Countdown to Chicken Acquisition Day

I bet your "Black Giants" were what they call "Jersey Giants" now, Granny--they were created by the Black brothers and I don't think they were called "Jersey" Giants until later--they were Black Giants because the breeder's name was Black not because of their color. It is exciting to think you knew them then:0)

Oh, really? I didn't know that. Thanks for the info. That's the thing I like about Dave's. You can find out information here that you would have a hard time finding out without spending all your time researching several places for it.

GG

Wow, alot of information here! & VERY poetic analogies to boot.

Claire, just a thought. Thinking the bantum's with standards should do OK getting along. Since you won't have a roo, there is no danger of a standard roo hurting a bantum hen (which was the only problem I saw in my flock). Generally, the pecking order should work out with no major problems / injuries. Hope this helps.

Cheryl - Pea

Claire, you should get several eglus... then you can get one of each chicken :o) and wont have to make a 'choice' :oD

gosh, now that would be fun....maybe once we are out of the city and living in the country.... to get to watch all the diff chickens and compare characteristics, etc :o) oh well, someday....

patch i think your right now about the d'uccle lol i have gone web surfin
it was my guess on my very limited knowlage

Cheryl - thanks for that tip on the pecking order thing. I am glad to hear that they'll be able to get along. I don't want to have to segregate anybody!

Oneanjl - I was wishing I could get one Eglu in each of the 5 available colours and have a little rainbow of Eglus in my yard. Wouldn't that be adorable?! But, it would be very expensive. One is pricey enough for now. Kelly will probably build me another coop and then I can paint it a pretty colour. Maybe I can even grow a vine over it, like a grapevine, and have it be a little bit "disguised" that way.

Potagere - I am not sure if any of the flat peaches (I think they call them doughnut or Saturn peaches) are hardy to my zone. I should look into it. The best white peaches I have ever had were in France. The ones here do not even begin to compare. Of course, the best apricots were also in France.

Granny - sorry I misunderstood on the orpington rooster. I think I posted too many pictures and got myself all confused! I better get it all straightened out before I get my chickens!

SIXTEEN DAYS TO CHICKEN ACQUISITION!!! WOO HOO!!!!
Claire

OK, new task (to keep me occupied until chicken acquisition day).

NAMES!!!!

I have been narrowing down names for chickens. I am so excited that I just can't even think of what names to choose. I am not very fond of children, so have never had the chance to name kids, and my rescue dogs have come with their own names, so other than my naming of Thumper the rabbit (so original....) I have not had to name pets. What fun! Here is my current idea list:

Buttercup
Merlot
Womble
Ginger
Fluffernut

Any further suggestions? And no, "Nugget" is not an option.
Claire

I have a Buttercup! It is a lovely chicken name. I usually try going with a theme, my latest two are the Black Australorp/jersey Giants, Nigella and Lydia, from the FoodNetwork.

I think your names are wonderful. Very chickeny with dignity and wit.

I like your names, you may be changing them once you get the birds.

Hooray! Another buttercup. Every time I say it, I think of the song....'Why do you fill me up, buttercup baby, just to let me down, and mess me around..."

Womble, for those who wonder, relates to my childhood. I had all the Wombles books, and when I visited my relatives in England as a child, I would watch the Wombles on television. They are an unusual little critter than goes around cleaning up after humans that leave trash everywhere, and recycling it into good things. Here is a site about the Wombles:

http://www.nostalgiacentral.com/tv/kids/wombles.htm

Claire

Oh gosh Send me about say a dozen wombles, I am a mess. Very nice way to bring back some good childhood memories. My grandson named about 5 chickens, Dillon(after him), chicken bock, chicken daddy and chicken mama. Only 196 more or so to go.

