Texas

[Little Wing]

Question about gathering eggs...

I'm going out of town July 4-7th. I have an automatic waterer set up for the chickens and a feeder that's big enough. Would the eggs be good if I collected them when I return?

My gut is telling me no because of the heat.

As hot as it gets here, I wouldn't eat them if they weren't collected at least once a day.

Nope it is actually very responsible to teach them young, so they know what a gun can do and they don't "play" with it as they get older. That is the problem with people that have guns but never teach their kids how to use them and how serious they really are. Kudos to you!

Irresponsible? What is irresponsible IMO is NOT teaching children about guns from an early age and making them fear guns instead of the people that use them in a malicious manner. Keep on going!

X2

Thanks y'all. There is no way he would pick up a gun and point it at anyone because he didn't know what would happen if he did. He knows what happens. He goes and gets the cans and sees the holes in them and knows a bb came out of the gun and made it. He saw me shoot a squirrel and we talked about what had happened.
We don't give them toy guns to play with and neither do his parents. That being said, I remember getting a Roy Rodgers six shooter cap gun set with holsters and everything. We played cowboys and Indians. Somehow we weren't racist or gun nuts and turned out sort of OK. lol
I wasn't trying to make a statement about gun control or anything else with the picture, I just thought it was cute. Should have left out the NRA reference. Don't want to get the thread shut down AGAIN.

 

[chickletteSarge]

As hot as it gets here, I wouldn't eat them if they weren't collected at least once a day. Thanks y'all. There is no way he would pick up a gun and point it at anyone because he didn't know what would happen if he did. He knows what happens. He goes and gets the cans and sees the holes in them and knows a bb came out of the gun and made it. He saw me shoot a squirrel and we talked about what had happened. We don't give them toy guns to play with and neither do his parents. That being said, I remember getting a Roy Rodgers six shooter cap gun set with holsters and everything. We played cowboys and Indians. Somehow we weren't racist or gun nuts and turned out sort of OK. lol I wasn't trying to make a statement about gun control or anything else with the picture, I just thought it was cute. Should have left out the NRA reference. Don't want to get the thread shut down AGAIN.

lol ok the last time was my fault... lol but I bought my oldest DD a 410/22 combo for her 6th Bday! I took her to the sportsmans center to teach her how to shoot it and give her some basic marksmanship rules... they kicked me off the line!!! according to them the age that a child should be shown how to shoot is 8! im sorry but AINT NO BODY GOT TIME FO DAT!!! LOL all my girls know guns do bad things in the wrong hands! and until they are trained their hands are about as wrong as a fat man wearin a speedo!!! since then they have had a bb/pellet gun and now a bow and practice arrows! funny thing is her Bday is in November... she cried when they told her that because she wanted to shoot daddy a fat juicy turkey for thanksgiving!

 

[Dire Wolf]

Offer heavy water content fruits and veggies at this point in the day, helps get water into them.

I guess its a good thing we have a bumper crop of cantaloupe this season.

Future member of the NRA.

I LOVE it! My girls get to use the airsoft pistol. We want a 410/22 Rossi combo for them, but its not in the budget yet. Grammie's talking about getting them each (save for the 1 yo) their own for Christmas though.

Just found this and it's the full deal. I want this one.

http://amzn.com/B007571DFM

I want that! Just told DH. He gave me the "yes dear" response. lol

Same here, but with grandkids, still not sure about guineas eating the squash bugs. Found some say they would and some say they wont. Guess I have to get some and find out for myself.

The lady I'm buying from says that her birds eat them and the grasshoppers. Let's hope they still do it when I get them here.

lol ok the last time was my fault... lol
but I bought my oldest DD a 410/22 combo for her 6th Bday! I took her to the sportsmans center to teach her how to shoot it and give her some basic marksmanship rules... they kicked me off the line!!! according to them the age that a child should be shown how to shoot is 8! im sorry but AINT NO BODY GOT TIME FO DAT!!! LOL
all my girls know guns do bad things in the wrong hands! and until they are trained their hands are about as wrong as a fat man wearin a speedo!!!
since then they have had a bb/pellet gun and now a bow and practice arrows!
funny thing is her Bday is in November... she cried when they told her that because she wanted to shoot daddy a fat juicy turkey for thanksgiving!

I've got 2 acres, targets and hay bails. Y'all can come out here for shooting lessons.

 

[fowlmouthgirls]

Hi fellow Texans! I'm in the DFW area, am new to chickens and I have questions!
I could use some of your guidance on what breed can handle our climate, how to help them through the summer, and where I should buy from.
So I'll go into my plans and what I'm looking for so you can offer your best advice.

I've never kept chickens before. I'm in the process of building a coop which I should finish in few weeks. I'm planning on 3 hens that I'll free range in my back yard (1/2 acre).

The actual coop is 4 1/2' x 4'. I have big windows I'll be able to open up on either side. I may mount a fan in one of the windows to get some air movement when it gets hot with little breeze like it does in July/August.

They'll have a run that's 4'x8' but I plan to let them wander my back yard daily. The run is really for protection in case the dogs need some training before I let them out or if we need to confine them.

