Utah!

[hen-thusiast]

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I'm glad to see you made your way over here!

again!

 

[vermontgal]

Hey all - I am planning a chick order for mid April. I will be ordering from a hatchery who carries Speckled Sussex. I will be ordering all of four chicks myself and so would like to connect with someone interested in 20 or more. Pacsman sorry I can't do March due to business travel in March and early April. I'll be back in town around April 10. Let me know if you're interested.

 

[vegaschick]

Hey UT, wanted to be neighborly and say

 

[PacsMan]

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Send some of that warmth and clean air up this way!

 

[Holyhabanero]

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Thanks for the info. I'm in Orem, and our City council is meeting to approve chickens later this month. All the breeds you listed for IFA and Cal Ranch are the types I'm looking for, so rather than order them online, I'll just wait until they get them in and pick them up. Quick question: Are the chicks sexed or are they straight run?

 

[kimbobim]

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You may want to call around - last year, I called the IFA in AF and they 'reserved' the breeds and numbers of chicks I wanted. Some breeds sell out really fast, so it's good to reserve them ahead of time.

 

[PacsMan]

Ok, I've decided against ordering Buff Orpingtons this spring. After reading a bit more, they take longer before their first eggs appear, and they're only "good" producers of eggs (not very good or excellent)...

I tired Black Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Red Sex links, and Barred Plymouth Rocks last year and wanted something different. I did a lot more research and have decided on Delawares! They're supposed to be fast maturing, lay large brown eggs, docile, quiet, pretty good at food/egg conversion rates, plus they come in at night and do your dishes for you...

Has anyone raised Delawares? I'd like to find out a little more before I order.

I looked at my coop situation, and 10-12 is all I can really handle with a quick add on to my existing space. But, I'd still like to get 18. So, I may build a 'real' chicken coop in the next couple of weeks. Has anyone built anything as big as an 8x12? At 3 feet per bird, I could have 32 chickens in that coop. But that's a little aggressive even for me. I still have my eye on 18. Meyer Hatchery is about the cheapest. They ship every Monday in March. I wouldn't order until the 2nd or 3rd week. They're about $2.75 - $3.00 each including shipping.

Anyone wanna try Delawares with me this spring?

Marty

 

[darkroo]

PacsMan, I've been getting a nice brown egg a day from my red sex link since she started laying. She is the only one of my birds that have hung on through the weather we've been having with an egg a day. Didn't yours do that well?
I have recently seen something on Delawares but I'm not sure who or where it was. Maybe someone in Canada??

I've been kind of working on one of each breed or type so I may be good for one.

 

[hen-thusiast]

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We ordered from Meyer last year, they did a good job. They were 100% sexed right. We did lose one, but that was because of that late March blizzard. We might be interested in throwing in a couple of marans into your order, but only if you were okay with that.

Our red-sex link is just like darkroo's. She started at 17.5 weeks and hardly ever misses a day. Best forager we have too.

 

[PacsMan]

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In my coop I've got 4 Red Sex Links 4 Barred Plymouth Rocks and a Buff Orpington. I get anywhere from 6-8 eggs a day from there.
In my tractor I have 4 Easter Eggers, and a Barred Plymouth Rock. I probably get 5 eggs a week from the PR, and 0 to 3 from the 3 Easter Eggers.
In my 'nursery' I've got Midnight, the Black Australorp. Probably my best layer. I get 5-7 eggs out of her a week. We've been feeding them to the dog, however, because Midnight has been eating medicated chick starter with the 2 babies. (maybe that's why the dog started humping everything???

). We switched 2 weeks ago to non-medicated pullet grower, and just started eating her eggs again.

So, of the 14 that are laying, we've been getting 7-12 a day. On the cold days it seems to drop a little more. I do have artificial light in the main coop.

So, why the switch to Delawares? Just because... I won't sell my first ones until the new hens start laying though... maybe I'll just keep them all!

Do any of you guys who have more than 6 or 8 birds find that you ~still~ don't have as many eggs as you can use?
1 sell a dozen a week, give ~about~ a dozen a week away, and the 6 of us eat the rest.... I could still use more to sell...