Leghorns -19 weeks to first eggs

[aart]

By this time next fall, there should be a full dozen full size.

Next fall, they'll be molting
I do 'pullets dozens'...can take up to 16 eggs to get a 24-27oz(large-xlarge) carton.
That way I don't have to change my price and accounting.

 

[RUNuts]

Been getting a steady 8 eggs a day.

Made the 6 month mark and 10.5 eggs today. Had one soft shell that was laid next to the coop door in the corner and it fell out and splatted. Hens loved it.

3 keeper browns + one soft and the 7 white. RIR are producing and one Barred Rock. The New Hampshire Reds don't appear close. Late bloomers?

Listened to the birds all day. They are loud and then the egg song interrupts the normal calling. Leghorns are loud. Beware if you are considering them.

 

[Kiki]

My Welsummers are quite loud too.

 

[aart]

Don't think there's much louder than a group of pullets at/near point of lay.
Doesn't matter the breed...it's a raucous cacophony!!

 

[RUNuts]

Christmas update: getting 14 eggs from 18 birds. The leghorns have dropped to a regular 6 out of 8 a day. The 10 brown egg layers are steady at 8 a day. Got eggs. I think they are taking turns.

My marketing department also laid a big fat egg. I'm scrambling for customers or egg eaters. The dogs are happy to oblige as are the chickens. At this rate, the flock needs thinning. While 18 chickens sounds like a lot, it is less than the 25 we started with. So in my mind, we already have a smallish flock. Everything is relative. I'm slowly finding egg customers. Daughter doing the most good.

The pullets continue to amaze me. Chickens are fascinating. The way they run. The "flying" 1 foot off the ground. The way they eat. Fascinating.

Here's to a marvelous New Year!

 

[AllenK RGV]

Christmas update: getting 14 eggs from 18 birds. The leghorns have dropped to a regular 6 out of 8 a day. The 10 brown egg layers are steady at 8 a day. Got eggs. I think they are taking turns.

My marketing department also laid a big fat egg. I'm scrambling for customers or egg eaters. The dogs are happy to oblige as are the chickens. At this rate, the flock needs thinning. While 18 chickens sounds like a lot, it is less than the 25 we started with. So in my mind, we already have a smallish flock. Everything is relative. I'm slowly finding egg customers. Daughter doing the most good.

The pullets continue to amaze me. Chickens are fascinating. The way they run. The "flying" 1 foot off the ground. The way they eat. Fascinating.

Here's to a marvelous New Year!

Agreed, we had to buy HEB rocking chairs for the front porch as they are so entertaining to watch.
Time for some breakfast tacos!

 

[AllenK RGV]

Unrelated to chicken but finally got our our pictures of Green Jays feeding from our own feeders this morning. So that was a big YESSSS!!!

Last image was of a family on the other side of the Rio Grande as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. I included that one only because I managed to kick their children's soccer/football back over to them after it blew over to the Texas side. Pictures of the Jays were shot through a sliding glass door as these are incredible skittish birds. The chicken related part is we used a 5 grain scratch with 1/4 BOSS added. There made it about chicken!

 

[RUNuts]

You are using scratch grains to attract wild life and I am using wild bird seed for the chickens. Too cute.

Green Jays - I will have to look for their range since I am not familiar with them. We get the Blue Jays, Eastern Blue Birds and all kinds of black birds. The Mississippi Kites were the excitement this year. Pretty gray birds with a distinctive call. They like watching chickens too.

The black birds will swarm the oaks and drop acorns down on the tin roof. Quite the cacophony. The flocks have a couple hundred birds and will cover 6 of the house lots surrounding us. Although, we are losing oak trees all over the neighborhood.

Can't wait for the Robins to return!

 

[AllenK RGV]

You are using scratch grains to attract wild life and I am using wild bird seed for the chickens. Too cute.

Green Jays - I will have to look for their range since I am not familiar with them. We get the Blue Jays, Eastern Blue Birds and all kinds of black birds. The Mississippi Kites were the excitement this year. Pretty gray birds with a distinctive call. They like watching chickens too.

The black birds will swarm the oaks and drop acorns down on the tin roof. Quite the cacophony. The flocks have a couple hundred birds and will cover 6 of the house lots surrounding us. Although, we are losing oak trees all over the neighborhood.

Can't wait for the Robins to return!

Ahh is that Oak Wilt taking out Houston area trees now too? It had just arrived in the DFW metroplex in the mid 90's when I was living there and haven't heard of any issues in Austin.

 

[RUNuts]

They are calling it Oak root rot. Is that the same thing as Oak Wilt? We had 33 Oak trees when we bought the place. Now, less than 10 and some of those aren't going to be here long. Time to start planting fruit trees.