I want to keep them for eggs/pets. I want to get a dual purpose breed in case I decide to process them later (though I doubt I'll be able to do it, lol!). It's just me and my husband so three hens that lay every other day would give me more eggs than I need. I'd prefer a long term layer.

Breeds I like so far are Rhode Island Reds, Dominique, Brahmas, Ameraucanas, and Australorp and I'm open to additional suggestions.

My plan was to get pullets. Raising chicks seems a bit daunting to me and I'm not home enough to check in on them properly. I've seen some info on making sure there's no corners for your pullets to get stuck in. Some info says they'll be fine. How do you introduce pullets into a coop?

I saw an ad on craigslist for someone who sells chickens that lives in Terrell. In their ad, they listed the following breeds:
[COLOR=222222]Dominique[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Golden Sex links[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Cinnamon Queens[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Golden Comet[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Cuckoo Marans[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Ameraucanas[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Black Australorps[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Red and Black Sex links[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]New Hampshire Reds[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Plymouth Barred Rocks[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Blue Laced Red Wyandottes[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Golden Laced Wyandottes[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Buff Orpingtons[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Light Brahmas[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Blue Laced Wyandottes[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Black Jersey Giants[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Buff Brahmas[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Speckled Sussex[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Rhode Island Reds[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Welsumers and Silver laced Wyandottes[/COLOR]

Has anyone used this place in Terrell before? Is there a good breeder on the Ft Worth side of the metroplex? What should I look for to determine quality breeders?

Any advice is appreciated!

Is is chickenville USA ? I live about 40 minutes from her if it is, and I got 2 pullets from her, she sells hatchery birds and is not a breeder. If I had to do it all over, I would find breeder birds in the area and not get hatchery birds, you don't know what quality birds you are getting from a hatchery. I may be hatching out some BLRW with 7acre on BYC and I may not want to keep them all, if you are interested in those. The more you get into chickens, the more you learn! Especially on here! I know a lady in Forney who just went to th feed store and bought 6 chicks from the "Pullet bin", now she ended up with 4 Roos and 2 pullets, go figure. Lol. Do a little research first and you will be happier with the birds you get! HTH

 

[fowlmouthgirls]

I've talked to the people in Terrell before and learned that they order chicks out of a hatchery in New Mexico. I raise Ameraucana, Barred Rocks, Wyandotte and Marans and they all get along well in our area.

Yeah I didn't find that out until I got out there to get mine! She didn't have any adult birds that I could see just 10 little playhouses filled with chicks. Do you sell your Marans eggs for hatching? My chicken math is getting out of control!

 

[Chucklecluck]

I got hatchery birds for duels purpose and my Orpingtons had big rear ends and tenders for breast and a huge neck Lil

 

[txnative]

My five girls are now 10 days old. Too cute, especially how fast they fall asleep!

 

[TexasLisa]

Sorry about the mix-up Little Wing. The child is cute!! I agree with you and others.

Someone was talking about leaving the eggs unattended until they got back from vacation. What if the eggs were under a mother hen? Wouldn't that be the same thing? I picked up an egg yesterday right after one of them laid it and it was HOT! No wonder these girls aren't laying every day.

By the way, it is 105 degrees outside!

Lisa

 

[slick4591]

I've talked to the people in Terrell before and learned that they order chicks out of a hatchery in New Mexico. I raise Ameraucana, Barred Rocks, Wyandotte and Marans and they all get along well in our area.

Yeah I didn't find that out until I got out there to get mine! She didn't have any adult birds that I could see just 10 little playhouses filled with chicks. Do you sell your Marans eggs for hatching? My chicken math is getting out of control!

I have sold them in the past. At the moment I have two of the four girls separated from the rooster because they were going broody for the second time this season. I already have a bunch of chicks and didn't want more. My Marans are not bred for SOP birds. Instead, I am using them as a dark egg project. I'm just now in the first phase.

 

[Dire Wolf]

Is is chickenville USA ? I live about 40 minutes from her if it is, and I got 2 pullets from her, she sells hatchery birds and is not a breeder. If I had to do it all over, I would find breeder birds in the area and not get hatchery birds, you don't know what quality birds you are getting from a hatchery. I may be hatching out some BLRW with 7acre on BYC and I may not want to keep them all, if you are interested in those. The more you get into chickens, the more you learn! Especially on here! I know a lady in Forney who just went to th feed store and bought 6 chicks from the "Pullet bin", now she ended up with 4 Roos and 2 pullets, go figure. Lol. Do a little research first and you will be happier with the birds you get! HTH

This is an excellent piece of advice! Now that I've had my birds for awhile, I'm wishing I had gotten some from a local breeder instead. My turkeys are from a local breeder and they're handling their first summer far better than my chickens did last year. It may cost a little more, but its worth it in the long run, IMHO. The only thing I may get is some cornish broilers from Ideal since its not that far a drive for me. And that would only be until I get enough of my own rolling stock of birds to raise meat and eggs together.

I got hatchery birds for duels purpose and my Orpingtons had big rear ends and tenders for breast and a huge neck Lil

That's good to know, we're looking into multi use breeds for ourselves as well. I have a Buff, good to know what they look like dressed. Thanks for the pic.