I’ll take the zucchini!
Welp, Dad planted the first two “for me” and he put them under the grape arbor, grrrrrr. They’re limping along, probably 4-5 years old now, never gotten a cutting off them yet.
I bought like a six pack at Home Depot a couple years ago and put them in my paddock asparagus plot, full sun. They got eaten alive by bugs, for some ungodly reason. I could just cry.
Good deal on the roosters!
That’s what I do! I have a nice Amish man that you take a box or crate full of live chickens and 1 ziploc bag per chicken and you get back freezer camp ready baggies. Roosters are a pain, it’s horrible when you go into the feed store during chick days - the peeping! I always want to get a few and then have to remind myself that I could very well end up with a rooster. I haven’t ventured past sex linked golden bluffs for that reason!
Based on my experiences, no matter how many chicks you get, one (at least) is always a rooster.
I only have gold and black sex links. Big roo was supposed to be a black sex link hen. Either he’s a mutt or a genetic oddball, or somebody mixed up chicks in sorting. I have a vague idea which hatchery they came from, and I know they use black copper marans in one of their hybrids, which is what he looks similar to. I thought I’d be safe with sex links this time - our last batch of barred rocks ended up with a rooster, too. Nope.
That said, I may end up bringing home more chicks at the farm store sale that starts tomorrow. :lol: I enjoy them in the house for the first week or two, after that it’s a countdown to when they can safely be moved out into the world!
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Crap, I’m planning on hatching 200 this spring if I can, which will end up being probably 6 separate batches. It’s gonna be like chick Jenga at my place :lol: :lol: :lol:
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The idea of dealing with 200 chicks is mind boggling :lol:
”‹”‹”‹”‹Are they broilers, or are you an egg farmer?
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This is why I can’t have chickens. I would have very old Roo’s running around- if they survived the fox and the hawks!!
Nope, standard-bred Barred Rocks. I have a comb issue that I need to breed out, thus the high hatch number. Hopefully in future I can aim for 50-75 a year.
Honestly, I love the boys. I don’t mind butchering the teenagers, and it’s sure nice to know exactly where your food is coming from. They have a very nice life and a good death, and I don’t know that my grocery store chicken can say the same.
Whenever I’m swapping hens in and out of breeding groups, it’s always the rooster in the pen that keeps the peace and protects the newbies. Good boys take care of the girls in such neat ways.
Heinz, if you don’t want boys, find a local breeder–not a farm store–that’s breeding auto sexing or sex linked chicks. Far less likelyhood of a mix up. Even if you’re buying straight run, many breeders will take back unwanted boys, so at least you’re not dealing with them yourself. There’s probably a FB group for your area that will have connections for you 
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TBH I really don’t need more chickens :lol: The cute little peeps are just hard to resist, especially when the farm store does buy 2, get 1 free!
