South Carolina

[WestKnollAmy]

It is so much fun to see chicks hatching, isn't it? The excitement gets you all giddy!

I have chicks hatching now from shipped eggs I won on the BYC auction and to have any hatch is fabulous. The batch the other day was a bust. All my own hatched but the shipped ones did nothing. Only one developed and it died in the shell.
But I had 24 more shipped from another auction and I have several out already. A BLRW, a blk CM, an Olive Egger and a Wheaten M are all running around plus a few of my Marans hatched out with them but mine are blue copper so I can tell the difference.
I have another 11 eggs due to hatch tomorrow and another set of eggs on the way (fingers crossed, Yancy!) so we can get some Jersey Giants in blue. Plus DH wanted me to hatch the Golden Cuckoo eggs no one bid on in my BYC auction. He is such an enabler!

I said no more hatching but what to do when DH is pushing me to keep hatching? I think it is his way to get out of revamping the Sportsman. He knows those little screws and hard to reach places are going to be a bear to deal with. That's why I want it revamped!

 

[snick]

Nadine you are so right about the hatching...as I sit here looking at an empty bator...but I have to keep telling myself I have chicks in the brooder and chicks coming in from mcmurray in Feb...but I want to hatch some more!

Do your marans lay the dark chocolate eggs? I keep thinking I need to get some of those girls ...

I am having fun right now watching the threee little frizzles I got from Lisa explore the outside world..the little one has been named spinner...she gets excited about something and just runs in circles.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I really wanted to stop hatching for now. I have full brooders galore down in the barn and I have taken over 2 breeding pens to put growing chicks in up at the shed and am still building pens! It is such an addiction but I know in a few months people will be begging for grown birds and then I will have some for them. Some people are happy to buy chicks and watch them grow and others want all the work over with and just get some laying hens. I can oblige them.

And for ordered chicks.....omg!

I have an order in with Meyer, Strombergs, Sandhill and Welp. Close to 170 chicks due in the spring but I order extras so I could keep some this time around. I usually order for myself but people see them and want them and I wind up selling out and having nothing for myself. This time i got smart and ordered well over the amount I needed. If they don;t sell they can live here in my free range flock but I can't foresee getting "stuck" with numerous unwanted chicks or hens. That doesn't happen here. And any roos can be eaten. We are fine with that, too. They have a nice life and a quick, painless end here.

Spinner sounds too funny! There is always one in the bunch that is just the "class clown"! I love watching my Frizzles and Sizzles grow up. They change every day and are so adorable! I have a few photos on my website but need to add more photos. One that I am watching now........

It depends on which variety of Marans you are asking about. My cuckoos lay a chocolate egg but my blue c and blk c lay very dark eggs.
This is the cuckoo eggs.......

This is a photo of the other Marans eggs with 2 lighter eggs from other breeds as a comparison.......

I like my Marans a lot! They are the best all purpose bird I have ever owned. We get big beautiful eggs, good temperament and excellent flavored meat from them. Some people say they eat a lot but I do not see that I have to feed those breeding pens any more than my other breeds like standard Cochins and even some of my bantam Cochins. My Araucanas probably eat the least of all my penned birds.

 

[snick]

Oh Nadine I may need to talk to you about those dark maran eggs lol....I might need to be making a trip in your direction..LOL

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I can't keep any eggs in stock to sell most of the time. I put some up on the BYC auction when I got caught up and then had others email me and reserve some for the next few weeks. I will then be collecting to hatch again my own self.
I can't keep chicks in either. I have a list going through July with people wanting chicks. And I am trying to keep blues and splashes for myself right now to expand my flocks and start another one for 100% blue chicks (splash roo over my black hens).

However, I do know someone in Newberry that is selling Marans eggs very reasonable. I don't know the color of his eggs but he got some of his birds from me and they should be as dark as mine, maybe better. I can give you his email address if you PM me. I know he was getting a good many every day and would be happy to get you started.

 

[Moonchild]

Quote:
I'm so Excited

 

[HardLuckHill]

AKsmama, those little seramas I posted pics of are available at reasonable rates! LoL I can't decide if I want to part with the frizzle or not. I'm near Aiken if you're interested.

Beth

 

[AKsmama]

Thanks, Beth! Unfortunately we just do not have any more room at the moment, but you aren't too terribly far- we live about 25 miles from Greenwood. I will for sure let you know when we are ready. My husband is wanting to do a batch of meat birds in the spring and since that will be his project, he has got to get some land cleared off and whatever sort of shelter he's going to use built for them, not to mention we HAVE to expand our current coop or build a smaller one for any broodies we may have this spring (crossing fingers that we have a couple in there!). My poor 8 year old daughter was crying last night thinking about having meat birds

She loves our chickens so much that it just tears her to pieces thinking about eating birds that she "knows." Even if we kept her away from them as they got older, we'd still have to brood them, and goodness knows you can't keep an animal-crazy girl away from fuzzy baby chicks. She is so much like me in that respect.

Nadine, are you and Yancy working on a JG breeding project together? How cool! I went to high school with Yancy and he was so funny then too! Yancy, I am talking about youuuuuuu

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Welllll, we aren't exactly doing a breeding project. Yancy has his heart set on a blue JG hen and I am doing my best to get him one....or 2! I will keep the extras for myself or may sell them, which ever comes about. Depends on what we get to hatch.
It was just so darned hard to find any blue JG anywhere and ordering any was much too expensive from the places I could find them from so I thought we would try the hatching route first. if that doesn't work out then we may see about our other options. Yancy can only have one or 2 and I do not mind getting them and extras for myself since I love the girls, too.

We will see!

Oh, yes, I think Yancy is a hoot! He is so much fun to talk with about the chickens. I bet he was a blast in high school, too!

 

[Moonchild]

Quote:
I hear ya AKsmama haha!!!! it's funny twenty years ago in high school I would have never thought we would talk chickens today--AWESOME!!!!Oh AKsmama I want to talk to ya about your solar panels you have?.? I'll message you on FB about it,very interesting!!
Yeah Nadine is being my cool chicken dealer lol!!!! She's got Awesome Chickens!!! I love to visit her farm!!