South Carolina

[RedBugPoultry]

Anyone in the Jasper Co. area want some free pet quality Silkies? If so PM me for more details!

Oh, and also a 5 week old black cochin!

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

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Wow, so no babies for you through the winter. How awesome!
I am winding down but Debra and Donna still want to hatch and I have a neighbor and some other friends that want to use my bator so I have it going still. I try not to set any eggs but my Mille Fleur Cochins are just turning out so gorgeous it is hard not to set any of their eggs.

Two weeks from this coming Sat for the show in Clemson!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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Aaaahhhh, grasshopper! That is why one has pullets from all different times of the year hatching out. The ones that hatch now will molt at a different time than the ones that hatch in the spring. Pullets hatched in Dec./Jan will molt at a different time than those hatched in July.

I have pullets turning on the laying right now as they finished their molt back in August and I have some right now that are bald. Hens that I have had for a few years are in different stages. That way I get eggs all year around.

My Marans breeding pens have slacked off for the past 2 months but the feathers are back in glossy and gorgeous so the eggs will be very nice to have for the next few months as they soon start laying more and more. My Cuckoo Marans in my free range flock molted back in the summer and have been laying great for the past month so they will slack off and rest soon and start back when the breeding pen Marans need a rest.
So many folks think you just hatch in the spring or order chicks in the spring but that is much too predictable for when they will molt and when you will certainly not have eggs.
Of course, I have a few pitiful bald red sex links that are still laying like mad. They are living in the trampoline pen with some lav Guineas and getting lots of extra meat protein. Bless their little chicken hearts!

They only lay for 2 years so their body takes a beating spitting out as many eggs as possible through the worst conditions.

Many years of owning chickens teaches you what you need to do for getting eggs all year around.

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

Quote:
Aaaahhhh, grasshopper! That is why one has pullets from all different times of the year hatching out. The ones that hatch now will molt at a different time than the ones that hatch in the spring. Pullets hatched in Dec./Jan will molt at a different time than those hatched in July.

I have pullets turning on the laying right now as they finished their molt back in August and I have some right now that are bald. Hens that I have had for a few years are in different stages. That way I get eggs all year around.

My Marans breeding pens have slacked off for the past 2 months but the feathers are back in glossy and gorgeous so the eggs will be very nice to have for the next few months as they soon start laying more and more. My Cuckoo Marans in my free range flock molted back in the summer and have been laying great for the past month so they will slack off and rest soon and start back when the breeding pen Marans need a rest.
So many folks think you just hatch in the spring or order chicks in the spring but that is much too predictable for when they will molt and when you will certainly not have eggs.
Of course, I have a few pitiful bald red sex links that are still laying like mad. They are living in the trampoline pen with some lav Guineas and getting lots of extra meat protein. Bless their little chicken hearts!

They only lay for 2 years so their body takes a beating spitting out as many eggs as possible through the worst conditions.

Many years of owning chickens teaches you what you need to do for getting eggs all year around.

Shhhhhhhhoot. I like them molting all at once.

Tons of feathers everywhere! Heck even my quail are molting and they were hatched last year - late summer/early fall!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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Oh man! I am kicking myself for not putting Cowboy with my best girls!

He was with some really nice ones but also some icky extras I had so I wasn't sure who laid what and who was from whom other than the kids are growing up pretty darn tootin' nice! But Cowboy is a real show stopper!

This new one is truly a nice boy! Get some more photos when you get him out in the yard and her, too. And hey, $10! Fabulous! You know you can use them for something. Could Cowboy help her out at all?

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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Ha! I bet you and Nicole just had a pillow fight and are blaming it on the chickens!

 

[Joycats]

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Oh, well, gee whiz! You could put your dog through the washing machine. Hey! You cheated, didn't you?

If I could shrink my dog to wash her then she would get a bath. Geez, 3 lbs? Are you sure you have a real dog?

I think? everyone calls her a RAT!!!

She is 13 and a mix of teacup chuhuahua and toy terrior...kinda a long haired chuhuahua that resembles a RAT!!!

Awww......she's a dog! We have a little Petey, he's half pomeranian and half long haired chihuahua. He is 7 pounds of pure energy and love! We call him Pogo Petey because he tries so hard to jump up in my arms. I love my little dogs and my big dogs. But the little dogs are so much easier to bathe!

 

[Joycats]

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These chickens want to remind us who is really running things in the yard.

Same thing happens here every year, no matter how I plan. I add new birds at different times and I raise chicks all year long but this time of year I still don't have enough eggs. I always keep my older hens too as they give me eggs when the others slow up. Right now everybody is wanting quail eggs but my quail are taking a break. Last year they gave me eggs all winter so I hope they're just taking a short break. I added new quail in spring and summer hoping to keep eggs coming but it didn't work with them. I think it's an inside joke with the birds. They withhold eggs just at holiday season when everyone starts baking and wants eggs.

 

[coywade]

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What kInd of birds are you wanting? Many of us here sell hatching eggs. I give free lessons with every purchase.

Well, that is up in the air. We currently have 15 hens...2 RIR, 4 White Leghorns, 5 Ameracauna, 1 Barred Rock, 1 Araucana, and 2 others that were given to me and I don't know what they are. We just love chickens but aren't tied to one breed. I'm a lot of help, I know!

 

[coywade]

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And welcome to our SC thread! Pull up a chair or old cooler and sit a spell. Tell us about yourself a bit.
Do you raise a garden? Do you live on a lot of land or a small plot near town? Have you had chickens before or will this be your first venture with our fowl friends?
Do you already own an incubator or planning to purchase one?

Easley has quite a few chicken people around the area. Many of us are near you.
I live on the Greenville/Spartanburg county line between Greer and Landrum. You are welcome to come visit my place and see the several incubators I have running. I have been hatching out chicks for several years and it isn't as difficult as it would seem.

Please visit my website to see if anything interests you and you can see a few photos of my 'bators on my Housing page, too.

I love to meet folks from BYC and have many friends on here because BYC SC folks are the best!

I would love to tell you a little about me and my wonderful family. I have a beautiful wife and two awesome children. I am a landscaper by trade and I absolutely love gardening, and most other outdoor things. We live on 2.5 acres between Easley and Dacusville so I have a very nice sized garden. We love to live off of our land and spent most of the summer tending to animals and canning vegetables and fruits from the garden. We have had chickens for almost a year now and LOVE IT!! We have 10 hens who are consistently laying 10 eggs a day right now and another 5 Ameraucanas who are only 9 weeks old. We can't have enough chickens! My 4 year old son owns the "egg business". We have begun to teach him how money works so he sells the eggs to neighbors/family, buys the feed, gives a share of the money away and buys a reward with some of the profit. It has been an all around awesome experience for our family to have chickens and we just want more!

I actually just purchased (after months of research) and R-Com 20 from a gentleman on Craigslist. He bought it 6 months ago and then was told he couldn't have a rooster in his neighborhood so he sold me the whole thing with additional trays for $250. I couldn't pass it up! Now I have the fever to incubate but I have no rooster or fertile eggs. Ok, I'll take a breath now and listen.