Any one want to join me in waiting for eggs, posting and comparing notes?

[Spikes Chooks]

Hey there, thanks for the tip. I will put papaya on the shopping list! A pleasant 28C/82F here today yet the summer seems to have gone so quick. Just a few more weeks of reliable warmth and veggie harvesting to go. My, you must be so keen on spring. The winters here are mild. It's unusual to get much below 8C/46F - even so, I am ithcing to get outdoors come spring time!!!

Best
Katrina

 

[CatSol]

Katrina I was just going to ask about you. Glad things are going better with the weather. I think of you when ever I hear about Sydney in the news... I am glad all is good with you... except for the shell-less egg thing. I have been lucky and have only had one of those. I hope you find the answer to it. Mellabella I will have to put papaya on the list as well. Sounds great... though I have not eaten that many of them, it sounds like I should.
That pic is really cute.. love it. I have seen a few illegal sugar-gliders...But it is great that people are trying to help with those in the wild.
The weather here in Southern California was really nice today. In the 70's... I think that is about in the 20's Celsius. We had the 80's yesterday. But the weather is cooling off fast. We have a cold storm approaching and it should be here for Tuesday and Wednesday. We really need it... we are way under rain totals we need. And a dry winter can means lots of fires in the summer...

 

[Redangler]

10 for 10!!!!!!

They did it! Yesterday was our first day of 10 eggs from 10 layers. Hard to believe a month and a half ago that I was thinking I was never gonna get eggs and yesterday they met the ultimate goal. They will get an extra special treat today of some juicy grubs that my girls and I will be digging up from a friends wood pile.

Hopefully by the end of the week I will have my wheat fodder in full production. I have been trying oats for the last several weeks and not had very much success and everyone says that wheat is the way to go. So far the wheat is looking better. Once I get all the bugs worked out in the process I will let you guys in on how its working. I just want them to get some good greens from the moonscape they have made in the run.

Happy Egg Collecting!

Red

 

[Melabella]

10 for 10!!!!!!

They did it! Yesterday was our first day of 10 eggs from 10 layers. Hard to believe a month and a half ago that I was thinking I was never gonna get eggs and yesterday they met the ultimate goal. They will get an extra special treat today of some juicy grubs that my girls and I will be digging up from a friends wood pile.

Hopefully by the end of the week I will have my wheat fodder in full production. I have been trying oats for the last several weeks and not had very much success and everyone says that wheat is the way to go. So far the wheat is looking better. Once I get all the bugs worked out in the process I will let you guys in on how its working. I just want them to get some good greens from the moonscape they have made in the run.

Happy Egg Collecting!

Red

Red,

You are too funny,,,,moonscape is a perfect description! The ground is too frozen here for my flock to do at the moment, but they started one right under the coop, making a dust bowl no doubt, and it's right next to the support leg of the coop. I am going to have to post a picture of it, any more work on it, and the one leg of the coop is going to drop down... grr....

on the 10 egg day!!! I am still waiting for my 9 egg day! Still have one holdout not laying, a BA named Adele. She must have some long ago heritage stock in her, as she is developing veeerrrrryyyy slowly. You all must have been so flippin excited! It will be interesting to see how many days you get that. I have only had five 8 egg days, been averaging 6-7 every day. Some eggs are still rather small, I hope that gets better with time. Eggs are delicious really, we are enjoying the heck out of them. I dread the time they go into slowdown, and molt,, will hate that. Brooster can keep us going through that, now that she is coming out of it, she is a veteran. You have experienced that as well, right Cat? Whole new set of questions I'll have then!

