Colorado

[kmatt87]

love this time of yr. We took the kids fishing and caught 9 large trout and a big large mouth bass in about 2.5 hrs on kid fishing poles, worms and bobbers. lol. So we had fresh fish for dinner tonight and I froze some for another night. I steamed some green beans from the garden and dished up the last of my grapes (from kings but they were only .99 a lb....). A delicious fish dinner for 5 and it cost us maybe $3 with the added bonus of some fish in the freezer.



Once the fish were done being cleaned we decided to try and give the chickens a raw, whole fish head and see what they would do with it. I had 14 of them surround the thing, poof up, and stare it down! lol! I should have taken a picture because it was the strangest thing i've seen out of them in the last few months. We finally figured out that they wouldn't go near it with the eyes in it still! They did investigate it once hubby took them out, but it was 8p and I think they were too full to go in for a taste test. They have some yummy, cooked leftovers as a treat tomorrow though.

 

[Wendi C]

Here are my 3 new girls that I got yesterday

Wendy, what a great set-up you have! Is your chicken yard covered too? I'm fining that my chicken math doesn't align with my coop/yard size. I want to add at least another 20 square feet to my chicken yard, but I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Sigh, if I only had a ranch...

 

[FlockOfGirls]

Hi Everyone!!  Hope the 4th treated you and yours great!

I spent the day at Tarryall Reservoir watching my husband fly fish, then some 4x4 riding in NF with friends to cook some venison burgers and a few games of horseshoes.  What a great day.  Too bad I had to work today I wanted to spend the night out there.

I will be heading to the Joyful Noise Farm tomorrow to pick up our first load of organic layer feed.  Thanks to the folks who recommended them.  I am very excited about visiting the farm.  I hope I get a chance to meet some of the animals.  I am born & raised farm girl stuck in the city for now.  So anytime I get the opportunity to have some farm experience I embrace it.

I am super excited about switching my hens to this new food.  we were feeding a blend that a friend of my husband self grinds & mixes, but I know its not organic.  And here lately they are not going thru the food as much.  I know its summer time and they eat less but I am looking for better results for egg laying.  Hoping this will help.

So I have determined our EE is not laying eggs, which I was pretty sure of anyway but we did the test and I am confident.  She is a sweet girl, I just don't have extra room like that.  So if anyone is or knows someone who wants a non-laying hen you can save her life.  sorry, if offended.

Cheers to a great weekend everyone!!  Be safe!!

Ah-ha! Yay joyful noise farm
Let us know how wonderful the energy was at the farm and the smell of the feeds I sure hope they offer your flock that extra bit of positives they may need!
They are the closest small local organic farm to us..I intend to take my 24mo DD out there when we are ready for more feed.
Love hearing local small farms being supported.

 

[WendyGeisler]

Quote: Hi Wendi,
Yes the whole top is covered with bird netting. I "sewed" it together using zip ties. It's not super predator proof, but it has stopped the hawks and owls from their attempts.

 

[Newchiknmomma]

After isolating our production red, Jane, since yesterday morning, we have had no more broken eggs in the coop. Jane laid a beautiful egg sometime yesterday which hubby found this morning at 5:30 am. When I went out to clean the coop, I cleaned Jane's side and found a soft shelled broken mass of egg in her nest. This has me stymied...Both the flock and Jane have access to oyster shell and her other egg was as usual, good solid shell. Still giving the wormer in feed, and layer boost in the water, organic layer feed. She has her own cabbage and chikn treats. Flock is peaceful and I am researching to try and figure out what is going on with Jane. We made two new nest boxes with ceramic eggs in the coop, so the ratio now is 9 hens to 4 nest boxes. I did give them a pan of water they can stand in if they want to and pumpkin seeds.

