Virginia

[ki4got]

Hi everyone I am still here trying to not drown

this rain is driving me crazy I even feel sorry for the ducks

I am looking forward to this year so much and can't wait to crank up the ol bators and start pumping out the chicks The swap schedules are out and the birds are all gearing up for breeding (my ducks are driving each other nuts) I am hoping to expand and add a white egg layer breed as well as American Buff Geese, A new Duck breed (leaning towards Runners), a new Bantam breed or Cochin variety and I would like to get a trio of purebred rabbits to breed for meat and to sell also going to buy a Boer goat I know it sounds like I am going nuts and adding a bunch but most of the new ones will be replacing others I have already sold or will be selling soon

I am trying to decide which breed of white layer to add if you have any experience with LF white egg layers please go to the thread and add your two cents

I like the Anconas and the Dorkings but not sure if they will meet my needs
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/737148/choosing-a-white-egg-layer-breed

I have worked on my 2013 price list and added some new pictures to the website of each of my Cochin bantams since I am always asked what colors I have
http://cheapchickpoultryfarm.weebly.com/

well, i'm a personal fan of the dorkings, but it seems that really, only the silver greys are laying nice white eggs, the reds and colored tend to be more "lightly tinted' to pale brown... but i'm still a fan. they're laying better (when they don't hide the eggs) than my other breeds over the winter. granted broodiness can be an issue to egg production, but again i've had more reds go broody than sg's. i've got one red girl who's being stubborn and not wanting to break being broody too, even tho she's been relocated to the bachelor pad.

 

[Cheapchicksfarm]

well, i'm a personal fan of the dorkings, but it seems that really, only the silver greys are laying nice white eggs, the reds and colored tend to be more "lightly tinted' to pale brown... but i'm still a fan. they're laying better (when they don't hide the eggs) than my other breeds over the winter. granted broodiness can be an issue to egg production, but again i've had more reds go broody than sg's. i've got one red girl who's being stubborn and not wanting to break being broody too, even tho she's been relocated to the bachelor pad.

Please go to the link and tell me if you think dorkings will work for me I have always liked them and would get the Silvers if I go with that breed. I like the idea of raising a ALBC listed breed and the fact that they are dual purpose would make left over cockerels more useful

 

[ki4got]

Quote: already did, and for cochins, i currently have mille fleur, and will be getting a pair each of red and blue/splash that should start laying soon (next week). then i'm waiting for my partridge and silver and gold laced to grow up. i'm also getting barred and buff from mcmurray end of this month... we'll see what kind of quality the babies and hatchery chicks develop out to.

 

[ki4got]

well, i wanted the snow to cause the mud to freeze... instead we have about 8-10" of snow, on TOP of the mud. no power no phone, but we have generators, so life is good.

came down so fast the chickens were all stuck where they were and nobody brave enough to walk on that white mess. so i had to relocate about 10 from under my deck, 4 babies from the doghouse and 8 more from the other doghouse, and 3 more from under another coop... one baby decided to hang out in the stack of palletts. told Sunny (standard poodle) 'where'd she go?' she he spent a while going around and around trying to force her out. gave up for a while, and when we relocated the last of the babies, i heard her squawk... he'd nabbed her by the tail and was carrying her to me. poor baby was crying and flapping, but he ignored it all, proud he'd 'found' her for me. and so gently she had nothing but a bit of drool on her.

and a pic i took before the roundup started.

 

[real_redhead]

We had about 6 inches in the city, no power since about 8:30 pm last night, phone and internet intermittent, generator going too. Got one after having no power for a week after the derecho!! And my girls don't want to come out of the run. We opened the door yesterday while it was snowing and they all came to the door 2 did venture out and stayed right up against the run and back in they went. Today I opened the door again and 1 did come out for a few minutes the others all stood at the door looking at the snow. Too funny, maybe tomorrow they will want to come out.

 

[ki4got]

lol nope. NONE of mine ventured beyond their doors... the horse trailer was crowded to say the least. 4 6-8' long roosts with 25-30 birds living in there, with a floor space of about 6'x8'. LOL i think they all took turns eating and drinking, since i was nice enough to provide both for them.

the babies all came out to eat and drink into the pen portion of their tractor, but wouldn't venture out the open door either. and even my 2 coop/pen setups that had tarps over the pen, NOBODY came out even to eat and drink... oh well i wasn't giving them special treatment, they had dry clear ground to walk on.

 

[jmarie]

ahhhh I could not get mine to go in the coop early yesterday before we left for my overdue work holiday party (imagine running late, party gear and chasing chickens through a wet and muddy yard in the rain) so I left the door to the coop and run open and left, we had a hotel so when we got back this morning only one chicken in the coop and the other three are playing in the newly fallen snow. The door blew shut sometime last night so three of them slept on top of the coop the whole night.

Even with all the rain lately they love running around in the rain getting the worms that have risen to the surface

 

[Bulldogma]

First snow for my babies -

 

[ki4got]

First snow for my babies -

you call that SNOW?!?!

this is what's left after a whole day of 40+ temps... we got about 10" all told, as of this morning. it was so pretty before the melt started, i should have gotten the camera out. but i chose to sleep in.

I didn't want to go out in it, i really don't blame the chickies.

 

[lori stetson]

Greetings! We we we're surrounded by 5 to 8 inches but in our 3 square mile area all we got was slop on top of slop. My pens are a mess! Bought a carload of bagged mulch and spread it thick over all and everyone seems much happier. Did this in the snow last year and it got the girls out of the coops and quickly into the snow. Anyone else have other groundcover favorites?