Illinois...

[Faraday40]

Here's the little guy trying to crow.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

Yes indeed my CX are laying. And this is a big egg. Didn't weigh it yet but at least 3.25 oz.

Added.....
3.35 oz, 95 grams
Maybe in the morning I'll check double yolk. If it wasn't dead winter I'd lock Roo in with them and start a meat flock.
Is it possible my broody hen will take care of chicks if shes not currently broody? I've cut her off of eggs twice now so the desire is strong, especially for a gold comet.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Its been a very sad day here at the farm. I woke up and headed out to do the chicken tending and found Faraday40 beautiful Blizzard passed away. I had brought her inside due to the extreme cold and I didn't like the way she was looking. She felt thin and was sleeping in the coop a lot, even during the day. The rooster damage from this summer was really not getting better even though she had pin feathers.

I picked her up and cradled her for a few minutes. She was still warm and had only passed no more than an hour before. After I had put her back, I felt like something was crawling all over my arms and side of face. I grabbed a flashlight and inspected her body. She was ridden with mites. I feel horrible I missed this on this sweet girl! I cancelled going to church and immediately dusted every chicken. I saw no signs of mites on anyone else.

I didn't have a lot of pictures of the sweetheart, but here's what I have. I'm sure Faraday40 will have a lot more.

Trying to be a good surrogate mom to a pair of slo's babies that came with her.

 

[Faraday40]

Yes, Blizzard was a big, beauty and had many admirers on BYC.
So sorry for your loss.


Baby Blizzard was not exactly "cute."

She looked much better at 5 months.

.
.... and continued to look better with age.

She always looked amazing with a snowy background.

RIP, sweet girl.

 

[Faraday40]

3.35 oz, 95 grams
Maybe in the morning I'll check double yolk. If it wasn't dead winter I'd lock Roo in with them and start a meat flock.
Is it possible my broody hen will take care of chicks if shes not currently broody? I've cut her off of eggs twice now so the desire is strong, especially for a gold comet.

That's a BIG egg! Some new layers produce double yolkers. Not a good idea to incubate those. (Normally one dies and the bacteria kills the other.) However, if it is just a big egg, then I'd add the roo for a few days. That way you'll have fertile eggs if your hen goes broody.

You can't force a hen to be broody. If she's a frequent broody, then you might be able to "encourage" her. Put about 6 eggs in her fav nest box. If she likes the idea, she may decide to go broody after a few days. I learned from a zoo keeper that birds have a particular "egg load." That's the number of eggs the individual bird likes to collect before sitting on them. For Cookie it's 6-7. If I give her 8, one always gets stolen, cracked, or doesn't develop. If I give her 4-5, she steals a few eggs from other nest boxes. I have no idea how she carries them, but she does. Once hatched, she will adopt anything that peeps. She can raise up to 40 chicks at a time.

Xansie my silkie is always a firm 6 eggs..... but she will also adopt whatever chicks are around at hatch time. A little over a week ago, I gave her 5 marked eggs but took one with a bloodring away. I removed 2 unmarked eggs on Christmas and had to remove another 2 unmarked eggs this morning. I thought I was being generous by allowing her to sit on a few eggs, but the little brat keeps stealing more eggs. I really don't need more chicks right now.

 

[Molpet]

Sorry for your loss.
Mites and lice go for the weak

 

[Faraday40]

Sorry for your loss.
Mites and lice go for the weak

That makes sense and explains why only Blizzard had them. The rest of the flock is very healthy. Bliz was molting which made her weaker than the others. Plus, the cockerels chose her as a "favorite" which added to her stress. I would not have guessed there were mites because she had no skin irritation. Chickens hide things too well and only her molting was visible.

 

[Molpet]

That makes sense and explains why only Blizzard had them. The rest of the flock is very healthy. Bliz was molting which made her weaker than the others. Plus, the cockerels chose her as a "favorite" which added to her stress. I would not have guessed there were mites because she had no skin irritation. Chickens hide things too well and only her molting was visible.

Some people cull the ones that get bad infestation of lice,mites, gleet and such weaknesses. They say that after a few years they no longer have those problems as a major thing. They still get a few mites and lice but not infestations. Healthier flock all around.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

That's a BIG egg! Some new layers produce double yolkers. Not a good idea to incubate those. (Normally one dies and the bacteria kills the other.) However, if it is just a big egg, then I'd add the roo for a few days. That way you'll have fertile eggs if your hen goes broody.

You can't force a hen to be broody. If she's a frequent broody, then you might be able to "encourage" her. Put about 6 eggs in her fav nest box. If she likes the idea, she may decide to go broody after a few days. I learned from a zoo keeper that birds have a particular "egg load." That's the number of eggs the individual bird likes to collect before sitting on them. For Cookie it's 6-7. If I give her 8, one always gets stolen, cracked, or doesn't develop. If I give her 4-5, she steals a few eggs from other nest boxes. I have no idea how she carries them, but she does. Once hatched, she will adopt anything that peeps. She can raise up to 40 chicks at a time.

Xansie my silkie is always a firm 6 eggs..... but she will also adopt whatever chicks are around at hatch time. A little over a week ago, I gave her 5 marked eggs but took one with a bloodring away. I removed 2 unmarked eggs on Christmas and had to remove another 2 unmarked eggs this morning. I thought I was being generous by allowing her to sit on a few eggs, but the little brat keeps stealing more eggs. I really don't need more chicks right now.

Thanks, yes it was a double yolk. I have to decide if I will be hatching B Australorp/ CX chicks for meat. My idea is to incubate 2-3 just to see if growth will be worth it or if I am wasting time. Incubate eggs but see if momma will raise the chicks? Maybe a few chicks in the house will be nice change for a bit too. At least until DW is tired of poop dust.
My only remaining chick is BA/Gold Comet (after raccoon) . I was hoping to add egg production to the BA but so far only added skittish to the BA, chick is very scared (and fast) and I cant even get close.
After raising CX they really are a good bird. Very friendly, just very sharp claws.

 

[Faraday40]

Thanks, yes it was a double yolk. I have to decide if I will be hatching B Australorp/ CX chicks for meat. My idea is to incubate 2-3 just to see if growth will be worth it or if I am wasting time. Incubate eggs but see if momma will raise the chicks? Maybe a few chicks in the house will be nice change for a bit too. At least until DW is tired of poop dust.
My only remaining chick is BA/Gold Comet (after raccoon) . I was hoping to add egg production to the BA but so far only added skittish to the BA, chick is very scared (and fast) and I cant even get close.
After raising CX they really are a good bird. Very friendly, just very sharp claws.

@Molpet has a "meat mutt" project. Perhaps she can share what breeds went into her meatie flock. And also, how long until they are big enough to process.

My extra orp cockerels taste very good, but take a while to grow. Most do not crow until 5+ months old, so the neighbors don't know (or care) if we have a few extra boys.