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It's bird selling season again so once more into the Craig's Life. Five e-mails came in over the course of one night. All of them from different individuals expressing interest in buying the sex-link and Leghorn pullets I had available. Dutifully answered all five e-mails including calling...

Sorry about taking so long to reply but I just came across your post. Here's a link to a gallery of step-by-step photos of the way I build my tractors. It's not a 100% complete photo set, but the best I can offer at the moment...

Been holding steady at more-or-less 30 dozen a week for several months now. We're as big as we care to get so we're going to try to stay right where we are.

Six layer tractors Three grow-out tractors. A rooster pen A fixed (static) henyard. Not sure how many total birds I have at the moment. Call it 100 or thereabouts. We sell table eggs and started pullets.

The link to the Virology Blog the PopSci article was developed from: http://www.virology.ws/2013/09/11/a-retrovirus-makes-chicken-eggshells-blue/ As I am reading this a retrovirus originally inserted the gene that causes blue eggshells. The gene is then reproduced as chromosomes divide in the...

An EE rooster over a Production Red or Barred Rock hen will likely give you a daughter that will lay moderate to dark green eggs. At least at the beginning of the lay cycle. Towards the end they'll grow lighter as any olive egger will.

There have been recipes for egg substitutes around for years. You can find many with a simple Google search. Nothing new about any of this. Some folks have egg allergies. Others have philosophical problems with eating eggs. Egg substitutes give them a way to prepare recipes where eggs serve...

Uncommon for a vulture (buzzard) to take live prey. But they can definitely be attracted to a chicken carcass left behind by the predator that killed it.

Generally between 20-24 weeks. Commercial birds typically between 18-20 weeks.

Straight layer feed, no corn, offer the grit and/or oyster shell on the side so they can get it when they want it. Layer feed is a balanced feed. If you mix a lot of corn into it you will make it an unbalanced feed. If you just want to give them corn/scratch feed then half of a hand full per...

This isn't a complicated issue. Chickens are pretty forgiving when it comes to feed (within reason). Basically it's like this: Chick starter from hatch to about 8-10 weeks. Grower from about 8-10 weeks until you find the first eggs. Starter/grower (a combined feed many mills make) from...

If they are free-ranging all day and are laying well I would not worry about it. They're just healthy. Keep the cracked corn to no more than half a hand full per bird in the morning. Otherwise they are the way they are supposed to be.

I'm probably in the minority on this board in that I keep my birds for only practical reasons. I suspect that most folks would answer yes to at least two of the three categories.

Is he in with a flock of hens and what precisely are you feeding them?

You could feed them starter forever if you want to. I've known several old-timers over the years never fed their birds anything but 21% chick starter and they seem to do well. That said though it is more protein than older birds really need and it is more expensive so you can move over to...

Too high for extended periods of time in my experience. Unless your weather is particularly humid at the moment try reducing the surface area (not the depth) of the water you ware using in your incubator. That should lower the humidity. You may also try increasing the air flow, but don't go...

When I have a tractor with broody birds that want to sleep in the nests I chuck them out then block the nests off every day after we have gathered the eggs. When I do the morning chores (about dawn this time of year) I open the nests back up. They'll take the hint after a while.

Pretty much. The tom may be in want, but it's the hen that makes the decision. She'll flop down for him when she wants to and until then he's just going to have to cope. It's very late in the season for this year so she will likely wait until next spring now. Sometimes though you'll get a...

If you want to hatch your own you have to have a rooster so I do. I keep the ones I want to breed with and the rest go to market.

We're running between 70-80 per day lately as two new flocks of Easter Eggers come into lay. As soon as their eggs size up the old flock of EE girls will be sold off so hopefully will drop back to around 60 a day.