The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

Anyone know why eggs get spots on them? Once in a great while the big girls had an egg or to with but the last week I've had at least one egg and now 2 girls laying eggs with spots

I understand what makes the color of the egg shells. I was wondering if it meant they had to much or to less of something in their diet?

You might hear all kinds of answers and I have seen it for 35 years..It is normal and will happen from time to time and in some breeds it is normal to have it with every egg.
If you wash the egg and it comes off or get a little lighter it is the tiny little blood vessels in the shell gland that can burst and stain the shell as it is being made..it stays in the shell gland for a long time..close to 18 hours I think.. or a blood vessels that break as it passes threw the cuticle stage.(color)

You know Delisha when I first saw them I thought they looked like little broken blood vessels like you sometimes get in your face when you cough to hard. I was no way concerned when I saw them just curious if there might be a cause. I have had a couple with black spots as well but I was wondering if they were Lucy's who is a BCM / EE mix and she was trying to make darker eggs

OK, Armorfirelady, are you seriously telling me that the blue egg is Edie's?

That's too funny!

Um......maybe? Yes those are Edie's eggs Should I go hide her now before you come kidnap her back?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Last year I went to a pumpkin farm and told them I was going to use them for the chickens. I asked them if they would be willing for me to haul away some of the ones that were starting to get soft.

They told me that if I cam back the day after halloween, I could take all I wanted free. They open it up to anyone w/livestock to take them. Otherwise they just dump them on their fields. I got a pickup truck load full but the birds wouldn't eat them. Had lots of sprouts in the garden after we put them in for compost! They wouldn't even eat the sprouts

But I know that some of your brids DO eat them, so check the local pumpkin farms!


And...i still continue to get weekly leftovers from the local SMALL organic store on the veggies and fruits. Some are good enough for us to use, or dehydrate (apples, peach leather, pear slices/leather, etc.). Some go straight to the birds; some are bad enough to go into compost. I've been freezing some stuff. I'm hoping they continue to allow us to get it through the winter but I don't want to 'bank" on it!

 

[MEMama3]

Anyone know why eggs get spots on them? Once in a great while the big girls had an egg or to with but the last week I've had at least one egg and now 2 girls laying eggs with spots

I understand what makes the color of the egg shells. I was wondering if it meant they had to much or to less of something in their diet?

My white rock's eggs always have that speckling. Sometimes it's brown and other times it's almost purple.

 

[lalaland]

1 baby so far!

congrats! any progress?

 

[countrygirl74]

Question...

My white silkie hen had 3 chicks. I assumed that the father was our blue silkie as I was pretty certain that my cochin boy hadn't started mounting until after she had already gone broody and was laying on her eggs. 2 chicks are black (blue) and 1 is gray. The gray one is younger than the other two but is larger already. All of them have 5 toes like silkies. Just wondering, do all chicks that have one parent silkie have 5 toes, or do they need both silkie parents to have 5 toes? Is is possible that my cochin got to my silkie after all and the bigger gray chick is a product of that or do you think it's just coincidence that it's gray and larger? Hmmm... just curious.

This pic was taken when they were under a week old or so... the gray one is much bigger now.

 

[delisha]

Question...

My white silkie hen had 3 chicks. I assumed that the father was our blue silkie as I was pretty certain that my cochin boy hadn't started mounting until after she had already gone broody and was laying on her eggs. 2 chicks are black (blue) and 1 is gray. The gray one is younger than the other two but is larger already. All of them have 5 toes like silkies. Just wondering, do all chicks that have one parent silkie have 5 toes, or do they need both silkie parents to have 5 toes? Is is possible that my cochin got to my silkie after all and the bigger gray chick is a product of that or do you think it's just coincidence that it's gray and larger? Hmmm... just curious.

This pic was taken when they were under a week old or so... the gray one is much bigger now.

You will find out when they start to feather. Crosses will feather out in the wings with non silkie feathers usually.
5 toes is dominant so you can have crosses with that gene. (Not always)

 

[MumsyII]

Question...

My white silkie hen had 3 chicks. I assumed that the father was our blue silkie as I was pretty certain that my cochin boy hadn't started mounting until after she had already gone broody and was laying on her eggs. 2 chicks are black (blue) and 1 is gray. The gray one is younger than the other two but is larger already. All of them have 5 toes like silkies. Just wondering, do all chicks that have one parent silkie have 5 toes, or do they need both silkie parents to have 5 toes? Is is possible that my cochin got to my silkie after all and the bigger gray chick is a product of that or do you think it's just coincidence that it's gray and larger? Hmmm... just curious.

This pic was taken when they were under a week old or so... the gray one is much bigger now.

They look like Blue Silkie chicks to me. Even if the darker one's stay dark, they are splits. Breed back to Blue and they will mostly produce blue with some whites. I have a White chick with four toes on one foot. It happens. Five toes on each foot is excellent as is the black skin and dark horn. If wing feathers are barbless and the comb is walnut, you have silkie chicks. Cochin cross usually really messes up the comb and crest.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have a feeling my broody is going to abandon the rest of the eggs. We'll see.

I don't have an incubator so I can't put them in to continue brooding if any are still viable. Any ideas?

 

[armorfirelady]

Find a good book and relax? . I think I have read that some chicks take longer to hatch. I wouldn't give up on her yet.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Lost our best Orp broody to a dog attack last night. My FIL's dog got into the coop before we locked it up. She defended her chicks well, both are alive and fine. Had to put her down though, she was suffering and not getting O2. It was a lapse in judgement on my wife's part, she did not realize the coop was not locked before letting him play in back with our dogs(they ignore the chickens). The chicks are 5 weeks old so should be ok still in the flock(hoping). The dog will never come back once my FIL returns from his trip.

On a good note, had a 100% hatch on the three eggs that made to lockdown. 2 Buff Silkie and an EE/mix. All hatched yesterday. Gonna be setting Blue Silkie eggs this weekend since she appears to be fertile now. Yay