Wahhoo.,got 2 brown eggs this morning not from the search but in a nest box how strange is that??.I'm going to try fermenting sounds like something I would enjoy doing.by the way it sounds as if you are incredibly organised don't knock yourself!
England UK
- Thread starter EggyChicken
- Start date
Congrats on the eggs Colin. Hopefully that is the start of a steady stream of egg production. Disappointed you didn't find a big mountain of eggs in a secret stash though. It's a real thrill I can tell you!
I made pancakes for my sister and I today with my new pullets eggs and the pancake mixture was a very pretty bright yellow. It's funny, I don't notice how bright the yolks are even though I make scrambled eggs at least every other day, but as soon as I make a batter for pancakes or Yorkshire Puddings, it really knocks me out how vivid the colour is.
I had another new girl join the production line today. She was supposed to be a welsummer but she had white ear lobes which made me suspicious and she laid a pale blue/green egg today, so she is probably a legbar or legbar cross. My sister out law bought the eggs and hatched them for me but she hatches so many, it must have got mixed up. She's a pretty little hen though and she's laying, so I'm not complaining.
I made pancakes for my sister and I today with my new pullets eggs and the pancake mixture was a very pretty bright yellow. It's funny, I don't notice how bright the yolks are even though I make scrambled eggs at least every other day, but as soon as I make a batter for pancakes or Yorkshire Puddings, it really knocks me out how vivid the colour is.
I had another new girl join the production line today. She was supposed to be a welsummer but she had white ear lobes which made me suspicious and she laid a pale blue/green egg today, so she is probably a legbar or legbar cross. My sister out law bought the eggs and hatched them for me but she hatches so many, it must have got mixed up. She's a pretty little hen though and she's laying, so I'm not complaining.
Thanks for that let you know how it goes.I was looking at my little group and I have a morran that's from last year she is quite stunning but her comb is standing bright red and she has spur buds showing!!!!!! O.dear looks like another cock!that's all I need don't think she's for the broom I will have to buy a new coop for the roosters. Its not cheap keeping chooks.and I can buy a dozen eggs for a £1 at lidle but as you say nothing beats your own
4 nice brown eggs today
The reward for all my hard work looking forward to cleaning the coop 2 bags of wood shavings ready to freshen it up.spring just around corner
The reward for all my hard work looking forward to cleaning the coop 2 bags of wood shavings ready to freshen it up.spring just around corner
Congratulations on the eggs. Yes it felt a bit like spring today and yesterday too for that matter! My bees have been out enjoying the sunshine and checking out the snowdrops the past few days. The mud is even drying up.... Yippee!! Long may it continue.
I'm in need of moral support tonight as I dealt with the first of 12 roosters today. Actually, I've only done the hard part so far, but I'm really proud of myself because I did it all on my own.... I used the broom stick in the end and I think it was the right decision. There were people who would have done it for me, but I felt it was important not to shirk that responsibility. It helps that I have quite a few cockerels, so that I haven't interacted with them individually and also that I have mentally prepared myself for this day from the day they hatched, but it still was very difficult. It's strange how it makes you take stock of your values and beliefs. I'm an atheist but I really wanted to ask "God" to forgive me and to bless the chicken. I guess childhood conditioning runs very deep and emerges at times of stress (I was brought up C of E)!
The plucking and dressing tomorrow will take longer but be much easier emotionally. I just hope I don't dislike the flavour and it's not too tough, because people say it will taste very different to bought chicken. I guess I can always curry it if I don't like it. What I won't do is waste it.
On a more cheerful note I found another stash of eggs today.They were in the loft above the hen house/stable near where I found the 43 egg mountain on 27th Dec. I left the ladder in place after I removed them all the first time and checked every few days but no more were ever laid up there. The last time I checked was 5 days ago before I moved the ladder because I needed it elsewhere. Today I heard one of them up there singing the egg song and when I got the ladder and put it up, there were 7 little blue/green eggs and a tiny white one. Can you believe they have waited 2 months for me to move the ladder and then gone straight back up there to lay. They really do take after their mother for being sneaky! And they are leading one of my young exchequer leghorn pullets astray too. Needless to say I have left the ladder in situ again! I only got 6 in an official nest box in the hen house today and one in a nest box I set up in one of the other sheds. My gut feeling is that there is still another secret nest somewhere.... probably under one of the old sheds and I'll find them when I eventually come to demolish them.
I'm in need of moral support tonight as I dealt with the first of 12 roosters today. Actually, I've only done the hard part so far, but I'm really proud of myself because I did it all on my own.... I used the broom stick in the end and I think it was the right decision. There were people who would have done it for me, but I felt it was important not to shirk that responsibility. It helps that I have quite a few cockerels, so that I haven't interacted with them individually and also that I have mentally prepared myself for this day from the day they hatched, but it still was very difficult. It's strange how it makes you take stock of your values and beliefs. I'm an atheist but I really wanted to ask "God" to forgive me and to bless the chicken. I guess childhood conditioning runs very deep and emerges at times of stress (I was brought up C of E)!
