Anyone have luck catching a feral chicken?? UPDATE: Rooster caught, no hen

[Parront]

My 15 month old thinks Dylan is hilarious.

She takes a bath a lot like a 15-month-old!

 

[Parront]

My paste is really dark... and not going to make it again. I'll buy store bought paste for the level of effort involved in making it.

That is my feeling on the tortillas . . .

 

[biophiliac]

I have a chicken question but no video.
I keep learning that chickens are very sensitive to change.

What about environmental temperature change?

Yesterday it was a balmy, humid 85 degrees here. Cold front swept in, overnight low high forties, today was a brisk very low humidity 55.

Only 1 girl laid an egg today. This has not happened since they started laying.
1 or two might skip a day, but FIVE????

And my broody buff who just got back to normal 3 weeks ago is definitely a passenger on the broody train AGAIN!

Can I chalk this up to a 30 degree dip in temperature?

- anxiously awaiting your answers,
Luv,
Stacey

@rjohns39 - dinner sounds delish. Some of my ugliest offerings have been gastronomic heaven.

Are any moulting? The temp dip might affect some birds. IMO some are sensitive to changes and some - not so much. Some don't even stop laying when moved to a new home! Not very definitive, I know.

So I would give them a look over to see if there are any other issues...

 

[biophiliac]

Yup, but my tomato sauce is a bit darker than store bought as well. No coloring added.



Yup that can cause a shortage of eggs.

Used to make it in Mexico, no store bought sauce, started with raw tomatos.

 

[Parront]

Are any moulting? The temp dip might affect some birds. IMO some are sensitive to changes and some - not so much. Some don't even stop laying when moved to a new home! Not very definitive, I know.

So I would give them a look over to see if there are any other issues...

Temp dips could bring on molting. There are lots of reasons that the commercial guys use big lighted, ventilated and heated houses, in cages preferably! Birds in cages indoors live longer, lay more. Our backyard birds are from another era, old school -- where the eggs were few and prized in the winter.

 

[staceyj]

Chickens hate Fall. Temps swing, days are shorter, and after a frost the bugs are gone.

Luckily we rarely have a hard frost here. Let alone a killing one.

 

[biophiliac]

Temp dips could bring on molting. There are lots of reasons that the commercial guys use big lighted, ventilated and heated houses, in cages preferably! Birds in cages indoors live longer, lay more. Our backyard birds are from another era, old school -- where the eggs were few and prized in the winter.

Of course you are right - what they are sensitive to is shorter days!

 

[Parront]

Of course you are right - what they are sensitive to is shorter days!

They are sensitive to the approaching winter. The older the breed, the more in tune with the season, is my thought. New, hybrid layer sex-link type chickens are bred to expect perfect conditions all the time.

 

[staceyj]

Are any moulting? The temp dip might affect some birds. IMO some are sensitive to changes and some - not so much. Some don't even stop laying when moved to a new home! Not very definitive, I know.

So I would give them a look over to see if there are any other issues...

No molting yet.

I spent a good portion of the day out there with them doing yard work and giving their house, and run a tidy-up.

They were born the end of this February. So they are technically still pullets I suppose. Started laying the last week of July-1st week of August.

They are loose in the yard from about 8 am til bedtime.

They like to follow me (or the dog) and weave between my legs (or his!) when I'm trying to get from point A to point B. If I sit they want to sit on my lap. They each get a good lookover every single day.

Easy-peasy since they're tame and spoiled rotten and there's only six of them.

They get looked at from their head to heiney hole.

Today's check:
Dory was clucking and kept heading back to the nesting box whenever she thought she could get past me.
I kept booting her out.
She HATES THAT and tells me what I think are dirty chicken words I'm sure over her shoulder as she walks away. She would flash me the bird I think if she didn't need it to walk!

No mites, lice or other critters.

Everybody's poops look good- god knows there's enough of them!

Everybody's eating fine.

Ruining my garden as usual and helped themselves to lettuce, thyme and oregano.

I was raking pine needles which they thought was WAY fun.

Then later they all settled down for very long dust baths in the sandy soil which refuses to grow grass.

Put themselves to bed as usual.

When I locked up their house Dory was on the roost with the rest of them but making THAT NOISE again!

The girls on either side of her both gave me the stink eye.

The temperature change was the only difference today!

 

[staceyj]

Of course you are right - what they are sensitive to is shorter days!

TRUE!
The days are getting noticeably shorter.
And fast!