Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

I also have done the same as Danz said with introducing new chicks to the flock for a group of them. If I only have one or two I just put them in the coop at night when the hens are roosting & they're there when the birds get out in the morning. It has worked well for me that way as well. I really haven't had a big problem introducing new ones into my laying flock, they seem to get integrated fairly easily. Of course there is a pecking order but they don't fuss that much.

@Extravwhoganza we would love to see pics of your birds & help you identify them if you have a chance to get some.

@Momma2bellas I'm in the middle of hatching season here & don't really have any extra eggs since I'm filling orders. All I would have are mixed barnyard eggs & I can't guarantee fertility on those.

 

[Extravwhoganza]

Thank you for the advice on introducing the giants! I've never had to introduce any before, so I've been nervous. My four are free range right now, so hearing the different ways is very informative.

I don't have very good pictures of all of my girls here at work, but here are a couple... I'll try and get some better pictures this weekend when there is some sun (Hopefully?).

This is Buttercup:


and this is Pepper. I really need to grab a better one of her too. Pepper is the smallest of the four, and also lays smaller eggs. All our brown egg layers!

 

[chicken danz]

@Extravwhoganza looks like buttercup is a red sex link. They are also called other names, Cinnamon Queen, Red Star etc etc. Depends on what nursery they came from. Pepper looks like a Welsummer hen. She could be bantam if she is small but they aren't very big chickens anyway. They usually lay nice sized eggs if they are a large fowl though. Great pictures. I need good pictures of all my birds but they won't hold still!!!

 

[Trish44]

@Extravwhoganza I agree on the red sex link in the first pic, she will be a great layer for you. I agree as well on the 2nd that she is a Welsummer & they do come in bantam size. I really like the Welsummers, I plan to raise them next year because I like them so much. Mine will be large fowl though, not bantams. I have 3 in my laying flock just for eggs & I love the pretty dark eggs they lay. They're great foragers too if you free range them. I have a Welsummer rooster I have had for several years as my lead flock rooster & he does his job very well. If you can get some pics of your other hens we can probably identify them as well. The hatchery birds do look a little different than the breeder birds of the same breeds. The hatcheries tend to cross things to make them lay better or prettier so people will buy them. They focus more on quantity they can sell than quality & standard for the breed. People don't care if they just want them for laying eggs & I can understand that. But if you want to show or raise birds then I feel like you should get better quality birds & try to keep to the standard. It just depends on what people want chickens for.

I'm in full hatching mode here as much as I can be. Fertility still has not been the best on some breeds & I'm still waiting on those. I'm filling orders for chicks as I can. Yesterday I hatched 4 little Ancona ducklings. I just think little ducklings are the cutest things ever. I have a brooder set up just for them because they play in the water & are so messy. However, yesterday was so darned cold I couldn't move them out to the garage where the brooder is. I hope it starts warming up again & we get some sun. Yeah we needed rain but now we need sun for awhile. It seems like every spring we go through this rainy season where we get all the rain at once. We will need some later so let's spread it out some!

 

[Plinky]

Hello all,
Just wanted to ask those of you who sell eggs (and those that use them at home) if you wash them and if so how and when. Of course I have read about how not washing keeps the bloom and thus protects the eggs from bacteria, etc. In fact when I lived abroad the grocery stores sold eggs that were not washed and not kept refrigerated! And peopke didn't think twice about eating raw eggs either- lots of recipes using them! But I know that here in the US things are different and I don't know if I can convince my relatives and neighbors who I might give some surplus eggs to. Normally ours are very clean, but now and then...

@Extravwhoganza I love the basket in one of your photos!

 

[TeeMom]

Hello all,
Just wanted to ask those of you who sell eggs (and those that use them at home) if you wash them and if so how and when. Of course I have read about how not washing keeps the bloom and thus protects the eggs from bacteria, etc. In fact when I lived abroad the grocery stores sold eggs that were not washed and not kept refrigerated! And peopke didn't think twice about eating raw eggs either- lots of recipes using them! But I know that here in the US things are different and I don't know if I can convince my relatives and neighbors who I might give some surplus eggs to. Normally ours are very clean, but now and then...

@Extravwhoganza
 I love the basket in one of your photos! 

We eat and sell our eggs and they are never refrigerated or cleaned. Those eggs that come in dirty are the only ones that are washed, and then refrigerated, but we don't sell those. My husband takes the ones to sell to work and hasn't had any problems with people understanding about the lack of cleaning or refrigeration and in fact it makes things easier because they can be easily transported as is. He has a waiting list for eggs a mile long, so if people don't want unwashed eggs, then we would just move on to the next in line, but that hasn't been an issue yet.

 

[chicken danz]

Hello all,
Just wanted to ask those of you who sell eggs (and those that use them at home) if you wash them and if so how and when. Of course I have read about how not washing keeps the bloom and thus protects the eggs from bacteria, etc. In fact when I lived abroad the grocery stores sold eggs that were not washed and not kept refrigerated! And peopke didn't think twice about eating raw eggs either- lots of recipes using them! But I know that here in the US things are different and I don't know if I can convince my relatives and neighbors who I might give some surplus eggs to. Normally ours are very clean, but now and then...

@Extravwhoganza I love the basket in one of your photos!

If you sell eggs you have to wash them by law. I don't always wash mine because they are clean but they only go to family anyway. But if I don't get them refrigerated right away I will wash them and float test them to make sure they are still good. This is super important in the summer when it gets real hot or if you have hens that are going broody and might have kept an egg tucked away you didn't catch before. I have left them sitting on the counter for 4-5 days though and they have been fine.
The reason there is concern for eating raw eggs is the threat of getting salmonella. I think the big chance is eating store bought eggs without cooking because that bacteria could be anywhere in the processing equipment.

 

[Trish44]

Danz is right, if you sell eggs they must be washed. Here is the link to the regulation sheet from the Kansas Department of Agriculture: https://agriculture.ks.gov/docs/def...egg_factsheet_farmersmarkets2006.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Even if your customers don't mind if something came up you would be in trouble since there are specific regulations concerning egg sales, even from small farm operations. It's best to not push your luck with things like that,

 

[chicklover56]

The dogs are doing great training, but we have decided to put up some fence in the backyard for them and the chickens. How tall does the fence need to be so they won't jump it? and would the goat fence with the 4x4 squares work ok for them?

 

[Trish44]

The dogs are doing great training, but we have decided to put up some fence in the backyard for them and the chickens. How tall does the fence need to be so they won't jump it? and would the goat fence with the 4x4 squares work ok for them?

The goat fence should work fine, we have used 4 ft goat fence in our first paddock we built for the goats & sheep & the dogs have never even tried to get out of that. We have 4 ft field fence too that is graduated & they don't get out of it either. They tend more to dig out than jump.