Eastern Tennessee Thread

[littlechicklet]

Stang, congrats on the new bunnies. I'll bet you're just in heaven. I'm glad you found a good home for the wheaties. I knew you'd take good care of them.

Chicklett, I'm sorry to hear about your pullet. Did it happen to show back up?

Thank you. I did not see her today either. I am sure if she had been close she would have heard the others & came back in. Its been 2 days now so I think she is gone.

On a positive note the mini coop is getting really close to being done. I have some touch up painting to do probably Saturday due to the rain tomorrow. Maybe we will be able surprise my mother-in-law on Sunday.

She said something about RIR's being good layers so she may not want my 2 remaining EE pullets. I am not holding my breath on that though.

 

[TNBarnQueen]

Anyone have a rooster that is more protective of the babies than the hen? I have a white silky pair (Snow White and Charming) that for the past 2 months have double teamed baby duty and last night the roo was roosting with 3 toddlers under his arms. It was really sweet until he pecked me- our charming is not so charming

A couple of my roos do that and I have a couple that will stand in front of some of the girls while they are laying. They don't let anyone come close until the hen is done. Then I have a rooster that spends the majority of his time making nests trying to impress the girls!

 

[bairo]

Hey guys I have some girls that still aren't laying. Both of my EE's and all of my lavender orps still aren't laying. Is that normal because they are 25 weeks old. All my others that are the same age have been laying for the past few weeks now. Maybe I am just too impatient. Also, I have heard talk of putting apple cider vinegar in your chickens water. Does anyone do this and why do people do it.

My EE's have all tended to be late bloomers in terms of laying....although they grow probably faster than any other chicken I have had. I have never had orps so not sure. Daph or Terry could probably tell you if they are generally late as well. I do know that since that heat wave the end of June we had, all my girls have slowed way down and I can not seem to find any good reason at all. It is so bad that I am going to have to get a few production breeds just so we can eat eggs.

As far as ACV; some believe in it and some don't. Even hundreds of years ago people knew of the mild antiseptic value for it and the fact that it flushes the kidneys and prevents kidney stones. Someplace along the line farmers started to add a little to their chickens water as a general health tonic and probably they figured it might help respiratory infections. There have been a lot of controlled studies with it. Some say it works miracles and some don't see a huge difference, so those really have not helped that much either. As long as you don't overdo it on how much you give though you really can not do any harm. If they (or us for that matter) get enough to lower our bodies PH too much, then it can cause some problems....but that is with anything good for you, too much is usually bad news. Here is one of the articles that explains some more
http://poultrykeeper.com/health-suppliments/apple-cider-vinegar

That article is from the UK. They have done a lot more research on ACV. That dose they talk about converts to 2.5 oz of ACV per gallon of water. But that is for a week per month and not every day. The most accepted dose here to use it all the time is no more than 2 tablespoons per gallon (one oz per gallon).

 

[Contrastphoto]

Hey guys I have some girls that still aren't laying. Both of my EE's and all of my lavender orps still aren't laying. Is that normal becasue they are 25 weeks old. All my others that are the same age have been laying for the past few weeks now. Maybe I am just too impatient. Also, I have heard talk of putting apple cider vinegar in your chickens water. Does anyone do this and why do people do it.

If it makes you feel any better, I have an Ameraucana that I hatched on New Year's Day that still isn't laying! She is 33 weeks!!

 

[dncarr09]

If it makes you feel any better, I have an Ameraucana that I hatched on New Year's Day that still isn't laying! She is 33 weeks!!

Wow! 33 weeks I feel a little better now. I am just impatient.

 

[dncarr09]

My EE's have all tended to be late bloomers in terms of laying....although they grow probably faster than any other chicken I have had. I have never had orps so not sure. Daph or Terry could probably tell you if they are generally late as well. I do know that since that heat wave the end of June we had, all my girls have slowed way down and I can not seem to find any good reason at all. It is so bad that I am going to have to get a few production breeds just so we can eat eggs.

As far as ACV; some believe in it and some don't. Even hundreds of years ago people knew of the mild antiseptic value for it and the fact that it flushes the kidneys and prevents kidney stones. Someplace along the line farmers started to add a little to their chickens water as a general health tonic and probably they figured it might help respiratory infections. There have been a lot of controlled studies with it. Some say it works miracles and some don't see a huge difference, so those really have not helped that much either. As long as you don't overdo it on how much you give though you really can not do any harm. If they (or us for that matter) get enough to lower our bodies PH too much, then it can cause some problems....but that is with anything good for you, too much is usually bad news. Here is one of the articles that explains some more
http://poultrykeeper.com/health-suppliments/apple-cider-vinegar

That article is from the UK. They have done a lot more research on ACV. That dose they talk about converts to 2.5 oz of ACV per gallon of water. But that is for a week per month and not every day. The most accepted dose here to use it all the time is no more than 2 tablespoons per gallon (one oz per gallon).

Awesome, thank you so much. That was very helpful.

 

[amenfarm]

ACV is not used in a metal waterier because it will dissolve the galvanizing off the water fount. That result being unhealthy in the water and causing corrosion of the fount. I use it 2 tbs in one gallon once a week. Don't worry about it if you use plastic.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

Thanks everyone for the replies about my protective Roo. Its good to hear that some roos are naturally sweet and very fatherly. I just wish he would be a little nicer to the humans.

 

[bairo]

ACV is not used in a metal waterier because it will dissolve the galvanizing off the water fount. That result being unhealthy in the water and causing corrosion of the fount. I use it 2 tbs in one gallon once a week. Don't worry about it if you use plastic.

Thank you sooo much for that reminder. It is in fact very important that you do not use galvanized metal waterers. I forget to tell people that because all I have ever had are plastic

 

[TNBarnQueen]

Wow! 33 weeks I feel a little better now. I am just impatient.

I am getting..maybe...2 eggs a day. I noticed today some are starting to molt and with the excessive heat and humidity it really stresses them out. So...don'f feet bad...it is just Mother Nature. I have been giving my chickens ACV for over a year but it doesn't aid in their egg production. It does help cut the water slime down some though. I change my water containers everyday and it can build up even after 24 hrs. I did not think my orps would EVER lay and the first eggs where little pullet eggs. I actually think they where just walking around and they fell out.

My EEs started laying at around 10 months. But...as I said the freaky weather has made things a bit different. I believe we are going to have an early fall..alot of signs pointing towards it!