Recent content by PrplHartJarHead

  1. PrplHartJarHead

    Broody Hen Question

    This is our first flock, and we are about a year in to it. We really enjoy our birds. However, still being pretty new and experiencing new things, we missed the early signs of broodiness setting in with 2 of our Buffs. Consequently, we have two very broody girls in the coop. Today, the missus...
  2. PrplHartJarHead

    Chickens laying small eggs?

    Our flock has been laying for maybe a month - 5 weeks now. Our barred rocks, RIRs and Buffs all laid small eggs for about 3 weeks then they gradually started getting bigger. They are now averaging 50+ grams and still climbing in average weight. One of our two EEs just today gave up her first...
  3. PrplHartJarHead

    Woo Hoo....

    Thanks everyone! We reached a couple of new milestones again today. 1st, we were gifted 7 eggs today, a new daily high for our flock. 2d, we got our first 60+ gram egg today. There are so many firsts with our flock and the experiences are really fun. So glad for this website because we get to...
  4. PrplHartJarHead

    Woo Hoo....

    We got our first egg over 55 grams two days ago. Broke it open for use in some coffee cake the smokin' hot trophy wife was making up with apples from her sisters orchard and saw our first double-yolker!! This chicken-raising thing is so cool!
  5. PrplHartJarHead

    Flesh ripped off back of chickens neck

    Check out you tube, there are some decent chicken medical videos on there. I had a similar wound on a young, just about to start laying pullet. Unfortunately, we did not discover her in time as an artery was opened and the poor thing died. We were never sure what did the damage, only suspicions.
  6. PrplHartJarHead

    We got our first egg!!

    Well, about three weeks after our first egg, our flock of 18 is averaging about 3 eggs per day now. They are still small, averaging about 40 grams, but the average is going up. We had two soft-shelled eggs, which hasn't repeated. Our biggest egg to date is 47 grams. We still are waiting for our...
  7. PrplHartJarHead

    We got our first egg!!

    So we got our first egg from one of our little hens today. How come it was so small?? On a good note, the shell was nice and strong.
  8. PrplHartJarHead

    Broad Winged Hawk

    Yes, our run is covered. As we began prepping for chicken raising, we examined the benefits and risks associated with free ranging our birds. Our breed selection, coop/run design and yard space is the result of the information available to us. Still, there are risks, and we accept those risks...
  9. PrplHartJarHead

    Broad Winged Hawk

    A couple of days ago, I posted about losing one of our hens to a mysterious and serious neck wound which caused us to have to cull her. This morning the wife and I were sitting at the dining room table enjoying each others company and our morning cup of java when we heard a hawk's call. At the...
  10. PrplHartJarHead

    We lost one today...

    Although we are raising our flock as egg and meat providers, I was a little sad about having to cull one of our Buff Orpingtons today. While they were out ranging the property, this one suffered a severe laceration to her throat. She had bled quite a bit and was not in good shape by the time I...
  11. PrplHartJarHead

    How do you keep your nipples from freezing?

    Lol! Good thing you clarified that question, I had a lot of responses queued up in the 13-1/2 year old brain that is trapped in this almost 50 year old body. Thanks for the laugh!
  12. PrplHartJarHead

    Has anyone changed nesting boxes before or after egg laying begins?

    I struggled with where to put this, as it fits in coop design but could also be discussed in behaviors and egg laying....my apologies. My wife and I differed from the beginning on this, as we both saw two versions, me the half bucket design (i.e. 1 bucket = 2 nesting boxes) while she saw and...
  13. PrplHartJarHead

    Layer pellets v/a Crumbles?

    Here are a few of our little chickies...
  14. PrplHartJarHead

    Layer pellets v/a Crumbles?

    Around us, most farm and fleet supply stores sell chicken feed in the form of crumbles. There are some that are pellets, but they are the minority. We have a mixed breed flock of 20 birds which are all layers; Australorps, RIR, Buff Orps, Barred Rocks, Easter Eggers and they have all done...
  15. PrplHartJarHead

    Identify me before...

    Thank you, fshinggrl! We're new to it, so trying to work our way through some of the mysteries. We ordered from McMurry and they sent us a "mystery" bonus bird. Personally, it has been a little stressful and I wish they hadn't done that. It's not that we don't like him, but we only had plans...
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