Fuzzy's Farm

[Totalcolour]

Hey everyone. Got the marans run finished. IT WAS A PITA! The first morning they didn't even realise that they could get out of the coop and into the run. LOL. THey are so used to waiting for me to open the door, and Strutter gets so excited when I get there to open up, he starts chattering and stomping in place. LOL. Now they are out right early.

How's the repairs going Rusty?

Gigi, how's doing?

Where has Savannah been?

Michiganders!

Himself is away in Casper Wyoming hunting, so I'm here all alone looking after the critters. I forgot how boring it is without him here, and I have such strange dreams.

However, this is the first year I haven't put a butcher knife on the bedside table - due to the addition of our new dog, Abe (Abrams tank, M1A1). He's a Mastiff/Lab and is quite gorgeous (and massive). He makes me feel very safe. The Airedale has a wicked bite, but she'd probably lick an intruder to death sooner than attack. I know from experience Abe would protect me! (He tried it once with Himself - when we first got him, and HE came home from work, Abe didn't recognize him and went into attack mode, briefly - it was a sight to behold!)

While our weather isn't as extreme as you guys get, it also is turning to Autumn. I even put the winter cover on the bed last week. I am now drinking coffee in the mornings (I only drink it on weekends in the summer) to wake me up now that the sun is no longer co-operating by rising early.

I have had some strange chicken losses recently. I had 12 chicks - then they started to die, one a week, with no obvious cause, and now I have 8. There has been no death for almost 2 weeks, so I'm hoping the bad streak has ended.

Hope all is well with you guys out there. One day, in the not too distant future (IOW, before I'm dead) I'd like to come out there and visit you all - perhaps a chicken show. Not for me the do the golden sands of tropical beaches beckon, nope, just a few critter shows!

 

[NovaAman]

That'd be awesome TC!

Ok.. Monday last I set 14 eggs. 11 Marans, 1 Amber, 2 silkie. The silkie... nothing. Ray is USELESS. Looks like only 1/2 the marans are developing and the amber looks ok. It is so darn hard to tell with those dark eggs.

I am bummed about the silkie though. Absolutely NOTHING in there. Ray is so pretty. AND this is now with both silkie hens. Ekta, my serema who lives in the garage, he's not even fertilizing her either. He's not getting NOTHING done. NOTHING! I keep the roos I want for a reason. He's not living up to that reason.

I don't know if I should risk rehoming him to a 4-H kid, though he's been vaccinated now... He's a beauty, that is for sure, but he's a useless beauty. Kinda like a rose bush. (Sorry, not that keen on rose bushes, not fond of the smell) Pretty to look at.. that's about it.

Now... About the marans. It's funny that they all come from the same hen, but only half are fertile... I am not really sure of that actually, but I could only SEE if you can call it that, darker masses in 1/2 of them. I guess in two weeks we will see how many explode, and how many hatch.

 

[teeville5]

I have a question for all of you.

I have some eggs that I have had sitting on the counter for about a few weeks now. This is common for me as I tend to grab them as needed and tend to grab the fresher ones as I do. Once I get to the bottom of any eggs that have been on the counter for awhile, I will do the float test on them because I get a bit antsy the longer they've been sitting there. I consider this a good way to judge if eggs are still good or not and have done this for as long as I can remember. Now, I did this tonight with about 3 dozen eggs. I went ahead and tossed any that were standing as I consider it too close to floating for my comfort, but I kept any that were laying flat or slightly tilted up. While I was drying them to put them away, I noticed a very unpleasant odor, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. The eggs were clean/no cracks. So I sniffed the drying mat they were on in case the wetness was causing some odor from it, but no. So I started to sniff the eggs. Wasn't finding anything that smelled off until I got to one of the last ones. It was a BAM rotten smell. No doubt this egg was bad. So now I'm baffled.

Why did this egg not float when I did the float test when it is obviously rotten and bad?

Just to add, I cracked open about 4 other eggs at random after this and they were all good so I'm just really confused.

