California - Northern

[OR4-hmom]

I have d'Anver from eggs I bought from Boggy Bottom Bantams. Out of 18 only 5 hatched. He is in Georgia and that state seems to be rough on shipping! I recently got Ameraucana eggs from Lark Rise, who is in Georgia also. They were pretty beat up, and out of 18 I am down to 8 still growing at 14 days along. Some of those will have a hard time hatching because the whites are jiggly. On the other hand. I once bought EE eggs from Bargain in Georgia and had a 100% hatch  I love Boggy Bottom's d'Anvers! I was thinking about bidding on his currant auction. 

Thanks for sharing. The auction is for 6 eggs and OR has a bad reputation on shipping also. I got an old breeder listing for our Western district but no luck contacting anyone with phoenix. With my luck I would end up with another lone rooster from the bunch!

 

[ronott1]

That is awful! I get an allergic reaction to mold. It gives me severe migraine headaches. I also lost a young Wyandotte cockerel to a mold plug last year!

My guess is that a lot of health problems in that household are mold related.

Nasty stuff!

 

[ronott1]

If you can avoid atlanta nashville (esp for lives) and chiago its better. Of course its hard to miss chiago. This is not a scientific survey. Id like to find a programmer that needs a project for school who would write one to check.

You would put your postcodes in and it would tell you the sorting center Your mail would go to and the % of damaged boxes.(% of hatch mebby too) It could also say if writing on the box no xray and this side up had correlation.

Someone find me a programming senior!

Every shipment from that area has been messed up badly!

The best hatch I had with bantam eggs that came from Michigan were packed in the foam packers. I had a 95% hatch.

foam packers are a great alternative. I would like to have someone ship eggs to me packed foam and double boxed. They always seem to put them in one box and some break in one area of the box. The ones that are not broken will hatch though so it does help with the vibration damage.

See like this package, @PetRock has a trio of HRIRs that hatched from this shipment and I still have tow pullets. Three other cockerels went to auction in Roseville.

 

[chrissyr]

Denny uses sprouted oats for her hens to increase egg size. Denny (Lotsapaints) from Paso Robles is my feed Guru.....LOL I am happy with my egg size but want to give it a try. Sprouting has been great fun for me & I have tried several grains & legumes. They loved the lentils.

Oh wow, Sprouted oats to increase egg size? interesting! Thank you for the info
I tried to get some oats to sprout, but probably wasn't doing it right. I need to google it because it sounded so simple. I just put some out in warm temps and wet, but nothing sprouted. I heard fermented saves on feed too.

 

[ronott1]

Oh wow, Sprouted oats to increase egg size? interesting! Thank you for the info
I tried to get some oats to sprout, but probably wasn't doing it right. I need to google it because it sounded so simple. I just put some out in warm temps and wet, but nothing sprouted. I heard fermented saves on feed too.

Make sure you are sprouting oats and not groats. Groats may not sprout as well.

Some from the feed stores will not sprout.

 

[chrissyr]

It is amazing to see the parallels from the Chicken world and the Human World. The Music Pastor from Calvary Baptist Church Esparto has survived stage 4 Melanoma and then Lymphoma. At the last 6mo. scan, they found a mass in the lungs and did a biopsy yesterday. It was not cancer but a fungal mass--with tendrils and everything.

He will be fine but now they need to get the mold out from under their trailer house and check his wife and pets. She has had Lupus symptoms for years which may actually be her immune system fighting off the mold.

I had an Australorp die of the same mold several months ago

Mold isn't something to play around with.

Thank God that the pastor will be well. That is great news.

 

[WendyJeepchick]

I wou

I spouted the seed mix you were getting from that catalog. That was in the big black cement mixing trays with the hardware cloth frame on top. I did that all outside. That worked well but they were heavy for me to handle & the chickens made such a mess eating off the tops of them.
   Now I am using perforated trays with 1 pound of grain (i am using Barley now $13.50 for a 50 pound bag) in each (about 10" by 12"). I soak the grain over night then divide it up into the trays about a pound per tray & water them twice a day. I have them set up on my unused breakfast nook tile counter on a 2 shelf plastic rack. It hold 3 trays per shelf so counting the counter I have 9 trays. The bottom 3 trays are doubled with the bottom tray solid to hold the runoff water. I put sections of cut PVC pipe in the solid trays on the bottom to keep the top tray elevated from the water. It takes just minutes to soak each tray twice a day. I was using a big watering can & watering the top trays & letting it drain through to each tray beneath (like You Tube does it)  but I think I like the soak method better. It is a little more trouble but I get a lot better results. This method is actually fodder feeders & not just sprouted grain but if I dumped the trays at 3 or 4 days it would be sprouted grain. In a week I have 9 trays of thick green grass about 5 inches tall. They eat it all, grass, grain spouts, roots everything.
   I am eager to try the oats, $18.95 for a 75 pound bag. My daughter is on her way to pick it up at the feed store now. I have been using cheap aluminum trays from the $1 store 2 for a dollar but bought the expensive ones,$1 a piece, ( LOL ) plastic trays the other day & will switch to them this go round. Not a big investment at all. I have been reusing the cheap aluminum trays for weeks now. Maybe I will sprout oats in the aluminum ones when I switch my fodder feeders to the plastic. I have lots of holes to drill today in the 9 plastic trays........LOL.
  Now I off to study more on Beehives while I wait for my daughter to get back..........LOL

I would love to see your setup next time I come over. I want to find a way to feed my chickens for less, still guve them a healthy balanced diet, and simething not too time consuming. I don't have any extra time available right now. Once I graduate this summer and my 8th grader goes to high school (she's homeschooled now), it will free up some time.

 

[sewandgrow]

It is amazing to see the parallels from the Chicken world and the Human World. The Music Pastor from Calvary Baptist Church Esparto has survived stage 4 Melanoma and then Lymphoma. At the last 6mo. scan, they found a mass in the lungs and did a biopsy yesterday. It was not cancer but a fungal mass--with tendrils and everything.

He will be fine but now they need to get the mold out from under their trailer house and check his wife and pets. She has had Lupus symptoms for years which may actually be her immune system fighting off the mold.

I had an Australorp die of the same mold several months ago.

Thank God Ron. I hope they all recover nicely.

 

[sewandgrow]

Make sure you are sprouting oats and not groats. Groats may not sprout as well.

Some from the feed stores will not sprout.

I called my local feed & seed store & specifically asked for re cleaned oats for sprouting.

 

[sewandgrow]

I wou
I would love to see your setup next time I come over. I want to find a way to feed my chickens for less, still guve them a healthy balanced diet, and simething not too time consuming. I don't have any extra time available right now. Once I graduate this summer and my 8th grader goes to high school (she's homeschooled now), it will free up some time.

your welcomed anytime Wendy but if you call first I might even do the dishes before you come.......LOL