"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[Celie]

Terri, just one thing more, meat rabbits are large with large teeth and large sharp claws, so I would not recommend them for pets for children. I child should have a little furry pet that he or she will keep and care for for a lot of years. People who buy meat rabbits for pets, usually wind up dropping them off at animal shelters when the kids loose interest in them, because they are no longer tiny and cute. Of course this is just my opinion!LOL

 

[MS Rooster Cogb]

Lost another one yersterday, down to 4 but they or all eating well. I hold them in my hand an squirt the milk out & the suck it up. lol

 

[chickenbelle]

To Jeff---glad to have met you and don't forget to give me a buzz before you off any of those handsome roosters. I have a hard time saying no to a good looking bird.

Terri--thanks for the hens, my RIR roo is beside himself with excitement over the new ladies.

Johnny--Silkies do wonderfully around here. We just hatched some more SQ lines and some Showgirls. I will add pics for you later today.
And...oh geez...now I can't remember who just asked about EE or Ameracaunas...I have them and will be adding eggs to one of the incubators in a few weeks. Should have Wheaton/Blue Wheaton Amers and some SBELs which lay huge blue eggs early April. Possibility of a few olive eggers, too if I have room in the incubators. See!!! I keep telling hubby he just needs to break down and let me buy the Dickey!!

Whew! Last Monday before Spring Break! Hope I can get these third graders in gear this morning.

 

[catdaddyfro]

To Jeff---glad to have met you and don't forget to give me a buzz before you off any of those handsome roosters. I have a hard time saying no to a good looking bird.

Terri--thanks for the hens, my RIR roo is beside himself with excitement over the new ladies.

Johnny--Silkies do wonderfully around here. We just hatched some more SQ lines and some Showgirls. I will add pics for you later today.
And...oh geez...now I can't remember who just asked about EE or Ameracaunas...I have them and will be adding eggs to one of the incubators in a few weeks. Should have Wheaton/Blue Wheaton Amers and some SBELs which lay huge blue eggs early April. Possibility of a few olive eggers, too if I have room in the incubators. See!!! I keep telling hubby he just needs to break down and let me buy the Dickey!!

Whew! Last Monday before Spring Break! Hope I can get these third graders in gear this morning.

Hey yeah it was great to meet you and the crew and Terri and Jim(again) too, (I'm a poet, didn't ya'll know it)LOL

I will surely let you have first dibs on them as soon as I figure who's gonna stay and who's gonna go. I have a fairly good idea already but I got to get my organized mess a little less messy first and see what and who I got room for. I'm gonna be diminishing my production/layers bunch down quite a bit as have big buckets and buckets full of eggs(already, not even springtime yet, too) I can't move all of them here in the grand ol' metropolis of Hornbeck. LOL I wished I had time and an easier way to get them to town, I could make a small fortune off those eggs as city folks go nuts over them and pay big,big bucks for them.

good day all Oh yeah Celie the bunnies and eggs are symbols (pagan) of a new beginning/new growth (Springtime/Easter)
http://www.history.com/topics/easter-symbols
Jeff

 

[chickenbelle]

Jeff,

When the NPIP certification vet came out he told me that there is one farm in Lake Charles who does some kind of farmer's market every week and they sell their eating eggs for $5.75 a dozen. Wonder if you could just set up a roadside market?

Lots of folks have been going to the TSC swaps lately and selling out of things. I haven't been to one, as I've been selling everything and have nothing left for TSC. I'm sure if you haul some of those extra roos to a TSC swap in DeRidder next time you will sell them all. I've seen a few folks with some UGLY mixed roos that sold them all for $10 a head.

Here are the silkies and showgirls we just hatched. Hopefully more soon...

The silkies hatched out a white, paint, partridge, and a blue. I had another blue, but it had a pasty butt and swollen abdomen so I tried wiping as gently as I could, but before I knew it, I'd cleaned the poo and his intestines spewed out. Poor thing. Had to put him out of his misery.

This is the blue/brown showgirl.




And these are the other showgirls.


Daughter is in love with the ugly little things and will be showing them by end of summer.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Jeff,

When the NPIP certification vet came out he told me that there is one farm in Lake Charles who does some kind of farmer's market every week and they sell their eating eggs for $5.75 a dozen. Wonder if you could just set up a roadside market?

