Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Sally8]

Sorry...winch.  My automatic spell check has been spittin' and sputterin' on me in my old age. 

hahaha. Sure thing. I always find this funny. My neighbor always uses the term wench for winch and I always want to correct him. But I don't, I don't want him to think I'm disrespectful. My iPad puts strange words in for me too. Thanks for starting off my day with a chuckle.

 

[galanie]

What is Coney Island hot dog sauce ????................. let's hope it's not Ketchup based cause that would be sacralidge to the hot dog world LOL. Mustard yessssss !!!! Ketchup Baaaaaad LOL.

MMMM Mustard and relish. LOTS of mustard.

 

[Sally8]

When I first jumped over to the OT thread, I felt that it wasn't for me. I'm not going to show or compete them or wasn't planning on trying to better them and I almost quit reading this thread because of it. It was just hard for me to understand. The upfront - no nonsense is fine. Then I was able to aquire 4 reputable breed hens and later was offered the same in a roo. (Very cheaply) So now, I'm still not going to show or breed but what if my grandchildren who live near the city would like to. I have the perfect opportunity for them. Although, I doubt that this breed will be discussed here but I'm learning so very much. As was said before, we take offense too easily and I don't know if it is merritted.

How long can you hold a fertile egg for incubation and what conditions do you keep it in?
(Meaning if she is the one you want eggs from. Her's are slightly different so there's no mistake which one)

 

[Fred's Hens]

I gather incubating eggs for no longer than 7 days. It is known that stocking up on fertile eggs, storing them in a cool place, 50F, turning them twice a day, can often mean you can keep them in good condition for up to 10 days.

I just don't prefer to push it that far. 5 days is plenty long for me, on average.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Sally, if it is any consolation, I don't show either. I don't have the money, time, inclination, or desire to enter that whole scene. It's fine for those who do and I believe it has positive benefits to the chicken world. I also believe it has some detriments as well. The shows aren't perfect. Sometimes the breeds get guided down paths of being over sized or under sized because of popular trends and judging at the shows.

To me? Just me, the term "Show Quality" is irrelevant.

What is relevant to me is the SOP, which I breed to on all true stock. You can sometimes be loyal to the breed's true standard and be unsuccessful in the show circuit. I cannot help that. To me, the breed's historical standards are far more important, show or not show, win or not win. Like a lot of competitive things, such as golf, some guys are on the circuit, traveling from tournament to tournament. Others, often superior players, just teach the game at a local club. Who is say who loves the game more? Do what interests you. But both the circuit pro or the local club pro both MUST love the game and play by it's rules. Period.

 

[armorfirelady]

I have a question for the OTs......I am a newbie remember..... & I have 4-31 week old partridge rock hens. Only 1 laying but another that by looking at her comb & wattles should be close when I compare them to one who is laying

How do you store your eggs? On the counter, in the fridge? How long for both?

I dont see the need to wash them after I gather them. I read somewhere that there was a protectve covering on them that helped keep them fresh longer?


And a 2nd question about eggs. My one hen just started laying a week ago. The originally egg was 2 inches long. The last egg she laid on Tuesday is a little fatter than the first two. How long of laying does it take before they reach the egg size they are going to be?

Just a few questions I had as I eagerly await her to lay another egg for me

The shell of the eggs are very strong and the yolk a very dark yellow. I am attributing that to the FF that I feed them.


here are the 1st 4 eggs laid. top right is 1st egg, top left 3rd, bottom right 1st egg, bottom left 4th egg. I have been comparing them to see the differences just because these are my first eggs ever. All have a good heft to them, hard shells, bright yellow yolks & clear white part of egg. No blood spots. The only think I noticed is the different hues of the eggs in color. And the first 2 got little white dots on the shell. I assume because they sat on the counter for a few days after they were hatched.




Here are the yolks from the 2nd & 3rd egg laid. I had no store bought eggs at home to compare them to.

Then hen has laid every day except 2. She is newly laying & the shorter days are what I am attributing to that.

