Utah!

[Lilwanis]

Lil--where are the Am's from? Are they from blu? Can't remember

Briansnarr--WELCOME!
Ditto on the Barred Rocks being great layers. The best layers I have had are the Golden sex links. BR are a close second, and the BR are more docile by a long shot. The Black Sex links are very docile too and great layers. All do great in the cold.

OK I am having nightmares about my water I have been feeding my chickens.

I can't decide between oxine or ACV. I have tried both. And accidentally not knowing it would probably kill my chickens I mixed them for a few days. All is ok, Thank goodness Speckled HIlls posted on here what I was doing was a bad thing--- but the cinderblock under the waterer smelled crazy so I spent the morning cleaning and scrubbing out everything, now I am starting over. Oxine is cheaper, because so much less is required, about 32 times more ACV has to be used per gallon than oxine, so even though oxine costs more per jug it is less expensive, so I am wanting to go with oxine. Anybody have any pros and cons about either to help me decide? Would love to hear opinions! They have today--PLAIN water lol.

Yes, these are the three from Blu. I started off thinking I had time and space for five different breeds. Then I ended up with different color varieties of those breeds. Now I am having to make hard decisions about paring back some. I am set on birchen marans, bresse, legbars and maybe lav ams. As I have looked at what needs to be done with the houdan breed, I feel a bit overwhelmed; like I need an entire operation solely dedicated to them. I don't realistically have the space and time, so I have given up on them for now. Until I can buy a few acres any way,

Thank you. I really like the marans. They are pretty in my opinion also the easter eggers. Have you had any buff orbingtons? If so how was your experience? I hear they are broody. I wouldn't mind if I had a hen or 2 that could be broody. I just need hefty birds because not only do I have a whole list of predators that roam the yard nightly, I have A LOT of hawks around my area. Dont want my hens flying away with the hawks.

I have a BO girl. Decent layer, she is far more interested in food than in being broody she will actually do a belly crawl to get at food in tight spaces. The kids love her best. She lays thin shelled eggs, this is not specific to the breed, just her. She injured herself when she laid her first egg. She tried to lay it on the roost and fell off

 

[themadchicken]

Thank you. I really like the marans. They are pretty in my opinion also the easter eggers. Have you had any buff orbingtons? If so how was your experience? I hear they are broody. I wouldn't mind if I had a hen or 2 that could be broody. I just need hefty birds because not only do I have a whole list of predators that roam the yard nightly, I have A LOT of hawks around my area. Dont want my hens flying away with the hawks.

I have 2 BO. They lay good and have not went broody. They are about 15 months old. They are kind of bossy and double teamed up on a RIR hen and broke her leg. They are large so it would take a big hawk to pick one up. I also went with the good hardy layers, i have RIR, BO, Australorp, SLW, Dominique, BLS,Barn yard mix and EE. The EE's are the smallest breed but lay just as god as the heavy breeds and lay larger eggs. I also have bantam's and Silkies. They all do good during the winter. I keep a 125 heat lamp 2 feet off of the coop floor in the winter so the bantams can come in and stay warm. My bantam RIR rooster lost all his tips on his comb last winter and stayed under the heat lamp most days but made it through the winter. My Silkie rooster acted like snow was just a nuisance and often could be found outside the coop in a snow storm with an inch of snow on his back. If you plan on using a heat lamp during the winter and can keep the coop above 30 then most breeds will do just fine.

 

[the-bird-man]

i am a big fan of black sex links. they are a big heavy bird that have a acceptable feed to egg rate, 3 of my 4 are super sweet with the 4th being named mrs b for a reason but my favorite hen is one. they are as about as good of a layer as you can get too. 3 of the 4 lay eggs so big they do not fit in the carton with the 4th being mrs b that does not lay as big of a egg but they are still large. they are very smart too, they are very aware of their environment so for example if they see a large bird they may see as dangerous they make the alarm call to the flock and then hide. yeah they are a hybrid being part barred rock and part rhode island red but with that you know what sex they are but like all hybrids they will not breed pure so if that is what you are looking for that can be a huge downside. i also have a buff orp and she is great, very friendly and i mean very. she is a good layer. has not gone broody yet. is such a sweet girl. they say they pig out on food more than other breeds but i am not so sure about that with my girl. welsummer is a great breed. mine is a great layer and the eggs are one of a kind works of arts with the speckles. also on a side note the keloggs rooster is a welsummer. they are very beautiful birds. also the biggest mistake people make with winter is not having enough venting on their coops. its the moisture in the air thats the biggest danger and the main cause of frost bite. i do not heat my coop in the winter and have not had issue with frost bite, even with my leghorn girls that have combs so big you would swear they are roosters lol. i also have a 2x4 with the big side up and down so they can sit with their feet covered by their feathers. there are a lot of good breeds out there so have fun and dont be afraid to get lots of different ones.

