Just started laying! NEED ADVISE PLEASE!!!

[bywaterdog]

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Ranchhand beat me to it.

They still are youngsters, don't wait until someone gets hurt. Pick out your favorite and cull the rest.

I am one of the "bad people" here who does not name any of my birds, they are a food source only, not pets. This makes it a lot easier to cull when all you see in front of you is a Sunday dinner.

 

[magoochie]

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Thanks, Congratulations to you too! I was super excited when I saw the first eggs in there. I ran to the house to call my husband and he got excited too.

 

[magoochie]

Quote:
Ranchhand beat me to it.

They still are youngsters, don't wait until someone gets hurt. Pick out your favorite and cull the rest.

I am one of the "bad people" here who does not name any of my birds, they are a food source only, not pets. This makes it a lot easier to cull when all you see in front of you is a Sunday dinner.

We only have names for 3 of the 12. Our intent was food, not pets as well. Eggs and meat. But it will still be fun to hatch some and raise them up to butcher or sell.

 

[ranchhand]

Good for you! Mean roosters are no fun at all, and you won't have the worry of rehoming it.

Yep, looks like frostbite on the comb tips and at least one wattle. The black usually means the tissue is dead and will fall off. The worry is infection or spreading.

Here's a fairly good thread, but you'll have to sift all the opinions and use your common sense to sort it out. Pages 2 and 3 seem more helpful.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=122312&p=1

 

[elizabethbinary]

I get what you mean by the eggspot thing. In Judaism it's actually against the religion to eat any eggs with a bloodspot in them. But I know it's not because it's fertile (though the law says it is) because my hens, without any roos, have laid blood spot eggs. And funny dotted textured eggs. And all those weird things.

It's best to crack in a glass anyway - with homegrown eggs you can never *quite* be too sure how old an egg is. Couple times one of the hens stole an egg from a place I hadn't noticed before and the egg turned out to be quite a bit older than I thought and, well, stinky.

I can't eat fertilized eggs myself (like I said, religious thing) but I'm pretty sure the funny texture/spots are just like everyone said since my roo-less hens do the same. Might be time to put your roosters in a proper freezer!

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Be glad your hens are laying...my more experienced girls are on strike! Seriously, congrats on your new layers and I think everyone here covered everything else. : )

 

[magoochie]

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Thanks I will take a look at it. I think I'm gonna have to get a membership to this site! I'm totally addicted! I have been on it almost nonstop learning and reading for the last 2 days!

 

[bambi]

bywaterdog,i had to laugh @ your statement about naming your chickens. I read a book about a gentleman that learned if the vet came out to see his animal and if it had a name the price went up, but if it just had a number instead the vet would charge less because he knew the owner would not be willing to pay more than the value of the animal.

 

[dsqard]

Just one quick note on the frostbite (if that is what it is) to help prevent it you can put vaseline on their combs and wattles to prevent the moisture in the air from getting on the tissues. You might want to pick up some neosporin (without the pain killer) to put on his comb to keep it from getting infected. Very handsome rooster!