Texas

[losttexan]

I have a 46 week old EE pullet (Cersei). Lays nice green eggs. Her production had really dropped off (no eggs in two weeks), so I was considering culling her - no freeloaders at my place! In my wife's barn is a red plastic mounting block for the horses. The back has a small cutout big enough for one chicken. Guess what?





Silly chicken! Are you just trying to get into the stewpot?

 

[Brookshire11]

I had one egg that I was worried about and so I cut about three inches off the top of one of those red plastic cups to make a sort of collar and made it tall as I could so the turner would not bump it into the element and then I put it around that egg in the turner so that if it exploded in the incubator it would minimize splattering on the other eggs. I also moved it as far away from the good eggs as possible. You just drop it over the egg and it just slides around as the turner moves.

You do need to seal the crack, though. I've heard of using wax, nail polish....some other things, but not exactly how..and keep SMELLING it..any sign of stinky, and get it out of there!

Hmmm...good idea, I'll keep a..nose (?) on it lol

It's with my broody Silkie...so if it exploded it would be a MESS.
I'll see if I can't get some clear nail polish to seal it with. I've seen that, but it's usually with visible cracks. If you look at the egg, you can't see cracks, it's only if you candle. Well..you would also know because i wrote "cracked" on it with a pencil..lol

So much to catch up on...in due time. For now, the forecast has us getting into the low-30's at night. What are some good ways to winterize my coop? This is our 1st winter with The Ladies & The Girls.

They sleep in that upper part right?
Does the door to that part close? If so they're probably fine.
My coop for the 10 weekers has 4 solid walls and 2 strips for ventilation at the top, above the roost. I just piled some fresh pine shavings in there and they all snuggle up!
Real test will be tonight. We're looking at 28 degrees in the morning, and colder on Thursday.

I have a 46 week old EE pullet (Cersei). Lays nice green eggs. Her production had really dropped off (no eggs in two weeks), so I was considering culling her - no freeloaders at my place! In my wife's barn is a red plastic mounting block for the horses. The back has a small cutout big enough for one chicken. Guess what?





Silly chicken! Are you just trying to get into the stewpot?

Suicidal Chicken...lol

 

[Bazy]

Quote:
Ha!Ha!! Your broody probably wouldn't like that you cut t he bottom out of her party cup! LOL!! I am thinking she may roll it out if it starts to smell. I would if I were sitting on it, but hey, that's just me.

 

[needlessjunk]

I have a question for the gardeners out there. We will be hovering at the freezing mark tonight and my garden is still producing. I have a ton of nice plump green tomatoes on my plants right now, what do I do? This is my first year gardening and I skipped a fall garden in favor of my tomatoes. It is a lost cause since it's going to be kinda cold for at least the next week. I'm making an trip to Lowes tonight for some plastic painters drop cloth and I was going to put that up around it. Do I cover the top too?

 

[RustedOak]

I have a question for the gardeners out there. We will be hovering at the freezing mark tonight and my garden is still producing. I have a ton of nice plump green tomatoes on my plants right now, what do I do? This is my first year gardening and I skipped a fall garden in favor of my tomatoes. It is a lost cause since it's going to be kinda cold for at least the next week. I'm making an trip to Lowes tonight for some plastic painters drop cloth and I was going to put that up around it. Do I cover the top too?

I'd mainly block the prevailing North winds but I would cover them overnight. Uncover in the morning so that they can benefit from the sun. It also helps to paint milk jugs/2 liter bottles black and fill with water and leave them close to your plants. During the day, they'll soak up heat from the sun. At night the warm water provides just enough warmth to keep cold at bay. Good luck!!

 

[Brookshire11]

Quote: LOL!!
I was thinking that too. I smelled them all last night...
My husband walked out when I was holding one up to my nose and just looked at me and shook his head

Sorry dude, that's how it is!

Still at 4 out of 9 that have defined embryos. I could even see the eye spots on some (including the "cracked" one).
It's pretty exciting!

Some I feel are too dark to make anything out

 

[ShawnWatson]

Chickens are doing good here. Laying however has decreased majorly. I'm guessing due to the weather since it was in the high 20's/low 30's this morning. Plus, around here the temps have been going haywire lol. I'm sure they will start laying better once the cold actually stabilizes more. Of course during winter time egg production always goes down for me. Probably because i don't put a light in the coop. I've been told we are going to have a pretty cold winter. Last years wasn't too bad. My leghorns always slack off, dang near stop lol. RIR's and BR's should do a bit better since they are a bit bigger of a bird. Anyways, it's been awhile since i've commented on here and figured i would check in. Rabbits (Californians) are doing very good as well.

 

[Bazy]

Quote:
Look what I found just for you! http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/grd/4753854411.html

 

[losttexan]

Chickens are doing good here. Laying however has decreased majorly. I'm guessing due to the weather since it was in the high 20's/low 30's this morning. Plus, around here the temps have been going haywire lol. I'm sure they will start laying better once the cold actually stabilizes more. Of course during winter time egg production always goes down for me. Probably because i don't put a light in the coop. I've been told we are going to have a pretty cold winter. Last years wasn't too bad. My leghorns always slack off, dang near stop lol. RIR's and BR's should do a bit better since they are a bit bigger of a bird. Anyways, it's been awhile since i've commented on here and figured i would check in. Rabbits (Californians) are doing very good as well.

Unless the cold is causing stress (and stress can laways affect egg production), the decrease in light is likely causing your production to drop more than the temperature. I have had chickens in consistant sub-freezing temps give me a relaible 6 eggs/week if I supplied supplemental light. You may or may not want to, and there are many arguments on both sides of that.

 

[ShawnWatson]

Unless the cold is causing stress (and stress can laways affect egg production), the decrease in light is likely causing your production to drop more than the temperature. I have had chickens in consistant sub-freezing temps give me a relaible 6 eggs/week if I supplied supplemental light. You may or may not want to, and there are many arguments on both sides of that.

Right on and yeah it probably is. I've had this happen before when the temp/light changes from fall to winter time. It was around 27 this early morning. I figure they are just getting used to the difference in temps and lack of light. Once they get used to it i have no doubt that they will go back to normal laying for the winter time of year. 3/4 of my flock also, this is their first winter. I hear ya on the sub-freezing and even freezing temps. They will still lay, just not as much as during the summer for instance. Winter time i'm more worried about frozen eggs lol. I totally agree on the opinions of whether to add light or not lol. I personally don't. My coop is rather far from a power source and i've never had a problem of it getting too cold as far as temps go in North Central Texas. Thanks for the comment losttexan.