Southern NY, Dutchess county and below

[smkchick]

Well, Trish and Rich, it's nice you have LIVES!! Me, I got chickens.

Only kidding, really. I'm subbing today (have been a lot lately) but I can access the website from the school. Shhh...

It's a beautiful day down here on LI. I love the fall also. Clean fresh air, the great smell of leaves, Thanksgiving, apples. Doesn't get any better than that!

I left the babies in the coop for the day, with the big girls free-ranging. As I left, I told Bobby to keep an eye on the girls. He said "I always do!". Oh yeah. He's hooked!

I get a kick out of him telling his friends about how the girls are eating all the carpenter ants. Apparently one day when he was working outside, Gladys was hanging out next to him just picking the ants off the downspout as they went up and down. He refers to Gladys and Agatha as our "natural insecticides". Just wait til the eggs start!

A question for you all: How long should I keep the babies separated from the big girls at night. During the day, when they are old enough to free-range, they can escape. But I'm worried about putting them up to roost in the same area. Especially with Gladys being so cranky lately. She's been bossing Aggie. I can imagine what she'd do to the chicks. Any thoughts?

I'm taking a day off from subbing tomorrow. I have to go to the Unemployment Office. And no, the irony is not lost on me...

 

[itsy]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! Yes, we're on the southern foot of the Catskills. I guess perhaps we're in them? I'm not certain how to word it yet. Here's a photo from the driveway:

We are not originally from NJ, but we moved from NJ. My boyfriend and I are happy to be here. We had to downsize our chickens and brought 10 girls of different types. All but one are pullets, but are laying. We have: 1 Mille Fleur D'Uccle Bantam, 1 Red Broiler (that we decided to "spare" instead of process to eat, partly because she's so small), a 3 year old Barred Rock that we got from another farmer because she stopped laying, but we spared her the chopping block and she lays every day like a pro now. Actually, she's our favorite chicken and we only kept the entire flock because of her. Another barred rock, red star, two easter eggers, jersey giant and a white leghorn. I think that's everyone! We also have a 6.5 year old mini rex rabbit, a min schnauzer, several fish, several lizards and three parakeets. Can you tell that we don't have children? lol. I'm going to be getting some coturnix at some point now that we're moved. We'd also like to get a couple female kittens, but we're particular about the color, etc so are waiting until we find the perfect duo.

I enjoy spinning wool, knitting, crafting and I'm learning how to be more self sufficient. Once we get warm weather again, I look forward to a big garden. I also try to be a coupon queen and take an odd pleasure in cutting coupons. You can see some mug shots of us on my page .

If you folks ever have any sort of chicken meetups or swaps, I'd love to know about them! Thanks again for the welcome!

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

Quote:
I'm at work too

As far as the babies go I would keep them seperate for another week and then watch to see what happens. The little girls will be much quicker than the big girls -so long as you have hiding spaces for them they should be ok. I find my girls like to give chase and a fake peck for good measure, they don't really harm the little ones. My guys are free rangers and can get away easy though so be careful if they are locked up.

Good Luck! (they will eventually be bff's)

Trish

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

Quote:
WOW!!!!! What a view! And might I add that is chicken heaven, lol.

We almost bought a vacation place in the Catskills in Sullivan County (Black Forest Colony) but then decided to go with the Poconos instead. I think the Catskills are BREATHTAKING and you are so lucky to be there!

Trish

 

[smkchick]

I agree with Trish. Have always had a soft spot for the Catskills.

I crochet, can knit but not well. I am looking forward to my third vegetable garden in the Spring. My DP and I have talked about moving upstate and being more self sufficient. If I don't get another job soon, it may become a reality!

Someplace I can have lots and lots of chickens!!!

 

[smkchick]

Speaking of lots and lots of chickens, I found someone who is hatching BOs and will keep one for me until she's feathered out. But I'm really in this for eggs and I've read that BOs' egg production is "medium". Also, they tend to go broody.

I'm considering a Silver Laced Wyandotte instead (which he is looking for) or a Speckled Sussex (which I haven't asked him about). Thoughts? Opinions? Feedback?

Realistically, I can only get one more chicken now. (Don't start in with that chicken math, you guys!) So what should it be??

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
Suzanne, if you are in it for the eggs, then the hybrids are your best bet. BOs may be medium layers but they are prettier than the crosses. And, their temperment makes them the perfect pet chicken. Out of our GCs and Amberlinks (3 of each) we get 42 eggs a week. We can't eat them that fast and give lots away. I wanted good layers, but these girls are machines! They still are one for one, daily.

Maybe, let Bobby have his choice for this next chicken? Might be a good way to take the tough decision out of your hands and allow Bobby to really bond with the chicken experience. Just a thought.

 

[smkchick]

Thanks Al. That's a good thought. I'll see what he has to say.

I told Bobby I was thinking about putting a small microwaveable heated sinus mask thingie in with the chicks last night to take the chill off. He said it's not the "natural" way and that they should get used to the colder temps.

It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken!

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
Or, it takes a tender man to make a tougher chicken. Bobby is right about making them get used to the cold. I understand they are still chicks and need to be fully feathered out to be protected. If you did keep using any heat on them then they would become dependent and one day if the power went off and we had a really cold overnight, they could get stressed. Exactly how old are they now?

 

[smkchick]

They were 4 weeks old on Sunday. They did fine last night with no heat. Temps about 50 here overnight. They are almost fully feathered. I only checked on them once

and they were just lying side by side, no huddling. I think I'm just having empty nest syndrome!

Maybe I should go in the kitchen and bake something for my daughter...

I told Bobby it was his turn to pick the next chicken. I'm going to give him all the info on the breeds I'm considering and let him choose.

The candidates: Buff Orpington, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Gold Laced Wyandotte, Speckled Sussex. Want to add any? Maybe I'll ask him to browse all the breeds and see what he likes.