Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

Latest chicken drama,

Desertmarcy girl "Molly" left a very soft shelled egg where she sleeps last night.. So today all the hen's were singing, "new egg layer".. I went out like 4x.. Molly was in the nest for about 2 hours.. Ugh.. Time consuming for me.. Finally I heard her singing, thinking she left a gift.. NOPE, she was just getting the nest ready.. Hay, at least she is no longer a free loader I can't wait to see the color.. She is a SOP, RIR/amerucauna mix..


Duck drama.. The new layer, which must lay in the early morning, is leaving huge egg's. e

2 new layers in one week..
[@=/u/304196/cyborg]@cyborg[/@]

Give us some recipes.. You are a great cook..

Love the story and SO grateful you shared it. One of my girls that hadn't reached POL yet displayed behavior almost exactly like your new egg layer. I honestly thought something may be wrong with her after her long stay in the nesting box followed by her singing yielded zero eggs. Now I know she was just performing a dry run.   Whew! 

Update, still now egg.. No song either.. As of now.. So her nick name is still freeloader..Tehe

Thanks, you just never know what their up to.. I was bummed when there was no egg.. She is a big chicken, so her egg's will be as well..

Oh, hay.. Yes' hay as in for horses..@FeatherPugs have you seen ranger? Or heard anything?

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
I haven't found the "first to hatch are the females" thing to be true at all. If anything, my early hatchers tend to be cockerels (but not a strong enough tendency to count on it.) I don't put leg bands on chicks. I do wing-band them when they are a week or so old.

5 birds out and healthy. All from the same breeding trio. None of the other eggs have pipped. Will pull the chicks from the hatcher later today, and leave the other eggs in for a day or two to see if anything develops. 5 healthy chicks is way better than I expected, given the turner mishap!

 

[DesertChic]

I haven't found the "first to hatch are the females" thing to be true at all. If anything, my early hatchers tend to be cockerels (but not a strong enough tendency to count on it.) I don't put leg bands on chicks. I do wing-band them when they are a week or so old.

5 birds out and healthy. All from the same breeding trio. None of the other eggs have pipped. Will pull the chicks from the hatcher later today, and leave the other eggs in for a day or two to see if anything develops. 5 healthy chicks is way better than I expected, given the turner mishap!

Out of half a dozen hatches, the first hatchers in five of them were female and one was male. Interesting....I've never considered that before now.

Most of my birds hatch out to be males. I defy all of the statistics. Last hatch of 26 resulted in 17 cockerels.

They're beautiful birds though...and I'm sure they'll taste delicious.

 

[cyborg]

Oh I'm going to do this!! It sounds wonderful and we love Hatch whole chilies --- and I just made some Serrano pepper salsa - -perfect! thanks so much...........

I am on a ketogenic diet right now (high protein, high fat (the good kinds) and little or no carbs). It is working great, I've lost 18 pounds since the 7th of this month. This recipe is ideal for this diet, as it is very high protein and fat, and little to no carbs.
So don't freak out when I tell you to load it up with cheese! I am going to make this this weekend, but this time, in addition to the sharp cheddar, I'm going to slip a stick of string cheese inside each chili. I personally use Sadies Salsa (hot), and I really like it, but I would like to hear your recipe for the serrano salsa. I have tried some serranos that were lame, and some that would light you up, so I guess I need to sample the chilis before I put them in the salsa.

 

[FeatherPugs]

I am on a ketogenic diet right now (high protein, high fat (the good kinds) and little or no carbs). It is working great, I've lost 18 pounds since the 7th of this month. This recipe is ideal for this diet, as it is very high protein and fat, and little to no carbs.
So don't freak out when I tell you to load it up with cheese! I am going to make this this weekend, but this time, in addition to the sharp cheddar, I'm going to slip a stick of string cheese inside each chili. I personally use Sadies Salsa (hot), and I really like it, but I would like to hear your recipe for the serrano salsa. I have tried some serranos that were lame, and some that would light you up, so I guess I need to sample the chilis before I put them in the salsa. This time I made 6 batches together. Put about 1 cut in freezer bags and put in fridge for later - and filled up a jar for use now. It worked just fine, I only had to blend a bit more than usual.

We also do low carb - that's why I liked it so much - we do watch the cheese though - I was just telling my DH that it would be great with some cheese in the chilis!! Good minds work together........ Here's the serrano salsa that I make - you can work it any way you like it but this is the basic and we find its great. Good as a garnish, good with eggs in the AM, good as a spice for enchiladas - just good - enjoy.
Serrano Pepper Salsa
INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil ( I usually just use bacon grease!! - sometimes I have peanut oil on hand tho)
• 1 small white onion, diced, 1 tablespoon reserved
• 10 serrano chiles, stems removed
• 3 cloves garlic (I also often use minced garlic from the jar!)
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 3/4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin (I use triple the cumin - I like the taste!)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

DIRECTIONS
1.
In a skillet, heat the oil on medium and add the onion (except for the one tablespoon set aside), serranos, and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until the skin on the chiles starts to pop and bubble.
2.
Transfer chiles, onion, and garlic to a blender; add cilantro, water, vinegar, cumin, and salt. Purée until smooth, add more salt if desired, and top with reserved diced onions. Yes its thin but its great with just about anything!!

 

[FeatherPugs]

Update, still now egg.. No song either.. As of now.. So her nick name is still freeloader..Tehe

Thanks, you just never know what their up to.. I was bummed when there was no egg.. She is a big chicken, so her egg's will be as well..

Oh, hay.. Yes' hay as in for horses..@FeatherPugs have you seen ranger? Or heard anything?

Don't ya love those girls that are named freeloader! I had one for 9 months before she decided to give me a small little egg. I still only get a small little egg but I get it every day! My DH gets it with his eggs almost every day!!
Ranger was seen at the farmer's home down the road about 3 miles. I went to ask about him - apparently they were worried I would take him back so they gave me a song and dance and told me he had run again. He's in a pen with a big tall roof! The pen is way at the back of the property with lots of shade and a coop/shelter for him. I'll catch the kids home one day and ask then. People are so crazy!
Bottom line is I know he's getting fed and has shelter.

 

[deserteggs22]

Is anyone else having a huge problem with skunks? I've been getting about five skunks a week at my place. They don't get my hens because I close their shed door, but my dogs just bark and bark and bark until I get out there.

 

[DesertChic]

Is anyone else having a huge problem with skunks? I've been getting about five skunks a week at my place. They don't get my hens because I close their shed door, but my dogs just bark and bark and bark until I get out there.

AZ Game & Fish told us that there's a huge rabid skunk problem this year. One attacked my neighbor and she had to endure rounds of rabies shots. Be careful.

 

[deserteggs22]

AZ Game & Fish told us that there's a huge rabid skunk problem this year. One attacked my neighbor and she had to endure rounds of rabies shots. Be careful. 

Is she alright? A shotgun with a flashlight taped to the end takes care of my problem.

 

[DesertChic]

Is she alright? A shotgun with a flashlight taped to the end takes care of my problem.

Yeah, she's fine. The shots were primarily a precaution because she got scratched, not bitten. She actually told me she almost called me to come kill it because she knows my husband and I always have a gun within reach and she didn't know where hers was. I now have The Judge loaded with shot on my thigh when I go out to release the chickens every morning.