Washingtonians

[Chubby Chicken]

Most definatley I just went out and bought 350lbs of feed. WIth the droughts and the gas price hike here on the west coast... I am buying now before feed gets to ,50/pound.
unless you have only a few chickens buy in bulk now. Feed prices are going to continue to go up. Thank you uncle sam for making ethanol fuel a requirement. Now its more profitable to sell corn for fuel then it is for food and feed >.<

That was for Jessica in regards to not needing 50# of medicated.

 

[Chubby Chicken]

Really? Two things here. First, some of us don't give a hoot about the SOP. We raise chickens for other reasons: utility and/or fun! Secondly, you know that many, many (most? maybe all?) chicken breeds were created by mixing other breeds together, right? Welsummers and Legbars (even the name is a hybrid with the latter) come to mind, but I'm sure there are countless others.

 

[Ogress]

Just an unreal video that was sent to me of people much more brave then I. LOL!
Amazing shots and scenery.
Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=EEu42L0ufBY

Awesome video, thanks for sharing. Makes me wonder about the injuries sustained before they perfected their skills!

 

[FirewifeJess]

Most definatley I just went out and bought 350lbs of feed. WIth the droughts and the gas price hike here on the west coast... I am buying now before feed gets to ,50/pound.
unless you have only a few chickens buy in bulk now. Feed prices are going to continue to go up. Thank you uncle sam for making ethanol fuel a requirement. Now its more profitable to sell corn for fuel then it is for food and feed >.<

That was for Jessica in regards to not needing 50# of medicated.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I'll stick with grower until the babies are 16 weeks then buy layer in bulk; only another month-ish until then!

 

[Ogress]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I'll stick with grower until the babies are 16 weeks then buy layer in bulk; only another month-ish until then!

I've switched from Layer to Flock Raiser and then provide oyster shell and egg shells free-will. I find they eat less food this way. The feed smells better too. If your yard is not gravely, you'd need to add grit as well.

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

Thanks! Sometimes I have a hard time wondering what the appeal is of meticulously breeding chickens just to match someone else's idea of beauty. What about utility? Personality? What about unique chickens? I think Favacaunas sound awesome, personally.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Flock raiser is much more expensive than layer feed everywhere I've checked. That's why I plan to switch; flock raiser and grower are the same price.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote: I think the issue here is with the name "Favaucana"...it's still a mutt. Just like a "Labradoodle" or a "Puggle" are mutts. They don't breed true, and frankly, as someone who works in the animal industry, I'm disgusted that the AKC recognizes Labradoodles. They are Lab / Poodle mixes. Period.
A Faverolles x Ameraucana mix is an Easter Egger by definition. Everyone has their own opinion, clearly. But instead of making "designer chickens", how about conserving a breed that desperately needs the conservation instead of making more mutts?? JMO...

...And if you want to talk about utility...the Favs were originally bred as a table bird...a lot of people have gotten away from that in the pursuit of the perfect "show bird"...there's very few of us Fav breeders left that breed them for utility AND showing...

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Flock raiser is much more expensive than layer feed everywhere I've checked. That's why I plan to switch; flock raiser and grower are the same price.

I've been feeding Flock Raiser for a very long time, and have recently switched to Payback's all purpose poultry feed. It's about $1.50 more per 50# bag, but with the inconsistencies I've been seeing in my Flock Raiser bags, the health and safety of my birds far outweighs that $1.50. Some of the ingredients that Purina uses come from China, and Purina just had a HUGE animal food recall, luckily Flock Raiser wasn't a part of all that, but between that and what I've been seeing in my bags lately, those were enough reasons for me to switch to a different brand completely....

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

I won't repeat what my "mutt", the best dog in the history of the planet, had to say about your sentiments.

About this business of breeding true, what would happen if one were to breed a pair of "Favacaunas"? Just curious.

I think the issue here is with the name "Favaucana"...it's still a mutt. Just like a "Labradoodle" or a "Puggle" are mutts. They don't breed true, and frankly, as someone who works in the animal industry, I'm disgusted that the AKC recognizes Labradoodles. They are Lab / Poodle mixes. Period.
A Faverolles x Ameraucana mix is an Easter Egger by definition. Everyone has their own opinion, clearly. But instead of making "designer chickens", how about conserving a breed that desperately needs the conservation instead of making more mutts?? JMO...