Comments? knowledge for the newbie with the newly laying hen? Any suggestions or info on what to expect? I am ready to soak up the knowledge please Thank you !!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Table eggs? Eggs you're going to eat?

If so, there's two ways popular. Some love the "bloom" and just put them in a basket on the counter and use them as needed. That's works well for up to a month. However, this requires good flock practices, clean nests and cooperative hens.

Others? Just wash 90% of their eggs and stick them in the fridge. If you wash, do so by holding/rubbing them under running water 20 degrees hotter than warmest egg. That's the guidance from every health organization.

Your choice. Your call. This egg/bloom/washing debate thing gets kicked back and forth and round and round more than a soccer ball at a youth game, both of which I find tedious, to be honest. LOL Hope that helps.

 

[JeffOeuf]

I have a question for the OTs......I am a newbie remember..... & I have 4 partridge rock hens

How do you store your eggs? On the counter, in the fridge? How long for both?

I dont see the need to wash them after I gather them. I read somewhere that there was a protectve covering on them that helped keep them fresh longer?


And a 2nd question about eggs. My one hen just started laying a week ago. The originally egg was 2 inches long. The last egg she laid on Tuesday is a little fatter than the first two. How long of laying does it take before they reach the egg size they are going to be?

Just a few questions I had as I eagerly await her to lay another egg for me

The shell of the eggs are very strong and the yolk a very dark yellow. I am guessing thats from the FF that I feed them.

Are you talking about storage to eat or storage before incubation? For the first, it really doesn't matter. If you're going to keep them more than a week or two, the refrigerator will keep them longer, but the counter is fine for up to a week...maybe more....dunno, they don't last that long around here.

Storage for incubation is different, there you need to keep them right around 51 degrees, with the smaller end pointed down, and as Fred just pointed out, get them into the incubator within 5 days. Tests prove that you can push that to two weeks, but mortality starts to rise.

Yes, they'll get bigger. Mine have been laying for 4 months now, some have leveled off at XLarge, one still seems to be increasing, just now reaching XLarge.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:

1. I store mine on the counter...they are usually sold or eaten within 2 wks. There have been times when some have sat longer...never have they gone bad, even when stored in this manner during the summer. Of course, my counter top isn't in the direct sunlight, either. In the fridge? Couple of months, maybe more...never tried to see how long one could go without spoilage, so you are on your own on that one. Would be interesting to know...you could store 6 eggs in each place and systematically crack one in each place every 2 wks to see when they go bad.
2. Not long at all but it varies with each bird, so no one can really answer that question. For mine, usually within a week or so, they have lined it all out and are laying to their specific egg size.

Those egg yolks look to be good size...how do they taste?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote from NYREDS

Let me give one example that was so extreme it stuck in my rapidly failing memory.
A woman exhibited what she entered as a large fowl Bearded Buff Laced Polish Cockerel. It had no lacing & very little in the way of secondary sex characteristics. The bird was maybe 2 months old & was still in it's juvenile plumage. It didn't weigh more than 1 1/2 pounds if that. I didn't need a scale to disqualify that bird.
In the way of additional info the woman had BYC bumper stickers on her show box & had hung a sign on the cage informing me the of the bird's name [critical to the judging process). She came up to me later & was upset because the bird was disquallified because it was a "very sweet bird" & didn't deserve to be disqualified.
At the other end of the scale I remember a Golden Sebright cock bird that was about the size of a large fowl Hamburg hen [came from Ideal Hatchery I later learned]. Didn't feel the need for a scale in that case either. This owner asked me to talk about the class later & was very receptive to learning. Said when he saw how much smaller all the other birds in the class were he knew there was a problem. I introduced him to Herb Rogers 7 he ended up buying a pair of birds to take home.
These are the kind of extremes I was talking about. They happen once in awhile here & not just in Fair shows. In both cases I suppose I could have just placed the birds, neither were in large classes, but would that really have been a service to the exhibitors?

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I know there is lots of cross pollination from the Heritage Large Fowl thread and here, but in case you missed this post by NYREDS, I simply had to re-post over here.

Now that's funny, and helpful, I don't care who you are!