I need you all to send me strength vibes. I am having a bad run with Duke, my roo. The past week he has stepped up the human aggression towards me. I was hoping all the work I was doing with him would help, but to tell you the truth, it has only seemed to challenge him more. Yesterday, he went after me on two occasions. Smart little bugger knows when I don't have the "manners stick", and i brought some chopped up tomatoes to the flock. Funny, but I have noticed when I bring food to the girls, ie, fruit, yogurt, he takes it as a threat even more. I think he sees the girls all run to me, and feeding them, and it challenges him. I really would hate to see him go, as he is a wonderfully attentive man to the ladies especially when free ranging, but the atmosphere when I head out there is not becoming a relaxing one. I pulled my hamstring muscle in my right leg, and am pathetically limping around. Takes me twice as long to do chores, and with all the mounds of uneven snow and ice, it's just such a drag. When I put the plate of tomatoes down, he flew up at me, and it startled me. I fell backwards, and then he flogged at my legs a second time. Boy, I was spittin mad. I called Jack, my LGD, and did we put him through a 15 minute exercise. Jack was amazing, he knew what I wanted, I give the command "move em", and he follows behind Duke, not letting him rest. He keeps looking to me for command, and moved him outside the fence line. Every time Duke tried to come back in the property, he wouldn't have it. I sat with the girls near the coop. Duke was beside himself. I am going to let him stay around until I locate another roo that is not a problem. There are so many ads for roo's needing good homes. Problem is, just finding one in my area, that is a reasonable drive. Then the fear of bringing another bird here, for fear of bringing any health issues. One thing my flock is is healthy. No mites, lice, gleet, bumblefoot, and I have yet to notice any worms in their droppings. I had them vaccinated when I placed the order, not even a sneeze from them. I have heard so many horror stories about people bringing a rescue into their flock, or purchasing an adult bird, and losing their whole flock. Also have to go through a quarantine period. urg.. why can't the numskull just join up and realize, we can coexist!

Ok, got to head out to the barn, I've been stalling as it's 4 degrees out! Spring can't get here fast enough!

MB

 

[Melabella]

Hopefully by the end of the week I will have my wheat fodder in full production. I have been trying oats for the last several weeks and not had very much success and everyone says that wheat is the way to go. So far the wheat is looking better. Once I get all the bugs worked out in the process I will let you guys in on how its working. I just want them to get some good greens from the moonscape they have made in the run.


Red

oh yes, forgot to say about this, please keep us posted. I have been thinking about doing this for the chickens and rabbits. As long as it isn't too involved it sounds very interesting!

MB

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

10 for 10!!!!!!

They did it! Yesterday was our first day of 10 eggs from 10 layers. Hard to believe a month and a half ago that I was thinking I was never gonna get eggs and yesterday they met the ultimate goal. They will get an extra special treat today of some juicy grubs that my girls and I will be digging up from a friends wood pile.

Hopefully by the end of the week I will have my wheat fodder in full production. I have been trying oats for the last several weeks and not had very much success and everyone says that wheat is the way to go. So far the wheat is looking better. Once I get all the bugs worked out in the process I will let you guys in on how its working. I just want them to get some good greens from the moonscape they have made in the run.

Happy Egg Collecting!

Red

woohoo! That's awesome Red!

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

I need you all to send me strength vibes. I am having a bad run with Duke, my roo. The past week he has stepped up the human aggression towards me. I was hoping all the work I was doing with him would help, but to tell you the truth, it has only seemed to challenge him more. Yesterday, he went after me on two occasions. Smart little bugger knows when I don't have the "manners stick", and i brought some chopped up tomatoes to the flock. Funny, but I have noticed when I bring food to the girls, ie, fruit, yogurt, he takes it as a threat even more. I think he sees the girls all run to me, and feeding them, and it challenges him. I really would hate to see him go, as he is a wonderfully attentive man to the ladies especially when free ranging, but the atmosphere when I head out there is not becoming a relaxing one. I pulled my hamstring muscle in my right leg, and am pathetically limping around. Takes me twice as long to do chores, and with all the mounds of uneven snow and ice, it's just such a drag. When I put the plate of tomatoes down, he flew up at me, and it startled me. I fell backwards, and then he flogged at my legs a second time. Boy, I was spittin mad. I called Jack, my LGD, and did we put him through a 15 minute exercise. Jack was amazing, he knew what I wanted, I give the command "move em", and he follows behind Duke, not letting him rest. He keeps looking to me for command, and moved him outside the fence line. Every time Duke tried to come back in the property, he wouldn't have it. I sat with the girls near the coop. Duke was beside himself. I am going to let him stay around until I locate another roo that is not a problem. There are so many ads for roo's needing good homes. Problem is, just finding one in my area, that is a reasonable drive. Then the fear of bringing another bird here, for fear of bringing any health issues. One thing my flock is is healthy. No mites, lice, gleet, bumblefoot, and I have yet to notice any worms in their droppings. I had them vaccinated when I placed the order, not even a sneeze from them. I have heard so many horror stories about people bringing a rescue into their flock, or purchasing an adult bird, and losing their whole flock. Also have to go through a quarantine period. urg.. why can't the numskull just join up and realize, we can coexist!

