Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Egg News
Sleepless in Alberta…

In the news tonight I give you Eggs

https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/mad...-but-is-it-also-keeping-prices-high-1.6258709

Are caged hen eggs legal in Canada? They are not in California. Great job California!

It is one of the reasons egg prices are spiking in CA. They believe in treating chickens at least slightly better. Because they can't import caged eggs from other places their available supply is limited and prices spike. If I were an egg farm in a neighboring state I would be free ranging so I could sell my eggs in CA at a higher price than in my own state. That is the economics of it.

I say a couple of bucks a dozen is a small price to pay. Egg prices are kept artificially low by keeping laying hens in God awful conditions. Once caged hens are outlawed everywhere the market will stabilize to just a dollar or 2 more a dozen. A small price to pay.

 

[BY Bob]

Also on the news here..
https://france3--regions-francetvin...l=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=fr&_x_tr_pto=wapp

I don't often buy things, so the price increases don't have a regular impact on me. The first shock I had was when we bought material for building a second coop in December. If I had realized I would just have bought a prefab however flimsy they are. Thursday I had a look at plants and saplings when we went down near Nice and I had my second shock . I think we are going to make a trip to Italy just to get plants because we won't be able to afford what we want here, even if it's slightly cheaper going further away from the coast.

I don't think I have ever heard the phrase "going to Italy to get things cheaper" before. Of course it is a longer trip from the US

 

[BY Bob]

Shoot, I just realized this didn’t post and now it’s past midnight. Let’s pretend of’s still Friday.

Happy Friday! These are photos I took after work today. I left a little early so the chickens could have a little bit of time to run around since it’s going to rain all weekend.

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Those are really good! Thanks for sharing!

 

[BY Bob]

So this notice came up this morning
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It usually shows a previous picture before refreshing and becoming current. But now I've got that and the notice about the cold
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The base unit this morning is flashing orange. It was blue last night. I rebooted it now but it's orange still, probably meaning the cold notice. It is -22.5F now.

So it is true. I wonder if that is just the new generation cameras?

 

[BY Bob]

Two of my cameras have gone down. I assume it is the cold as they are close to the unit and charged.

Edited: It seems to be the batteries that can’t cope with the cold.

That could be. The old cameras that I still use in some places have different batteries. Mine are all still up and running but I do not have the new generation cameras.

Generation 1 camera

Generation 2 camera

Generation 3 camera

Thanks Glynda.

I don't have any that are newer than generation 3

 

[ValarieF]

Maybe leave till #8 hatches - so it can hear chirping and know it's not alone - thoughts anyone else?

We left the chicks in the incubator until they became too rambunctious, but left a few stragglers as we were told the hatching eggs can hear to chirping and will answer back. Like Mama would do for the chickies... ?

Oh I cannot wait to see photos

Baby 7 has hatched

 

[BY Bob]

Well, my chooks survived the night - we got below -6 F and with the wind chill was -35 F. I do think there are a few that have some frosted tips of combs, but won't know for sure for a day....amazingly, given my set up and no heat/electricity out there, I am pretty happy with this.

( and, no @RoyalChick , we couldn't run an extension cord through the conduit...the plug part kept getting stuck at the bend to come up out of the ground )

On a brighter note, my neighbor gave me a belated B-day present:
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They are pot holders - to pick up hot pots! SO cute - and she made them in my favorite color (Blue)

Those are darling! What a sweet present.

Speaking of presents, I went through 1/2 a bag of straw yesterday trying to deepen the bedding in the Main Coop. Thankfully i have a second bag. You are my chickens hero!

 

[BY Bob]

Normally it is, but with such strong winds blowing off shore, I'm not so sure at this point/in this situation if it is having a LARGE effect or not. But yes, my in-laws live on the coast in MA (about 2 miles inland), so same latitude...and their winters are MUCH milder than ours. Easily 10 degrees warmer on average. They are one zone warmer than we are (plant hardiness zone ratings.)

Edited: Just checked, their town is registering -3 F right now, we are at -4. So, appears not having a big effect atm.

Elevation can also play a large part in this as well. The 90 miles separating me from where I grew up has a huge effect on our weather. I am in what is called the coastal plain while my parents are on top of a mountain. Winter lasts almost 3 weeks longer there on average and snow is common in late October. Our first snow don't come until December usually. I believe that @ChicoryBlue has elevation on me on top of being further north.

 

[BY Bob]

@ChicoryBlue , how did your chooks do overnight? @BY Bob how did Glynda's comb do? I was a bit concerned with her given the comb had been 'touched' with a bit of frost previously - I've heard it makes people more susceptible to frostbite again...not sure if it is also true for chickens or not??? I am also wondering how Betty does today by herself.

I will update once I release everyone. I'm pretty certain that Glynda's frostbite was from being out in the wind last time. Last night she was sleeping right next to the heater.

She is on the other side of Lady Featherington.

 

[BY Bob]

Baby 7 has hatched

What an amazing success rate. Way to go!