Utah!

[Iluvmysilkies]

So I am having this strong itch to get a paint silkie after Amanda showed me the one she got from you Cynthia and now im dying to have one lol! Is there anyone on here who breeds them I can go through or is the only way for me to get my hands on one is to order eggs online and hatch my own?? I am also still interested in finding a moorhead brown partridge (Brown body w/ black head & tail). If anyone knows where I could find one of either, let me know Thanks

 

[rheaps1]

I love seeing all of your beautiful chickens! I posted a few weeks ago asking some newbie questions and you were all very helpful. Thanks. I want to ask some more!

I ended up getting 5 beautiful chicks that so far at six weeks seem to be girls. A lav Orpington from Chase and an Easter egger, barred rock, black sex link, gold sex link from IFA. So far they are happy and healthy and I think I'm having so much fun! We have our coop coming this week. We ordered it from a local builder on ksl. It seems the perfect size and cute but now I'm panicking a bit because he uses "heavy duty" (according to him) chicken wire for the run instead of hardware cloth. I live in the middle of the burbs in east sandy. I have never seen or heard of predators up here like raccoons or weasels. Do you think it's ok? Do any of you city dwellers know what kind of predators I might be dealing with? I also have a fully fenced yard and motion censored back yard lights. I was thinking since it's so hot I should leave the pop door to the run open, but is that a bad idea if it's not predator proof? Is it always wise to shut them in the coop at night regardless?thanks in advance.

A couple cute pics of my chicks.

edited to addere were six chicks as the first pic shows, but one died due to a stupid mistake of mine.

 

[Cynthia12]

Cats! I've had a cat get one of my young pullets in the past. Doesn't happen often, but if there are any Ferrel cats around, they will try to get your chickens. Also, just had a scare of a very large hawk a couple of days ago. I just so happened to be in the middle of the yard, turned, and saw a huge hawk come up over our front yard apple tree. I thought fast..raised my arms and yelled, and yelled, and waved. It saw me and swerved up and over the nieghobrs house. I know good and well that hawk had to have circled a few times, decided to go for it, because these birds do not fly low. It had come around and was coming in for a chicken. I was in the coop run..it has a tarp on it..it didn't see me..and I just stepped out in time to scare it away. This has happened a couple of times now..once one flew down and got stuck on the chicken wire we have on the top of the run. Didn't see it, a neighbor told us at church that he heard a ruckus, saw the bird. He said it had a huge wing span. Then another time, I stepped out of the run, just getting out of the gate, and one swooped just over my head and up..up..barely made it over the neighbors house. A couple of years ago, had a smaller hawk get my friends chicken, then he was hanging out in the big pine across the street. Had to keep my girls in while that was happening. But, after all of that, I still let them free range. I figure this last scare..scared the hawk enough to stay away. He had to be only 6 or 7 ft. up above me. I surprised him pretty good. I have a dog outside that keeps cats away, and one inside that I let out if I hear chickens making noise at night, he just chased a cat off a couple of months ago. That's what I deal with. We have great fencing, no other dogs come in. No kids. Believe it or not, kids can be a worry. Had someone tell me that their neighbor's child came over and killed one of their pullets. Younger child. Didn't know how to handle it. My biggest thing is, have a top on your run. Have a run in the first place. In the winter is when the hawks are hunting in the neighborhood's more. My girls aren't out in the winter.

 

[RedIII]

Rheaps, your biggest predator threat will probably come from raccoons. I used to live smack in the middle of West Valley, and those things were all over out there! If you have any dogs, encourage them to urinate around the coop and run now and again. My brother had a husky that marked out in our yard, and my mom had a terrier. I really think that's why we never saw the raccoons around our chickens, and our run was always open.

