Maine

[GrafixMuse]

congrats!!!!!!! Still waiting here. They are 24-25 wks

Thanks! My mixed flock of 7 are now 23 weeks. Only one EE has laid so far. She laid one beautiful egg today with much less drama than the first day. She seems to be the oldest in the group by a few days. She was a little larger than the others when I first picked them up, first to feather out, first to begin her mini-molts, etc. I guessed that she would be to be the first to lay as well. I hope the others follow along soon. These eggs are small

 

[GrafixMuse]

As often as the experts say that it's not possible for a chicken to lay more than one egg in a day, I'll come back and say, some animals and people for that matter refuse to live by the rules. I have a BSL that once laid 3 eggs in a 24 hour period, 2 of which were witnessed 5 minutes apart... So, given that you say you only have 2 EE and the other one has yet to declare her intentions, or show signs of being ready... you be the judge!!!! (and I'll agree!) Congratulations!!!

I read more on this here. I was so surprised. She laid another egg today. Just one and she seemed much less stressed out so hopefully things will become routine for her soon.

 

[GrafixMuse]

Congrats! Typically dents and wrinkles on an egg means it met up with another egg in the tract.

Thanks! I think you are correct. She was very stressed out that day too. It was obvious she was uncomfortable and stressed out. What a surprise to find two. Hopefully she will settle into a regular routine soon.

 

[dowgirl71]

Yep - it was a double-yolker!

AWESOME!!

 

[CoopChick719]

I thought I'd post pictures of the "babies". They are all about 8 weeks old now- It looks like we are going to attempt having 2 roosters- hopefully this goes ok!





I'm down to only 2 hens laying- I'm hoping maybe a few might start laying again after they finish their molt...and before spring!

They're getting big!

Downcast/Coastal Acadia region, present! *waves*

Hubby and I share this account.

All this talk of house temps sound like our house! I am sitting here in shorts and a t-shirt watching the hopefully last game of the World Series. DH is in sweats, sweat shirt and blanket! He hates that I hate a hot house. Lol!!!! I still had my a/c on and barely used my blanket.

But for my flock I do worry about them staying warm

My dad used to keep our 100 year old farmhouse hotter than h-e-double hockey sticks! One winter day, I came downstairs in my bathing suit. He said "Are you trying to tell me something, SmartA##?"

I am far too excited over this, but I found a huge egg in the nest box today! It's so big the carton won't close. Can't wait for tomorrow morning to see if it's normal inside. This is double the size of what the girls have been laying to date... wonder if someone new started laying. Here it is compared to a store-bought "large" egg. (Since I'm only getting 1 egg a day, I still have store bought ones in the fridge.)

This was posted on the old timers thread, created by Gunchief25. Thought you might find it as amusing as I did!!!

Awesome!!

Withdrawal period from worming is OVER, thank goodness!!

But I still have 2 fluffed up skinny hens. I brought one inside gave her Duramycin and food. She has eaten 2 small dishes of FF. I'm getting an extra cage for the 2nd one so I can bring her in too. Any thoughts or advice?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I will more than likely be doing my final 2013 processing of roosters on Saturday. PM me if you're interested in coming to watch and learn how to process birds on your own. We are by no means experts here, but we've done it a number of times successfully. If all goes well I have 4 or 5 roosters to do and 2 turkeys.

Each bird takes about a half hour.

I'm between Augusta and Waterville.

 

[buckabucka]

Are your fluffed-up birds molting, Coopchick? My molting hens act like they are sick, -less active, sleeping in nest boxes, and not running for sunflower seeds like the others. Did you already check for mites? I find it frustrating to have a sick hen (or two) in the house, especially if I'm not sure what is wrong. I hope they get better soon.

SCG, that is really nice to offer a processing demonstration. Maybe someday I will be ready to conquer that task. We're dedicating Saturday to chickens also, but not processing. We're making the biannual move of the hoop coop onto the garden for winter.

 

[lazy gardener]

Bucka, when the hoop coop is settled onto the garden, what will you use for bedding, what is the floor size, and how many birds are housed in it? Also, can you tell me how closed in it'll be, and what you'll be doing for run space? I assume that you'll be doing DL. What will the condition of the DL be in the spring, and will you till it in? How soon will you plant that area, what will the soil condition be in that spot, and how well will stuff grow there???? If the book I'm asking for is too long for this thread, you can send me an autographed copy via PM!! Any one else want to chime in on how you manage chicken manure/compost/bedding in the garden, and what results you've had?? If you can, give details about bedding used, how much applied to garden, how long aged, growing results, any issues with over nitrification. I visited a local green house this week, they're selling a lot of hydroponic stuff, as well as conventional garden stuff, had several different brands of dried chicken manure available, I think the nutrient listing on the bag was 4-3-3, which doesn't seem too high in nitrogen. I'm sure they were getting a hefty little price for those bags too! Also had a fancy looking "manure tea still" percolating away in the corner, probably selling that stuff as well. IMO, a spackle bucket would suffice, but I'm wondering if aeration would provide a better product. (This is what I think about when I can't sleep at night... I'm not your average female!)

I visited the habitat store this week, and came home with 2 tempered glass window panels about 30" x 74". (paid $5 each) I think they'll fit perfectly inside my hay bale cold frames to give the second layer of protection, effectively bringing the microclimate up to Zone 8A while letting a lot of light in! That store is my favorite place to shop. They had a whole load of cabinet doors that I think were made of Ash, and brand new, selling for less than the wood could be purchased. I was scratching my head hard on that one, trying desperately to find an excuse to buy them, but had to walk away, as I honestly couldn't come up with an idea for the use of them!

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

I visited the habitat store this week, and came home with 2 tempered glass window panels about 30" x 74". (paid $5 each) I think they'll fit perfectly inside my hay bale cold frames to give the second layer of protection, effectively bringing the microclimate up to Zone 8A while letting a lot of light in! That store is my favorite place to shop. They had a whole load of cabinet doors that I think were made of Ash, and brand new, selling for less than the wood could be purchased. I was scratching my head hard on that one, trying desperately to find an excuse to buy them, but had to walk away, as I honestly couldn't come up with an idea for the use of them!

I love that store!! I think I need to pay them a visit. I need new doors for my coops and I think that some cabinet doors would be perfect! Mine are falling off and don't close very well. They leave gaps and the wind gets in them.

 

[Widget]

My black panther (aka Bojay the hunting cat) just came home with a vole. It was till alive so Bojay decided to play with his food. That got the attention of the turkey gang who came running over to see what was going on. One of the Royal Palm toms decided he wanted the prize and started trying to grab it from the cat. The vole took this opportunity to try and escape. It made it a couple feet before both the turkey and cat made a grab. The cat won. But then the turkey pecked at the cat and the vole made another escape attempt. At this point the Bourbon Red stepped in and made a grab. She got a piece of the vole but only enough to slow it down so the cat could grab it again. The cat grabbed his prize and ran off. The turkeys wandered off and went back to foraging in the yard.