Colorado

[IdealisticRoo]

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Howdy!

Canon City here, but we used to live in Salida! I bought 7 Easter Egger Pullets from Murdoch's last March and couldn't be happier with them! They are the sweetest, friendliest hens and they are great layers, and have laid all winter! As a kid, we did not heat our chicken coop and we had problems with single comb chickens freezing and losing the tips of their combs, so I have tried to stick with mostly pea combs this time around (although, I have added heat to the henhouse now).

 

[alpinefarm]

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I *love* Norwegian Jaerhons for cold hardiness and winter laying. We are at 8400' and, although I have several breeds, my Jaerhons are my best layers, winter and summer. They are also expert free-rangers, very alert to predators and are a light bird/can fly. For a smaller, "gamier" bird, they still lay a nice-sized (creamy white) egg.

Ameraucanas and EEs are next on my list of mountain-happy, free-ranging breeds.

I can't speak to high desert conditions, tho...definitely *not* a dry climate up here in the Flattops!

 

[Rockin' Reds]

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from just the other side of the canyon in Penrose!! Glad you found us!!

 

[stickers]

Anyone interested in a free Black Copper Marans cockerel I have a couple that are bare legged ( English ). I would rather they go to a home than end up in the freezer. They are probably about 8 weeks old and doing fine in my outside coop with a light. Please pm soon if interested. Otherwise they will be going to a farm with mixed flock on Sunday. I also have a couple of Light Sussex roos supposed to be recessive for Coronation. I do have to charge for the Sussex as I paid a fortune for them but they will be very affordable.
They will also be going to the farm if no takers but it would be a shame if someone could not use them for their breeding project.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

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pm'd you

 

[JodyJo]

So I just ordered, 10 chicks from the Country Store in Elizabeth....5 EEs and 5 Cuckoo Marans....(all pullets, fingers crossed) anyone have experience with these types...I know you all do, I see posts all the time.

What do I have to expect with temperament etc. I am excited to have the colored eggs, and already have people waiting to purchase...

so onto question #2....how much do you all charge if you sell your eggs, and how do you clean them before selling? I have read that you aren't supposed to clean them, it removes a protective layering.

Then last question...how long can an egg stay unrefrigerated before you have to put it in the ice box?

 

[ghillie]

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I NEED more snow!!!! Don't want the cold but my pasture needs more moisture and Greg just seeded for the turkeys and chickens and I really need that to grow. One question though for you veteran Coloradans (I've only lived here 14 years). Do you think that cold blast was cold enough, long enough to kill the pine beetles? I remember hearing a couple of years ago that they needed something below zero for so many hours or days and that would literally explode the pine beetle larvae that were living under the bark of the trees.

The weatherman this morning said the National Forest Service said that at least this cold should kill some of the pine beetles.....

 

[JodyJo]

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pm'd you

By looking at your bio I see you have answered some of my questions....! $3.50 a dozen for your eggs, how well do they sell, I don't want to over price myself! I will be having the EE and Cuckoo Marans...so my eggs will be similar to yours. Right now I have 9 roos, (were supposed to have been pullets) one is given away, the rest are headed to the freezer very soon, so I will be starting our all new and fresh in the spring...can't wait for the eggs to start dropping!

 

[farmerlor]

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I NEED more snow!!!! Don't want the cold but my pasture needs more moisture and Greg just seeded for the turkeys and chickens and I really need that to grow. One question though for you veteran Coloradans (I've only lived here 14 years). Do you think that cold blast was cold enough, long enough to kill the pine beetles? I remember hearing a couple of years ago that they needed something below zero for so many hours or days and that would literally explode the pine beetle larvae that were living under the bark of the trees.

The weatherman this morning said the National Forest Service said that at least this cold should kill some of the pine beetles.....

 

[farmerlor]

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I adore EEs. Seems like everyone I've ever had was friendly and sweet. Roos are very protective and can be a little aggressive but they're smart enough to learn after you teach them a lesson. I subscribe to the abject humiliation form of learning for roos. The hens lay almost every single day regardless of weather.
I've only had a couple of Marans and they were pretty stand-offish but who cares with those beautiful eggs that they lay? They weren't quite as good at laying as the EEs were and didn't seem to do as well with the cold but boy howdy, some pretty birds there.
I charge two dollars per dozen and I do NOT clean my eggs (unless they're just icky poo). I tell my customers that we are BREEDERS and as such any egg that doesn't get sold has to potential to be hatched so I cannot clean them if I want healthy chicks. Yes I know that's kinda overdoing it but they seem to respect it and some have even told me they were glad I didn't clean them because they've heard that they keep better if they're unwashed.

Did you know that they did a study that seems to suggest that eggs do NOT EVER need to be refrigerated? Okay, I'm thinking if it's summer and I don't refrigerate....eeewww, but anyway, they kept the eggs in a cool dark room and tested one everyday and in a month of testing the eggs were still good. They also tested eggs in a refrigerator, trying one egg from the same batch every single day for a whole YEAR and the eggs were still good. I'm not suggesting that anyone ever, ever try this but it sort of blows holes in the theory that eggs are only good for three weeks in a fridge.