Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Opa]

The article, while not providing me with any new information, it does help substantiate what I have maintained for years. Never refrigerate eggs. As for cleaning eggs I use a dry brush method. Damp feces can be removed with a cloth, while the dried material needs to be "sanded off". I keep a heavy duty plastic scouring pad on top of the nest box just for that purpose.

 

[naglady]

Wow been a few days since i have been on here, been doing some power holiday baking, i think i have been on the christmas cookie diet. which isnt good

Sorry about the dog attacks..

Pearl is adorable

My daughter Emily turned 12 yesturday.. she is my youngest of two..

Chickens are doing good, i been getting lots of eggs... between 8 - 11 everyday out of 14 hens.. eggs sales are really high.. everyone wants eggs. and want 4 to 5 doz at a time. I am selling them $2.50 doz.
the only problem i have is the poop is frozen and piling up on the board on top of the nest boxes.. and i cant scrape it off. to hard.. thinking of bringing in a hanging heated lamp and closing it off for a little bit to thaw it some so i can get it out of there. any ideas thats easier..


Lots of snow here, still coming down, i would be surprised if the kids have school tomorrow

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Does anyone notice way less food and water consumption right now?

 

[RTFchickens]

Great article!!!

 

[RTFchickens]

Naglady, I too am hardly keeping up with requests for eggs right now!
Only one way to fix that, I need more chickens... :^)

 

[Scifisarah]

Does anyone on here use the women's Berne lined bib overalls? Do they hold up okay, and do they shrink at all? I'm thinking of buying some so my behind doesn't feel like a block of ice when I come in from chicken chores.

 

[BobBry]

Opa, and Raz, thanks for the reply. If the eggs freeze completely in the shell, will they crack?

They do crack but the egg is in my opinion ok, if the membrane is not broken. Just a guess. Just try to pick em up sooner after they are laid. Easy to say huh !

Naglady, I too am hardly keeping up with requests for eggs right now!
Only one way to fix that, I need more chickens... :^)

Our 7 hens are giving us about 2 eggs per day on good days. My most frequent thought / observation is that we need about seven fewer hens. One of Bryan's friends is selling her eggs for $1.50 / doz. I'm sure that is a lot less than required to produce them.

 

[naglady]

went out and scoop the poop under the roost.. seemed warm enough to day to get some off..

RTF i hear ya.. but dont have room for more chickens in my one coop i do have another coop but dont want to run electricity to it.. so that idea is out.

 

[RaZ]

I thought that the article was interesting and I agree with Opa in that it really didn't tell me anything new. I was rather pleased to see that the last paragraphs kind of promoted eating raw eggs or at least "runny" side up. I'll eat raw eggs from my chickens but never the store bought eggs.

I get e-mail alerts from the USDA and MDARD about various subjects and the latest from MDARD was a food safety alert that said if you buy any deli meats that they should be cooked before consuming. They listed bologna and hot dogs specifically. Somehow I managed to survive five decades of bologna sandwiches for lunch. Perhaps the room temperature mayo helped preserve the sandwich.

I think I'll have Spam for lunch today. Right out of the can.

 

[preciouskitty]

Been doing power baking myself this weekend. Personally, I think XMAS cookie diet is PERFECT this time of year. I am particularly partial to the cookie dough (yeah, yeah, I know all about the "not supposed to eat it" stuff. I'll take my chances as I like raw better than baked in most cases )

I'm getting about 5 eggs/day. Not sure how many are actually laying as some of the 11 are molting. But keeping up ok with orders at work & for baking. At the $4/dozen I am easily covering feed.

I am using a flat shovel to scrape frozen poop. Seems to be working well. LOVE heated waterer. No way this whole winter thing would work without it on work days ...

What have I learned thus far as a first time chicken owner? Chickens are WAY more fun in the summer...chores & all. AND, I miss the little critters! Right now with 30mph gusts I won't even open their pen door (nor would they come out) , & I am only going out to them for necessities!

(BYC is really frustrating me right now, has kicked me out 3x while typing this & made me re-login).