I have that mix in my barn and never had a problem so far. They are actually my more accepting group to newbies comming in. Good luck. Enjoy because they are great birds.

Patricia

Did I say that? I've done it, and it's not always a problem as long as you can watch closely and often, depending a lot on the breeds that are involved. With silkies, however, I would be very hesitant, due to their calm nature, extra toe, and crest. I wouldn't imagine many problems from the brahmas, but those grain store "Ameraucanas" can be a mix of any number of breeds, so it's impossible to make even a generalization on how they may behave. Good luck.

Terry,
I was there on Saturday too! I came home w/4 polish, 2 americaunas, 1 RIR, and 1 NHR. As far as I know Dodge Grain orders from Ideal. I currently have a coop w/silkies and some LF pullets along with 13 keets. They all are getting along fine so far. My biggest concern will be the polish but I will see how things go.

I hope to see you at Annie's swap on Saturday! Let me know if I have anything on my list you'd like.

-Sheila
ps. what kind of waterer are you using? if it's the small red/clear plastic unit put some glass marbles in it until the silkies are older. I lost one to drowning earlier this year....couldn't believe it.

I think I remember Patrick saying something about not keeping aggressive breeds with the sweeties...? Maybe that was what you were thinking of.

Anyway, congrats on the chicks! Brahmas are on my 'Wish List'. Good for you for being prepared. If you want real fun, get them some live mealworms! :)

Velvet ~:>

I think what I remember is that Patrick advised against brooding LF with bantams-maybe I misunderstood? I am able to keep a pretty close eye on them and so far-so good. The Brahmas are the best at nabbing the tiny grasshhoppers that I amused them with yesterday. It is just too funny watching them scratch around just like they were grown up chickens. That must be an inherited skill and not one that is learned from Mom.

Sheila,
Yes, I plan on going to Annie's swap this Saturday. I have 3 commitments that day! Annie wins though. I took a good look at those Polish chicks when I was at Dodge Grain, but ended not bringing any home because they seemed quite bigger than the rest that I was getting and I figured that the silkes will be enough to worry about for now. What I am kicking myself now for is not getting a seabright or 2. I remembered them when I was on 293 heading home and it was too late in the day to turn around and go back for them. Dodge is down to a small handful of the old English game banthams and that's it. I'm surprised that all of those chicks went that fast.

Hi Terry,

Very nice to see you at Annie's on Saturday. Did I remember to give you plant labels?

So... I went to the Nasbirdclub meeting on Sunday (we were talking about this at the plant swap) and I came home with 8 more pullets... like we were saying, "It's just so hard to say 'No' sometimes." I got two black Araucanas/Americanas (already getting in their cheek feathers), two Black Langshans, and four Barred Rocks. I really did need to add some more large egg layers to my flock, really I did. *wink*

Hope your chicks are doing well! (Actually, my Frizzle is setting on quite a bunch of eggs.. due to hatch soon... so I'll have new chicks of my own... soooo cute!)

Sue
lilysgarden

Here is a link that might be useful: Northeastern Avicultural Society

Hi Sue,
Yes, you did give me plant labels-thanks! I love new plants to try, especially ones that are not the run of the mill. If you need help this summer moving plants, transplanting, potting, etc, send me an email and I'll give you a hand.

I obviously didn't make the meeting Sunday (hubby decided that I had to come with him to every store in Nashua that sells computers and luggage to look for a hard case for his new laptop-an impossible mission) so no new birds for me. My chicks are doing great! It's so fun to see their personalities develop. One will jump on my hand already, and several are still shy and hide under their sisters when I pick them up.

Am I correct in assuming that Nasbird specializes in poultry? I got a little confused with the link on their website to BOAF-I used to belong to them years ago and they were/are a parrot society. I thought I used to belong to Nasbird and thought they were parrots as well, but I must be thinking of another club (the one that used to meet in Nashua). Are you familiar with a poultry fancier's association aound us? I thought it was either NE or NH Poultry Fanciers-I thought I remember seeing a post on a swap last fall from them, but I can't find any information on the web.

Cheers,
Terry

Terry,

You're confusing some of the clubs.

Northeastern Avicultural Society promotes ALL aspects of aviculture, from cage birds to poultry, wild and domestic waterfowl, ratites and gamebirds.

New Hampshire Avicultural Society is the one which used to meet in Nashua, and was a relatively large club at one time. In recent years it has almost completely dissolved, with only 3 or 4 people keeping it together. They've talked about promoting it again and trying to increase activity, but it's a lot of work for those involved. When BOAF was formed, it was basically a splinter group that had differences of opinion, among other things, and it gradually evolved to replace NHAS. The state is probably only large enough to support one multispecies cage bird club anyway.

Birds Of A Feather promotes all cage birds (not just parrots), and has a big yearly show in Manchester NH.

The Northeastern Poultry Congress is strictly exhibition poultry, and has the largest show in the Northeast, every January, usually the second weekend, in Springfield.

New Hampshire Poultry Fanciers is also strictly exhibition poultry, with NH's only sanctioned poultry show every October, in addition to a strong supporting at the Deerfield Fair. There is often a sale in August as well, which attracts lots of other people (sometimes unfortunately) in addition to exhibition breeders.

There's also the Boston Poultry Exposition, once a very prominant club which held America's very first poultry show back in 1849. The club is a shade of it's former self, but still holds an annual show in the fall. The dates have varied in recent years.

Patrick,
Yes, I can see that I was confused-and with good reason, since some have similar names! I used to belong to BOAF and NHAS until they both got too political and clickey and I left them both years ago. Do any of the last 3 on your list have websites or some other way to get information about them? I've never been to a poultry show and I'd be interested in attending one (some) this fall to see what are considered show quality birds.
Cheers,
Terry

http://www.poultrycongress.com/

http://nhpoultryfanciers.homestead.com/index.html
Website should be updated in a few months with this year's show info.

Boston Poultry Exposition info I'll have to look up, if you're serious.

Also try the Poultry Press if you're very interested in shows. It has lisings for most shows held throughout the country, and lots of other info on exhibiting poultry.
http://www.poultrypress.com/

If you are interested in seeing what it's all about, be careful to choose an official sanctioned poultry show as opposed to the local county fair poultry division. There is a huge difference. In the Northeast, most fairs are usually entered by backyard chicken keepers and/or 4H kids. They sometimes hire licensed poultry judges, but often do not, just choosing anyone who they think, or who can convince them, that they have any kind of knowledge of what makes one bird better than another for exhibition purposes. Occasionally you'll get a few true exhibition type birds entered, but most are not. The sanctioned shows, put on by a poultry club, usually attract exhibitors from multiple states, who have exhibition type birds as opposed to hatchery or production birds.

The Deerfield Fair is one local exception, and it often attracts many exhibition breeders, although most leave their best birds at home and save them for the serious competition of the open shows, for various reasons. It's been years since I've entered at Topsfield, but they also have a good reputation for attracting exhibition type birds, as far as fairs go. The situation is not the same in other parts of the country. In some areas, such as the midwest and upper midwest, the big state fairs actually attract serious competeters, and are sanctioned with the appropriate organizations, with licensed, sought after judges and sometimes fairly substantial prizes. Just don't go to NH's state fair and expect to see many prize winners that are representative of what real show type birds are.

Thanks Patrick-that is all great information. I'll check out the web sites and try to make a good show or 2 this year.
Cheers