Virginia

[ki4got]

Ever heard of a female turning into a male?!? I know hens can begin to crow if males are removed but Oh My Gosh! This pullet-the only silkie I have and a known pullet- has been crowing since I took the MFBD boys out. The kids didn't believe me and now I have proof! SHE has laid eggs and I even hatched a chick from her.

one of my red dorking girls crows now and then, as did a bantam cochin girl I sold recently. both have laid well and been broody. the Dorking girl tho is not 'right' this year, as her comb is absolutely huge, so I'm tending to think something's going on internally to throw off the hormonal balance... i'll be penning her in a few days with my red dorking rooster and 1 other girl, so we'll see if she's laying or just being butch.

 

[4theloveofhens]

Hey Everyone,

Just moved to Portsmouth, VA from Colorado (military) and looking to get some new girls (preferably pullets but young hens will do). I really want some good layers (but still attractive). I have a 3-4 foot? chainlink fence around my yard, and separate dog run also of chain link at the back that would be perfect area for the girls (shaded and big). I am already concerned that the girls will have no problem hopping over the fence (in CA I had a couple girls go right over a 6 foot fence no problem) but still haven't decided what to do yet. Predators I'm used to involve fox, coyotes, and hawks. My dogs are super chicken shepherds, although with the heat and humidity are asking to stay inside more. I work from home and so can supervise the girls pretty well.

I'm trying to get between 4-6 girls - anyone know of any for sale??? I'm having such a hard time finding chickens out here! In Colorado they are a dime a dozen.

Your help is much appreciated!

Thanks a bunch.

Makenzie

 

[canesisters]

LOL - Welcome to VA!

You are about to be flooded with offers of chickens for sale!

 

[finnfur]

Hey Everyone,

Just moved to Portsmouth, VA from Colorado (military) and looking to get some new girls (preferably pullets but young hens will do). I really want some good layers (but still attractive). I have a 3-4 foot? chainlink fence around my yard, and separate dog run also of chain link at the back that would be perfect area for the girls (shaded and big). I am already concerned that the girls will have no problem hopping over the fence (in CA I had a couple girls go right over a 6 foot fence no problem) but still haven't decided what to do yet. Predators I'm used to involve fox, coyotes, and hawks. My dogs are super chicken shepherds, although with the heat and humidity are asking to stay inside more. I work from home and so can supervise the girls pretty well.

I'm trying to get between 4-6 girls - anyone know of any for sale??? I'm having such a hard time finding chickens out here! In Colorado they are a dime a dozen.

Your help is much appreciated!

Thanks a bunch.

Makenzie

Welcome to VA - We have all the predators mentioned + Racoon and Possum . In Portsmouth I would be be concerned with Dogs with a 3' fence . i have a hen that consistently goes over a 4' fence and I had to clip one wing.
I don't have any pullets available now but I'm sure lots are out there locally plenty of BYC people in Chesapeake and Isle of wight county area.
Do you have a breed preference in mind to narrow it down ?
Good luck

 

[4theloveofhens]

Welcome to VA - We have all the predators mentioned + Racoon and Possum . In Portsmouth I would be be concerned with Dogs with a 3' fence . i have a hen that consistently goes over a 4' fence and I had to clip one wing.
I don't have any pullets available now but I'm sure lots are out there locally plenty of BYC people in Chesapeake and Isle of wight county area.
Do you have a breed preference in mind to narrow it down ?
Good luck

Hi Finnfur,

Thank you for the info. I'm not sure what to do about the fencing. Do you guys have a lot of bird of prey out here? it is a treed area and so not very open to a bird's eye view, so not sure if I could just make the fence taller and go with that.

I have had RIR, Stars, Wyandottes, Americaunas, Marans, Cochins, and some others. All of these, except the cochin, I have really liked. I know there are many good layer breeds out there, so anything that lays a lot of eggs and is pretty (not gangly or flighty) is what I'm looking for. No luck thus far, and I've tried some facebook forums as well....

 

[ki4got]

Welcome 4theloveofhens. I'm not in your area, so can't help with birds (unless you want to drive to Roanoke)...

but I can say that I raise Dorkings (red and silver-grey) Swedish Flower Hens and bantam cochins, plus Easter Eggers, and they're all great. the bantam cochins won't fly over any fences (silkies probably wouldn't either) since they are so loosely feathered that they can't hold the air to get lift. the Dorkings are good jumpers, but their normal flight path is a fairly steep downward angle. LOL the SFH are so people oriented, they never seem to WANT to be far away from people and treats (or the dog if that's all that's out in the yard!) the EE's I have are friendly and tend to want to stay near the house too, but then again, they know I tend to control the treats and food... all of these birds free range when I'm not breeding for something specific, so I'm familiar with their tendencies outside of a closed-in pen. 8)

I also have had (and am growing out more) blue laced red wyandottes, and they are also a fairly heavy breed that isn't well known for it's flight capabilities IMO.

good luck in your search.

 

[ki4got]

Just a reminder, the Roanoke TSC swap is tomorrow morning, 8am-noon (ish).

i'll be there with SFH chicks plus some bantam cochins probably, and maybe a few EE's if I can get them rounded up. also possibly a few Coturnix quail (unsexed yet) about 4 weeks old.

 

[finnfur]

• BYC cindynkidsd is in the Windsor area and
• BYC Fentress is in Chesapeake [ don't see him on this thread usually Homesteading thread ]
• Send them Bmails

Also Karen turned on a light - you might want to call the area Tractor supplies and see if they having a swap soon.
There is one in Suffolk ,Franklin and Smithfield in your area [ may be more but I know of those]

 

[Cknldy]

My gender confused silkie was found dead this evening:-( Yesterday she got a bath and was crowing like crazy. Her comb was bright red and she kept trying to round up the mille fleur female. Last evening we put a mille male back in to try to sort out the gender issues. Silkie was still panting like it was mid afternoon, no others were panting still. I jokingly told my son she'd probably have a heart attack by end of summer. From the curled/pulled in and twisted neck I'd say she had a seizure or something. Her comb had been turning back to the usual mulberry color by this morning and after 2 days in the 90's it was quite cool today. Spazzing out? I had to fight the mille male just to get the silkie's body out!

 

[MistyMountain]

Well everyone, day 20 and my broody had a surprise for me when I got home this afternoon. There are at least 6 out of 12 chicks in there! Can't wait to check her again tomorrow!