California - Northern

OH how I wish my chickens would stop moulting and start laying eggs for me. its like they are taking forever and not in a hurry to return. but then now that I am selling more and more eggs. I want them to hurry up and lay
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My new banties- the hen is seriously moulting feathers EVERYwhere. Insane. How long does this last cause dang!

By the way- I couldn't help myself we named the bantams. Foghorn and Lady. That rooster can crowwwwwwwwwwwww. WOW!
 
We have an egg!! A duck egg! Our first ever egg!!
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Here's Samson. Is he growing out nice so far for a FBCM? He's nicely tempered.
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3 of our lay boxes done so far.


We are trying to find 2 more like them. Hubby is installing chicken water fountain too right now. Hope the chickens figure out what it does lol!


Excuse my typos. Sent from my iPhone.
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Beautiful Egg!


OH how I wish my chickens would stop moulting and start laying eggs for me. its like they are taking forever and not in a hurry to return. but then now that I am selling more and more eggs. I want them to hurry up and lay
D.gif

Quote: I am seeing more and more feathers in the Layer yard. I do have a lot of eggs save up....


Ron
 
That duck egg is beautiful! Is it like a metallic color? Looks kinda like a mother of pear
I'm still trying to figure out which duck breed laid it. Most ducks lay white eggs. Some lay blue tinted ones. Cayugas lay black eggs. I know this is NOT a Pekin eggs. Pekin eggs are white white white. So...a Runner, a Golden 300, a Black Runner, A Buff or a Welsh Harlequin...trying to determine what color eggs these breeds lay. I thought white- but this is obviously not a white egg! lol
 
That really is a stunning egg, have to find out who and breed that bad boy.
and CONGO RATS!!!
EGGGSEGGSEGGSEGGGSEGGGSEGGSEGGSSSS!
 
That really is a stunning egg, have to find out who and breed that bad boy.
and CONGO RATS!!!
EGGGSEGGSEGGSEGGGSEGGGSEGGSEGGSSSS!
Someone suggested maybe a thick amount of bloom because it's just starting to lay? I don't know though. People don't breed ducks for eggs like they do chickens. I actually hope to if they lay well. It's the great Eggsperiment for us. See which bird is easier to care for, evaluate overall cost (like ducks eat more feed, but we never have to medicate our ducks so it might wash), how each lays in the various seasons...but if ducks prove to really good layers....we will still have chickens, still breed them, still enjoy their eggs but will likely add a second duck coop and figure out which 2 duck breeds we love the best and then keep those 2 for our pond and for eggs. That's one reason why we are trying 5 different duck breeds. :D

I mixed in oyster shell in their food last night. First time I have done that. Maybe it helped? I'm going to mix in a little tonight too. hehe
 
Someone suggested maybe a thick amount of bloom because it's just starting to lay? I don't know though. People don't breed ducks for eggs like they do chickens. I actually hope to if they lay well. It's the great Eggsperiment for us. See which bird is easier to care for, evaluate overall cost (like ducks eat more feed, but we never have to medicate our ducks so it might wash), how each lays in the various seasons...but if ducks prove to really good layers....we will still have chickens, still breed them, still enjoy their eggs but will likely add a second duck coop and figure out which 2 duck breeds we love the best and then keep those 2 for our pond and for eggs. That's one reason why we are trying 5 different duck breeds. :D

I mixed in oyster shell in their food last night. First time I have done that. Maybe it helped? I'm going to mix in a little tonight too. hehe
Zooweemama, do you have Cayuga or black Indian Runner ducks? If you do, then your almost metallic colored egg is most likely from that duck. Here is a link: http://horsefarmdiaries.com/?p=3876 This person has cayuga ducks, and they can lay black eggs although they can range in color to white.
 
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What's the best way to teach my chickens to return to the coop at night if I let them free-range outside their run during the day? Also, next spring when we return to the ranch (we're going down to Dunsmuir for the winter) I'm getting a mixed flock of about 30. Should I worry about behavior problems? The chicks will all be raised together, but I'm getting a wide range of breeds.
 
What's the best way to teach my chickens to return to the coop at night if I let them free-range outside their run during the day? Also, next spring when we return to the ranch (we're going down to Dunsmuir for the winter) I'm getting a mixed flock of about 30. Should I worry about behavior problems? The chicks will all be raised together, but I'm getting a wide range of breeds.

That is a great question!

Leave them in the coop for three days--they will imprint on the coop. You can rehome them to a new coop in the same way. The hard way is to pick them up and put them in the coop after dark. This works too but takes at least twice as long. Some of them might even get lost in the tall trees or etc.

If they are raised together, they will form a flock. It does not matter really what breed they are. I even add new ones to mine and they figure out a pecking order and do ok. Look at my signature line and you can see what I have together. The EO Basque and the Dorking pullet are together but the others are all mixed now. The Blue Marans is the only one that coop hops. She is a funny one.

I read that a chicken can recognize about 70 individuals, so as long as you are not putting more than 70 together at a time you will be ok. You might want to split them up by size if they seem go be picking on the small ones.

Best!
 
That is a great question!

Leave them in the coop for three days--they will imprint on the coop. You can rehome them to a new coop in the same way. The hard way is to pick them up and put them in the coop after dark. This works too but takes at least twice as long. Some of them might even get lost in the tall trees or etc.

If they are raised together, they will form a flock. It does not matter really what breed they are. I even add new ones to mine and they figure out a pecking order and do ok. Look at my signature line and you can see what I have together. The EO Basque and the Dorking pullet are together but the others are all mixed now. The Blue Marans is the only one that coop hops. She is a funny one.

I read that a chicken can recognize about 70 individuals, so as long as you are not putting more than 70 together at a time you will be ok. You might want to split them up by size if they seem go be picking on the small ones.

Best!
Ron knows his stuff. I agree they need time to get use to it. You can also try and rig a small run to the coop so they can wander out in the day. that is what I did so they could get some fresh air.
 

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