I agree with Cynthia on the hawks and cats, and I'd like to add skunks and dogs. You probably won't see as much of those, though. I also understand there is the occasional fox in Sandy. However, if you've got a secure setup, I think you'll be fine. With my run, if I couldn't pull something off/apart, I felt it stood a good chance against predators. I don't think you'll have too many problems where you are, honestly. But it's always good to be prepared Hope I didn't scare you. I tend to be the worry wart.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

So I am having this strong itch to get a paint silkie after Amanda showed me the one she got from you Cynthia and now im dying to have one lol! Is there anyone on here who breeds them I can go through or is the only way for me to get my hands on one is to order eggs online and hatch my own?? I am also still interested in finding a moorhead brown partridge (Brown body w/ black head & tail). If anyone knows where I could find one of either, let me know Thanks

Paints--Varner Lane Fancies ("silkie_sue" on here)
http://varnerlanefancies.weebly.com/
you can contact her at [email protected] She had them last year, her site says she only deals in whites but it has said that for awhile so the info on paints might not be updated.

I would avoid eggs from bethbug.

 

[sillycmoy]

...

Do you have pics of your dark blue/black partridges? I'd like to get an idea what she's probably going to look like as an adult
[/quot

She is sitting on eggs right now, but here are other photos of her.

 

[Iluvmysilkies]

Quote: Aww she's really pretty. Was she darker as a chick? Does she have a vault or just an awesome crest? I love how light her body is, and how she kept the dark head. So pretty

 

[PinkChickenGirl]

I love seeing all of your beautiful chickens! I posted a few weeks ago asking some newbie questions and you were all very helpful. Thanks. I want to ask some more!

I ended up getting 5 beautiful chicks that so far at six weeks seem to be girls. A lav Orpington from Chase and an Easter egger, barred rock, black sex link, gold sex link from IFA. So far they are happy and healthy and I think I'm having so much fun! We have our coop coming this week. We ordered it from a local builder on ksl. It seems the perfect size and cute but now I'm panicking a bit because he uses "heavy duty" (according to him) chicken wire for the run instead of hardware cloth. I live in the middle of the burbs in east sandy. I have never seen or heard of predators up here like raccoons or weasels. Do you think it's ok? Do any of you city dwellers know what kind of predators I might be dealing with? I also have a fully fenced yard and motion censored back yard lights. I was thinking since it's so hot I should leave the pop door to the run open, but is that a bad idea if it's not predator proof? Is it always wise to shut them in the coop at night regardless?thanks in advance.

A couple cute pics of my chicks.






edited to addere were six chicks as the first pic shows, but one died due to a stupid mistake of mine.

Hi, We live in Riverton and do have racoons in the area as well as the neighbors cat who wanders all over the place. Our run is made of hardware cloth that is buried 10" into the ground. We also covered our windows with the same cloth. I would just wait until you get your coop from the builder and see how strong the wire actually is. I'm sure you could change the wire out if you think it will be a problem. We do not close our coop door at night. We did the first few weeks that we moved the chicks to the coop but honestly they were not happy if we didn't let them out by 6:00 am. We just started leaving it open and they are much happier that they can come and go as they please. Good luck!

 

[sundancenbare]

Hi, We live in Riverton and do have racoons in the area as well as the neighbors cat who wanders all over the place. Our run is made of hardware cloth that is buried 10" into the ground. We also covered our windows with the same cloth. I would just wait until you get your coop from the builder and see how strong the wire actually is. I'm sure you could change the wire out if you think it will be a problem. We do not close our coop door at night. We did the first few weeks that we moved the chicks to the coop but honestly they were not happy if we didn't let them out by 6:00 am. We just started leaving it open and they are much happier that they can come and go as they please. Good luck!

I have two automatic doors that open automatically. That way I know their safe at night but opens before I get up

 

[Cynthia12]

I love me a white leghorn. Took some selfies for Austin today. Had to send him a chicken picture. This girl just started laying last week, 7 days in a row. Took today off. First day since her very first egg. They usually lay for a day or two when they start, then there is a break..most hens that is..not the leghorn! Always sweet birds. I love them. This girl has a floppy comb already. Will be more floppy if it's this way already! All of mine are called Miss Piggy, because they are! They love their treats. I have a hen that is finishing up her mom..ness. lol...she will be for sale in a few days.