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Chicken updates...how are yours doing?

JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
in Clubhouse #1
I know several of us ventured into the world of small scale poultry this spring...

Reached a milestone today, all eleven of my hens are laying...

The Barred Rocks are producing classic brown eggs, the Australorps a pale tan egg.

The quality of the eggs is great...with the alfalfa we have introduced into their diets the yolks are the richest yellow of any egg I've ever seen.

Note...before a couple of weeks ago...my wife had NEVER eaten a farm fresh egg....How's that for a deprived childhood?
Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • NNNN Posts: 25,236 Senior Member
    #2
    deprived childhood
    Yes, not having farm fresh eggs among other farm fresh food would be.
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  • bobbyrlf3bobbyrlf3 Posts: 2,614 Senior Member
    #3
    Jayhawker wrote: »
    The quality of the eggs is great...with the alfalfa we have introduced into their diets the yolks are the richest yellow of any egg I've ever seen.

    Note...before a couple of weeks ago...my wife had NEVER eaten a farm fresh egg....How's that for a deprived childhood?

    Neither have I. I'm sad.....
    Knowledge is essential to living freely and fully; understanding gives knowledge purpose and strength; wisdom is combining the two and applying them appropriately in words and actions.
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #4
    bobbyrlf3 wrote: »
    Neither have I. I'm sad.....

    I'll send you one...
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • NCFUBARNCFUBAR Posts: 4,324 Senior Member
    #5
    Jayhawker wrote: »
    I know several of us ventured into the world of small scale poultry this spring...

    Reached a milestone today, all eleven of my hens are laying...

    So I guess it does prove ...

    WhichFirst.jpg
    “The further a society drifts from truth ... the more it will hate those who speak it."
    - George Orwell
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  • NNNN Posts: 25,236 Senior Member
    #6
    bobbyrlf3 wrote: »
    Neither have I. I'm sad.....
    Sorry for you I had one today and Clean fried some on a coleman stove the morning after the hurricane..
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  • NCFUBARNCFUBAR Posts: 4,324 Senior Member
    #7
    cpj wrote: »
    All of mine are still alive and kicking, however they have yet to poop out any breakfast. I am HOPING that its any day now.
    Its been one of the the best father daughter projects I have ever done. Actually, it IS the best one I have done. The girls have just ate it up.

    How old are they now? How old are they when they are suppose to start laying? If they are slackin' just get the chicken whisperer to come and talk to 'em ... if his Mustang is in shape that would be a good road trip for Buffy ....
    “The further a society drifts from truth ... the more it will hate those who speak it."
    - George Orwell
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  • DoctorWhoDoctorWho Posts: 9,496 Senior Member
    #8
    Be sure to include fruit in your chickens diet, it keeps them healthy.
    "There is some evil in all of us, Doctor, even you, the Valeyard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your twelfth and final incarnation, and I may say, you do not improve with age. Founding member of the G&A forum since 1996
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #9
    cpj wrote: »
    I am HOPING that its any day now.

    .

    I was thinking that yours should be laying by now...mine started laying at about 30 weeks
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #10
    DoctorWho wrote: »
    Be sure to include fruit in your chickens diet, it keeps them healthy.

    Mine get watermelon, cantaloupe and cherry tomatoes,
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #11
    cpj wrote: »
    Mine are only 18 weeks.

    Where the heck is Buffy....when you need a chicken guy, they're never around...probably eating a doughnut...
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #12
    cpj wrote: »
    Mine are only 18 weeks.

    Just did some calculating...it was actually more like 20 weeks when we started getting out first eggs..you should be seeing something soon...
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #13
    cpj wrote: »
    I'm still trying to figure out how to keep their water from freezing this winter. Ill have to put up a pic of the waterererererere I built.
    Get down to Tractor Supply or Orshlein's...they have several types of heaters..a plate to set a galvanized waterer on and a plastic unit with the heater built in...$30-40 range...
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • jbp-ohiojbp-ohio Posts: 10,940 Senior Member
    #14
    cpj wrote: »
    I'm still trying to figure out how to keep their water from freezing this winter. Ill have to put up a pic of the waterererererere I built.

