Texas

[RustedOak]

Thanks to Dstinett and Bazy for your quick response! I passed on the information. Will update on the chicks when I get more info!

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

My four newest babies are having a blast on their first day out of the brooder and into the coop!!! Now we have 20 chickens, are we crazy!!!!

They are very excited to fly and flap their wings about!!!

And eating with the new friends(hopefully their friends!)

What breed are they? They look so cute!

What breeds do you like for best egg production and size and also tolerate the heat well?  I have a flock of heritage breeds who are pretty to look at and lay pretty eggs but now I need to ramp up production to keep up with demand of family and neighbors.   Also who lays well in both heat and winter?  Or two breeds of which one lays well in summer and the other in winter?

I have 15 hens, 14 are laying. I get on average 10 - 12 a day. I have 3 of each of the following: SLWs, Barred Rocks, Black Aussies, EEs and Orps. One of my Orps isn't big enough to lay yet. I got them as chicks back in Feb of this year. I got my first egg at around 4 months. They are all hatchery chicks. I like all my chickens, but the BAs, BRs and Orps are my favorite. I like my EEs, but 2 of them are flighty, but I will get more just for the egg colors. My SLWs are pretty and lay well, but they are NOISY!!! Very loud, and bawk, bawk, bawk all the time! I doubt I will get any more of those.

They have plenty of shade and I turn the barn fan on for them to help circulate the air. I also hose the coop/run down every few days to keep the dust down. It's so dry here. 

I still feed them starter, with girt and oyster shell available for them free choice. I also feed them treats. In the mornings, it is cabbage, watermelon rind, leftovers, fishing worms, meal worms, raisins, fruit etc. In the evening, they get half a coffee can of scratch. 

What kind of chickens do you have and what age are they? I plan on getting a few more next spring so that they will be of laying age next fall when my current flock starts to slow down. 

Wow! I wish I could have 15 hens again. So much fun to have a big flock! I currently have three hens that are laying: a buff brahma, a jersey giant, and a aracona. The brahma and the giant don't lay too well. I haven't gotten an egg from them in almost three weeks, however they did start molting to that is part of it. They are also still growing since they are big birds. The brahma is a very sweet and docile bird though. I got these girls as adults but the brahma and the giant have been surprisingly social after a bit of time. I can't imagine how friendly they would be if raised from chicks. My aracona however has been a very good layer! She normally gives me 4-5 eggs a week, but has dropped down lately. I am expecting her to start molting soon as well. I recently went and picked up five more pullets, and I have to say I am extreemly happy with the cochins so far. They are extreemly social. My gold sex link and rhode island red are on the currious side and have been pretty quiet birds. My Yokohama is a little testy with the others, trying to make sure her sorted out place in the pecking order is near the top, and she is quite scared of people. I can't wait till they all start laying though.

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

What do you guys reccomend as treats for your birds? Mine so far have liked biscuits, mashed potatoes, green beans, beef lo mein, meal worms, bird seed, scratch of course, strawberries, watermelon. Any other sugestions?

 

[dstinett]

What do you guys reccomend as treats for your birds? Mine so far have liked biscuits, mashed potatoes, green beans, beef lo mein, meal worms, bird seed, scratch of course, strawberries, watermelon. Any other sugestions?

grow your own mealworms! It is so easy and so nutritious

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

grow your own mealworms! It is so easy and so nutritious

I wanted to try that! How big of an enclosure do you need for them? I vary buying the fresh ones and the ones that have been dried. I would love to start a farm though so I always have a live supply for them!

 

[dstinett]

Just search mealworm farming or breeding on this site. Tons of info. You can make it as difficult or as easy as you want. The easiest way is to start with a plastic container that has lid with airholes or preferably just leave lid off a bit for airflow. When colony starts to grow you increase size of container. Where you live? I sell colonies in ne tx

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

Just search mealworm farming or breeding on this site. Tons of info. You can make it as difficult or as easy as you want. The easiest way is to start with a plastic container that has lid with airholes or preferably just leave lid off a bit for airflow. When colony starts to grow you increase size of container. Where you live? I sell colonies in ne tx

I live in dalls, probaly too far to go. I might just try and start one up if I can get permission from my mother haha. But if I can I might order 200 or someting off the internet.

