I hope so.....
Eggs
- Thread starter wampum
- Start date
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That's terrible - sorry to hear that. Property losses are tough enough to deal with. Losing animals takes it to a whole other level.
And, on a brighter note.
Old rooster is walking on thin ice. He would not go in the coop last night. I finally told him. Old boy, you get to spend the night with the varmits tonite, and then closed the coop door. I went out later to try and find him, but he hid himself. I figured he would be in one of the trees around the coop, but he wasnt to be found. I was starting to think a fox might of got thim, but couldnt find any feathers. Anyways, about 7am I heard him crowing so I went out and turned out the hens. He commenced to strutting and herding those old girls and acting really happy. Maybe tonite he wont be so hard headed about going up. Got 2 eggs yesterday, a slight improvement, but nothing to shout about. I am looking for a chicken auction close by. Most have shut down and it looks like I will have to go to Tenn to find one. I might do a litte selling and buying if egg production doesnt pick way up.
Both of my Americana roosters have huge spurs. They must be over 3'' long. The oldest had broken one off so he only has one. He is mean as a rooster can be. I'll catch him after dark and measure his spurs.
On a different note. We all have been hearing about the feed issue that is said to make hens stop laying. I have been using Producer's Pride scratch grains from TS for years. Then my hens stopped laying. I thought it was there age that caused them to quit laying. I bought some Purina laying pellets last month and my hens started laying again. So there may be something to the rumors as people have said.
On a different note. We all have been hearing about the feed issue that is said to make hens stop laying. I have been using Producer's Pride scratch grains from TS for years. Then my hens stopped laying. I thought it was there age that caused them to quit laying. I bought some Purina laying pellets last month and my hens started laying again. So there may be something to the rumors as people have said.
Stopped by the mill to grab 200lbs this morning and asked the girl behind the counter if she knew anything about the tsc feed thing. She said she didn't know, but a lot more people have been eating feed from the mill lately and commenting about the chickens not laying with the precious feed amd doing much better on the mills feed. I'm just assuming there must have been some truth to the feed thing with her feedback.
Bill G
ArboristSite King
Proper feed is extremely essential. A meat bird will reach market maturity in 6 weeks or less on proper feed. If they are not fed properly they will not. Folks cannot expect a hen to lay properly while being fed improperly. They will stay alive but lay irregularly on poor feed. I have a son that works at a feed research farm. They do some weird tests to try things. They generally have multiple feed trials running on meat chickens. I always get a chuckle when he says they have to weigh chickens. You ever tried to weigh a live chicken? It is harder than washing them.
Yes, if you recall we had a discussion about chicken weight a fee pages back. Yeah. Pretty much gave that idea up. Think I'd have better luck pulling teeth from a tiger then weighing the darn chickens.
Nope never even gave it a thought to weigh an egg.
That was a hilarious tale, Bill.
Funniest part is, I can see myself doing the same things.
Bill G
ArboristSite King
There is no real reason to weigh a laying hen. They are for a entire different purpose. I got a chuckle from my wife years ago when she order some meat breeds for the boys to show at the fair. She grew up raising chickens but never meat breeds. When she told me she had ordered them I gave her a puzzled look. I told her she ordered them way too early as they would be prime weight in 40-44 days. I think she got them in May and the show was not until mid July. She did not believe me. We had to keep fans running on the fat boys the entire time. By the time came for the show their breasts were raw and they could barely move. The still won Grand Champion Poultry. The next year she said....."I don't think I will order quite so early"
You might try these guys: https://www.cacklehatchery.com/
Lebanon, Mo. they sell zillions of chicks. We get ducks from them in a number of varieties.
I cannot comment on the chickens they sell, though.
They have a pretty cool store to visit, too. We often visit when the family goes to the dentist there. It's a long drive to the dentist from KC, but he's a great dentist.
Bill G
ArboristSite King
Well in reality unless you are showing or selling eggs there is no reason to weigh them either. If you are selling eggs you generally want them to be as uniform as possible but many folks do not care either. If you are showing it is essential. Here they are shown as a dozen. I remember a year when a young boy had a dozen eggs he was so very proud of. He rightfully should have been proud as I am certain he put the work into raising the hens unlike other kids. The problem was he had "rainbow" or "easter eggs" they were multi-colored and not uniform in size. It was a nice display of eggs but not what is commercially desirable. The judge is a great man and he took great care to explain to the boy what was desired and how to select his eggs for the next show.
Here is a scale and what is graded as a large egg.
Bill G
ArboristSite King
Yep as low as $125 if you buy 4
Only $30 plus shipping, no pick-up orders.Shipping and Handling Charges: 1 bird-$202.00 2 birds-$232.00 3 birds-$261.00 4 birds-$380.00
https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/buff-orpington-started-pullet/
I forgot how messy ducks are. Especially with their water! My solution.
I boxed in a mud pan, filled it with about 3" of water and cut a hole so that they can freely go back and forth into their now dry, warm box.
They're as happy as a duck in water
I boxed in a mud pan, filled it with about 3" of water and cut a hole so that they can freely go back and forth into their now dry, warm box.
They're as happy as a duck in water
Heck we have a hard time giving them away let alone selling them before they get too old. Wife just took about 18 dozen to work for the girls to take home. Didn't weigh the eggs or even bother to make sure they were all the same color. She came back home with 5 dozen, I'm taking them to work Monday. My crew alone has 32 guys on it, but only 3 of them will take eggs. Never seen such a wimpy bunch of men. We don't washe them for obvious reasons, but we do keep the dirty one for our selves and let the nice clean ones go out the door.
Bill G
ArboristSite King
Well when Wal-Mart was getting $6-7/doz folks wanted them.
Shocking. I've never had a problem giving them away. There are people I work with that have offered to pay more, just to ensure they continue to get them.
Sean, how long do you keep your eggs?
We've always washed (hand scrubbed and rinsed) ours and never had any issues, not one.
They last a long, long time.
We've always washed (hand scrubbed and rinsed) ours and never had any issues, not one.
They last a long, long time.
