****Winter**** Chicken Moma chat thread. Join in the chat!

[Nielsen6]

Got your eggs today Sarah! They are gorgeous! They are set and now to wait 21 days. Forever in other words....LOL!

[slimy72]

How fun! Wouldn't you know just as soon as dh and I said we didn't want to hatch out chicks we both felt sad and decided we needed to. But we're just going to hatch them out or meat. So we got online and found a cheap rooster (amaracuna he happens to be for $2-and that's a dual breed so it works) and we'll go get him this afternoon. We'll keep him a month or so just to get enough eggs for the incubator and then we'll either eat him or sell him again. Now I kind of wish we hadn't eaten our Rohde island red rooster last month. We like hatching out chicks in our classrooms, and having them for our son to watch too. But we just have such awful luck getting girls that I hate counting on them. When we go to pick him up we're going to go to the feed store and see what chicks they have and maybe pick some up.

[3lilbubs]

Cool, you'll get olive eggers from that combo. Fyi though, the Ameraucanas and easter eggers are lighter in body type so the resulting chickens will not have a lot of heavy breast meat. A full grown male is no more than 6 lbs, a hen about 4 1/2.

[slimy72]

Well crap. I found several websites that listed them as dual purpose breeds so I was hoping they would be ok. But the lady ended up not being home so I'm going to go get it Monday instead. So hoping someone lists a better breed of rooster for me between now and then.

And what happens when two very indecisive people go to the farm store. Well, it's not 4 chickens. We ended up with 5 chicks because we just couldn't pick. We got 2 RIRs, 1 Barred Rock, 1 Buff Orpington, and 1 Golden Laced Wyendott. Basically we tried all of them that said they were heavier birds, winter hardy, and good winter layers. So here's hoping we have eggs next winter too. Although it occurred to us on the way home it might not just be the breed that gives us eggs all winter. We kept thinking we were still getting eggs because they were RIRs. But our cross bred chicken is still laying too. And our friends who were saying theirs stopped laying several months ago has RIRs too. So now I"m wondering what we're doing right that's keeping them laying. Probably all my good vegi scraps or the heat lamp and heated waterer. Not completely sure but we like having eggs all year.

Oh, and for the person who comes to N. Utah, they do not have all their chicks in yet. They just have the basics right now. But part of the reason I prefer them over Cal Ranch is because they buy in mainly pullets. Cal ranch buys in straight runs and only charges about $.75 less a bird. IMO that isn't worth getting half roosters. But I know as we get much further into spring IFA will get a lot more breeds in than they have now.

ETA: I was kind of sad they didn't have buckeyes. We would have probably had to get 6 if they'd had them. And now I'll be keeping my eyes open for them.

[3lilbubs]

LOL, sorry to throw a wrench in things. I don't know why they are listed as dual purpose, they are quite small birds even at maturity. My biggest EE hen barely weighs 5 lbs and that's full weight. I imagine dressed they'd be around 3 lbs. I'm growing out some roosters right now for meat and at 16wks old I'm not expecting more than 2.5lbs per bird. All that aside...they are my favorite, not only because they are the cutest sweetest little things ever, but they have a great feed conversion for eggs because they simply don't need to eat a lot. But they still lay exceptionally well. I can count on 6 eggs/wk from my Ameraucana/easter egger girls. I would put an ad out requesting a heritage breed rooster. I bet you find one.

Yep, I'd say you're doing it right if you're getting eggs through the cold! My girls quit for a week or two when we had a super cold snap but it's been so crazy warm here they think it's spring now and they've been drowning us in eggs!

[slimy72]

That's what I thought in my mind, that they were small. But then I found info to the contrary and I thought I must be wrong.
As for cold, this has been one of the coldest winters we've had in a long time. It's been between -10 and 15 degrees for months (or so it feels mainly that's how Jan. and the first week of Feb went). Now it's finally warming up and today's high was around 35 F. It was so warm while we were cleaning out our lambing barn I had to take my coat and coveralls off because I was sweating. And through it all our hens have laid an egg a day. They take turns taking a day off and 1-2 days a week we only get 2 eggs. Heck, it was so cold getting our chicks home tonight (it was pretty warm at around 25 degrees F) we wrapped them in a blanket and blasted the heater until we were uncomfy just to get them home because I was afraid of shocking them wiht the cold. But they are all looking very comfy in the basement now, and are eating and drinking and sleeping.

[sarahannecloud9]

Originally Posted by slimy72 One thing I didn't find on the link, are buckeyes good dual purpose breeds? What ever we raise we like to hatch and raise chicks for meat so we prefer breeds that have decent meat too. I think that's another reason we tend to lean toward the RIRs and Buff Orpingtons. But those buckeyes are pretty and I wouldn't mind them if they have good meat too.

Like Liz said, they were developed to be dual and hearty. I'm super excited o be getting some pure ones. Even my mixes lay extreamly well.

