Congrats!
Finally! My first egg! I just happened to go check on the flock, one last time, before I headed to work and there it was.
Phew! One of the Cochins is paying her rent.
My first egg! I just happened to go check on the flock, one last time, before I headed to work and there it was.
Phew! One of the Cochins is finally paying her rent.
Edited to add: My husband told his coworkers and they're all asking him what we are going to do with it... *le sigh*
My silkies lay a little bit lighter eggs than that one, but I know kabhypers eggs were darker than mine. Why not put it in the incubator and find out that way
Thank you for stating this so succinctly. I agree whole heartedly.Disclaimer: This is just my view and husbandry method....so take it with that disclaimer. REGARDING CULLING I didn't think I would ever be able to cull an animal either. I am one of those kinds of people that swerves to miss hitting a wooly worm on the roadso it didn't seem like I'd ever be talking about or in favor of culling. But... It came to my conscience that if I am willing to take on a farm animal to raise and provide for it, I also have to be willing to cull (read "kill") if it is for the benefit of the animal or the flock. I believe that it is my responsibility to do so even if I don't like it or want to. If these animals were living a non-domesticated life, the weak would be culled by the flock for their own well-being. A sickly animal would draw predators and be a detriment to the flock. If there were illness that is a danger to the flock, those with strong immune systems will survive while those that are of a weak nature will be naturally culled. This leaves a healthier, stronger flock to breed and perpetuate a healthy progeny. ENTER GOOD HUSBANDRY I am raising chickens because I want a healthy food source. I started thinking I'd only do eggs but I may progress to meat in the near future. Even if only for eggs, I also don't want to be dependent on a hatchery to breed healthy stock (since that's not their goal). I want to be able to have a healthy group of birds that are capable of producing more healthy birds...self-sustaining though some years of obtaining a broad breeding stock. This is not to sell to others, but to have a self-reliant, healthy food source that is different from what I can already purchase from "factory farm" sources that perpetuate unhealthy animals, environment, and food through poor husbandry methods. I make it my goal to try to mimic what would happen if they were on their own - the way they were created to live and procreate - as if I weren't in the picture. Of course that's not totally possible, but there are things that I can do to mimic their natural state as much as possible and let these birds have the life they were created to live. SOME OBSERVATIONS Through observation of other's flocks, listening to folks that have raised animals for many more years than I have, and trying to use common sense, I've observed some things. One of those things I've observed is that flocks that are receiving antibiotics and lots of medical attention/intervention seem to be perpetually sick flocks. They get treated for something and then get another thing. The medications they receive seem to be dragging those flocks down farther and farther into more illness...A "lifestyle of illness" would describe it. And just like in the human world, anti-biotic resistant strains of bacteria become stronger and stronger and the animals are ill-equipped to fight the infections due to compromised immune systems caused by the very medications that were thought to help. I've also observed flocks that aren't medicated and are allowed to develop their own strong immune systems. The longer I observe, the stronger and healthier these flocks seem to be. The very few that are weak are either culled by caring flockmasters or just failure to thrive naturally. The strong become even stronger without having to recover from medicines that weaken them and then they produce some amazing offspring that mostly continue the strengths. Those few that don't are mercifully removed. Interestingly, the animals I've observed that receive the least medical intervention have been the healthiest of all when they are fed a healthy diet that they were designed for as well. ONE LADY'S STORY I knew a lady that had chickens for over 30 years. In the early days of her chicken keeping she had so much illness and misery that she quit keeping them for about 10 years. Then she began to research and read about more natural, healthy husbandry by providing an environment that was aimed at prevention through healthy practices. [COLOR=008000]She has over and over told us how grateful she is to have learned this after all her prior experience with illnesses, etc. among her flock, and what a joy it is to now have healthy birds that aren't always getting various illnesses.[/COLOR] This is not to say that I wouldn't treat an animal for an accident or injury... But I am saying that [COLOR=FF0000]if there is perpetual illness in a flock, there is either something out of kilter in the environment, feed, husbandry... If that's the case, figure out what is causing it and take measures to change the husbandry for health and prevention.[/COLOR] If it's just a bird now and then that is of a weak or ill disposition, I would cull...so that they aren't living in perpetual misery. Okay...time to get off the soapbox.
my cochin lay light beige. Their eggs are by no means dark
Depends how "good quality" they are. I saw a post on craigslist of a person selling serma bantams, pretty high price and they looked sickly.
