Who else is eagerly awaiting spring chicks?

[mymilliefleur]

Just wondering if anyone else is already plotting and planning what breeds they are going to get next spring. I know it's still only October, by I've already put together a list of breeds I'm going to get from a local breeder next spring.

So far I'm planning to get:
4 Barred Rocks
4 Buff Orpingtons
(I've raised a few of both of the above breeds, and wasn't that impressed, but the ones I looked at locally are really nice looking so I decided to give them another try. The lady said she thought her Buff orpington rooster was close to 15 lbs, and I believe it. They are very nice looking birds)
4 Standard Cochins (never raised this breed, but I have heard good things about them and decided they would be fun to try)
6 Naked neck/turkens (I purchased 4 of these last summer, but ended up with 3 cockerels and 1 pullet, so I'm going back for more)
I'm also thinking about getting some Dominiques, if I can find someone locally that has some of good quality.
I'd also like to try some Salmon Faverolles and Dark Brahmas at some point.
So who else out there is eagerly awaiting spring? What breed(s) do you plan to get?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

This is probably not exactly the answer you're looking for.
I'm not waiting. I had chicks hatch yesterday and I have 40 eggs due to hatch next week.
I may set once or twice more this year.

I am anxious to find eggs or chicks from another line than mine but with so few flocks in the US, I'm starting to look at Spain and Central America. I've been trying to get birds from a different line (same breed) since 2010 and haven't been successful.

You should have fun with those. I like Rocks and Orps. Cochins don't lay as well and tend to go broody often. Most people are but I'm not a big fan of feathered feet.
I highly recommend these breed charts for breed selection.
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm waiting, May or June is the best time for me to raise chicks, I was going to get around 12, but my list wants to be 20, members on it change daily and probably will until I order, I like to order early in the year so I can get what I want but I am prone to changing my order, it's like Christmas to me.

 

[ihc1256]

Got mine a week ago from Murry. All 26 are doing great.

 

[donrae]

I'm waitlisted at Ideal for a few breeds I want from there. I'm also going to be hatching what I can this winter, depending on who is laying or if I want to go with shipped eggs.

 

[mymilliefleur]

This is probably not exactly the answer you're looking for.
I'm not waiting. I had chicks hatch yesterday and I have 40 eggs due to hatch next week.
I may set once or twice more this year.

I am anxious to find eggs or chicks from another line than mine but with so few flocks in the US, I'm starting to look at Spain and Central America. I've been trying to get birds from a different line (same breed) since 2010 and haven't been successful.

You should have fun with those. I like Rocks and Orps. Cochins don't lay as well and tend to go broody often. Most people are but I'm not a big fan of feathered feet.
I highly recommend these breed charts for breed selection.
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Interesting, what breed(s) do you raise? I'd like to eventually get into rarer breeds, but right now I'm focusing on what I can afford, and slowly moving away from hatchery stock. The breeder I'm planning to get my chicks from, also had some really nice Jubilee Orpingtons that were hard to pass up. I can buy six Buff orps for the same cost as 1 Jubilee chick, so I have to be practical.

I'd love to get some Jubilees at some point though. We'll see how the Cochins do, I have other feather footed breeds that do just fine, so that's not really an issue for me, and because I hatch all my chicks the old fashioned way, that's a pro too. Hopefully they will also be good layers.

 

[mymilliefleur]

I'm waiting, May or June is the best time for me to raise chicks, I was going to get around 12, but my list wants to be 20, members on it change daily and probably will until I order, I like to order early in the year so I can get what I want but I am prone to changing my order, it's like Christmas to me.

Yes, I tend to change my orders too, Picking just a few breeds is too hard, I wish I could try every breed available.

Got mine a week ago from Murry. All 26 are doing great.

Glad to hear that, what breeds did you get?

I'm waitlisted at Ideal for a few breeds I want from there. I'm also going to be hatching what I can this winter, depending on who is laying or if I want to go with shipped eggs.

I'll also be hatching eggs from my own flock this winter/spring, most likely EE's and naked necks, and than I'll hatch eggs from my turkeys and d'Uccle bantams later on in the year.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Interesting, what breed(s) do you raise? I'd like to eventually get into rarer breeds, but right now I'm focusing on what I can afford, and slowly moving away from hatchery stock. The breeder I'm planning to get my chicks from, also had some really nice Jubilee Orpingtons that were hard to pass up. I can buy six Buff orps for the same cost as 1 Jubilee chick, so I have to be practical.

I'd love to get some Jubilees at some point though. We'll see how the Cochins do, I have other feather footed breeds that do just fine, so that's not really an issue for me, and because I hatch all my chicks the old fashioned way, that's a pro too. Hopefully they will also be good layers.

I've had over 30 breeds. But now I've concentrated on the Penedesenca and the Black variety. Most breeds' varieties are only about the color but the Penedesenca have 3 egg varieties and one DP variety. The DP variety is the black. They are famous in Spain for both the dark eggs but especially for the flavor of the meat.

After all those breeds, this is truly my favorite.

 

[OzarkEgghead]

I ordered 7 ISA Brown's & 8 Black Australorps. They're supposed to ship on Oct. 26th. I don't know how true this is...or isn't...but while hunting for someone with chicks currently available, I spoke with a hatchery in Oklahoma & the very nice gentleman that I talked with said that it's very likely that there will be, in his words, "a very severe chick shortage throughout all hatcheries come Spring". I can honestly say that I was somewhat on the fence about getting chicks this late into the season....until I heard that. I decided that I didn't want to wait & risk being so low on the waiting list that I wouldn't be able to get any chicks until Spring 2017! And, yes, I'd agree that he was probably just feeding me a line to get me to buy from them & buy more than I had been planning on, except that he didn't have any chicks available in the breeds that I was interested in. Anyway, I can't confirm or deny it, but that hatchery is saying there's gonna be a chick shortage nationwide this Spring.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Seems to me there's a chick shortage every spring because everyone wants them in the spring, by summer the shortage is usually over.