South Carolina

[ChickyChickyBaby]

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Including me

Northern Spartanburg County

I guess technically it would be Northeastern Spartanburg county.

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

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Depends on the breed really, I think. Some lay great first year and second year and slow down the third...some start dropping off the second year. Once a hen that was laying 5-7 a week drops down to 2-3 per week, I think she is pretty much done. This can happen during molt & winter also......I wait until summer to try to tell who is or is not laying.

I am one of those that does not buy the whole "dual purpose" line. Any hen you want to eat is dual purpose.

The meat is better and more of it on some breeds. Age of bird makes the meat tougher than those raised strictly for meat.

Which reminds me, I need to call and order our meaties.

 

[carolinasculpture]

Hi All!

I am glad to have such good company in the Spartanburg area! ... but if all this rain keeps up I am going to have to trade in my chickens for ducks! Gotta go out and do some damage control on the coop today before tomorrow! We need to put a new roof on the coop and right now there is a little trickle of water that runs down the side of the coop, and of course, right in through the hen door!

 

[Jackie B.]

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I am hatching giant blue cochins right now, I'm sure I'll have some extra roos.

Ooohhhhhh no you didn't. I mean I'd have to get a roo a friend, right? and I don't have any blues, just buffs and blacks. Hmmmm...
-Jackie

 

[phoneman]

well i have made up my mine to go get a trio of blue wheaten ameracunas. they are about 1.5 to 2 yrs. old. i am picking them up sat. morning. does anyone know about how long it will be before they are to old to lay. when i get there i will see if he has anymore breeds that would intrest me. i do know this man has raised ameracunas for at least 6 yrs or 8 yrs he used to sell on eggbid. he told me they are laying right now and i should be able to hatch all i need this yr. we will see

 

[phoneman]

i see greenfire farms has a pr of swedish flower hens on rare breed auctions has 3 more days to go already up to 220.00 they will be about 6 weeks old at shipment

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I can't say I think the Swedish Flowers are any prettier than Speckled Sussex. Every new breed or variety does so well at first and then it levels off some. Unless, of course, I own it!

Then it never does well!


Oh, on the older laying hens. I have some Buff Orps that are going on 4 that are not such good layers (2 eggs a week) anymore but I also have some Partridge Rocks that are going on 4 and they lay 4 eggs a week, most weeks.

The more eggs the girls put out to start with the less they will give you in later years. Yes, chickens are born with a certain amount of eggs in them but how fast they shoot them out is the result of how long they lay. If they start off giving you 6 eggs a week for the first 2 years like sex links then you will have a hen not laying after 2 years old well enough to earn her keep.
You take ladies like the Jersey Giants that lay 4 nice big eggs a week after they have been laying 5-6 eggs for the first 6 months of their life then you will get eggs from them until they are 4 or 5 years old. Big ones, too!

I also have 2 EE girls that are 3 this year. One is laying nicely and the other not so well. But she gave a lot of her eggs the first 2 years whereas the other lady was slow to lay every week. It always depends on breed and even the specific hen.
Nutrition is another part. I talked to someone the other day that said they were getting a good many eggs from their birds and were so happy. I found out they only feed scratch to the poor animals. They think they lay well with that. I just wondered what they would think of egg production if they were to let them out to free range and fed them a proper diet!

BTW, I am getting 19 duck eggs every day from 24 ducks and my free range flock of 44 hens is giving me 36 eggs. Not to mention my breeder birds but I seldom sell those for eating eggs. All I gotta say is...Watch out poor folks! Here come da eggs!

 

[TheMadChickenLady]

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Hello MadChickenLady - I have guineas and love them. I will be selling the hatching eggs and keets all summer just as soon as they start laying. Mine usually start laying mid April. I have mostly normal pearls and whites, but I have a few royal purples and lavenders too. I keep a waiting list so just let me know if you'd like me to add your name, you can be first for eggs. $10 per dozen

Joycats, I'd love to be on the waiting list! Mid-April (or a little later) sounds good to me. Hmm... I might even be able to hatch out one more set of baby chickies from my incubator before your guineas start laying.

 

[lorrir]

I recently came across this ad on Gwdtoday.com. Does it belong to anyone on this board?

http://www.gwdclassifieds.com/index.php?a=2&b=1749

I would love to buy some hatching eggs, but want to stick with someone from BYC.

I have three beautiful White Leghorn three month old cockrels I need to rehome. I bought the eggs off of eBay and can supply the link if needed. They are really nice looking young roosters and I would hate to have to eat them. If anyone would like them I live in Waterloo.

 

[huckleberryfarm]

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My main roo is a frizzled giant cochin. He's the sweetest! He does a great job as a rooster, always watching out for everyone. And he doesn't pick on the other roosters. I just love him! His name is Butterscotch.

I have 5 giant cochins in different colors. When my breeding pens are done (this weekend I hope!), I think I might put him in there with them and see if I can hatch some more frizzled cochins for me. They are too funny!