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

[galanie]

I know with me, it's the membrane sticking to the white that is the problem. And only by letting them get a week or two old before boiling can I do it easily. As I said, I do use salt, I do cool them down fast. I always have, I was taught to do eggs that way.

Vinegar only softens the shells. I have no problem breaking the shell, it's that thick tough membrane I have such hell with. No more though since when I do boil them, they are still fresher than yukky story eggs.

 

[therapydoglady]

If you bought that canary, it might have been treated with male hormones as males bring more $. The downside is that sometimes when the poor girls start to lay, their reproductive tracts have shrunken up so they die from being egg bound. Poor canaries are routinely color and hormone treated.

I have no idea about the breeding/raising of this bird. She is a Gloster. My boys got her for me (as a male) about 10 years ago either for mother's day or birthday. Doesn't matter. Don't want to get into raising those birds too. Just have the one, and if the Macaw had his way, he'd eat her for a snack. Her cage has to hand from the ceiling - nothing for him to climb or she would have been toast years ago.

Grandkids replacement banties got here today. They did learn from their last straigh run assortment which ones they liked so they were more picky...Chanticlear d'uccles, white cochins, golden seabrites. They are tickled, I have the chainlink gate up, so I think we're ready to go again. BTW. I checked all the beaks before I showed them to the kids! No more crossed beak yogurt stuff.

 

[thedragonlady]

I have no idea about the breeding/raising of this bird. She is a Gloster. My boys got her for me (as a male) about 10 years ago either for mother's day or birthday. Doesn't matter. Don't want to get into raising those birds too. Just have the one, and if the Macaw had his way, he'd eat her for a snack. Her cage has to hand from the ceiling - nothing for him to climb or she would have been toast years ago.

Grandkids replacement banties got here today. They did learn from their last straigh run assortment which ones they liked so they were more picky...Chanticlear d'uccles, white cochins, golden seabrites. They are tickled, I have the chainlink gate up, so I think we're ready to go again. BTW. I checked all the beaks before I showed them to the kids! No more crossed beak yogurt stuff.

Gloucesters are SO cute with their Beatle hairdoos!Canaries are the only use I ever found for dryer lint. They love it for nesting material.The big birds tend to regard them as an hors d'orves though!Lucky that she's waited this long to lay. The male hormones must have worn off.

Gracious what an assortment. Hope you have better luck this time. I hate it when kids are faced with that kind of loss.

 

[Seslar]

Hi folks,
With all the egg boiling convo, I think my question got buried. I thought I'd pose the question one more time. I hope it's not annoying. If no one has an opinion, that's okay, I'll wing it.

So, there's a guy on Craigslist here advertising the following feed:
-Quote-
A mix of:
yellow peas, green peas, wild rice, barley, wheat, camelina meal pellets (plant protein)
Photo is of actual feed
All natural
17-18 % plant protein in the current mix
We can put together a higher % protein mix for your needs
50 pound sacks are $16 each
-end quote-

There's a pic of the feed at: http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/grd/3146444410.html

My question is whether this seems like it would be a healthy chicken feed. It looks more "natural" than the pellets from the feed store. I was remembering how someone suggested that chicken food should look like something that could have been foraged or "fallen into their pen from over the fence.". But what do you think? Is this legit chicken feed? My chickens do not free range. They have a large pen, but they receive all their nutritional requirements from whatever I give them, or whatever might crawl or drop into their pen. Thanks all.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

My fresh eggs were nigh impossible to peel without losing half the white. Kinda hard to take devilled eggs to church potluck with half the white gone lol.

I now steam them. Read about it as all the rage on line and finally decided to try it. Works a charm.

We boil ours as normal. then cut in half and use a spoon to dip the egg half out of the egg shell. There are also some products at TSC stores for boiling eggs.

Or from http://amazingproducts.tv/eggies-system.html

FYI: We have never tried this ptroduct. Just found it interesting.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Hi folks,
With all the egg boiling convo, I think my question got buried. I thought I'd pose the question one more time. I hope it's not annoying. If no one has an opinion, that's okay, I'll wing it.

So, there's a guy on Craigslist here advertising the following feed:
-Quote-
A mix of:
yellow peas, green peas, wild rice, barley, wheat, camelina meal pellets (plant protein)
Photo is of actual feed
All natural
17-18 % plant protein in the current mix
We can put together a higher % protein mix for your needs
50 pound sacks are $16 each
-end quote-
There's a pic of the feed at: http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/grd/3146444410.html
My question is whether this seems like it would be a healthy chicken feed. It looks more "natural" than the pellets from the feed store. I was remembering how someone suggested that chicken food should look like something that could have been foraged or "fallen into their pen from over the fence.". But what do you think? Is this legit chicken feed? My chickens do not free range. They have a large pen, but they receive all their nutritional requirements from whatever I give them, or whatever might crawl or drop into their pen. Thanks all.

It looks fine. Personally? I'd consider it a very high quality scratch feed. In other words, I'd feel pretty good about it being 1/2 of the birds diet. I would still feed the other half a commercial feed. That's just me. Then, after I fed a bag or two, I'd judge the over all results. Eggs. Feather sheen, weight, etc.

The trouble with both popular commercial feed and these home made feeds is that they are all vegetarian. A chicken isn't one.

 

[bruceh]

please be careful of the feed. it sounds like it has good nutrition. that is not what bothers me. what bothers me is.

1. how old is the feed.
2. where did it come from.
3. was the ingredients of the feed tainted in any way. ( toxic fertilzer etc.)
4. unseen mold
5. craigslist can be iffy with no recourse

just be skeptical. error to the side of caution or you could poison the whole flock.

if you have a grain mill around you use them. i pay roughly $ 9-10 a 50 lb bag

 

[OHfarmerswife]

New to this forum, love reading all the info.
I have a question as I am new to chickens and egglayers.
I have 26 pullets that are 16 weeks and 13 pullets that are 13 weeks.
My question is about the nesting boxes.
I have a two row nesting box with 5 boxes across.
the bottom row is 19" off the floor and the top row is 31 ".
My roosts are 36" off the floor.
Are the nesting boxes too high or are they ok?

thanks

 

[Fred's Hens]

please be careful of the feed. it sounds like it has good nutrition. that is not what bothers me. what bothers me is.

1. how old is the feed.
2. where did it come from.
3. was the ingredients of the feed tainted in any way. ( toxic fertilzer etc.)
4. unseen mold
5. craigslist can be iffy with no recourse

just be skeptical. error to the side of caution or you could poison the whole flock.

if you have a grain mill around you use them. i pay roughly $ 9-10 a 50 lb bag

But how would one judge your list when buying feed at a store?
How old?
Where did it come from?
Were the ingredients of the feed tainted in any way?
Unseen mold?

I understand being skeptical over feed sellers who advertise on Craigs. I am just about as skeptical about buying most feeds. Thus, I tend to trust just a few sources, that are known, tried and true. For certain, homemade mixers selling on Craigs do not have any known oversight.

 

[bruceh]

fred i understand. i may just be spoiled i use the grain mill up the street it has worked for me. they have everything i need from starter, grower , layer.etc. i also supplement and god knows what is in that meat.
for people who don't have a feed mill by them and rely on commercial stores, i don't have an answer. i did however at one time use agway. i am more prone to use an agricultural supply store than a store like tsc. it could be just mind thing for me. one really never knows.