Sunnysidemicrofarm has awesome RIR's. They're a small farm/Breeder in Ohio they have amazing birds the owners super nice and very helpful. They're not local but have very cool birds and a nice varity of breeds. Check them out even if it's just for something to do for fun sunnysidemicrofarm.com.
For the pretty blue eggs I don't care about high producers. Lol I guess my "problem" with EEs were that they are "common" and "mutts" but now that I think of it they are probably the best of both worldswhat are sex links crosses of? How are laced wyandottes? I loooove their color. I'm not a huge fan of black or white chickens but would definitely consider a ostrolorp, is that the same as astrolorps? How long until I can keep them outside if raising from chicks? I have an unused bathtub that I could keep them in although my parents might have a cow. I'm worried chicks would be too much work at this point for me, I can barely handle my son! Also will just getting 2 be ok? Like a EE and a Orpington? I know ill want more chickens later but I think 4 would be too much work right now. Or is it better to start them all together?
They lay a nice colored egg, and most of the time their feathering is quite attractive.
One more helpful piece of advice when it come to the dust. Don't put the brooder box in your wife sewing room or you'll be in T R O U B L E!!!I think EE's are awesome
Sex-Links come in two colors - red and black. BSL's are made with a "red" rooster over a "black" hen - most often a RIR or NH roo over BPR. RSLs are a "red" roo over a "white" hen - Again, RIR or NH over RIWs or WPR's. BSL hens will be mostly black with some red highlights - RSLs (or Golden Sex LInks) are mostly red-ish with some white. They are both considered very good egg layers.
Wyandottes are good cold weather birds, and if you could find heritage birds, you'd probably have a good dual purpose hen on your hands. They are not "bad" layers, just not at the volume of those that I listed in a previous post.
Ostrolorp is my way of misspelling Astrolorps -- I find the spell check on this forum to be - lets call it icky - so I don't use it
Your chicks can go outside to play - any time you think it's warm enough. If you are asking - when can they be off heat - then I'd answer - "when they are fully feathered". That's usually around 9-11 weeks. If you are good about weening them off the brooder's heater - you can get them off heat faster than 9 wks.
Yes you can keep chicks in a bath tub. Several here have. WARNING - they are very dusty. They produce a dander that is very fine. You will be shocked at how much dust collects in a short time. One of the things that is very important with chicks is to make sure that they do NOT walk on a slippery surface for the first week. So that bathtup - needs to be lined with cardboard or something (not newspaper - but paper towels are ok)
Just 2 is ok - don't get just one. Also - if your plan is to get 4 - do that now. If you want the details - I'll explain why - but trust me here - you'll have less work if you do the 4 chicks at once and not two now and two later. So - it's better for you to start all 4 at once.
Ok -- next batch of questions please
I love you! You're a crazy woman!!Sorry, drake became lunch. No more eggs to hatch. Quitting hatchititus cold turkey.J i t t e r s ...
None of my chickens ever had the feather tufts, just the full feathers in the back of the head and neck with the beard in front. They came from chick hatcheries and I hatched my own so I went with the name they were called when I got them. I went down to Coastal today and they had 5 Araucauna chicks so I bought them since I rarely see them at the feed stores. The chicks have the beards but the only ones left were light colored since all the darker reds had been sold already. Each one has unique markings so it will be interesting to see what they look like when they feather out. I don't know what I should call them so I will stick with the label the store gave them and see if they are the same chickens I have raised in the past with the same name. What I had read about the eggs years ago is that they are more nutritious because they are lower in cholesterol. The yolks are a dark almost orange yellow color.The Araucana is a rumpless chiecken and only lays blue eggs. There is no nutritional difference in these eggs compared to other breeds. The Aruacana doesn't have a mane or beard, is has ear tufts. AraucanaThe Ameraucana: They are not a cross with the Araucana and other breeds. The more current, more accepted theory is that a different breed from Chile, the Quechua, was the parent stock from which the Ameraucanas were developed. These birds have beards and muffs and also lay blue eggs. EE's (an Ameraucana/X) can lay various coloured eggs.
