I got some wierd eggs today.
At the 12:00 is the largest one I have ever gotten. I wish I had a scale.
At 3:00 is a normal egg.
At 6:00 is the one with a bulge around the "equator".
And at 9:00 is one with "stretch marks" - little ridges that run the length of the egg.
How wierd is that?
I have 20 hens and they are 26 weeks old. I have recently started cooking extra eggs, chopping them up shells and all, tossing in a bit of cat food, and using that for a little treat. I don't know if that has anything to do with the increase though.
Is it advisable to use Corid occasionally as a preventative?
The farm store was having a store-wide sale so I picked some up thinking that with the wet months coming it might be handy. The chickens seem healthy to me right now, but I have read that coccidiosis is extremely common especially in...
I was working at my computer as usual when all of a sudden I hear the chickes squawking and carrying on like never before. I went out the back door and that were all hiding, some under the back porch, some in the pavilion thing, and some under some pallets that lean against the compost bin. I...
My neighbors (who don't know chickens) both commented how handsome they think my 24 week old SLW rooster Georgie is. Well. he's mine so I have to agree, but I'll post a couple pictures to see what you all think!
The most mature looking of my EE pullets has been acting wierd today.
I had the feeling she was about to pop her first egg out. First thing in the morning she thought about hopping in the set of nestboxes on the side of the coop but then didn't.
Then at about 1 PM I heard a...
Rusty seems to sense when a hen is ready to lay and guards the henhouse while she is laying. But today it appeared he was trying to get her to lay her egg in a hidden nest!
http://s356.photobucket.com/albums/oo10/daud_photos/?action=view¤t=Chickens027.flv
Last week I let my old dog Brisco out in the yard while the flock was out. He is pretty small and pretty slow. Puff Daddy bit him a few times and told him in no uncertain terms that he was not welcome in the back yard! I rescued poor Brisco and herded him back into the house.
Yesterday my DW...
I know I'm just too impatient, but I decided to give them a little kick in the #$$. I mixed and ounce and a half of cayenne into their layer feed!
Wish me luck!
The chickens come running when I head for the back fence. Here you can see how Puff Daddy wants to exploit treats by clucking and drawing the pullets around him. But Georgie the SLW cockerel just wants all the berries for himself...
This morning my lead rooster Puff daddy woke up with a ... bad attitude let's say. He trapped one of the GLW pullets against the fence and started punishing her. She was shrieking and complaining as he continued to bite her. At 16 weeks I don't think she was ready for him but she couldn't get...
Today my DW and I were visiting the chickens when our old dog Brisco (about 17 years old now and weighs maybe 25 lbs) came up to the other side of the fence. He is old and slow but he has a strong prey drive and really wants to get after the chickens. So he is whining and occasionally yapping...