We are experiencing freezing temps and snow, not a norm for us. Some eggs I’m able to gather while still warm. Others are freezing cold and I assume frozen through. I’ve been tossing those but is there another use for frozen eggs? Or someway to “test” to see if they’re really frozen?
...they were too easily picked off by overhead predators. We live in a country setting. Once they started getting picked off, we confined them (to a *very* large area), but they were never happy after that. They always wanted to wander. So we decided not to free range these but to give them a...
This is my second flock and so different from the first. Never a single issue with the first flock until they were picked off by overhead predators. Now we have full overhead netting for safety. Long story short: I ordered chicks from a July 8 batch. While I was waiting, I got offered an...
You must have some very happy hens! What kind are they? What do you feed them (not that it would make the difference, but just wondering).
I think I've gotten more than one a day from the same hen occasionally but never that kind of record!
I have a small flock of 3 hens. I'll probably get some more hens this spring/summer. My current hens are about 2 and a half years old, currently not laying. I have been offered a very nice roo. I've never had one before. Do I have enough hens for him? Will it be hard to introduce him into...
I don't know if we have possums here. We're on Whidbey Island and we don't have as many predators as others areas on the mainland. Racoons and coyotes are our main two, unless you count flying. Then we have eagles, hawks, and owls. Wondering if an owl would have eaten everything but the...
It ate it inside the run. I don't think it was a flying predator because it was pretty well sheltered where we found the wings and feet. It was during the day, inside their 'run.' Their run is surrounded by deer fencing and poultry fencing and is about 3/4 of a acre, most of it is forested...
Something got in yesterday and got one of our chickens. It ate everything but the wings and feet? Any idea which predator this would be?
Also, last week we found one chicken in the coop, just laying over dead. No idea what it could have died from. I hadn't noticed it acting sick before...
That's not how my husband wants to do it He has some metal brackets he's going to mount to the wall and the wooden roosts will slide into the brackets. I don't want to have to take the roosts out to rake. I want to just be able to lean into the coop, extend the rake, and clean.
The roost is going to be toward the back of the coop and I want to be able to rake underneath it easily without the bottom rung getting in the way of the rake. Yes, I am thinking of a ladder style. How far apart do I need to make each rung in order for them not to poop on one another? I mean...
How high off the ground can the lowest bar be? How much space between each bar is necessary? How many feet per chicken should one allow for roosting space?
Well, we figured out where she was going at night! She was up in the roosting area. LOL None of our chickens has ever gone up there. They prefer to huddle around the door opening. Jim went out to close up last night and she was peering down from the rafters so he saw her. So all is well...
GAchick - LOL, that must have been a sight to see!
So what should I do? Should I pick her up and make her sleep in the coop at night? Actually, she may be the one causing some of the trouble. I've seen her fly at some of the others. Before the buffs were always the meekest. Even tho no eggs...
I sell my eggs for $4 for large/x-large and $3 for medium. The local stores here sell for anywhere from $4 - $5.79. These are for organic eggs. We feed our chicken organic feed, scratch, and all organic treats (ex popcorn which is not organic). Everything in our yard that they free range on...
When a chicken goes broody, do they lose their place in the pecking order?
I have a buff orp that was broody for a long time. Throughout the entire time, she always was in with the other chickens, slept in with them (altho usually in one of the nests), and was never away from the rest of the...
Carlyle, No, not really. I'll try and get a better photo. it doesn't mean it isn't the same thing as on your egg, tho, just because it's not identical. Does that stuff on your eggs wash or scrape off?
It is like a 'layer.' The egg is also slightly discolored. Orig they were quite speckled. But as they got lighter in color, the speckles also got lighter.
Why would this be on eggs from only one chicken? And why would there have been another chicken laying similar eggs and now not?