Overground, underground, wombling free, the wombles of Wimbledon Common are we, making good use of the things that we find, things that the everyday folk leave behind.... (got the song stuck in my head now!)

he he he, is that the toon we see here, I have not seen it in a long time. there is a boy and girl and parents and the boy and girl are always getting into some kind of trouble. Oh yea there is grandpa also. With other extended family that sometimes comes out to fight off big ole mean guy.

ok looked at your link................duh me. Nope I am talking about the little people or something like that, but on the same lines I think, how cute

I remember, Claire! "Wombles wobble but they don't fall down!" My sons were raised as little ones in Britain so I had to learn all the children's characters. Their favorites and mine were Danger Mouse and Finger Mouse. The latter was just a little paper cone on a man's index finger with ears and whiskers. So much creativity! And there was Postman Pat!

Have you checked the British poultry sites? They have tons of good info with a slightly different bent than the US ones. There are good Australian ones too--once you get use to calling them "chooks":0)

lmao, chooks, when I have seen it i thought it was a typo...............learn something everyday.

Catscan, I think you're thinking of "Weebles."

Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.

Wombles are furry critters. Quite different.

Your right! I kept thinking that it should be weebles--but then I forgot about the wombles. Sort of a cross between a hedgehog and a wombat--but very green. Especially bad that I forgot because we lived in Wimbledon for a couple years.

I like the wombles better.

This message was edited Jul 22, 2008 7:24 PM

we have named our babies... I didnt choose any names yet~ kids and DH named them so far... I'm sure I'll be changing the names soon tho! lol

DH named them Dinner, Enchilada, Burrito.... then son stepped in and named one tweeters before DH could think of another name! lol!
DSD changed Dinner to Goose.... lolol!

I am dreaming up their REAL names trying to watch their personalities ;o) I am going to have to put my foot down on the enchilada and burrito names :o) but I know I DONT want Mildred, Beatrice, etc kinds of names either....

he he he how funny. I like them names to eat, but not for the birds. Good luck!!!

My DH named one of the first set that turned into roos, "Fanny"! But he says "Buttercup" is a ridiculous name....

lol mine probably wont have names, except for maybe a few but that will be a while before I decide the keepers and the ummmmmmmm.......

lolol! well. I just gave mine a lil corn cob and by the way these gals are attacking it...I think I'll have to come up with some pretty strong manly names for them!

Maybe dinosaur names...after all....they are related (distantly)

hmm the girls were trying out some dinosaur like names yesterday...maybe I should go consult them again!

Yes, CMoxon! You can really see the velociraptor in them when they come running for corn!:0)

ROFL ^_^

yea the raptor fits perfectly. It is hot and run then the chase is on. Mine love bread, noodles, boiled eggs and hot dogs.

"Nope I am talking about the little people or something like that, but on the same lines"

The Borrowers? Great books, and I think there was a similar TV show.

My chickens "developed" their names *G*. Our favorites were Piglet, Rosie, Nonnie and Bonnie, Milli and Vanilli, Bucky, Ted, Nicky (St Nicholas) Snowy, FrizzBang and Meanandevil.

wow some very intresting names


josh

Wow, such range in the world of naming chickens. I shall have such fun with them when choosing names. Some good names might just pop right out at me. I think I'll avoid dinosaur names since it's my intent to have cuddly chickens, and patting a Stegosaurus on the head just doesn't sound wise. :-)

lol now that is funny.

I get my Eglu tomorrow!!! (bounce bounce bounce)

I get my Eglu tomorrow!!! (bounce bounce bounce)

(this is my version of the happy "chicken-owner-to-be" dance)

I met someone at work this morning who has Araucana hens (2) and some RIRs. She has a chicken tractor. I think Kelly will have to build me one. She also has miniature Nigerian goats that she says do a great job on keeping her lawn mowed and are awfully cute. Hmmmm....

yes, and the chickens clean up afte rthe goats!!!!