 

[Brookshire11]

Im in ARLINGTON new to chicken raising but have 4 of them. I was doing some reading and have fallen in love with the naked necks "Turkens" do yall have any imput on them or know where to get them here?

I've gotta go with the crowd: I haven't heard many negative things about them either!
I know Ideal carries them It's an overnight shipment since they're only 3 hours away.

I'm just north of ft worth.

I've been looking on Craigslist. I wanted to find one person selling them both so I can quarantine them together and so far, not much luck.

There's a lady in Decatur...she does have ads on Craigslist sometimes. She has a few different Marans (including Golden Cuckoo, which are atuosexing), Cream Legbars, Bresse, I think she still has Isbars and Ameraucanas (actual pure breds, not EEs
Let me see if I can find your contact. It's probably closer for you than it was for me.

I know someone I trust in McKinney who breeds pure cream legbar and French blue/splash and black copper Marans. I sent her a message to see if she has pullets old enough to go in with the mature birds for sale. If she does, I'll pm you to give you her contact info. Also, I work in Garland, and will be happy to relay the birds to you if that's your style of purchasing. She is not far from where I live. I think she has F2 Olive Eggers which would be marans roo over cream legbar. Anyway, I will let you know.

I have ameraucanas/auracana mixes, but they are only 6 weeks old and won't be ready for the big coop for another few weeks or so....

Ooh, who??
I'm in McKinney
Is she off 5? Or closer to Princeton?

Brookshire11, you might also try some plain pedialyte if your vet ok's it. I hope he'll be ok.

Thanks so much! I actually DID give him some of that plain Pedialyte and the next day he started turning around. He beat it! Which I honestly did not think would happen. He had 3 littermates and his dad succumb to it :/ He was the only one who caught it and lived.
Unfortunately though, no more puppies for us! I'm sure it's all in the soil now, and that nasty virus lingers like nobody's business.

What breeds do you like for best egg production and size and also tolerate the heat well? I have a flock of heritage breeds who are pretty to look at and lay pretty eggs but now I need to ramp up production to keep up with demand of family and neighbors. Also who lays well in both heat and winter? Or two breeds of which one lays well in summer and the other in winter?

My Buff Orp and EE both do pretty well
I've heard breeds like leghorns, turkens, and welsummers all do great too.
I've only had to bring in one of my girls due to heat, and she was my plumpest, fluffiest Orp.

This is my yokohama pullet. I have still been tossing names around for her. She is very flighty.

So sweet!

What do you guys reccomend as treats for your birds? Mine so far have liked biscuits, mashed potatoes, green beans, beef lo mein, meal worms, bird seed, scratch of course, strawberries, watermelon. Any other sugestions?

Mine love watermelon, but also greek yogurt. They go nuts for it.
And peas....LOVE peas....

I wanted to try that! How big of an enclosure do you need for them? I vary buying the fresh ones and the ones that have been dried. I would love to start a farm though so I always have a live supply for them!

I saw a pretty neat set up using one of those sets of plastic drawers, like you'd get at walmart...let me see if I can find it!
It had the beetles up top, then the bottom replaced with a screen, so the eggs could fall through.

 

[dsbailey70]

Brookshire, when my very first three (Black Silkie, EE, and a BR) had to be euthanized recently, due to MS and MG, the vet recommended spraying the entire coop & run, and my whole back yard with bleach. I used 1 cup to 1 gallon of water, in a sprayer. Idk whether bleach will kill that, but it's worth a shot.

 

[TherryChicken]

Brookshire, when my very first three (Black Silkie, EE, and a BR) had to be euthanized recently, due to MS and MG, the vet recommended spraying the entire coop & run, and my whole back yard with bleach. I used 1 cup to 1 gallon of water, in a sprayer. Idk whether bleach will kill that, but it's worth a shot.

I heard that bleach can cause stuff to grow back even worse. I use oxine ah and you can safely spray yourself and your birds as well.