Tennessee

[Okla-doodle-doo]

Hello everyone. From the looks of craigslist there are a lot of people hatching chicks this year! Hope everyone on here is able to hatch a few. Since I don't have a bator I rely on my broodys. Which isn't bad because all my chickens are bantams!. I had one hatch off today. Nothing sweeter than a banny hen and her brood.
I would like to see if we can get this Tennessee page moving. Everyone proably has a story about their birds. If we just start elling them others will jump in . If you are like me I love to talk birds and also to read about others experiences.
I live in Portland,Tn which is about 30 miles north of Nashville on I 65. Only about seven miles to the Kentucky line. I like to go to the Amish poultry auctions in Fairview Ky and Scottsville,Ky. A local sale barn in Franklin Ky also has a fairly decent poultry auction every sat. And there is the big auction at Elkton Ky. So I keep busy going to auctions on saturdays!I buy a few and then get tired of them and resale them and try something else. My one forever breed is the EE bantam. Now I am also getting into rock bantams. A recent find was a beautiful pair of golden comet bantams.
I also raise performing roller pigeons and brunner pouter and archangel pigeons. I also love to garden and grow flowers.

Okay someone jump in and tell us a little about yourself.

 

[kcsunshine]

Hi there, I'll jump in next. I'm a little south of Maryville and have 13 crazy hens. I don't have the set-up for chicks so I got all mine from Amish farmers at their last Saturday of the Month small animal sale. Mine were POL, so didn't have to feed them for all that time until they started laying (OK, I'm cheap!) I just finished putting sand in their run after all the rain and mud during winter, and I think I'm ready to pick up about 3 more. I have 4 RIRs, 1 BO, 1SLW, 2 BRs, and 5 Red Sex Links. Those sweeties cranked eggs out all winter. I think the least I ever got was 5 and usually got 8 or 9 daily. They had no light in the coop and no heat. They're laying machines. I've had them for exactly 1 year and none have made an effort to go broody.

I also garden and grow flowers (we sell at our 2 local farmers markets from May 1st to just before Thanksgiving).

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Hey, Middle Tennesseans! We are trying to set up a central meet and greet/swap. Check out Emmalynn's thread in the Meetup section! We are trying to pick a day and location. Come on and play!!

 

[Sissy]

Hi,
We have 18 banty cochin hens plus 3 roos,
2 silkies hens 3 silkies roos, 2 ameraucana roos and 1 hen
2 Orp. roos.plus 3 cats Ethel ,Lucy, and Boots.
and waiting for more Orps to hatch. and hopefully get more hens..
also waiting
for the first time Silkies to lay.had a veggie garden last year,
this year.
I am planting in planter boxes.less weeding..

Sissy ....yup, thats my name..

 

[wegotchickens]

I live in a rural subdivision in Seymour. My neighbors think I'm crazy, but aren't bothered by the sound of my banty roosters. Which is good, since a neighbor 'across the way' has a large LOUD rooster!

I have a quad of show-winning Mille Fleur d'Uccles, and they are the reason I fell in

with d'Uccles. The hens are the sweetest birds I have ever met. The roo who was sweet until a dog almost killed him when he defended the girls. Now he takes his guarding duties VERY seriously. Which isn't bad since he watches for both hawks and dogs.
I have a quad of Lavender d'Uccles.
I have a pair of 'starter' Butterscotch d'Uccles
I have a trio of Partridge Silkies plus a white Showgirl hen

I have a bator that hasn't stopped since January, a mother hen, and a broody hen.

In the house I have 6 silkie chicks from kentuckysilkies, 2 salmon faverolle chicks from hhammack, and 2 lavender d'Uccle chicks from my birds.
Under the mama hen I have 3 Butterscotch chicks from my birds, a showgirl chick from my birds (yay!), and 3 Serama chicks from a trade.
In the 'teenager' pen I have 4 Butterscotch (2 from my birds, 2 from chickenzoo), and 4 Mille Fleur from someone else's birds. I had thought to add new Mille blood to my birds but I think I will sell this quad instead.

I have a variety of eggs in the bator, some from trades and some I bought. I will do no more buying or trading for a while, though, since I need to hatch a batch or two from MY millies.
DH gets a little stressed about my hatching, but I do sell and give away enough birds to keep him from staging an intervention

And I do well at showing my birds. All of my d'Uccles have placed top 3 in any shows they've been in, and the 3rd place wins were against the other members of the quad. All my birds are purebred except the mama hen (and she earns her keep). Almost all have been shown, except the Showgirl. She's gorgeous, much prettier than any I've seen at a show, and I'm afraid someone would steal her. I never planned on having Showgirls, but she was a surprise in some eggs I bought and I fell for her. I'm so excited that I have a chick from her!

I garden in raised beds that still manage to have weeds

I mostly raise ALL the ingredients for homemade spaghetti sauce. I also have lots of flowers that I dry or press.
I have 3 cats and a guinea pig (technically DD's but I end up giving it treats and love too)
Last but not least, I have a supportive DH whom I love deeply, depite him telling me that 5 breeding pens was IT and I'd better not start overstuffing them

(I wouldn't, I want healthy birds!)

 

[bibliophile birds]

since i got the chickens, i've only been gone from the farm once, and that was just overnight. now i'm headed out of town for 3 days and i'm a nervous wreck!

that first experience wasn't a great one: Madeline (my gimpy little hen) got let in with the big boys and they ripped the back of her head open. it was nasty. she recovered just fine, but i hope to not have a repeat of that. i'm leaving detailed instructions for my parents. i made my Mom promise that she would do most of the work since she's a lot more "detail oriented" than my father. he didn't even look at the instructions i left for him last time.

i'm torn between wanting to call 5 times a day to check on things and not wanting to know ANYTHING until i get back. i mean, if something happens, i can't fix it from another state and it will just ruin my trip... i feel like i have children!

 

[jamesrm]

I am near White House, TN. I am setting up a new area on my mom's equine farm (versus where it has been on mine) for a small bird breedery. I currently have Bob White quail (getting Countroux soon), (for both egg collection, training and processed sales), Rhode Island Reds, Peking and Cayuga Ducks, and Toulouse Geese. They are all week olds at the moment. I am going to diversify to other breeds down the road and we are close to Beech high school, so might do some 4H stuff there as well.

I will have to check out the meet and greet, sounds like a great idea. I am always game for some swaps.

James

 

[Bare bottom farm]

One of my french black copper maran chickes and a scared cat,LOL

 

[kcsunshine]

Quote:
I'm sure your boys and girls will do fine. Have fun, don't call, you're right it would just ruin your trip. Want me to go check on things for you?

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
I'm sure your boys and girls will do fine. Have fun, don't call, you're right it would just ruin your trip. Want me to go check on things for you?

You know what? Us local folks ought to see if we can barter chicken tending services throughout the summer. Maybe a topic for our next get-together?