Any one want to join me in waiting for eggs, posting and comparing notes?

[Crafty chick]

I hate snakes! So glad Ihavent seen any in the 3 years we've lived in this house. I would not enjoy getting eggs if Ihad to fear being bitten collecting eggs! I have never liked them. glad we don't have rattle snakes here! I've seen a big grey one that "stood up" at me growing up on a farm.... it was about 3 feet long and thicker than my arm.

 

[Angelicisi]

So glad he's ok, young venomous snakes deliver more venom than adults. I'm in snake central and we regularly see kings and rat snakes (good guys) and cottonmouths & copperheads (bad guys- as in dangerous near children/elderly/pets)
All snakes eat the "worse" varmin...but I often find venomous ones in the pool skimmer and nearby the pond (water sources) and the danger out weighs my let nature be attitude. Dangerous snakes are usually killed we have relocated 4 to a rescue but they're maxed out, dumping them somewhere else unknown could hurt another unsuspecting. The king snakes and rat snakes are caught and moved or left to wander as long as the eggs aren't bothered. ( I've seen rat snakes take eggs and chicks but never a chicken- my girls would destroy it if it wandered in the run. They're bullies lol) caught a few kings already.

I dread snake season!!!

Our son's dog got bit in the face by one that was on the street in front of our home. 
Many dollars later, it survived with antivenin.
We found one dead in our pool skimmer.
My husband killed one as it was attempting to go under the neighbors gate
(they have two little children)
These were all small rattle snakes. - wonder where mom is?

That was before we had chickens.  Now I'm going to be even more weary.
Won't be sticking my hands in the nest box too quickly.  Thanks for the 
reminder. 

 

[xshoshin]

Still trying to catch up from being gone so long WOW! It never ends LOL! I have our egg count from April finally, 151 eggs. Can't wait to see this months, they're so far 8 for 8! Hope all is well with everyone!





Hows this for action? LOL Love the trail cam

Debbie! I want a chicken cam but know nothing about the tech....tell me what you have, please?!!!

 

[christybmom9802]

So happy for you Sadiedog, that is woderful news, and so happy that you are now on your way to lots of great RIR eggs, they are terrific egg layers!
Good Luck!


ChristyB, If you read a few pages back, the same exact thing happened to me a few weeks back. After I found her passed in the nest box, I inspected her everywhere, and all I could find was her vent had been prolapsed. She laid HUGE eggs, and had also had some issues I should have realized were warning signs like two shelless eggs and also two eggs were laid with yolk all over them, she must have been having stress laying those huge eggs. I was so very sad. Did your husband all ready dispose of her, can you still inspect her? So sorry this happened for you, I was sad for a few days, and hated to lose one of my best layers. On a better note, so happy for you to have the blue eggs, I love mine! Send us some pictures of your blue eggs!

Oh, I am starting to hear about a LOT of predetor issues! i know those animals have to eat, but isn't there enough out in their habitat! These chickens are such easy targets as well... STINks... If her vent appears normal , no firmness or discharge, I would assume she is good there. Has she been eating, drinking and pooping normal? You can never underestimate that, I always feel so good when they eat and drink. If you look back or go to the picture gallery, I put up a picture of the prolapsed vent my girl had. It definitally didn't look normal. Keep an eye on her just to be sure.

As far as that snake? YIKES!! i would FLIP OUT if I came upon that. I too wonder if it had been taking eggs, must have, because how would it have known to go there! Yes, sometimes when they don't listen to us, it turns out with good results!

Keep us posted about your flock!
MB

My husband had buried her before I got home to save me the heartache... So it's too late to investigate. My silkie that was looking sick had improved after a couple days of pampering. Had her separated from the flock just in case it wasn't coccdiosis, but let her go back outside cause she was crying horribly unless I held her all day and that wasn't happening

. She's still a little off she won't roost on her own and is doing some other weird slow things.

On another note.....my rooster now imitates the girls when they do a egg song and now feels like everytime he goes into the coup he should do a egg song because thats what the girls do. Anyone else have this happen? My girls come running to see who's laid and egg and it's Pablo haha

 

[CatSol]

I have seen gopher or garden snakes around here. We have a pretty one but no rattle on her tail. Kind of pinkish in color... So I leave her be (Must be a girl if it is pink right But one of my dogs went right up to her with no fear. That worried me. We have lived here for 3 years and have not yet seen a rattler... that does not mean there are not out there.
This is the snake I have seen over the past few years... I think she is kind of pretty. I still stay away from her...

My friend is only a few miles up the road and she gets them all the time. So she had some trainers come out to do a privet lesson at her home. She had 4 dogs to take the class.... So I took my dog there as well. It was expensive but peace of mind .... This company uses live muzzled rattle snakes, skins and sound. All levels are tested and re-tested to make sure the dog has learned. The first snake my dog seen she went right up to it and nosed it... Thank goodness that this was class. After that class she will never do that again.

