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Post by houseodessey on Feb 5, 2008 22:13:59 GMT -5
6 hens and 5 roosters? I have 12 hens and 2 roosters and one of the roos is trying to breed the other and attempting to rip his comb off, to boot. I have to keep them separated. How can you have so many roos vs. hens? I'm going to have to eat one soon, as I'm tired of the inconvenience. Any tips are welcome..
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Feb 5, 2008 22:44:31 GMT -5
We had to move 3 young toms (turkeys) this afternoon. It was a mating season blood bath in their house. So the 3 losers have gone off to live in the glass house again. Funny how they don't tend to fight much if there aren't any hens to be fighting over  Sammy....Easter's coming, just not soon enough, LOL |
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Post by downinmyback on Feb 6, 2008 0:49:06 GMT -5
By tomorrow i will only have 2 roosters. The man i bought the chickens from was a city slicker who did not kill his extra roosters off. I killed three last week and i had to wait til this week for my back to rest before i could finish killing the other three roosters. I will have only two roosters left a RIR and a Easter Egg rooster. I like Chicken and dumplings as much as the next guy LOL.
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Post by downinmyback on Feb 6, 2008 0:50:23 GMT -5
Blue you know that the male thinks with the wrong head when there is a woman involve LOL.
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Post by plantsnobin on Feb 13, 2008 20:55:16 GMT -5
We have had freezing rain/snow mix the last couple of days, everything is covered in a sheet of ice. The chickens finally ventured out of their house today, and it was funny seeing them slide down our pretty steep hill to get to the birdseed I had poured on the ground. First the hens went flapping and sliding down, then the rooster about landed on his ass, which honked him off pretty good. Chickens are useful for more than just eggs and meat. They are cheap entertainment for someone who has been locked up in the house far too long. Spring is coming, right???
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Feb 13, 2008 22:10:48 GMT -5
Karen, I get hours of entertainment out of watching ours. Some breeds are more amusing than others, but they all provide enjoyment for one reason or another.
It's great to hear that we aren't the only ones who love to watch their poultry.
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Post by flowerpower on Feb 14, 2008 7:40:34 GMT -5
I am looking foward to getting chicks this yr. I watch the birds all the time. Its easy when they are up your ass all the time. lol
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Post by plantsnobin on Feb 14, 2008 8:57:21 GMT -5
I got my order confirmation from Sandhill yesterday. I am getting 25 Rhode Island Reds on April 8, 10 Delaware, 10 Partridge Rocks, 5 Red Dorkings on July 22. My first choice for dates of delivery on the last group was May 6, but July 22 was the first day they had them all available, so I feel lucky that I got my order in when I did. Many of their rare breeds were sold out for all of 2008 before they even printed the catalog. I am anxious to see if there is a noticable difference in quality from Sandhill compared to McMurray. I believe there will be. These chickens will live in a fenced pasture at my daughter's-which is just 2 acres removed from our place. Chickens are fun, but I can't take anymore chickens fertilizing the porch.
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Post by flowerpower on Feb 18, 2008 6:06:16 GMT -5
Karen, I read through the sandhill breed list. Incredible, isn't it? Those Partridge Rocks are beautiful.
I see the TSC store is having chick days starting April 13th. Very limited selection. Though they do say asst pullets. So I guess I will have to look at chick pics. Maybe I can identify some of them. lol They will have RI Reds anyway. So I will get 2-3 of them.
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Post by plantsnobin on Feb 18, 2008 10:21:36 GMT -5
I don't know how the folks at Sandhill manage all they do. Just taking care of that many breeds would be a full time job. Then the seeds. If I had more land I would like to get a lot of different heritage breeds, maybe some cattle and hogs too. My in laws farm has about 196 acres, just across the road from us, but it would be hard to convince everyone to go with breeds they haven't heard of. We are all getting ready to buy some cattle for our own use. We also raise around 6 hogs each year for 4H, but the old breeds sure wouldn't win at the fair. The men in our family are pretty stubborn, with my husband being the most reasonable, and that ain't much.
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Post by hoosierheightsfarm on Feb 27, 2008 18:14:20 GMT -5
I can't wait for the Spring. I want to get chickens. My wife says that I have to build a barn before we can get real animals, like a goat, cause they will get cold outside in the winter.
She's a city mouse.
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Post by flowerpower on Feb 27, 2008 23:02:26 GMT -5
Goats need some type of shelter from the weather. And protection from predators. Some breeds of goats take the cold better than others. I have Alpines and Saanens. They were out playing in the snow yesterday. It was like 32F. Their hair is like 3 in long, they are warm.
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Post by plantsnobin on Feb 28, 2008 10:19:24 GMT -5
Hey FP, do you milk your goats? I'm trying to get my daughter talked into getting a goat. With the price of milk, I figure it might be worth a shot. I used to think it was fun to milk, not sure I would still think so.
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Post by downinmyback on Mar 10, 2008 19:23:20 GMT -5
My local TSC had chick day last Friday and my DW and i made a trip to look for some Barred Rocks but the only breed TSC had was RIR.
I ask one of the sale clerks if they were going to get any different ones and he asked what breed i was looking for. I told him PBR and he ask if Dominikers would be ok instead. It turned out he bred chicken locally and had some week old Dominikers chicks for a $1 each. I told him i would take six so he said that he would bring them to work the next day. He added a extra chick so now i have 3 pullets and 4 roosters. I can remember that we alway had Dominikers chickens when i was growing up lol.
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Post by hoosierheightsfarm on Mar 10, 2008 21:08:31 GMT -5
I saw that Orschlin (like TSC) was having "chick days" too. Maybe I'll stop in and see what I can find.
What "accessories" will I need for chickens? If I keep them in a coop of some sort, or a tractor. What do they eat this time of year? Help me Karen!
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