Just Want Pullets
I have been contacted dozens of times in the last few weeks by people wanting pullets and laying hens, and with the price of eggs, I understand. The trick is, that here at Flower Feather Farm, available pullets are far and few between.
I have pullets available only in two sets of circumstances:
If I hatch more chicks than people want and the birdies stay here long enough for me to sex them. That happened in December so I had a handful of pullets available earlier this month and they have been snatched up.
I grow-out a whole bunch of chicks with which to replenish my flocks. After they grow up I look for the characteristics I want to strengthen in my flock; the birds that don’t have those characteristics are culled — which doesn’t mean killed —just removed from the flock. I did that in late December and those birds were also claimed right away.
I am growing out replenishment birds for several of my flocks, so there is a chance in 4-8 months I will have some more pullets available. To get on the waitlist for those, go to the Juveniles and Adults listing for the breed you want, and sign up to be notified when I add any to the website. Everyone on the waitlist will be notified at the same time, so whoever checks-out first gets the birds.
A more reliable way to get some birds that will be laying this summer is to buy straight-run chicks, twice as many as you want hens, as half will likely be cockerels. (You can learn about sexing chicks here.) Financially it is about the same, but you can get chicks now and know what you have by late spring and be collecting eggs in the summer.
I am putting every egg I have in the incubator and should regularly have lots of chicks starting late January. You can see the hatch dates and learn how to reserve chicks from those hatches.
Scaly Leg Mites (SLM): painful, itchy, and depletes the birds of resources.
Which Natural Farm Feed Product Should I Buy For My Chickens? Layer? Premium Layer? Broiler? Premium Broiler?
Dalia Monterroso, local resident and President of Chickenlandia, just published a book: “Let's All Keep Chickens!: The Down-to-Earth Guide to Natural Practices for Healthier Birds and a Happier World”.
”Readers will learn how to plan their flock, how to raise baby chicks, what to look for in a chicken coop, how to keep chickens healthy naturally, and more.”
I have been contacted dozens of times in the last few weeks by people wanting pullets and laying hens, and with the price of eggs, I understand. The trick is, that here at Flower Feather Farm, available pullets are far and few between.
I’ve shared quite a few of my best tips and tricks for setting up a chick brooder, but what about the next step? When they are too little to just toss into the big girl coop, but too big stinky to stay in the house.
At this point, I put them in the big girl coop, with accomodations.
I house birds of different ages together regularly. Here is how I introduce them.
I kept hoping the warm weather would get here before avian bird flu did, but alas, both cool wet weather and bird flu are headed our way.
Medicated Chick Starter and Fermented Feed.