 

[Pozees]

After isolating our production red, Jane, since yesterday morning, we have had no more broken eggs in the coop. Jane laid a beautiful egg sometime yesterday which hubby found this morning at 5:30 am. When I went out to clean the coop, I cleaned Jane's side and found a soft shelled broken mass of egg in her nest. This has me stymied...Both the flock and Jane have access to oyster shell and her other egg was as usual, good solid shell. Still giving the wormer in feed, and layer boost in the water, organic layer feed. She has her own cabbage and chikn treats. Flock is peaceful and I am researching to try and figure out what is going on with Jane. We made two new nest boxes with ceramic eggs in the coop, so the ratio now is 9 hens to 4 nest boxes. I did give them a pan of water they can stand in if they want to and pumpkin seeds.

One thing to keep in mind is that any bird bred for production is more likely to suffer reproductive issues, especially after the first year. This may not be a problem you can correct, although by no means would I suggest you stop trying. Most hatchery hens will do very well the first year or two and lay an exceptional number of eggs, but tend to decline after that. Not all, of course. Some will lay well and remain very healthy into their 4th and 5th years or longer, but it is not unusual, and no fault of the keeper, to have one die due to a reproductive problem.

Hatcheries make profits based on high production. They select hens for their production. The more the reproductive system is pushed, the more likely it is to "burn out" at an early age. This is one reason I actually recommend against lights in the coop to maintain egg production over the winter for breeds that don't normally lay well during the darker months. The hen's body tells her she needs a break. I am disinclined to tell her otherwise.

The problem for many keepers is so many counties, cities, and towns have banned keeping males, which essentially forces you to buy either hatchery sexed pullets, sex-linked breed pullets (those which can be sexed by anyone based on appearance as day-olds), or older pullets, or to part with males once they become obviously males. You can buy straight run chicks from local breeders as long as you are prepared to part with any males, either by rehoming them or processing them for consumption. As a society we've become so far removed from where our food comes from, it is difficult for many keepers to imagine a creature you raised on the dinner table. The result is backyard flocks consisting largely of hatchery bred hens, which are more likely to have abbreviated lives.

I am not here to counsel against hatchery chicks - it is my belief they have their place. I have had many hatchery chicks, and benefited from their excellent production as well as the opportunity to buy sexed pullets. In some cases, breeders have found themselves using hatchery hens to improve production in birds bred to the Standard of Perfection (SOP), as in selecting for beauty they inadvertently selected away from production; if a chicken isn't producing eggs, it is decreasing its chance to perpetuate the breed as well as failing to feed its keeper's family. I am just letting you know that this hen may fail, and it almost certainly will be through no fault of yours. You are right to discover which of the hens is producing soft shelled eggs and to try and support her. The problem may clear up on its own with the extra help you've given her - maybe a day or two separated from the flock will provide her a needed break she can't tell you she needs.

 

[Newchiknmomma]

One thing to keep in mind is that any bird bred for production is more likely to suffer reproductive issues, especially after the first year. This may not be a problem you can correct, although by no means would I suggest you stop trying. Most hatchery hens will do very well the first year or two and lay an exceptional number of eggs, but tend to decline after that. Not all, of course. Some will lay well and remain very healthy into their 4th and 5th years or longer, but it is not unusual, and no fault of the keeper, to have one die due to a reproductive problem.

Hatcheries make profits based on high production. They select hens for their production. The more the reproductive system is pushed, the more likely it is to "burn out" at an early age. This is one reason I actually recommend against lights in the coop to maintain egg production over the winter for breeds that don't normally lay well during the darker months. The hen's body tells her she needs a break. I am disinclined to tell her otherwise.

The problem for many keepers is so many counties, cities, and towns have banned keeping males, which essentially forces you to buy either hatchery sexed pullets, sex-linked breed pullets (those which can be sexed by anyone based on appearance as day-olds), or older pullets, or to part with males once they become obviously males. You can buy straight run chicks from local breeders as long as you are prepared to part with any males, either by rehoming them or processing them for consumption. As a society we've become so far removed from where our food comes from, it is difficult for many keepers to imagine a creature you raised on the dinner table. The result is backyard flocks consisting largely of hatchery bred hens, which are more likely to have abbreviated lives.