Ok, got to head out to the barn, I've been stalling as it's 4 degrees out! Spring can't get here fast enough!

MB

MB,

I'm sure you've already read tons of stuff on here about handling a mean rooster, but I've had a lot of luck training mine with some of the advice I've found. Mostly, it talks about showing him you're the dominant roo. Feeding the girls yourself is a good example (and why it drove him crazy). There are a lot of other tips too...handle him a lot, carry him around upside down, never let him mate one of the hens in front of you (the dominant roo wouldn't allow it)...etc. With my mean roos, I had to start taking a more aggressive approach. I never hit or kick them though. You basically have to break their spirit, as mean as that sounds. Really all you're doing is knocking them off the top rung of the social ladder. Once you do that, their behavior changes dramatically. Some roos are harder to train than others. I've had 2 that seemed impossible, and they wound up in the soup pot. The others eventually submitted. It's also worth noting that most roosters chill out as they age. They're usually a lot meaner right after they hit sexual maturity.

All that being said, breaking in a rooster is hard work. Some folks don't have the time or energy to do it. And a lot of folks, myself included, have kids or other animals around to worry about. If you decide to get a different roo, I recommend getting an older one from a noted docile breed. And yes, you definitely want to quarantine the new bird, and follow all precautions. My current EE roo is 4 years old. I got him as an adult, and he is the best roo I've ever had. He's gentle around humans, and so wonderful with the hens. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[KnobbyOaks]

10 for 10!!!!!!

Yay, for your red letter day. I'm still 0 for 8.

 

[jyurina]

Any day now! Some of my girls sang for a couple of days first and others didn't sing till they had actually laid for the first time. But it is REAL close. Yay for you!!

I still get shell-less eggs off the roost 2-3 days per week. Most days I get 3 eggs from my 4 girls. The odd 4 egg day is a cause for celebration. It's hard to say if one or two may be laying ones without shells. I hope they grow out of it (they are 35 weeks old). I posted a thread about it and a BYCer suggested trace elements and amino acids. I can buy a liquid form to add to mash or water, so I am trying that as well as liquid calcium, as it has been going on for well over a month now. Seems such a waste!

Off topic - we have wildlife nesting boxes in the large trees in our suburban Sydney garden. One is designed for Sugar Gliders which are small nectar-eating marsupials. The entry hole is just 3 cm across, so their heads are very tiny. A friend braved the tall ladder to take this photo for us. There are certainly 5, maybe 7 of them, sleeping here during the day time. There are remians of honeycomb inside the box from a swarm of honeybees which stiopped over for a few weeks last year. The sweet smell would have attracted them to make this home.

It is late summer here, so this will be a mother and her babies from this year. Possibly the father too and maybe girls from last year. Bachelor boys have to go find their own home. Soooo cute and nice to know we are doing a little bit to help our wildlife find substitute homes for their natural habitat.

Happy egg waiting everyone!
Katrina

Those are the cutest things ever!

 

[jyurina]

Well our first week of laying we got 4 eggs in 6 days-all of them perfect. So happy. And my "silent" roo crowed for the very first time this morning. He has a very low voice and crowed once...just to wake me up and let him out. He then made the mistake of deciding that he needed to assert his dominance with Hermia. Slo-fro(the roo) is very large, progeny of a silky and a huge Buff Orphington. Hermia is a black bantam barnyard mix. Well Slo pecked her one time...and then got himself chased all over the chicken yard by my tiny black fury of feathers. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. She has given him the occasional peck today just to make sure he knows his place.