    I remember seeing a pic of the coop in progress, don't remember seeing any of the finished inhabitititited project......

    Just like guns, chickens don't exist w/o pics..... :buff2:
    "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson
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  • hisnhers1911hisnhers1911 Posts: 17 New Member
    #15
    Yall have gone chicken, LOL!

    Ours are a vital part of our farm management, we upsized, hatched a ton, had some nasty virus wipe out most of em, hatched out some more, had 2 legged thiefs steal my best breeding birds (Heritage breeds) and the skunks and coons got most of the rest. Got some more and are pluggin along with what we got now. Bout a dozen different breeds for layers (All laying different color eggs) and some Heritage Dorkings for our breeding program!

    Got our first olive green egg the other day, very exciting!


    Nic
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  • DoctorWhoDoctorWho Posts: 9,496 Senior Member
    #16
    I had these, very nice eggs.

    Nakedneckchickens.jpg
    "There is some evil in all of us, Doctor, even you, the Valeyard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your twelfth and final incarnation, and I may say, you do not improve with age. Founding member of the G&A forum since 1996
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  • BigDanSBigDanS Posts: 6,992 Senior Member
    #17
    cpj wrote: »
    I'm still trying to figure out how to keep their water from freezing this winter. Ill have to put up a pic of the waterererererere I built.

    Antifreeze? Alchohol? ;)

    Seriously, heat is the only thing that's gonna solve it. How are you going to keep them warm in the winter?

    D
    "A patriot is mocked, scorned and hated; yet when his cause succeeds, all men will join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain
    Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #18
    DoctorWho wrote: »
    I had these, very nice eggs.

    Nakedneckchickens.jpg

    What color eggs to Naked Necks lay?

    I've got a free-range flock of Silver Laced Wyandottes over at my cousins house...looking forward to some eggs from them soon. they're about 6 weeks behind the house birds...
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #19
    hisnhers1911 wrote: »
    Yall have gone chicken, LOL!

    Ours are a vital part of our farm management, we upsized, hatched a ton, had some nasty virus wipe out most of em, hatched out some more, had 2 legged thiefs steal my best breeding birds (Heritage breeds) and the skunks and coons got most of the rest. Got some more and are pluggin along with what we got now. Bout a dozen different breeds for layers (All laying different color eggs) and some Heritage Dorkings for our breeding program!

    Got our first olive green egg the other day, very exciting!


    Nic

    Nic...Seriously? you really had some dirt bags sneak in and steal your birds? I'd like to see somebody grab hold of our Barred Rock rooster...he'd make 'em wish they'd gone to KFC...
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • BigDanSBigDanS Posts: 6,992 Senior Member
    #20
    hisnhers1911 wrote: »
    Yall have gone chicken, LOL!

    Ours are a vital part of our farm management, we upsized, hatched a ton, had some nasty virus wipe out most of em, hatched out some more, had 2 legged thiefs steal my best breeding birds (Heritage breeds) and the skunks and coons got most of the rest. Got some more and are pluggin along with what we got now. Bout a dozen different breeds for layers (All laying different color eggs) and some Heritage Dorkings for our breeding program!

    Got our first olive green egg the other day, very exciting!


    Nic

    got any ham to go wth that green egg?

    D
    "A patriot is mocked, scorned and hated; yet when his cause succeeds, all men will join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain
    Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
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  • hisnhers1911hisnhers1911 Posts: 17 New Member
    #21
    Yup Jayhawker....between 1 and 9am, they snuck into the pasture and hand picked a bunch of birds in one night from several different coops, w/no trace, not a feather or an aggitated bird, nuttin (We usually go feed and water after dark so they're fresh and full in the AM, makes me think thats why there was no noise) The doors were even closed and latched back up. Took Ians pair of buff Silkies too.. talk about scumbags, GRRRR. Lucky I didn't get ahold of em!!!!

    Dan.. sure.. I got 3 300+lbs porkers waitin to go to the butcher :tooth:

    Nic
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  • BigDanSBigDanS Posts: 6,992 Senior Member
    #22
    Yes Chris I am an ignorant city boy. I know how cold it gets there in the deep of winter. I recall nights in Ohio that it was 10 to 15 below zero, F. Can they survive that kind of cold? Last winter we did have one night it got to +30F in my neighborhood.