 

[Melabella]

I have seen gopher or garden snakes around here. We have a pretty one but no rattle on her tail. Kind of pinkish in color... So I leave her be (Must be a girl if it is pink right But one of my dogs went right up to her with no fear. That worried me. We have lived here for 3 years and have not yet seen a rattler... that does not mean there are not out there.
This is the snake I have seen over the past few years... I think she is kind of pretty. I still stay away from her...

My friend is only a few miles up the road and she gets them all the time. So she had some trainers come out to do a privet lesson at her home. She had 4 dogs to take the class.... So I took my dog there as well. It was expensive but peace of mind .... This company uses live muzzled rattle snakes, skins and sound. All levels are tested and re-tested to make sure the dog has learned. The first snake my dog seen she went right up to it and nosed it... Thank goodness that this was class. After that class she will never do that again.

Hi Cat, I've missed you darlin, hope all is well, how's Mom doing?

May I ask what exactly they taught the dogs, to stay away from them, or to attack them? I am sure that sounds like a silly question, but I am sure curious...

Cold here again today, but warming up tomorrow, sounds like too much... supposed to be in the high 80's, maybe I can give the horses a bath so I can get them clipped!

 

[Crafty chick]

I was wondering the same thing about the dogs and snakes MB. Hot here today 85... the chickens are panting in the shade.... hate to see how they act when it gets to 100 this summer!

 

[Fletch83]

Speaking of the heat...we almost hit 90 here in Texas earlier in the week, gotta love it. We moved the coop and run to a better part of the yard that seems to get ample shade throughout the day, and there's a nice breeze that comes in off the lake. As these are my first chickens, it will be my first summer with chickens, and I'm not looking forward to it! I feel so badly for them when they start panting. I know there are other threads about this but if anyone has any tried-and-true methods of keeping the chickens comfortable in the 100-degree heat, I would really love to hear.

In other news my EE hen has been laying an egg a day every day since she started, but look at the whopper she laid this morning! For comparison it is next to yesterday's egg from the same hen:




I can't believe that thing came out of my bitty bantam EE! It was sort of alarming! She seems fine though, she is currently taking the world's biggest dust bath in a massive ditch the two of them have dug in the backyard.

 

[nakstk]

Speaking of the heat...we almost hit 90 here in Texas earlier in the week, gotta love it. We moved the coop and run to a better part of the yard that seems to get ample shade throughout the day, and there's a nice breeze that comes in off the lake. As these are my first chickens, it will be my first summer with chickens, and I'm not looking forward to it! I feel so badly for them when they start panting. I know there are other threads about this but if anyone has any tried-and-true methods of keeping the chickens comfortable in the 100-degree heat, I would really love to hear.

In other news my EE hen has been laying an egg a day every day since she started, but look at the whopper she laid this morning! For comparison it is next to yesterday's egg from the same hen:




I can't believe that thing came out of my bitty bantam EE! It was sort of alarming! She seems fine though, she is currently taking the world's biggest dust bath in a massive ditch the two of them have dug in the backyard.

beautiful eggs! I freeze bottles of water and put one out in the run every few hours. Once one figures out that it feels nice to lay next to the others will try it out too. Freezing melons and other fruits helps too. I tried misting them with the hose but they freaked out. lol

 

[kacklinkelly]

Speaking of the heat.. I know there are other threads about this but if anyone has any tried-and-true methods of keeping the chickens comfortable in the 100-degree heat, I would really love to hear.

Hey all, we have hit triple digits recently and I was sort of panicking about how the girls and the meaties would handle the heat.
This is my first summer with backyard chickens. I spoke to the owner of the feed store and he said our chickens should be able
to handle the heat without additional protection until July when it starts getting hot and humid here in AZ, as long as they have shade.

Regardless, I also put the frozen water bottle out in the run. I wrapped it in a t-shirt so they didn't have the ice right next to
their skin. (Probably not necessary -

but I can't help myself some times) No one really seemed to notice it whenever I looked out.
I also gave them frozen watermelon to snack on. the hens devoured it but the meaties didn't touch it.
I placed a frozen peanut butter jar inside their waterer so that when it thawed out, it would mix with their water.
The meaties drank that cold water up in no time. (forgot to mention I added an extra water source as well)
The last thing I have tried is a very large plastic dog bowl with water and a brick in the middle of it.
Someone on youtube posted that his chickens don't particularly like water, but they will stand on the
brick which is cool from the water it soaks up. I have yet to see our hens using that.
What they love best is to sit in the shade on the back porch by the back door. It cracks me up. They
peck at the glass as if to say "hey, it's hot as blazes out here, let us in"