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How do you "cure" a hen that insists on laying in the yard? I was wondering why my egg production had dropped and it seemed like it was only my golden comets who weren't laying anymore. Well I stayed out and watched them this morning once I left them out and sure enough, Daffodil squeezed back behind the oil tank and settled on a nest she made in a pile of leaves. I chased her out, collected the 4 eggs that she had piled up so far and put her back in the coop. I blocked the sides off and put her back in the coop 4 times. Each time, she came rushing back out as soon as I walked away to try to get back to that nest. She was even going to jump up over the oil tank to get back there again. I ended up putting everyone back in the run. She's really upset and keeps pacing the edge of the run now.
 
JadeComputerGal said:
I was on a train with a goat once. It's not as much fun as you might think.
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uhmm..okay, hahaha..just got a visual..hahaha..
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sorry. I obviously didn't mean my statement literally...haahahha...i wouldn't think traveling with goats would be too much funanyway, but do I know about such things?
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dheltzel said:
Dairy cows need to have a calf every year, the herdsman will stop milking the cow about 1 month before she is due to calf (also known as "freshening" because it restarts her milk production). The cow is bred again shortly after she gives birth, so a dairy cow spends it's entire life pregnant and 11 months a year lactating.

It is important to separate the mother and calf so that the calf bonds with people instead of it's mother and to maximize milk production. Cows must be milked at least twice a day (some farms do 3x a day) to keep the production high, it doesn't take long with a full udder for a cows milk production to stop.

I imagine much of this applies to milk goats, but I'm not certain what differences there are.
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I would really hope that the goat wouldn't have to be pregnant for 11 months...good grief, what we do ask of animals sometimes...hard not to humanize their situations...i guess that is just in our nature..well mine sometimes...I have to work on that I suppose.
 
Auroradream26 said:
How do you "cure" a hen that insists on laying in the yard? I was wondering why my egg production had dropped and it seemed like it was only my golden comets who weren't laying anymore. Well I stayed out and watched them this morning once I left them out and sure enough, Daffodil squeezed back behind the oil tank and settled on a nest she made in a pile of leaves. I chased her out, collected the 4 eggs that she had piled up so far and put her back in the coop. I blocked the sides off and put her back in the coop 4 times. Each time, she came rushing back out as soon as I walked away to try to get back to that nest. She was even going to jump up over the oil tank to get back there again. I ended up putting everyone back in the run. She's really upset and keeps pacing the edge of the run now.
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I know they are definitely creatures of habit. It may mean keeping her in a few days till after she has laid.
There is a second possibility, though not likely due to her age and breed... she may have been working on a broody clutch. hens will make a secluded nest and go to it each day to lay their egg until they think they have enough, then they will begin setting.
Many folks have thought they lost a hen to a predator and had them show up about 3 weeks later with chicks in tow.
 
kada6305 said:
Wel I just checked on her and it was gone...I use sand is the brooder and my best guess is either it was sand or food stuck on her eyelid. So maybe I wont have to cull her after all.
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one of the chicks i have had something in her eye also..sand, but was able to remove it..it looked aweful..that why she has the name "popeye"...funny now, but not at the time....anyway..sand is great, but have to be watchful with those chicks... guess anything can happen with any bedding..
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**Glad to hear you where able to help her and she is better with the eye situation!
Auroradream26 said:
Anyone have any good recipes for turnips? Hubby just brought a bag full home that someone gave him at work. No clue what to do with them lol
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you get some...let us know
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..trying to work with as many veggies as possible, cutting down on food bill with "cheaper" items..or ones that can be grown easily.

**emorems0- so sorry she didn't make it...it is sad, even when you know they are sick, still a shock to look in and see them laying there. That happened to our Partridge....sad, miss that Babs for sure....
 
fisherlady said:
I know they are definitely creatures of habit. It may mean keeping her in a few days till after she has laid.
There is a second possibility, though not likely due to her age and breed... she may have been working on a broody clutch. hens will make a secluded nest and go to it each day to lay their egg until they think they have enough, then they will begin setting.
Many folks have thought they lost a hen to a predator and had them show up about 3 weeks later with chicks in tow.
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I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted to go broody. She's been seeing Cloud and Cookie being broody in the coop for two weeks lol. It just amazed me how persistent she was being. I'm planning to keep them all confined for about a week. During that time I'll work on getting the oil tank blocked off. It's under a little roof thing that's mostly closed in but I have a few openings to block off so they can't get back there. This is going to be a little rough over the next week since they'll all be confined and my two broody girls have their babies due this week. Going to interesting.
 
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LittleMissPurdy said:
uhmm..okay, hahaha..just got a visual..hahaha..
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sorry. I obviously didn't mean my statement literally...haahahha...i wouldn't think traveling with goats would be too much funanyway, but do I know about such things?
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I was just throwing in some levity, Miss Purdy. I've never really been on a train with a goat. I just got the image in my mind when you mentioned goat train. I bet it would try to eat my lunch if it weren't properly secured and was just allowed to roam the car.
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Hey everyone! Long time no see!

Things have been very busy here with school startup, a new coop, and new additions. Not in the flock though.
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Meet Ellie. Her mom (black lab mix) came to the shelter pregnant. That means no one knows who dad is.
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We love her so much anyways :)

Welcome to everyone that is new :)

JadeComputerGal said:
I posted this in the free rehoming forum, but I thought it would be a good idea to post it here as well since this thread is specific to PA. I hope no one minds me posting it here. If you do, please just let me know and I'll remove it.
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We need to find new, good homes for part of our flock. We are going to start showing and breeding Call ducks, and those plus the ducks we have now will put us considerably over the limit our township allows on property our size. I posted this on our local Craig's List about three weeks ago and got quite a few responses, but unfortunately none I felt comfortable about. The last guy who called (tonight) was excited because he loves duck...for dinner. I had specifically put in my ad that these are backyard or farm ducks, not meat ducks. I even went so far as to look into buying part of the lots of the neighbors on each side of us, but their lots are already at the minimum size allowed in this subdivision :he

Anyway, the ones we need to rehome are:

Two Ancona drakes hatched April 7th. Anconas are on the critically endangered list.

Three Buff Orpington hens about a year old and great egg layers. Our current ducklings are from these. Buffs are on the threatened list.

Four Buff ducklings, three female, one male, hatched August 20th.

They don't all have to go to the same home, they just all have to go to a good home. I can't ship them, but I could deliver them if you live within around 20 miles, or meet you half way if you're somewhat farther away than that.

Please let me know if you'd like pictures of any of them or if you have any questions.

Thanks so much.
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Where are you getting your call ducks? We bought a "girlfriend" for my lonely drake, and she turned out to be a boyfriend. I'd like to hatch ducklings in the spring :).
 
Long time no-hear ChippyMom!!
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...hope all is well...cuteness sitting there!! Glad you have a little time to chat here...this is an extremely busy time of year for everyone..for sure!!
We all know though, when that snow starts to fall, yeah..i said it
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.,..this place really picks up and then there is no catching up! haha
 

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