 

[NovaAman]

I have had that! I never have eggs more than a week old for the most part. Right now it seems the girls are BOOMING, a bunch of new layers. Anyway, I rotate, so... AND that is easy enough to do if you have several cartons, always put the new on the bottom. I have nearly 6 dozen eggs right now... and no, not a single one is over a week old! SO anyway, I came home and decided to boil eggs.... I went out to take care of the birds while they boiled, came back in and the most god awful smell! The egg that was bad actually cracked while boiling stunk up the house. Now, I don't know why... but it was obviously bad. I did a float test on all the eggs after that, and found a few standing on end and was like, how the heck. Here's my thinking on it.
1) sitting on the stove... used the oven several times.
2) sitting on the counter, to close to the stove, got warmed several times.
3) might be that which ever bird layed the egg was ill..
I really don't know. But those are my theories.

I hope the guys come by this week to buy... if not, we'll be having a bake off and dinner omlets, and back feeding a dozen eggs to the birds. They could use it anyway.

 

[teeville5]

Hmm. I suppose it could be possible the bird was ill. I don't keep them anywhere near the stove so that wouldn't be it. Of course, we did have a couple of warm days out of the cooler ones which I suppose could have done it. All I know is that it fooled the float test because as I said, I tossed any doing the handstand.

And my birds aren't laying for poo right now. They are molting like no tomorrow. Feathers all over the place.

 

[Rusty Byrd]

I had to buy eggs yesterday! Wouldn't give in to store bought. A neighbor a couple of mile from me had an egg sign out, so stopped in. I got a dozen from her, she said her hens slowed down a lot too. Mine are molting and pullets aren't to point of lay yet. 23 girls and only one or two eggs a day. Trying to figure out where all the feed is going!
Anyway neighbor and I got to talking she mentioned how hard it is to get away, She said no one wants or knows how to take care of chickens. We exchanged numbers, so something good may come out of me running out of eggs, besides breakfast!

 

[NovaAman]

lol. I do the neighbors when they need some one for few days. I know If I had to go, they'd take care for me too.

I got 30' of 4'chain link fence coming! I need ot get the butt in gear and either make a very large run for the phoenix for winter and beyond... I am thinking I need to just get a big bon fire, a long hose or two, and beer and burgers and get as many people as I can to come and help me clean that back shed out once and for all. This is where still being married to my ex would be a help. He was/is a worker. He'd get his bros-in-law, nephews to come, and wipe it out in no time... sigh... John on the other hand, has a bunch of drunken nephews who do nothing but fight, get in trouble and yeah... do not need that near my boys...

Supposed to warm back up come the weekend. That's good. Can work on the garage. need to get THOSE birds out of there, well some of them. Like... MOST of them. LOL

 

[gigiok]

Hi Everyone;
Haven't been on in awhile because we had a new grandbaby and I've been all involved in baking casseroles, etc. to take.

Gotta tell you my sand story - it's titled "Stupid - or "How to spend lots of extra time and energy doing a good deed gone wrong" - LOL! I decided to tell one of the guys we know to deliver sand for the run since our old pickup wouldn't handle that much weight. Anyway, I just assumed he would know that sand in a chicken run was for drainage - WRONG! I came home and found that not only had he had 6 tons of PLAY sand delivered but he had gone ahead and shoveled it into the run.

The chickens were wierded out and wouldn't walk on it and you sank 6 inches when you walked in it. I sat down and cried. Anyway, DH and I had to shovel all that out, have construction grade sand delivered and then shovel new stuff in. My back is killing me.

The good news is, grandkids have this huge pile of play sand to play on...

 

[Rusty Byrd]

gigi, congratulations on the new grandbaby !

Boy or girl?

We are in the wrong business with our birds. selling a few eggs now and then. DH told me he heard on his XM radio the other day, where somewhere (couldn't remember where) there were people renting chickens out. For $350.00 you could rent two chickens, a waterer and feeder for the summer. What a deal!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

gigi, good to know! I wouldn't have known either about the play sand. Poor guy probably felt terrible!

Anyway everyone i am still alive, just working a ton! getting caught up and hopefully ahead. OT too, lots. :/ But it's what i needed, i'll chill on that soon as i get my trailer more functional.