LFG Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 On 1/13/2018 at 10:21 PM, Petee said: Nice website, and I feel very privileged to have some of the babies! Thank you again. I wish you had gotten a few more girls. When I get my NPIP license and you feel like taking on a few more chicks, maybe I can sneak a few blues up your way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 I didn't put the incubator back into the attic, so I guess I could plug it in............ If anyone on here wants chicks then if I get a list, I could probably hatch the eggs for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 2 hours ago, Petee said: I didn't put the incubator back into the attic, so I guess I could plug it in............ If anyone on here wants chicks then if I get a list, I could probably hatch the eggs for them. When I get my NPIP license I'll be able to ship live chicks Although, the eggs are much more fun. I'm still impressed with your hatch rate in that dinosaur of an incubator your son tried to eat. A dozen of those eggs were a long shot anyway. If you do it again this year I have 3 times the layers I did last year, so I could get 2 dozen really good eggs in just a couple of days steelnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Wow, you're developing quite a flock! You can tell when someone really loves their birds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 13 hours ago, Petee said: Wow, you're developing quite a flock! You can tell when someone really loves their birds. It's the black coppers. I've been through several different breeds over the years, had upwards of 70 birds for a while now, but the marans are replacing my older birds. I'm keeping the Easter Eggers for egg color, and the Silkies just because they are fun, but the other three pens are dedicated to the black coppers now. Three pens lets you breed in a "spiral" pattern, diversifies the genetics without bringing in another line with a different set of faults steelnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 My daughter who has the roosters is on the phone and asked me to tell you that they attended the Farm Show. They hunted up the Marans and said that none of the roosters there came even close to the ones that came from you. Congratulations! Yours put theirs to shame. LFG and steelnut 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 On 1/16/2018 at 3:07 PM, Petee said: My daughter who has the roosters is on the phone and asked me to tell you that they attended the Farm Show. They hunted up the Marans and said that none of the roosters there came even close to the ones that came from you. Congratulations! Yours put theirs to shame. That's nice to hear, thank you I've been really happy with this generation. I've kept my best boy from last year, he would be a brother or cousin to yours, and he will be going in his own pen this weekend. I can't wait to see what his offspring look like this season. He's got a better frame than the rooster he came from, he's got that broad back and full breast like your daughter's Captain, and his color is excellent. I'm crossing him to the best girls from another pen, so I have high hopes for those offspring. Just because the parents are good doesn't mean the offspring will be, he's better than his parents, but he is definitely carrying some good genes. This is the fun part of breeding, tracking what works and what doesn't. It takes years, and that's why it's so hard to find good black coppers. There's so much more involved than just throwing roosters and hens together. That just goes to show you have some of the best black coppers in your neck of the woods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Yes, I do, thank you, thank you, thank you very much! (My best Elvis impersonation)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 14 hours ago, Petee said: Yes, I do, thank you, thank you, thank you very much! (My best Elvis impersonation)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Let's hope that chicken doesn't bust out of the suit! LFG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 Here is my new leading man for this season, I just moved him to his own pen with 5 girls last weekend. He is my best rooster of last year, and has the best shape and color of any 8 month old I've ever bred. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he throws this year The color in his saddle and shoulders will keep coming in, he's still young. His shoulders will eventually be a deep copper, with only a black triangle at the tips of his wings, and those copper feathers coming in behind his saddle will get long, draping down over his haunches. He has a long, broad back, wide shoulders, and the most full breast of any rooster I've had yet. He's a beefy boy, and what I have been breeding for. I've been using heavy bodied hens to get a larger rooster, and I'm so proud of this one. I think your daughter's Captain is very similar. I'm very happy wiith the direction the genetics are heading, and I'm hoping that they produce many more of these larger birds this year. I'm looking forward to a great season at the farm. My waiting list for chicks is already booked through March 20th Lupara, steelnut and Sanibel 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 He sure is a solid looking guy., Maybe I'll send the incubator down to my daughter so she can raise some chicks for someone else! I think with 4 roosters and 5 hens she should have some fertile eggs! Figure this one out, she barters the eggs because some of her kids want white eggs. The leghorn finally started to lay eggs again today after a hiatus since early December. