "day-old" chicks that are available also with a few more coming every week

 

[Neeley Farms]

Newbie in maryvill tn here...never raised chickens but currently building a coop for egg layers...best place to get birds from around maryville? I have a few leads but always like options...thanks

I recommend Kenleigh Farms in Maryville. Look them up on Facebook!

 

[laughingdog]

Motown co op has layer pullet chicks for two dollars. i resisted.. barely!

 

[cybercat]

I went to the store today and got a shock. White large dozen eggs were over $2. WOW.

On other news we have chicks for sale. They are a couple days old and eating and drinking fine. These are standard size Partridge Rocks that I have been breeding for 6 years. They do go broody and lay large to extra large eggs. I am selling local hatching eggs also. Plus I have a few hens and roosters for sale from last year that are laying. All are free range and have been around my farm dogs. Pm me for more information and prices.

We have been putting out our garden all week. Rain we got today was just good timing.

 

[RedRidge]

I went to the store today and got a shock. White large dozen eggs were over $2.  WOW.

On other news we have chicks for sale. They are a couple days old and eating and drinking fine.  These are standard size Partridge Rocks that I have been breeding for 6 years.  They do go broody and lay large to extra large eggs. I am selling local hatching eggs also. Plus I have a few hens and roosters for sale from last year that are laying.  All are free range and have been around my farm dogs.  Pm me for more information and prices.

We have been putting out our garden all week.  Rain we got today was just good timing.

Oh yeah... egg prices have been sky rocketing. Organic can run as much as $6-7
I increased my price to $5 the first of the year and none of my customers blinked an eye, and a few commented they were surprised I hadn't done it a year before. They are soy free and gmo free. And i mix and ferment my own feed in addition to free range. But i expected done balking and received none and even gained customers.
I have egg delivery drop points all over East TN and cut the frequency of those way back to due to gas prices, and monthly sales actually increased. I suspect the move to local food, knowing your farmer, non-gmo and soy free is still obviously a trend that is on the rise. Good news for us farmers.

 

[laughingdog]

I've had horrible bator trouble, probly my own fault, and a faulty thermostat in plant/brooder ect room. my temps dropped to so low the thermometer wouldn't read, then recently last week for who knows how long overnight the bator temp in morn cold showed over a hundred and twenty! expected most to have been cooked, but left lockdown alone in casesome in corners maybe made it and spike was very brief right as or before i walked in. temps then were in ninties to one o five to seven (i think and heard shorts in power from old wiring in place maybe prob). Well the yesterday a whitish D'Uccle chick popped out, and this morn four or five more popped out like popcorn and another was half out of shell. I'm extatic!!! and feel lucky as a lottery winner.

 

[Searsmom]

Welcome to the thread.
It's getting a little late in the year to find chicks... I hatched every 5 days starting Jan 1st and will break down my brooders by May 1st.
You may be able to find teenage birds over the summer when people begin to widdle down prior to fall.
Some folks sell year round so you never know.

And I find that amazing!! It's so much easier to raise chicks when you don't have to spend the electricity heating them in the cold months. My hens don't go broody until May or June and the chicks are already spoken for. I would prefer to have chicks in mid-spring rather than the end of winter and have a hard time finding them when I want them, so I follow along like a good lemming and buy them before they can go outside and they end up in my living room in a stock tank until it's warm enough to OMG GET THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!

My apologies on the above link since it does not seem to work. Here is one that should

http://www.showbirdauction.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.pl?action=dispcat6

I also have about 5 "day-old" chicks that are available also with a few more coming every week

Thanks for the link! That's a pretty bird - the silver/grey! Not paying shipping though and now I've no room

I will keep you in mind though.

I've had horrible bator trouble, probly my own fault, and a faulty thermostat in plant/brooder ect room. my temps dropped to so low the thermometer wouldn't read, then recently last week for who knows how long overnight the bator temp in morn cold showed over a hundred and twenty! expected most to have been cooked, but left lockdown alone in casesome in corners maybe made it and spike was very brief right as or before i walked in. temps then were in ninties to one o five to seven (i think and heard shorts in power from old wiring in place maybe prob). Well the yesterday a whitish D'Uccle chick popped out, and this morn four or five more popped out like popcorn and another was half out of shell. I'm extatic!!! and feel lucky as a lottery winner.

Yay!!

 

[RedRidge]

Quote:
Ah see... it totally depends on your management system and goals.
And remember... there is no right or wrong... this is not a criticism at all.
But sometimes seeing the reasons for other peoples management systems can make a little sense - even if it's just one aspect.

I never calf in the winter, but I always lamb and hatch in the winter. Jan and Feb are perfect.
Here's why... three factors... hardiness, growth rate, parasite resistance.
First of all... I brood outside. And lamb outside with maremma to guard.
I have discovered over the years that the hardiness that comes from hitting the ground when it's below freezing far outweighs fighting the slower growth weights and parasites associated with spring.
Yes, I had chicks who didn't make it out of the bater.... but I hatched hundreds this year and didn't loose one chick once it made it to the brooder (so far... knock wood).
They are a lot hardier than most folks think. My brooders are open sided and open on the top in an open barn.
When it got below 30 I did pin towels to the sides of the brooder as a wind break.
Except for the coldest bitter nights I do not use heat lamps, I use heat plates... we are off grid capable... power is a precious thing.
Here are the heat plates I use....
http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=120893&cat_id=173
This is when I do not hatch with broodies that is... I have already had 3 hens go broody and hatch for me... my favorite way to hatch, but, no too practical for the number of chick buyers I had.
Same goes for lambs. I used to have 300 lambs/yr when I lived up in west Knoxville. The fastest growing, hardiest, most parasite resistant lambs were born in Jan.

So... here's what I've discovered and why it works for me...
Pullets hatched in Jan and Feb will begin to lay in July.
Pullets hatched in May will not lay until at least Dec and maybe the following spring... IF you don't want to put lights on em.
Lambs and chicks born in the winter do not have to fight parasite loads prior to really putting on their initial growth spurt. When the parasites become an issue in March, they are already so well established they don't require worming. I have not wormed a sheep in 3 years since we moved to the new farm (and yes I do fecals and they don't need it), and I have never wormed a chicken... ever...
Also, when the babies need the highest nutrition is when the spring grasses and bugs are at their peak.
With intensive rotational grazing they get the ultimate smorgasbord without the down side.
Last... and this is a very low priority but if you show it is important...
If you want cockerels to be at their peak for those early winter shows they need to be more mature than the 6 month old males just beginning to fill out.
I used to think this was breed specific and have discovered as I have had different breeds over the years that it is not.

So... I hatch for myself in Jan and Feb, for others who preorder in March, then I ship fertilized eggs in April.
By April chicks are totally feathered, lambs are weaned, and everyone in in their routine of their daily rotation.
This cycle is necessary for me also, because then April and May bring calving and spring gardening... leading into the heavy, labor intensive gardening and canning of the summer.
I calve in fall too, then get a few months off with nothing but late fall gardening before the holidays and lambing and hatching season.

May be a weird method to my madness, but there is a method. ;-)

So... why do people hatch (etc) in spring and summer? What are the advantages?
What are the down sides to hatching in the winter?
The list is probably long for both, but... if it works for you it isn't wrong.
The important thing is that we all need to be reasonable about how much time we have, where our passions lie, how much we want to invest physically, financially, and emotionally. I farm for a living... so the bottom is important. But for someone who just has 3 chickens in their backyard I'm sure this is all quite silly.
Fun to hear different perspectives though.