Hi everyone! I\'m new to the chicken world (as of March this year), and have learned a lot so far. Made some mistakes, but over all, I\'m enjoying the process and can\'t get enough. I live in Southern California, in the high desert....hot, dry, windy summers with cool, comfortable nights, and windy, cold winters, sometimes with snow - we had 18\" this past December, but that is not normal.
As I wrote in another thread, I made the mistake of buying straight run \"Ameraucanas\" from Murray McMurray, not knowing any better. Not only did I discover I didn\'t have the real thing, but over half turned out to be roosters - today was a sad trip to the butcher, since I couldn\'t sell them. At least 8 of them had already started crowing, and I couldn\'t take another morning of 4:50am wake-up crows, only to shove in ear plugs and try to go back to sleep.
Aside from that, I ended up with a couple of Buff Cochins from the Hatchery as \"extras\". I planned on getting rid of them, but to my surprise, at 10 weeks of age, one of them is laying eggs!! Got the second one today, in fact! I know it\'s a Cochin, because it\'s a brown egg. Completely a shocker, as I was told they wouldn\'t start laying until 5 months or more. So, if she\'s this fertile now, I can\'t let her go. Besides, they are really sweet and super cute.
I also have two silkie bantams. One white and one black. I had 12, due to the generosity of the breeder I bought them from, but I had to sell 6 right off the bat, because I didn\'t have enough room for them. Little did I know that out of the 6 I decided to keep, 4 of them would be roosters. Oy.....are roosters born in a 2 to 1 ratio, or is it just me??
So, I have 9 chickens now, all together. 2 Silkies, 2 Cochins, and 5 Easter Eggers, of which I\'m sure contain at least 2 or 3 more roosters. So basically, almost the entire lot of Easter Eggers ended up being roos. I did lose a lot when the shipment came, due to a cold snap. I also lost a lot in the replacement shipment due to yet another cold snap - the fact that my post office didn\'t call me when they came in didn\'t help either. So I\'m wondering if the ones I lost were mostly hens. I guess I\'ll never know!
Anyway, I\'m looking to start fresh and get some pullets or grown adults this time. Wheaten bantams! So if any of you know of, or have any, please don\'t hesitate to contact me. I\'m looking for one rooster, and as many hens as I can afford. Genetic diversity is a plus, but not required.
So that\'s my story for now....hopefully, I\'ll be able to post a good follow up in a few months!
