California - Northern

[PetRock]

@juststruttin - Could you post more info on your meat bird crosses? Ron mentioned something about it and I'd like a little more info. I'm trying the Bresse, but I'd like to check out more meat types if you don't mind.

@ronott1 - Hi Ron, I've never had cocci but thought perhaps I should have Corid on hand. Which is the best: powder or liquid? And, if I read right, you can use it to pre-treat and build resistance? What would the dose be for that, if indeed that is correct in pre-treatment.

Thanks so much,
-Chrissy

The Pita Pintas are good meat chickens, too! Correct, Ron?

Mine are only around 10 weeks old so it will be a while before I can personally attest to this. I am keeping all of them for breeding this year and should have some eggs/chicks for sale starting in April. The first PP meat processing should be August or September.

 

[ronott1]

Brought in some new birds. Was out handling birds and so I don't know whether the larvae I found is from my bird or a new one. Regardless, I need to establish a treatment. I don' t know what kind of larvae I found but I'm of the 'better safe than sorry' mentality.

Do any of you use neem oil? Where would I buy this?

My birds are mostly free range except for breeders. Even then they have big pens with outside space. Lots of dirt for rolling. Sending my son out to make sure they all have access to an ash pile too.

Other tips or products to buy for pestilence control would be greatly appreciated.

Worm larvae?

A lot of oils kill birds so I would not use them.

Lice and mites can be a lot of work--It involves dusting with seven and cleaning and treating the coops with liquid seven.

Worms, Valbazen kills all types of worms.

 

[ronott1]

The Pita Pintas are good meat chickens, too! Correct, Ron?

Mine are only around 10 weeks old so it will be a while before I can personally attest to this. I am keeping all of them for breeding this year and should have some eggs/chicks for sale starting in April. The first PP meat processing should be August or September.

I have one in the brine and will roast him tonight. I weighed the bag from the freezer--3.12 pounds @ about 18 weeks old. He is right up there with the Bresse and yes, they are very tasty.

 

[PetRock]

I have one in the brine and will roast him tonight. I weighed the bag from the freezer--3.12 pounds @ about 18 weeks old. He is right up there with the Bresse and yes, they are very tasty.

Please report back on how he tastes. We are processing our first Bresse cockerels next weekend. They are currently out at the farm and there must be 15 or so of them. We are also going to process our flock Bresse roo because he has attacked 4 of us and we are all tired of it. Maybe we shouldn't have named him Chauvelin (the bad guy in my favorite musical The Scarlet Pimpernel). We are keeping the 2 biggest, best, and nicest of his sons for next year's breeding. If they turn nasty, they will go to freezer camp too and I may look elsewhere for a different roo. We will be processing turkeys, too! They belong to our friends who own the farm but they are going to let us have one. I'm excited to try homegrown turkey!

 

[lawatt]

*sigh* -- thought i had someone from Craigslist who wanted to come take Max to a new home, but alas, as is too often the case with Craigslist, they changed their minds. grrrr....

 

[ronott1]

*sigh* -- thought i had someone from Craigslist who wanted to come take Max to a new home, but alas, as is too often the case with Craigslist, they changed their minds. grrrr....

I am sorry!

I hope you find someone else.

 

[OR4-hmom]

Does 3 days sound right for shipping eggs from TN, OH, or OK? Going to see if I could get eggs closer to NYD Hatch-a-long. Since mine are only laying 2 a day and only 1 of those could be fertile trying to explore what's out there. I'm trying to stick to recognized breeds and prefer bantams with clean legs, anyone know of any?

 

[ronott1]

Does 3 days sound right for shipping eggs from TN, OH, or OK? Going to see if I could get eggs closer to NYD Hatch-a-long. Since mine are only laying 2 a day and only 1 of those could be fertile trying to explore what's out there. I'm trying to stick to recognized breeds and prefer bantams with clean legs, anyone know of any?

Priority should be two days. I do not think they guarantee that any more though.

I hope you can get some for the hatch!

 

[OR4-hmom]

PapaBrooder has LF BBS orps that are tempting but really hoping for bantams I can share with the 4-H kids. Then again some of them a like holding a shot put!

 

[chiqita]

I have a BEAUTIFUL splash orphington rooster. He is incredibly fat so we named him taft. He is the most docile LF rooster I have ever owned and he is striking. You should take him!



We are cooking Thomas Kellers Rib roast tonight to enjoy our last day with a sink this week. MArio could not find the kitchen torch, so he used the propane torch we got for softening up the old linoleum stuck to the floor ( all 7 layers in the kitchen) . It was quite dramatic...



It should be good! But I have to gripe, I have 17 types of salt in this house, and he wanted a different type. Just when you think you have heard it all.

We went to the farmers market this afternoon and they were selling a box of pomegranates for $5.00. A few had to be eaten immediately and they became chicken treats. They were quite a hit! except for cranberries, he was challaneging the terrible red thing on the ground.