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 We were down at the coop today with the grandkids doing some cleaning and fixing. My huge compost pile is overflowing so it needed a new one. The girls got a new layer of straw (I'm out of woodchips) to play in and we straightened out the Chicken Shed. The entire outdoor run got a layer of straw with clean feeders. Boy, can those girls make a hellaceous mess! They've all finally grown their feathers back and they are all plushy. There's about 5 eggs a day from 9 gals, so some one else better start pushing. I added a Teaspoon full of Kelp to about 4-5 pounds of Layer Mash. Now to see where that goes. I was tempted to ask hubby to bring out the golf cart, but took another look at the weather. Nope, not yet! steelnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 22 hours ago, Petee said: We were down at the coop today with the grandkids doing some cleaning and fixing. My huge compost pile is overflowing so it needed a new one. The girls got a new layer of straw (I'm out of woodchips) to play in and we straightened out the Chicken Shed. The entire outdoor run got a layer of straw with clean feeders. Boy, can those girls make a hellaceous mess! They've all finally grown their feathers back and they are all plushy. There's about 5 eggs a day from 9 gals, so some one else better start pushing. I added a Teaspoon full of Kelp to about 4-5 pounds of Layer Mash. Now to see where that goes. I was tempted to ask hubby to bring out the golf cart, but took another look at the weather. Nope, not yet! Yep, it's about time to do my Spring cleaning, too. I finally got my NPIP inspection set up, it's this Thursday, so once that's over I'll start getting all the coops ready for the new season. I lined the inspection up for now because it's the least amount of chickens I ever have. Every bird is tested for pullorum (salmonella) and avian influenza, so it's easiest to do when there are no chicks and juveniles around. It's a lot easier to test 70 birds than 130-150 Once this testing is complete and the results are back I will be NPIP certified, which means I can tart shipping live chicks across state lines steelnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Congratulations. What is the minimum that you can ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share Posted January 30, 2018 10 for warmth. Some places say 15-20, but I'm comfortable at 10. I won't start shipping until it warms up a little, though. Even with the license, it's just too cold right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Yes, we have no use for Chick-sicles! LFG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share Posted January 30, 2018 2 hours ago, Petee said: Yes, we have no use for Chick-sicles! The biggest benefit to me in shipping is people like you. The longer I have to keep chicks, the more I have to feed them. It takes me about 6 weeks to be able to sex Marans 100%. I can charge more for girls, but they also take up room, so after I have chicks in both of my grow out pens I have to stop incubating for a while until the girls sell locally. After those girls are sold, then I have about 3 weeks where I have no chicks at all. I can sell girls as fast as I advertise them, but straight run chicks are a little harder to sell. It takes someone that understands that these aren't just run of the mill chickens, someone that understands the benefit of having multiple young cockerels to choose from. If I can box them up and ship them out as soon as they hatch, I can keep paying for feed with chick money. Breaking even has always been the goal, and I've never quite made it. I came close last year, but still wound up a few hundred dollars out of pocket. I figure if I can just have a self sustaining hobby, I win Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Check this out quick!! This guy is one of the biggies on You Tube. They just got back from one year of traveling all over the US to Sustainable Agriculture locations. They are looking for ADULT Chickens. Give them some and get international advertising!! They are very particular about the chickens they get. I think one of his titles is the Chicken Ninja and he lives near Ashville North Carolina. steelnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted February 1, 2018 Author Share Posted February 1, 2018 Speaking of YouTube For anyone curious to know what a SC accent sounds like... Sanibel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Nice ! LFG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Guess who! Peek A Boo! steelnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted March 21, 2018 Author Share Posted March 21, 2018 On 3/12/2018 at 8:06 PM, Petee said: Guess who! Peek A Boo! I'm sorry, forgot to check this thread for a while. All 4 boys perching and preening together? Do they get along that well? That's the difference in pen raising vs free ranging, they have the space to do their own thing. If I had 4 boys that close together it would be a bloody mess of feathers.... That's a great picture! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 They do not fight with each other, but they do have a pecking order. My daughter has a wonderful heart for animals and they know it so they follow her around like dogs. They are primarily pets. The hens are a little more stand-offish. She's finally using some of her chicken eggs. At first her family didn't want to eat "brown" eggs, (sorry, I did raise her although I never taught her that) but now she's more used to them and is using them a lot. I think I'm going to do a late hatch in June-July with some of her eggs, and I'll try some of your eggs at the same time. I'll let you know. As you can see, she lives right in the middle of huge apple orchards and has lots of room for them to range. Her only neighbors like the chickens (even the crowing) and she makes sure they all get eggs and baked goods with eggs! steelnut and LFG 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFG Posted March 30, 2018 Author Share Posted March 30, 2018 Hey Petee, the Mother Earth News Fair is coming to Asheville at the end of April. We got two day passes In chicken news, my barn looks like a hatchery now. Chick sales slow down after Easter, but demand for pullets goes through the roof. I'm hatching 4 dozen per week 4 weeks in a row just to get onough to grow out. I have a few friends that will take all the excess cockerels as soon as I can sex them, so it works out. I'm growing out my first chicks from my young rooster, too. Can't wait to see how his grow out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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