    D
    "A patriot is mocked, scorned and hated; yet when his cause succeeds, all men will join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain
    Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
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  • hisnhers1911hisnhers1911 Posts: 17 New Member
    #23
    BigDanS wrote: »
    Yes Chris I am an ignorant city boy. I know how cold it gets there in the deep of winter. I recall nights in Ohio that it was 10 to 15 below zero, F. Can they survive that kind of cold? Last winter we did have one night it got to +30F in my neighborhood.

    D

    As long as they are free from parasites, internal and external and out of drafts, no heat supplement is needed. Even in freezing temps! Our birds, who are used to HEAT, did just fine w/the snow and single digit temps. Single combed birds might get some frostbite on the tips, but thats about it.

    Nic
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #24
    BigDanS wrote: »
    Yes Chris I am an ignorant city boy. I know how cold it gets there in the deep of winter. I recall nights in Ohio that it was 10 to 15 below zero, F. Can they survive that kind of cold? Last winter we did have one night it got to +30F in my neighborhood.

    D
    Here we have to fight the wind...we'll be erecting a wall of straw bales around the coop to keep the wind off...on below-zero nights, we'll put a heat lamp in the coop to take the chill off....
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #25
    cpj wrote: »
    Just hackin on ya Big D. :tooth:
    They dont need heat, they are out of the wind in the coop. But, I will probably put a light in there when it gets real cold. Cause they aint chickens. They are family members that poop out breakfast. Just ask my girls.


    Ill take some pics of the water thing tomorrow if I remember it. But its just a 4 inch piece of PVC pipe about 2 feet long, with an end cap glued on the bottom. On that bottom cap are two watering nipples. On the top I put a cap on to keep the bugs and critters out. I cant really put that on a heater. And thats the ONLY kind of waterererer I will have. Its impossible for them to crap in it. Which means I dont have to clean the water bowl out ever again.

    Heat tape...like you use on exposed water lines...just a thought...
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • orchidmanorchidman Posts: 8,438 Senior Member
    #26
    BigDanS wrote: »
    How are you going to keep them warm in the winter?

    D

    Roasting pan and an oven..........dont forget the stuffing!!!
    Still enjoying the trip of a lifetime and making the best of what I have.....
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  • orchidmanorchidman Posts: 8,438 Senior Member
    #27
    Hey cpj, if you are going to put a light in there to keep them warm, what about a low wattage bulb in the top of the water 'tower' to stop the water from freezing.....even a 3-5 watt tail light bulb would probably do it.
    Still enjoying the trip of a lifetime and making the best of what I have.....
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Posts: 18,360 Senior Member
    #28
    orchidman wrote: »
    Roasting pan and an oven..........dont forget the stuffing!!!

    Oh Dude...that would be like feeding the kids their puppy!...
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • DoctorWhoDoctorWho Posts: 9,496 Senior Member
    #29
    "What color eggs to Naked Necks lay?"

    IIRC light brown......
    "There is some evil in all of us, Doctor, even you, the Valeyard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your twelfth and final incarnation, and I may say, you do not improve with age. Founding member of the G&A forum since 1996
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  • BPsniperBPsniper Posts: 1,961 Senior Member
    #30
    My mom is nuts about chickens. We had lots of them growing up (along with many other animals). She still has some. All of them have names and she goes out and talks to them every day. Sits in their pen. Lets them run in the yard. A regular chicken whisperer. :tooth:

    She brings me fresh eggs all the time. My daughter loves hanging out with the chickens as well. Looks like she is following in grandma's footsteps.
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  • DoctorWhoDoctorWho Posts: 9,496 Senior Member
    #31
    What do you call a chicken that will not lay its eggs in the provided nest ?

    Soup.....
    "There is some evil in all of us, Doctor, even you, the Valeyard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your twelfth and final incarnation, and I may say, you do not improve with age. Founding member of the G&A forum since 1996
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