I am not here to counsel against hatchery chicks - it is my belief they have their place. I have had many hatchery chicks, and benefited from their excellent production as well as the opportunity to buy sexed pullets. In some cases, breeders have found themselves using hatchery hens to improve production in birds bred to the Standard of Perfection (SOP), as in selecting for beauty they inadvertently selected away from production; if a chicken isn't producing eggs, it is decreasing its chance to perpetuate the breed as well as failing to feed its keeper's family. I am just letting you know that this hen may fail, and it almost certainly will be through no fault of yours. You are right to discover which of the hens is producing soft shelled eggs and to try and support her. The problem may clear up on its own with the extra help you've given her - maybe a day or two separated from the flock will provide her a needed break she can't tell you she needs.

Thanks Pozees....we picked up our first set of five from Agrifeed near us so they were hatchery chicks. Jane is our only production cross and she has always had issues. When she was around 21 weeks, she seemed to want to lay but nothing was coming so I gave her an epsom salt bath and that seemed to help. She has been a good layer, very faithful mostly every day. Her eggs were always darker brown than the others, easy to tell and she has a few little red spots on the eggs. None of the others have this. I have given her a bath or two since when she seemed to be having troubles and it has always helped her. We didn't expect at all that when we got the new chicks and integrated them into the flock that Jane would be the most upset. She goes out of her way to attack them, did not want to let them into the roost at night, access to food, etc. We kept trying to help them and let them work it out, etc. and it has gradually gotten better, but I still have caught her attacking them when they go up to roost and trying to keep them out of the coop altogether. So when the broken eggs started happening when the new ones started laying, she was prime suspect. I did read today that soft shelled eggs can be result of stress, so we are watching her and trying to support her all we can. The others are doing fine without her. Jane can see them and they see her in adjacent runs. I may try giving her another bath and just watch her.

Thanks for weighing in on the issue. It may very well be that this is a part of some reproductive weakness since she has always had a difficult time. She lays beautiful eggs though, nice quality yolks and we will do our best to preserve her. We also love watching our girls....they are so funny sometimes...we put a bathroom cabinet mirror in their run. They just about all love to be petted and talked to. we call our watching them...Chikn TV.

 

[FieldstFarm]

Hi all! New to forum. Jeffco Here. I have 4, 5 month old chix. A RIR, Black SexLink, Australorp, and a Bantam Orloff Sussex mix no Roo but maybe someday. I have also recently added 2 Peking duckies. They are 3 weeks old now and wow are they messy lol. Getting eggcited for my first egg soon as the australorp has started cleaning up the nest box.
My first question to all is what kind of worries should I have about squirrels eating their food and peck treats? Disease/illnesses?

 

[SabaiFarms]

Does anyone know anyone in Colorado that has breeding quality Javas or Jersey Giant eggs they'd be willing to sell? I'd also consider some chicks/pullets if that's what was available.

Shoot me a PM if you know of anyone. I'm about 45 minutes outside of Colorado Springs, but willing to drive.

 

[Pozees]

Hi all! New to forum. Jeffco Here. I have 4, 5 month old chix. A RIR, Black SexLink, Australorp, and a Bantam Orloff Sussex mix no Roo but maybe someday. I have also recently added 2 Peking duckies. They are 3 weeks old now and wow are they messy lol. Getting eggcited for my first egg soon as the australorp has started cleaning up the nest box.
My first question to all is what kind of worries should I have about squirrels eating their food and peck treats? Disease/illnesses?

You should try to prevent all rodents, including squirrels, from gaining access to your coop, food, water, and the hens if at all possible. They can carry bugs you don't want, take eggs and chicks, and of course eat their food. I have been following one woman's tale on another thread who is trying to rid her run area of pretty large rats; her efforts are redoubled since one took a duckling from her duck house.