Recent content by LittlesNBigs

The trick is getting them to lay in separate boxes. We have 7 birds, 5 boxes all right next to each other and yet they all make a fuss for the second box. They'll drop eggs in the run waiting for the second box to open up instead of using a different box.

I tried to read it -- that is entirely over my head. I have turned the lights down so they go off at 20:30 and don't come back on until 07:00. That's more dark than they get in the summer months so I hope it helps reduce any stress on them.

They have open access to Purina Layena 16% pellets and crushed oyster shell in the run plus whatever bugs they scavenge around the yard and we give each of them a pinch of mealworms every evening by hand. That was my first thought but that seems even more curious for one of them to try wrapping...

We haven't had any other odd eggs for a few days. We got an even more confounding egg today. It appears to be an extra large fully formed thin shell egg with a fullmsize hard shelled egg inside. When I checked the nest box, the thin shelled outer was already broken and egg white and yolk had...

I'm not concerned about the beauty of each egg, but I'd rather rule out and avoid any health problems.

We're not sure if it's from a single hen or not. We have three Brahmas and have been averaging 5 or 6 brahma eggs per week since winter. We've assumed they are each laying a little more than every 3rd day. The more recent egg looks just like the "banded egg" example in your link. It says it...

The egg is fully formed and has a hard shell. Today's egg was "mispainted" differently. We've never had any glitches with the Brahma's until now. None of them are acting differently and they all feel like a healthy weight and build. They knocked over two nesting box dividers today though, so I...

We've been keeping chickens for a year now and have had our Brahmas laying for nearly 10 months. This morning for the first time one of the brahma eggs looks like it has a flakey shell. Their eggs are normally solid tan and speckled but this one has the tan peeling off. Is this just a curiosity...

We've got about 6-8 inches of straw and cedar chips in our pen. It doesn't require hardly any maintenance other than throwing half a bale more in every couple of months. Or pen is enclosed and it's enough to keep the surface dry and that means warm feet. Our girls roam the yard for a couple...

Good call, I'd be hard pressed to find a wild weasel within 3 miles of my house, but my rat traps catch a few rats each year. The plan for armoring the bottom is currently a 4" leveled concrete foundation and wrapping the lower 3' to ground with ½" hardware cloth. Does that seem sufficient...

Also, we still need to armor around the base to prevent digging... Free eggs are a lot of work.

So, we still haven't seen any coons on the security cameras yet and all of the food I've been keeping safe has remained safe. Unfortunately the girls have crossed the line getting in and out of our yard with impunity, drawing a few comments and concerns from neighbors. Entirely too much money...

We've had crushed oyster shells available in their coop for a week now. There is also a shell dish by their feeding area and in the Brahma's coop as well. If she keeps having issues maybe we'll have to try to get her alone with it so we know she's taking some. See was just going into a nesting...

I still haven't seen any sign of them on the security cameras nor any other sign than the prints in the water bowl that one morning. Completely unrelated: I have recently agreed to store a couple live traps for my grandpa for a time I'm thinking to keep a handful of scratch in each to make sure...

I was just cleaning up the outside food and came across what I think is our little Absalom?'s first attempt at an egg hidden under a tree. She's already been put to bed, so no pictures with her first. There is membrane and yolk, but no albumen or shell. Maybe she will do better tomorrow. Is it...