TULSA area Cluckers

[cathiesue]

Hi Linda and welcome! That Dorthy looks like she's a fun girl! I know you will enjoy having birds around. I just set my mom up with a new coop. She lives in midtown. by Utica Square! She's such a rebel!
You'll get lots of opinions about feed...
Mine free range a lot! Especially in summer and they get as many table scraps and wilted veggies as I can give them. Variety is good for them and I also feed mine meat. They need the protein. I usually get my feed fro the Collinsville Feed Store. I've shopped at Atwood's, Southern Ag and Tractor Supply.
You will pay a premium price for feed and shipping if you decide to go with organic/soy-free/non-gmo/etc feed. Do what your pocket book will allow. Would love to see more pictures of the flock and your coop is beautiful.

 

[lvincent]

Hi Linda and welcome! That Dorthy looks like she's a fun girl! I know you will enjoy having birds around. I just set my mom up with a new coop. She lives in midtown. by Utica Square! She's such a rebel!
You'll get lots of opinions about feed...
Mine free range a lot! Especially in summer and they get as many table scraps and wilted veggies as I can give them. Variety is good for them and I also feed mine meat. They need the protein. I usually get my feed fro the Collinsville Feed Store. I've shopped at Atwood's, Southern Ag and Tractor Supply.
You will pay a premium price for feed and shipping if you decide to go with organic/soy-free/non-gmo/etc feed. Do what your pocket book will allow. Would love to see more pictures of the flock and your coop is beautiful.

Thanks Cathie! We had a lot of fun building the coop and enjoy it being part of our backyard. We are midtowners as well! We live just off of Brookside- there are actually several other houses in our neighborhoods that have chickens, so I think it's less rebellious now Anyway, we do feed them lots of veggie scraps and I occasionally scramble up an egg or two for the added protein. I will probably end up feeding them the regular layer feed that they sell at Southern Ag for right now until I get a better grasp on what they need during the laying years. Thanks for the help!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Hey guys. I think I will have quite a few extra birds if anyone is interested? I have several Mille Fleur Cochin bantam chicks (approx. 4-6 weeks old) some bantam Speckled Sussex x Buff Brahma bantam (Kinda look like the Mille Fleur Cochin but with modified pea combs and less feathered legs) and possibly some other breeds. I'm asking $5 a piece for the chicks and I'm in Claremore. Please let me know if you're interested.

 

[jens-hens]

Hey Tulsa friends! Our girls are 18 weeks as of yesterday! We have 4 hens- 2 buff orpingtons and 2 barred rocks. They are named after the Golden Girls: Sophia, Rose, Blanche and Dorothy. Their combs and wattles have been growing in nicely over the last couple of weeks and are getting a nice, bright red color. We have a fence around our vegetable garden to keep the girls (and the chihuahua who loves veggies) out, but occasionally I will let them come in their with me and have a nibble or two. Last night as I was finishing my pruning, I went to pick up one of my buffs to bring her out of the garden- when I touched her back gently, she did what I can only describe as the "egg squat"! She squatted low to the ground, spread her wings out rigidly and did a little booty shake! I'm so hoping that this means they are about to start laying- though I realize it would be a tad bit early for these heavier breeds. Anyway, I am needing some advice on feed. I have kept the girls on Starter Feed up until now, as it is recommended until 18 weeks. After this bag is finished, I am ready to start them on "big girl feed" but I'll admit, all of my online research just leaves me confused- I keep finding conflicting information. I would like to feed them an organic feed, but want to make sure to minimize risk of disease. I also have read about the "horror" of soy in our food- and know there are also soy-free feed options as well- but those seem to be outrageously expensive. I'm not completely against the idea of making my own food blend, but since I am not an expert, I am concerned about meeting the overall nutritional needs of the girls. Does anyone on here have any recommendations as to which direction I should go- and where I should purchase it locally? I currently buy all of my chicken supplies at Southern Agriculture, but that's mostly due to a lack of options. Any advice you can share is greatly appreciated! Here is a picture of Dorothy- our most outgoing and adventurous one of the bunch:

I know that Groggs carries organic chicken feed. They are located off HWY 169 and 61st. They are probably pricey, but it's a really nice place, they have great plants and herbs.

 

[Johnouthouse]

A salute to all Americans from the Notorious Coop Dynasty! Happy Independence Day!

 

[KHaws]

I am so glad i found the TULSAN thread, i live just outside of Tulsa, technically we are still Tulsa, but if you live around where I do, then you know that isn't the case. Lol
I asked this in the OKIE thread as well. but figured i would post it here also. i have a question.. at first we will be just having duel purpose birds for eggs and meat for ourselves and a few other family members. but we will eventually start to hatch chicks as well and i am sure will have an abundance more often than not, so is it a necessity to get NPIP or is it better to just sell on craigslist and here to people who want them. they will most likely be mutt chickens in all reality when we start breeding. so is NPIP really that big of a deal? what are the pros and cons of being NPIP vs non-NPIP? thank you in advance for the info.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

If you will have a few extras per month, like under 20, local is the way to go. Especially if they are mutts. If you eventually decide on a breed to settle on and get involved with high quality breeding and/or showing then you may want to get your NPIP certification so you are able to sell the pure breed chicks as "show quality" on e-bay, trade sites, through the breed's club, etc. If you choose to become NPIP your flock movements are much more restricted- if you bring in non-NPIP birds or hatching eggs, you lose your NPIP status until you have the state tester come back out and retest your flock. It can be a pain. But legally you must have NPIP certification to ship birds or eggs.

 

[KHaws]

If you will have a few extras per month, like under 20, local is the way to go. Especially if they are mutts. If you eventually decide on a breed to settle on and get involved with high quality breeding and/or showing then you may want to get your NPIP certification so you are able to sell the pure breed chicks as "show quality" on e-bay, trade sites, through the breed's club, etc. If you choose to become NPIP your flock movements are much more restricted- if you bring in non-NPIP birds or hatching eggs, you lose your NPIP status until you have the state tester come back out and retest your flock. It can be a pain. But legally you must have NPIP certification to ship birds or eggs.

Thank you for the reply in both threads. i highly doubt we will ever ship any, at least not in the new future, maybe 5 years or so from now. the most i might do is drive a few to KS or NE on family trips to give to family members that have farms. but other than that they will most likely all be mutts for a while. we are going to get probably 2 or 3 of 8 different breeds of chicks, and then get a roo too for the mix of them eventually and go from there. but we will probably just start off with the chicks at 1st and grow them out and see how well we do. again. thank you for the reply.

 

[chicksooner]

Thank you for the reply in both threads. i highly doubt we will ever ship any, at least not in the new future, maybe 5 years or so from now. the most i might do is drive a few to KS or NE on family trips to give to family members that have farms. but other than that they will most likely all be mutts for a while. we are going to get probably 2 or 3 of 8 different breeds of chicks, and then get a roo too for the mix of them eventually and go from there. but we will probably just start off with the chicks at 1st and grow them out and see how well we do. again. thank you for the reply.

I wouldn't bother with NPIP unless you are showing or shipping or going to set yourself up as a hatchery.

 

[Fleabyte]

I have a couple of Egyptian Fayoumi hens in need of a home. They're not quite four months old, so they should be laying soon. I'm in south Tulsa and am over my chicken limit, both for the city and what I can handle for my own sanity. Gandalf and Jemima are sweet, flighty girls who are primarily free range during the day. I'd like five bucks apiece for them.

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