We weren't going to incubate many eggs this spring so I bought 12 black copper Maren eggs this morning will have to clean up one of the hovabators tonight lol

Now those will be really nice!

Wish you could Pork Pal, But I'd have to pay you shipping at least.

Copper Morans have those nice dark eggs too. Good luck.

The two White Plymouth Rocks that I brought home from the swap that didn't sell actually now start to look like chickens! They're out of the dinosaur phase and look like little chickens! They're almost 100% fully feathered and will be going outside probably later on this week. I'll put them out Tuesday morning as it's going to be in the 60s and may need to bring them in on Thursday as there's a slight chance of snow.. but then they'll be outside permanently probably after that. Which is good because I really need to move the older silkies from downstairs to upstairs as they're getting a bit cramped in that tote with the 4 itty bitty silkies, 4 half grown silkies, and 4 buffs.

I am so glad I found this thread. We have no chickens of our own, but we are the happy home away from home for the neighbors son's last years chicks. They love it over here on our farm because we have lots of wild bird feeders and the exotic flocks recycled seeds go out side also. That includes scraps of apple, and other green veggies as well as water. So having said that, I wanted to show you the crazy variety they are.





We got tired of picking up eggs under the equipment, so we put an old crate with straw in it by the mowers. The hens all use that and now and we were getting two and three eggs a day.
The little barn cat, Lucky, has this thing about the chickens and the nest box and now, no eggs, but cat in the box.



Now we are back to square one, eggs in the barn under the equipment. I almost had my SIL talked into getting some peeps (I am from the Amish Country and we call chicks Peeps) this year so I could hatch them and we would have our own flock. We have plenty of barn space and an area that was our old chicken house, but now he is not sure. He feels guilty keeping the eggs in our barn, but heck, our gardens look pretty messy with those 10 range chickens running around all day. May as well have our own ruining the beds. Anyhow, I wanted to pop in with this and give you a giggle today. Have a great day.

My little crew of growing chicks are eating me out of house and home. I'm going to call a friend this morning and see if he would like a few. He said his hens weren't laying much and he thinks they are getting old so maybe he will want to replace them. I have 24 now but only want 10-12.

JB, nice flock of chickens that visit! What a nice thing that you take care of them when no one else does and they reward you with eggs.

Paul, I still think you should wait to make sure you don't end up keeping roosters.

We just got some baby chicks too! I'll post pics as soon as I can get home! Chickens are truly amazing animals!

Devin.......What did you get?

I'm so enjoying all your photo's and stories. Makes me want to get chickens again too.

to ATP Devin

Devin, welcome to ATP. We are all awaiting seeing your new chicks. Chickens are so much fun.

Paul - If you think your crew is eating you out of house & home, you should try raising Cornish Hybrids! OMG will those pigs eat you out of house & home & the neighbors & everything else! I had only 5 of them and they went through 50lbs of feed in 1 month! Yes, 50lbs in 1 month! Yikes!!

Jacquie! So glad you found this thread!! They're so fun!!!

When my son was a teen-ager we raised some cornish-rock crosses for meat chickens. The results were wonderful, 5-7 pound chickens, but they did eat a lot of feed.

Paul - Is that all? My guys were clocking in over 12lbs... I had 2 roos & 3 hens and they were HUGE. Messy messy birds.

Toni, you kept yours past the usual slaughter age.

PPal - Yea.. I know.. I couldn't kill them. If they were hurt or injured or dying, I could have put them out of their misery. But I can't kill a perfectly healthy bird... They were 12 weeks old when I sold 'em. I was told, though, by some chicken experts here that they would have probably died of a heart attack within a week or two. One of the roos was having problems walking he was so heavy. His feet were HUGE.. biggest feet I'd ever seen on a fowl. Bigger than a Canadian goose's foot. I know they should have been slaughtered at 6-8 weeks, but couldn't find a slaughterhouse that would take them out. Process them, no problem. Killing them? nope. I think I have a lead on a place now so debating on getting just 2 of them instead of the 5.

My cornish-rocks were 7# dressed. Some were starting to have leg problems. It is amazing how quickly they grow. A good friend raised some at the same time and helped us dress ours for the freezer. He had the equipment and experience. I am probably heartless but I don't have a problem killing a chicken if I think there is a good reason. Here are some mediocre pictures.

Devin, can't wait to see your pictures.
Paul they are growing fast!

The oldest are 6 weeks old. It is amazing how fast they grow. I will raise the light 2-3 times the next 3 weeks and then they should get along with out it.