Lots of folks have been going to the TSC swaps lately and selling out of things. I haven't been to one, as I've been selling everything and have nothing left for TSC. I'm sure if you haul some of those extra roos to a TSC swap in DeRidder next time you will sell them all. I've seen a few folks with some UGLY mixed roos that sold them all for $10 a head.

Here are the silkies and showgirls we just hatched. Hopefully more soon...

The silkies hatched out a white, paint, partridge, and a blue. I had another blue, but it had a pasty butt and swollen abdomen so I tried wiping as gently as I could, but before I knew it, I'd cleaned the poo and his intestines spewed out. Poor thing. Had to put him out of his misery.

This is the blue/brown showgirl.




And these are the other showgirls.


Daughter is in love with the ugly little things and will be showing them by end of summer.

LOL yes they are

on the eggs I asked Terri what the "organic farm" down the road from her was selling their eggs for she said 4 bucks a dozen and sells out ever weekend folks line up on the side of the road waiting to get in there. (light bulb moment) I could pack all those hundreds of eggs up in the truck and go put up a stand just up the road and undermine their business for about oh two-thirds their prices and bring home a boatload of cash(well I could stop and spend all of it on feed then bring that home) more like the truth of the matter LOL

Jeff

 

[TerriLaChicks]

My opinion on the meat is that it tastes like a mix of turkey and pork chops with that pork chop texture, but the last rabbits I had were wild rabbits. They tend to have a stronger flavor. Rabbits have a lighter meat.

We raised them when I was a kid. We used to cook them in spaghetti and smothered (rice and gravy).

I did find this excellent video on deboning a rabbit. This is what I plan to do if I do decide to start raising them. I'd like to grind most of the meat.

Interesting video, thanks for posting it.
How do you kill them? Nevermind, I read Celie's post on that part.

I knew the meat rabbits are not "pet" rabbits - we used to have a neighbor who raised them when I was a kid.

 

[JohnnyxRex]

LOL yes they are

on the eggs I asked Terri what the "organic farm" down the road from her was selling their eggs for she said 4 bucks a dozen and sells out ever weekend folks line up on the side of the road waiting to get in there. (light bulb moment) I could pack all those hundreds of eggs up in the truck and go put up a stand just up the road and undermine their business for about oh two-thirds their prices and bring home a boatload of cash(well I could stop and spend all of it on feed then bring that home) more like the truth of the matter LOL

Jeff

Yep. And at one of their events the other day they had "foraged eggs" for 5 a dozen. Free ranged?

Chickenbelle thanks for the pics! What is the difference between showgirl and silkie? Like hatchery and breeder stock?

Anyway, I am finishing the plans of the coop this week. I would love to hear everyone's input on things like bedding, etc. thanks!

 

[TerriLaChicks]

I have one problem today. I noticed last night that the birds started peeping ALOT more and ALOT louder. Ok, its chickens, no big deal. But last night, I realized it was one chick in particular making most of the noise. It is one of the few I really notice because he's the fattest one. When they first hatched, several only had one eye open, but now it is down to just this one. I noticed this before of course, but I didn't start thinking much about it until he was the only one left. I decided to leave him another day last night, and there is no change today.

He will randomly cheep REALLY loudly, making the same call as when they are alone (when I take one out of the box and he realizes no one else is there). I open the door and come in, and he stops. I walk out and there he goes again. I don't think its me though. -I can hear him now-

I wonder if the eye is dried? a few came out of the shell and parts of their bodies never "fluffed up". Could it get dried shut?

Thanks all!

Haven't run into this John, but you might copy this over to the "illness" section & see if anybody has any input there.
"Sticky chicks" mean the humidity was off in your 'bator.

Yep, they are proud of their pricey eggs, lol!

Showgirls are the ones with the "naked necks" & topknots -- (that Julie is so terrified of, LOL)! They are a cross using Silkies - who are a separate breed unto themselves.
Silkies make OUTSTANDING broodies! they will try & hatch a rock if you let them.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

I use the bales of shavings that Petrus carries for the floor of the coops; hay in the nest boxes. Twice a year we remove all the shavings & recycle them into the garden spot - makes great compost!