The plucking and dressing tomorrow will take longer but be much easier emotionally. I just hope I don't dislike the flavour and it's not too tough, because people say it will taste very different to bought chicken. I guess I can always curry it if I don't like it. What I won't do is waste it.
On a more cheerful note I found another stash of eggs today.They were in the loft above the hen house/stable near where I found the 43 egg mountain on 27th Dec. I left the ladder in place after I removed them all the first time and checked every few days but no more were ever laid up there. The last time I checked was 5 days ago before I moved the ladder because I needed it elsewhere. Today I heard one of them up there singing the egg song and when I got the ladder and put it up, there were 7 little blue/green eggs and a tiny white one. Can you believe they have waited 2 months for me to move the ladder and then gone straight back up there to lay. They really do take after their mother for being sneaky! And they are leading one of my young exchequer leghorn pullets astray too. Needless to say I have left the ladder in situ again! I only got 6 in an official nest box in the hen house today and one in a nest box I set up in one of the other sheds. My gut feeling is that there is still another secret nest somewhere.... probably under one of the old sheds and I'll find them when I eventually come to demolish them.
wacacta
In the Brooder
Hello new member here 
from Oxfordshire! I have a selection of chickens, ducks, quail and turkeys. Got my first batch of eggs in the incubator, so exciting!
Edited to add: @rebrascora I am currently at 10 cockerels but don't have it in me to 'off' them as I am too attached!
My runner ducks I hatched last year are just starting to lay and my brother in law is setting them in his incubator tomorrow.
from Oxfordshire! I have a selection of chickens, ducks, quail and turkeys. Got my first batch of eggs in the incubator, so exciting!Edited to add: @rebrascora I am currently at 10 cockerels but don't have it in me to 'off' them as I am too attached!
My runner ducks I hatched last year are just starting to lay and my brother in law is setting them in his incubator tomorrow.
Last edited:
Hi and welcome to the thread.
@ wacacta
I assume you have a separate run for your cockerels then to keep so many? I free range my flock and I have 2 males left with them but the other juveniles were literally gang banging my hens and I had to lock them away, because a couple of my favourite hens were really taking the brunt of it and starting to go down hill.
The lads were doing quite well together in the bachelor pad until last week when the two head honchos started fighting. It was a bit of a bloody mess and it can't be allowed to continue. I also want to raise more chicks this summer and cockerels are a forgone conclusion of that, so it needed to be dealt with. Also I am not vegetarian and I eat chicken and I feel that I should not expect someone else to do the dirty work for me if I am not prepared to get blood on my own hands.... I've been a hypocrite for too long in that respect. My cockerels had a good life and a much longer life than store bought chicken and were killed as humanely as possible by someone who cared for them. I think that is as good as I could make it for them.
Sorry if that is a bit pointed but I am really feeling it and needed moral support and your comment was not helpful. This is the first time I have ever killed a healthy animal and only the second time I have deliberately killed anything larger than an insect, the first being a poorly pullet that I had to euthenase after I nursed her for over a week and was very attached to.
@ wacacta
I assume you have a separate run for your cockerels then to keep so many? I free range my flock and I have 2 males left with them but the other juveniles were literally gang banging my hens and I had to lock them away, because a couple of my favourite hens were really taking the brunt of it and starting to go down hill.
The lads were doing quite well together in the bachelor pad until last week when the two head honchos started fighting. It was a bit of a bloody mess and it can't be allowed to continue. I also want to raise more chicks this summer and cockerels are a forgone conclusion of that, so it needed to be dealt with. Also I am not vegetarian and I eat chicken and I feel that I should not expect someone else to do the dirty work for me if I am not prepared to get blood on my own hands.... I've been a hypocrite for too long in that respect. My cockerels had a good life and a much longer life than store bought chicken and were killed as humanely as possible by someone who cared for them. I think that is as good as I could make it for them.
Sorry if that is a bit pointed but I am really feeling it and needed moral support and your comment was not helpful. This is the first time I have ever killed a healthy animal and only the second time I have deliberately killed anything larger than an insect, the first being a poorly pullet that I had to euthenase after I nursed her for over a week and was very attached to.
wacacta
In the Brooder
Sorry if I offended you I didn't mean to! I am vegetarian so I wouldn't be eating mine, but I have had these boys for a while now so i am very attched.They are strategically placed with hens in four different runs, I find that a LF cock and a bantam cock will get on with each other OK as long as there are hens for each and plenty of spac e. This method has worked for the past four years with only one cockerel getting too big for his boots that he started to attack ME! Any cockerels from my latest hatches are going to my brother in law for dinner. I agree wholeheartedly about them having a good life and a quick end so kudos to you for that, just not something I could do myself. Much better for you to have a homegrown happy chook for tea than a shop bought one!
Love your story about egg mountain! They can be so sneaky!
Love your story about egg mountain! They can be so sneaky!
