California - Northern

[Hangtown Farms]

So, I wanted to share my first egg picture, the green one on the left compared to a medium to large egg from one of my other chickens. this was right before I dropped my phone right onto my brand new egg and cracked it wide open onto the counter!!!! Doh! Another example of why i candle legs crossed on carpet!!



Just liked the look of my SFH roo "panting" with his wings.

handsome rooster

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Got my first egg today from chickens that I incubated. Since there are 21 in that pen right now, I suspect the eggs will start flowing. now I have to get them separated into their breeding pens. gonna be a busy week but exciting!!!

Congrats!

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

I haven't tried duck yet, peacock though

Spoiled, but it's not a blood-and-guts photo, just the finished product:

Duck by Cowgirl Jules, on Flickr
I didn't have anyone with me to take pictures this time.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

California-Northern was #8 for the thread with the most posts yesterday!

 

[Hangtown Farms]

California-Northern was #8 for the thread with the most posts yesterday!

That is how we roll

 

[debs_flock]

Quote: ha, ha, just laughing too because I always get nervous when I candle expensive eggs!!! i have so dropped more than one egg while candling. i dropped one of my first SFH eggs when they were way expensive. i've learned to sit on the ground on carpet when I candle now instead of over the table or tile bathroom counter. ha!

That's why I never even pick eggs up when I candle them (haven't broken one yet and I'd like to avoid that). I just touch my candler to the top of each egg with the top of the incubator only tipped up enough to put my arm in. The only time I pick up an egg is if it's so dark it needs a lot of light. Then I will candle it from above and below at the same time. I can usually see into anything that way.

I will pick up an egg to candle that's questionable before I dispose of it.

Good luck with the Orps

Deb

 

[ronott1]

California-Northern was #8 for the thread with the most posts yesterday!

Quote:
That is great news! Good job All.

I am happy we are starting to get BYC'rs from further North too. It's a big and sometime isolated area up there and it is great to see you guy finding neighbors raising chickens that you did not know about.

Cheers!

 

[ronott1]

Quote: ha, ha, just laughing too because I always get nervous when I candle expensive eggs!!! i have so dropped more than one egg while candling. i dropped one of my first SFH eggs when they were way expensive. i've learned to sit on the ground on carpet when I candle now instead of over the table or tile bathroom counter. ha!

That's why I never even pick eggs up when I candle them (haven't broken one yet and I'd like to avoid that). I just touch my candler to the top of each egg with the top of the incubator only tipped up enough to put my arm in. The only time I pick up an egg is if it's so dark it needs a lot of light. Then I will candle it from above and below at the same time. I can usually see into anything that way.

I will pick up an egg to candle that's questionable before I dispose of it.

Good luck with the Orps

Deb

I love it! Two candlers...My chickens will never pay for themselves

Still, as far as hobbies go this one is not that expensive. Even with the Expensive rare and heritage breeds. We also get food back from them and we are entertained by Chicken TV. I spend a lot of time outside now, which is good considering I work in an Office 40 hours a week...

Thanks Deb! Really, other then finding out which eggs are good or bad you really do not need to see the whole egg. The air cell size at the correct day is what you need to see and leaving the egg in the turner and candling will show you the air cell and the veins.
Ron

Edited to correct grammar and spelling Ron

 

[ronott1]

Ok, i just have to say one more thing. You guys are always such "day" people! I'm usually the only one on here at odd hours of the night when I should be sleeping. Happy early morning to us and may those of you with young kids be blessed with some late morning sleepers!

I used to get more sleep until I started poking around on this site!

Did your green egg come from an EE? My SLW started laying this week. 4 tiny little eggs, 4 days in a row, and then today, nada. She was cranky, too. Maybe tomorrow she'll lay The Big One!

The night owls could form a club and keep each other company. Maybe some insomniacs can join you from other threads. That way we could become as active as the Oklahoma thread or the Washingtonian thread....

Last night I was nodding off at 9:00. It was a long week.

Ron

 

[capayvalleychick]

Deb, It would be nice if I could tell which birds are yours when I go to the fair. I don't know when I'm going, yet.

Amy, AGH piglets range in cost from $100-350. They are adaptable, so people feed them all different ways. Some live on pasture or in woods & orchards and do all their own foraging. Some get fed pig feed. You have to be careful with these easy keepers not to feed too much or feed them empty carbs like bread, or they get too much lard. I move mine around, letting them eat the old garden plants & turn the soil, or remove weeds. I feed them alfalfa/corn/oat cubes with a small supplement of Calf Manna, plus any left over veggies. I'm the only breeder who feeds that diet. I do not like the ingredients in pig feed and don't have enough forage for them to graze. I also feed them any chickens that die from the heat, which they love.
Since these pigs are so small, people do their own butchering. We haven't done it, yet. The meat yield is about 50% of the live weight. You can butcher these at any age and the meat is still great. The do mature slowly, can take a year to get to 100 or more pounds.
We eat and offer breeding stock from our Dexter cattle, St. Croix Hair Sheep, and AGH. They all have exceptional meat quality. I hope to offer the same with my chickens but they need more work to bring them up to good enough quality.

I'm trying to raise Delawares. I was surprised that they do not do very well in the heat. Ron posted a quote about it, a while back somewhere. I've lost 3 this year. The eggs from the Sand Hill strain are large. My Braden birds are working their way up from pullet sized eggs. They seem to lay an egg a day the first year. My 2 year old SH girls have slowed down to every other day. I like their meat, prefer them butchered at 5 months since the legs on the 7 mth old were a bit chewy. I just posted a pic of that one on the Homesteading Heritage Poultry thread. Dispositions range from friendly to shy. The roos can be nasty, but can be taught to behave.

Jules, nice looking duck!

Ron, there is no doubt that your hobby has turned into a way of life!

I'm getting a whole bunch of pullet eggs too. My Spring Dorks must be laying.

Enjoy your day!
Kim