BM> Many years ago when I was a youngster (I still am but only in my
BM> mind!)  I was a poultry fancier. I raised all kinds of chickens and a
BM> breed of quail  called Coturnix. I spent many many hours just messing
BM> around at the barn  and messing with my animals. Now I'm all grown up
BM> and don't live where I can  raise any birds. Oh how I'd love to have a
BM> place and have a barn and chickens. 
    I love having my chickens.  Previously, I was in Jr. and Sr. High when my 
family had chickens. (Guess I could also say college, but I was only around 
3-4 months of the year then.)  Needless to say it's been a few years since 
then, but that I'm once again able to have them is a great thrill.
    It's nice to be able to go out and talk to them, to check their feed, 
fill their water and, best of all, find eggs.  Finding eggs, even though we 
get quite a few and know their going to be there, is a little like having 
Christmas every day.  It's been three months since they started laying and 
my S/O *still likes to come in and take the eggs out of her pocket one at a 
time to show me how many she's collected.  This is after her muttering to me 
how she'd never get chickens again because she got no pleasure out of them 
and all they amounted to was an extra expense in feed. (That took place about 
a week before they started laying.)
BM> I used to get all of the mail order catalogs. I day dreamed about all
BM> of  the varieties I hoped to have. Its been too long to remember all
BM> of the things I used to know about the various breeds. I also raised some 
BM> Black Australorps  and thought they were nice. I do remember that they 
BM> were the result of a  cross but don't remember what the parent breeds 
BM> are.  Is it Black Orpington and what other one? The Black Minorca? Those 
BM> are ok birds. 
    I like getting the catalogs, at least McMurray's, because they are a 
wonderful source of information.  Acording to McMurray's catalog, the 
Australorps were developed from Orpington's imported to Australia from 
England, but that's all it says about their origin.
    Mine are nice, quiet, calm birds, altough they do seem a little more 
timid than my other varieties.  Since I do't use trapping nests, I can't 
really speak to their laying ability, but they must be laying right along 
with the rest of them because my daily egg count is just too high for it not 
to be so.  They *are larger bodywise than the rest of my hens so I guess it'd 
be safe to assume they'd be good broilers.
BM> One that I never got that I really wanted is the Speckled Sussex. 
    Just looked it up in the catalog and they are a pretty bird.  Similar to 
the partridge rock in coloring (which I intend to get some of) but a bit 
lighter colored in the underpinings.
BM> I had this awsome Auricana  rooster. He was black and had a very colorful
BM> speckled mane. He was very cool  looking and one mean dude. He took
BM> care of a dozen hens and he did his job if  you get my drift. I had
BM> incubators and I hatched many a chick and I can say  I can't remember
BM> an unfertile egg. He had his favorite hen and her eggs  were pink and
BM> always hatched in 18 days. I guess she was a good lay(er).  Ever see
BM> any of those Shamo Japanese? Now those are mean birds when they want 
BM> to be. Very odd looking.
    A friend of mine has a a flock of mostly fancies and araucanas.  Some 
people call them the "easter egg chickens" because of the variety of shell 
colors, although my experience with them has been only about two colors - 
green and blue.
    Can't say as for sure if I've seen the "Shamo" before.  I've never kept 
any fancies myself but I've seen and handled some of the long tail varieties. 
 
Is that what you're talking about?  They are strikingly beautiful birds and I 
have considered getting a few once I have more chickens laying and can 
justify the expense of birds that aren't producing.
    Our first chickens were on a very small scale (when I was younger).  I'm  
 
talking "backyard scale."  We kept 8 and never had a rooster (that was old 
enough to crow, that is) so as not to disturb the neighbors.  None of the 
neighbors ever did complain and were less likely to as they frequently found 
a dozen fresh brown eggs on their doorstep.
    The reason I mention this is you say you don't have the space for 
chickens but it sounds to me like you really would like to. It doesn't take 
much space and there's usually a mill or some source for all your needs near 
enough by that you could do chickens on a smale scale if you wanted to.  An 
8 ft. cube of 2 x 4s covered with chicken wire and with a door in it and a 
small roosting box that you can close at night would get you going with 
maybe 5-8 chickens (no roosters) and you'd start getting eggs in about 4-6 
months.  I'd do it just to have the sound of chickens cackling in my yard 
again.
    Of course, if you live in an apartment or in a restricted development, 
it might not be feasable, but most homes with a backyard are space enough.  
Hope you find a way to get back into it and it's been nice cahtting with you.
        Byrd Mann
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