Quote:Agreed!
When we tell people that we eat our pet chickens, the first reaction is shock to which my response is "I'd rather eat a chicken which I know has had a happy and healthy life than one which is almost guaranteed to have had a bad one". Having said that, kudos to shops such as Waitrose which are making a serious effort to source meat and fish responsibly.
When we tell people that we eat our pet chickens, the first reaction is shock to which my response is "I'd rather eat a chicken which I know has had a happy and healthy life than one which is almost guaranteed to have had a bad one". Having said that, kudos to shops such as Waitrose which are making a serious effort to source meat and fish responsibly.
Hi again wacacta
Sorry I was a bit shirty in my previous post. I was feeling rather fragile. It was pretty much the hardest thing I have ever done. Also, what bugs me is that so many people on this forum won't grasp the nettle that is reality. They seem to think that there is a loving home awaiting their "surprise" cockerels from the "straight run" chicks they purchased, when on this site alone 95% of people are looking to rehome their unwanted roosters but don't want them to go in the pot. Disney fairy tale endings are rare for cockerels as with most male farm animals and it annoys me immensely that people are determined to turn a blind eye to it, even when they are complicit in it.
I respect you for being vegetarian, but I respect you even more for accepting the realities of life and passing your spare male birds on to your brother in law for processing.
I would like to reiterate that these cockerels were never pets. I deliberately didn't name them and have avoided handling them apart from necessary welfare checks because I knew this day would come. I have already taken too long to pluck up the courage for it, but now that I know they are disturbing my neighbour's sleep (I have really good neighbours and it's not a petty complaint.... they were crowing their heads off at 1am the other morning when I checked on them), it needs to be expedited promptly.
I am actually looking forward to seeing how they dress out but a bit apprehensive about how they will taste. They may go in the freezer for a few weeks/months until the memory of their origin is a little less fresh. Not looking forward to doing the next one but hopefully I will get better with experience and their dispatch will become less of an ordeal for both of us.
Yes my pullets' "sneaky" egg mountain at Christmas was very impressive. They were in an old jackdaws nest in the eves above the stone stable that I use for a hen house. I initially took an 18 unit egg box up the ladder with me, thinking that would do it, but when I filled it and realised that I had that many again and more it was a bit shocking..... they were all pretty blue/green or pink ones too and every one was edible even though it took me a fortnight to work my way through them. Can't believe they have waited 2 months for me to take the ladder down before they have started to lay up there again!
Because they free range, I place tempting alternative nest boxes around the place in the hope of allowing them to feel sneaky but still getting the eggs. It works to a limited extent but because I empty them every day, they are not really attractive. I feel so clever with myself when I set up a new one somewhere and make it as inviting as I can and a few days later I get one egg in it, but I'm sure they are just humouring me so that I don't go looking for the real stash!
Sorry I was a bit shirty in my previous post. I was feeling rather fragile. It was pretty much the hardest thing I have ever done. Also, what bugs me is that so many people on this forum won't grasp the nettle that is reality. They seem to think that there is a loving home awaiting their "surprise" cockerels from the "straight run" chicks they purchased, when on this site alone 95% of people are looking to rehome their unwanted roosters but don't want them to go in the pot. Disney fairy tale endings are rare for cockerels as with most male farm animals and it annoys me immensely that people are determined to turn a blind eye to it, even when they are complicit in it.
I respect you for being vegetarian, but I respect you even more for accepting the realities of life and passing your spare male birds on to your brother in law for processing.
I would like to reiterate that these cockerels were never pets. I deliberately didn't name them and have avoided handling them apart from necessary welfare checks because I knew this day would come. I have already taken too long to pluck up the courage for it, but now that I know they are disturbing my neighbour's sleep (I have really good neighbours and it's not a petty complaint.... they were crowing their heads off at 1am the other morning when I checked on them), it needs to be expedited promptly.
I am actually looking forward to seeing how they dress out but a bit apprehensive about how they will taste. They may go in the freezer for a few weeks/months until the memory of their origin is a little less fresh. Not looking forward to doing the next one but hopefully I will get better with experience and their dispatch will become less of an ordeal for both of us.
Yes my pullets' "sneaky" egg mountain at Christmas was very impressive. They were in an old jackdaws nest in the eves above the stone stable that I use for a hen house. I initially took an 18 unit egg box up the ladder with me, thinking that would do it, but when I filled it and realised that I had that many again and more it was a bit shocking..... they were all pretty blue/green or pink ones too and every one was edible even though it took me a fortnight to work my way through them. Can't believe they have waited 2 months for me to take the ladder down before they have started to lay up there again!
Because they free range, I place tempting alternative nest boxes around the place in the hope of allowing them to feel sneaky but still getting the eggs. It works to a limited extent but because I empty them every day, they are not really attractive. I feel so clever with myself when I set up a new one somewhere and make it as inviting as I can and a few days later I get one egg in it, but I'm sure they are just humouring me so that I don't go looking for the real stash!
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