Originally Posted by 3lilbubs Buckeyes are excellent dual purpose, and they were actually bred for that. In fact, they were what dh and I were considering growing as heritage meat birds because they are said to have a larger breast than most dual birds and good flavor. Most feed stores will take orders, since they are already ordering over 100 birds it doesn't cost them more to get yours too. Just ask that they be marked somehow. Sorry about all your male birds, that stinks! In my last hatch I got 3 males, 1 female as well. Hopefully the group in have in the incubator now will be better. I do have 2 black sexlink gals and they lay as well as the RIR's but since you mentioned wanting a friendlier hen, I will tell you they quite bold and will take food or anything else they want from your hand and nip at you if they're bored. They are on the larger side. I think it's the BR in them. Sarah your birds are getting so pretty, and that white chick is crazy cool! She looks like a paint horse! LOL What happened with the white EE? Did it calm down? Yea, a little pait, lol. I really would like to keep her, just her. The others I'm fine with processing. She's the only one without the tips of red feathering, lol. I had to get rid of the white ee. Broke my heart. She couldn not be calmed. Unfortunately, the seller of the eggs I bought believes firmly that I'm a horrible person for asking other customers about their experience. He posted in a thread I had in the incubating eggs forum and posted our private pms and basically just slammed me. Then he carried on and on in pms. I was shocked, I just wanted to cry. I did nothing to this guy, I never mentioned his biz to anyone, never said anything bad about them and was nothing but polite. I think people here know me well enough to know I wouldn't do that. I never asked for my money back (though I should have) or for another set of eggs. He volunteered the information himself in pm that they knowingly have a 15% or less success rate shipping to the west coast and 0% success during winter. With that information, he should not be accepting orders to my area. I spoke to another lady that said her experience was identical to mine, and she'd gone thru 2 sets of eggs with no success. And with that, I had one more quitter egg yesterday, the white silkie. Poor little soul. I feel badly for even setting these eggs now, I knew better. I would never have chosen these eggs out of my own flock to set. So there's one left, just a grey silkie. FX it's female. *sigh* I reported him and the mods removed the thread in the forum, and hopefully they'll talk some sense into him about the posts. I was trying to figure out what I did wrong, but everyone that posted in my thread on the forum was as stunned as I was. What a crazy weekend. In more positive news, all the other eggs are looking great, happy little jumping bean babies. Can't wait to meet them in 11 days!

I'm really sorry it ended that way, so uncalled for.

Originally Posted by Nielsen6 Got your eggs today Sarah! They are gorgeous! They are set and now to wait 21 days. Forever in other words....LOL!

YAY!!!!! Hope they all take for ya!

Originally Posted by slimy72 That's what I thought in my mind, that they were small. But then I found info to the contrary and I thought I must be wrong. As for cold, this has been one of the coldest winters we've had in a long time. It's been between -10 and 15 degrees for months (or so it feels mainly that's how Jan. and the first week of Feb went). Now it's finally warming up and today's high was around 35 F. It was so warm while we were cleaning out our lambing barn I had to take my coat and coveralls off because I was sweating. And through it all our hens have laid an egg a day. They take turns taking a day off and 1-2 days a week we only get 2 eggs. Heck, it was so cold getting our chicks home tonight (it was pretty warm at around 25 degrees F) we wrapped them in a blanket and blasted the heater until we were uncomfy just to get them home because I was afraid of shocking them wiht the cold. But they are all looking very comfy in the basement now, and are eating and drinking and sleeping.

I don't know why some sites say dual? They are pretty small birds imho. You shose some great breeds! I'd still like to see you test run a buckeye, lol. They sound exactly like what you are looking for. I'd bet you had winter laying success because or the light, and other things. The more comfy my flock has been, the more eggs we get. I did the opposite of you yesterday. I had to come back in and put on my coveralls, lol. It was 25 deg, with a killer wind.


We managed to get quite a bit done on the coop. I did all the frames with wire, as well as the deviders. My dang hands are all blistered. Ray got the nest boxes done. He said something about 1 board and we cold go get the deisel for the tractor to pull it out and paint. Yea, as long as it's not 25 and snowing again!

[sarahannecloud9]

Wack girls trying to fit 3 to a box! And new fluffy buckeye.











Nest boxes built.

Devider is in.

Homemade skill saw and hand saw so the boys can help.

[slimy72]

The coop is looking great! I really do want to try a buckeye now, but I have to find one first. The other breed I really want to try is a Cuckoo Maran. I've wanted one of those for years.

[3lilbubs]

aw, I love the boy's "tools" so cute! Crazy girls, what are they thinking LOL!! Oddly enough mine have never tried to nest together. They'll pace and rant and screech in front of whomever is in "their" box but they won't get in with her! Mine must be extra cranky. You can hear them screaming inside the house when someone tries to get near them while they're laying.