 

[themadchicken]

just seen an add on ksl/free some one in north salt lake giving away their storage wheat...

 

[Desert Springs]

Desert..you have been crazy busy! Sounds like things are coming along..we need pictures!

Going out now for pics!! I get so busy I forget plus the camera makes it hard to work on coops and runs...lol!! Red already asked for horse pics when I visited her the other day...

I'll post some soon!!

Desert, good luck with your foaling. I hope it all goes smoothly. If you don't post pictures of the baby, I will CUT YOU. I love baby horses.


When I went into the school this morning, all seven of my eggs were pipped. Two were pipped towards the ground. Silly birds. Only one pipped in the wrong place. Hoping they all hatch while the kids are there- they are soooooo excited.

Hi Sphinx!!!

I will post pics when the baby comes...lol

. She looked so close the other night. Her bag wasn't waxed up but she was pacing and her milk looked in. I was up every two hours checking and even put her away from the other horses in her own pen. Yesterday, she just looked at me when I checked her bag. It had gone way done....WHAT??? This is my first baby in 9 years so I'm kinda rusty, and way too anxious. With her being older and not having any foals for so long she may go on the long end of the pregnancy instead of short side...ugh

. Like my older Cashmere goat who looked like she was in labor for a full day then stopped and delivered 3 weeks later

. Never know about Mother Nature. These are all fairly new critters to me (purchased within the last two years) and in the past I could almost time my watch to delivery dates on the mares I had, I knew them so very well. Now, it's a wait and see.



Congratulations on your chicks pipping!!!

Just wanted to let you know... that Legbar cockerel chick certainly knows he's a boy!!! Challenged me yesterday when I was cleaning brooders and banding chicks. Grabbing chicks from the brooder and he came right up, all cocky and ready to fight...

. Guess he didn't like me messing with his brooder mates.

Thanks again for the opportunity of getting them!!!

NuRoo, my grown, young Legbar roo will be happy when they get bigger, to see his own kind again.

 

[acemario]

choose wisely = have fun figuring out how to only have a couple because there are waaaay too many flavors lol

And remember whatever you say your maximum is now, will double next spring

Took the words right out of my mouth!

 

[Desert Springs]

Thank you. I really like the marans. They are pretty in my opinion also the easter eggers. Have you had any buff orbingtons? If so how was your experience? I hear they are broody. I wouldn't mind if I had a hen or 2 that could be broody. I just need hefty birds because not only do I have a whole list of predators that roam the yard nightly, I have A LOT of hawks around my area. Dont want my hens flying away with the hawks.

Hi Brian,

I have a dozen Buffs.... love them

. They are very sweet and calm plus they lay all winter. Yes, they do go broody if you let them.... I just found 30 eggs in the dog house from 3 hens that I knew were slipping off and hiding their eggs...

silly girls.

YES, you must fortify your coop!! The predators don't normally carry off the heavies... they just kill and munch, except for fox and eagles. We have raccoon, skunk, coyote, fox, mountain lion, bear, plus horned owls and eagles, with the occasional hawk or osprey. Then there's the dogs who have wandered away from the fishermen on the river. Grrrr

. But I haven't lost anything to predators for two years since working on the coops and runs. Plus the guineas sound the alarm during the day, which protects all!!

 

[Desert Springs]

I don't use heat in my coops, except for the waterer. The blue Andalusian and RIR roo were the only ones that got frostbite. Heavy doses of Vaseline helped with that. EE's are good layers, most ams are not as good. My barred rock and not a GLW, were my first and most consistent layers. I believe the not a GLW is a black sex link. I have baby marans, so I do t know how well they lay. Especially since most of the babies are boys

Speaking of boys, I have decided against wheaten ams. I have two boys and a sister of theirs. Is anyone interested in the two boys? I was going to add sissy to the layers, but I can part with her also if some one is interested. I believe she is blue wheaten.

Lil,
Are your two wheaten boys related to a Blue Wheaten hen I got from Casa? If not, I want them please. If they are related could I buy the sister instead.

 

[Sphinx]

Desert, it's maddening to know when they are ready to have their babies, isn't it? I'm kind of giggling over that little roo getting so cocky already. How are your incubating ones coming along?


So, my bratty eggs went and hatched after the kids left for the day. Again. I swear, next year I'm going to start incubating at 8pm and hope they hatch during the school day. I had all seven hatch. Got 3 girls and 4 boys.

Sooooooo, anyone here want a legbar cockerel? I'm up to my eyeballs in them, ironically enough.


My goth girls keep trying to get into my chick starter. So, when I bought feed today, I got crumbles instead of pellets. I wonder if they'll go nuts for it.

 

[Lilwanis]

Lil,
Are your two wheaten boys related to a Blue Wheaten hen I got from Casa?  If not, I want them please.   If they are related could I buy the sister instead.  

It depends on where casa got hers from. Blu lives close to her, so it is very possible they are. Casa, do you know the answer?