Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[gladahmae]

Let's play "Name That Bird".
Who has white ringed eyes and a white "Mohawk"?
a) Cuckoo Marans


Who has dark eye stripes and a pale face?

b) Araucana

Perhaps some photos will help with this quiz...

You can already see some of the barring/cuckoo pattern coming in on the marans chick. Your friend will have a good time with that marans if mine is any kind of example of typical behavior. Mine gets out of the run every day and forages around in the tall grass. I ran out of netting to keep her in and left a spot about 2ft wide and she found it within 2 days and continues to escape.

 

[Candy442]

Your birds will be fine without supplemental heat, by the time the weather turns really cold they will have their feathers back. They have a body temp of 106 degrees, so they stay pretty warm.

Those little eggs are called fart or wind eggs, sometimes they have yolks, other times not. Usually they occur when hens first start laying.

Oh, when I say small...I mean small...got the one on the right yesterday...along with 3 XLs & a couple Ms.

3x5" card & quarter.....

Yup, that is one small egg! wow...our are more like the one on the right, but they JUST started laying so I am not worrying. The EE eggs are getting larger now, but it took them a couple of months to go from medium bullet type eggs to more round large size ...

I saw the new girl shoot one out like a bb on the grass..! so I agree Mutt, they are literally "wind" eggs

 

[tsetse9]

Starting to think I have eggless hens, lol! I keep saying any day now, any day now. My oldest two are around 25 - 26 weeks! I was talking to a lady that I am still buying my eggs from and her last batch started laying at 14 weeks... urgh, that I didn't need to hear, lol. I know, I know, gotta be patient, some chickens lay later....I just want one egg, is that too much to ask for girls?

On another note, I just started trying out fermented feed. Gave it to them for the first time this morning, thought maybe they would turn there nose up at it for a bit, but they licked the bowls clean

 

[Stacykins]

Starting to think I have eggless hens, lol! I keep saying any day now, any day now. My oldest two are around 25 - 26 weeks! I was talking to a lady that I am still buying my eggs from and her last batch started laying at 14 weeks... urgh, that I didn't need to hear, lol. I know, I know, gotta be patient, some chickens lay later....I just want one egg, is that too much to ask for girls?

On another note, I just started trying out fermented feed. Gave it to them for the first time this morning, thought maybe they would turn there nose up at it for a bit, but they licked the bowls clean

Breed does the other woman own? I would guess they are a breed designed for commercial egg laying, to start early and lay often, like an ISA brown or leghorn.

What breeds do you own? A lot of the big breeds take more time to mature.

 

[tsetse9]

Yes, hers are egg laying breed so I know they lay earlier. She has a couple hundred birds I think. My oldest two are an easter egger, who I hear sometimes lay later and a silver wyandotte...not sure on those but her face has been bright red since I got her, so I keep thinking, soon....

 

[Candy442]

Starting to think I have eggless hens, lol! I keep saying any day now, any day now. My oldest two are around 25 - 26 weeks! I was talking to a lady that I am still buying my eggs from and her last batch started laying at 14 weeks... urgh, that I didn't need to hear, lol. I know, I know, gotta be patient, some chickens lay later....I just want one egg, is that too much to ask for girls?

On another note, I just started trying out fermented feed. Gave it to them for the first time this morning, thought maybe they would turn there nose up at it for a bit, but they licked the bowls clean

Hi Tsetse,

We have one girl holding out and that is the Ameracauna girl. She must be close to 26-27 weeks and not one blue egg yet. But, I believe even my new Chantecler is now laying and JUST started. It is frustrating when you have some that start real early and others just taking their good ol time. We have RSL's that started at 16 weeks and they lay one a day for the most part. Nice medium brown large eggs. Breed does matter though and I hear from Follysplace where I got the Ameracauna girl that hers are late bloomers too.

 

[preciouskitty]

Quote:
Same here..RSLs(PRs) started at 16 weeks; the NHRs right around 20 weeks; one of the EEs at ~25weeks; the other EE is still holding out (at 28 weeks old)...Think the BCMs were around 26-28 weeks... I LOVE the term "wind" or "fart" eggs!! I am not concerned..the REALLY little one was definitely when they were just starting to lay...& the other small one is from one of the NHRs that just really started laying "real" eggs in the last couple of weeks...

 

[Candy442]

Quote: It's funny, so far none of my experienced layers have gone smaller, but a few times got doubles that I wondered how they got them out! I won't worry either, as a few little "duds" get winded out for cleaning the pipes I guess

 

[preciouskitty]

Quote:
OMG! I have had some jumbos, too...figured the poor girl that laid it wouldn't be able to sit for a week! LOL! I have read that early on, their reproductive systems are still "fine-tuning"...every once in a while I get a soft or no shell, too...& I know everyone is getting plenty of calcium! Ah...they are just SO much fun!!

 

[NovaAman]

Kathi, its joy killing...