Hi all! Looking for some eye-candy for your chicken yard? I am in Northern Virginia (Fairfax County), and I have two Bielefelder roosters I need to re-home. I chose this breed because they are big, very friendly, and gentle, and my last big rooster was a fantastic protector of our flock...
I have had them before, and they do very well! My CCL’s were some of my best producers. The eggs are gorgeous. Sadly, my last two adult CCLs (along with some of my other favorites) were taken out by a coyote at the end of last summer . So I had to replenish. I have never had bielefelders before...
Hi all! It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve recently added some crested cream legbars and bielefelders to my flock. Really enjoying the biele’s, they are super friendly (and not bad looking, either!) Does anyone have experiencing raising them in the summer in VA? I have heard they don’t do...
Help please! I tried to post this in the Diseases/emergency forum, but it did not post for some reason.
So......Our three year old rooster kind of staggered out of the coop yesterday, holding his head side ways. By the afternoon, his head tilt was more pronounced, though he no longer staggered...
I am chiming in a bit late here, but I have had great experiences getting chicks from Ideal (TX, couple of years ago, in Oct.); Papa's poultry (CA, in May) and Valley Hatchery (Ohio, June). In all cases, I ordered small batches of various breeds (10 from ideal, 6 from Papa's, 2 from Valley...
Checking in to see how everyone is riding out the storm! I muscled my way down to the chicken coop several times today, and the chickens doing great. We got 4 eggs today--- so pleased that the girls are still cranking them. They are tough birds.
Hi all! Well, I am happy to report that the chicks I got in late May and June are finally starting to pull their weight. My crested cream leg bar was the first to lay, in early November. She has been consistently laying about 6 eggs per week ever since. As of today, four others have joined her...
We finally got our first egg this week, from a crested cream leg at who hatched on May 15! She has given us an egg every day so far. Hopefully the other pullets will get the same idea. It is great to have fresh eggs again; we have been relying on commercial eggs since a fox took out the last of...
I have a question--- I have 9 pullets (crested cream legbars, rhode bars, and chocolate orpingtons) who were hatched on May 18th, and 3 pullets (buff orps) who hatched June 15th. So, the first group is about 20 weeks, and the second group is 16 weeks. Will they start to lay soon, or am I out of...
Hi all, and welcome to all the newcomers! I have a question about the risk of coccidiosis in chicks--- looking for some advice.
I ordered my first batch of chicks almost two years ago from a hatchery, and had them vaccinated for mareks and cocci. That worked great. Aside from predator losses...
Ki4got, I won't be able to go to Gilmanor (*sob*) as my daughter is being confirmed next week end. I will pm you, because I would be happy to drive somewhere to pick up chicks on another week end.
Hi all,
Well, we had a sad event this week-- a predator got five of our hens as they free ranged, in broad day light. Since we only had seven hens and one too to begin with, this was a big loss. Our rooster has been really great at keeping the hens together and giving the "run" signal at the...
I have 8 hens and 4 nesting boxes. For reasons that elude me, they all seem to like the same one. On several occasions, I have opened the coop to find two hens crammed in a single box-- one perched on the other's back-- while three other boxes are sitting there empty. Why do they DO this? It's...
The wind isn't too bad around here, but we have rain and sleet. I practically wiped out in the mud as I slogged my way down to the coop just now. Luckily, I found 6 eggs -- so 6 out of 10 are now laying! Woo-hoo! So, the muddy trip was worth it.
Hey Everyone! I have a 2 week old barred rock and she is very much a "lap" bird. I have been having social time between my 3 2wk chicks and my 3 4wk chicks. I can tell she is at the bottom of the pecking order, but one of her 2 wk sisters does stick up for her. after a few minutes of "play time"...
Wow, "emerald eggers" sound intriguing. I also am very interested in getting a couple of SFH at some point.... I better avoid Gilmanor, or I'll end up getting additional hens before I'm actually ready for them!
Funny, my chickens are the same way. As far as I could tell, they just scattered the oyster shell around without eating it, but they loved some dried and crushed egg shell I threw in.