i am dancing with you!!!! i suggested it to a gal who responded to my ad, wore designer clothes, drove a BMW and watned a frizzled cochin as a pet, she said the eglu was "too pricy", bought a 20 dollar rabbit cage, DH said no way, and she coudlnt' take it back. i bought back the little chick, guess i will have to keep Monkey Business as my own pet...

you know those particluar breed of goats are considered pets,, not livestock....

tf

letsee, id dint' tell you because YOU DIDN"T ASK. ya just went and bought a goat without talking to me first ;-P just make a little hole where the chickens can get in and out. they will clean up every piece of spilled grain, peck at the hay and scartch around for bugs.... will help keeps your goats parasite free, keeps flies down, etc... WARNING your goats may step on your chicks. i was petting Creamy when i heard a terrilbe death defying squack, and she was STANDING on little Spunky Monkey's foot, i had to yank Creamy by the floppy ear to get her to move, she is the "completely oblivious" one... Spunky wa slikely wanting my attention but won't be competing with the goats for it again.

goats are messy eaters. make a chickie door in their gate...

and now back to our countdown.... I WANNA SEE EGLU PICS!

No way, she didn't want an Eglu for her chicken but she has a BMW for herself? And wanted to put a chicken in a rabbit cage? That is just wrong on so many levels. I don't know whether she should have pets at all.

I'm the first to admit that the Eglu is quite pricey (Kelly building a chicken tractor will just take too long, and he has so much else on his honey-do list). But if someone has a job that gets them a Beemer and designer clothes, then an Eglu is affordable. Skip the daily Starbucks $4 coffee for a year and you've got enough for 3 Eglus! I still have my Starbucks on Fridays! LOL! Maybe her clothes and car are all on credit! My Eglu is on credit right now, but I pay my card in full every month and just get the points for using it. :-)

I'd buy the chick from you if I were closer! Sounds like a cutie!

Yes, those goats would be "pets" for us - plus a little lawn help. We have 5.5 acres and are about to upgrade to 8, so there is plenty to mow! I thought the goats could hang out with the chickens, right? Bottom line is, I'm interested in having the chickens and goats (maybe) more as companions for when I'm working outside than as production animals. The fact that the chickens lay eggs and the goats trim grass are just side bonuses.

Claire

EXACTLY [on all counts LOL]

they have no pets. she thinks her son ought to have one, but they tried the puppy and DH made her take it back after two weeks. she really put out great effort, and i picked a breed that could handle living indoors. i recommended diapers, and the cage was supposed to be just for night time. so now that they have gottwn a chicken education, and wasted my precious time, they are through with the pet idea...

consider that any bantam, whether OEG, d'uccles, dutch, jap, or cochin or brahma, is less liekly to scratch and more likely to be underfoot when you are out working in the yard. even if you just dribble some water out of your drinking cup, they are right their to drink it up!

just thought since you were getting small goats, you might consider small chickens. but honestly when you upgrade to 8 acres you amy see the need for some bigger and more of both!

tf

Maybe she should "take back" DH since he seems to be a sticking point! LOL!!

The upgrade in acres is mostly wooded land. We love it and we don't want anybody to build on it. It's been set up as a 3 acre lot for someone to buy, along with some other lots in our general vicinity. The others are fine because they are further away, but this one is right next door. I love it that I can't really see anyone else's house from my windows, and I'd rather it stays that way as much as possible. So, the wooded lot will, I hope, soon be mine. Maybe over time we'll clear a little bit of it, but mostly I'd like to keep it there for the birds and wildlife. Plus, if I were to put goats on it, I'd need to fence that. Now THAT would be pricey!!

I do like the size of the bantams though. I am leaning towards 2 or 3 bantams and 1 or 2 standards. The Eglu says it will house 4 standards or 6 bantams. Therefore I figure a max of 3 bantams and 2 standards. Until Kelly gets around to building my next coop! LOL!!

I also have to figure out if the dog kennel place near me would consider housing mini goats for a couple of weeks for when we go on vacations.

Claire

Vacation, what is that?