Michigan

[CricketYang]

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I too am a fan of colorful eggs. I have Marans (chocolate brown) and welsummers (reddish brown/terra-cotta) on my must-have list. I remember someone on here was going to hatch them soon... I believe its vicki2x2...

BTW Vicki, how are those welsummer chicks coming along??

 

[Opa]

97 more days until Chickenstock. From the size of the list of those signed up, it looks as though this year is going to be the largest on yet. Lots of new names on the list so I am looking forward to meeting them.

I started getting my back coop and run ready so I can segregate the Welsummers from the rest of the large fowl flock. Several folks have called wanting fertile eggs. My Welsummer rooster has been in the Rainbow flock so I was sure if he was taking care of all the Welsummer hen. I'm sure he is going to be unhappy going from 23 hens down to 5 but that the best way to insure the Welsummer hens get fertilized.

Sixty degrees predicted for tomorrow and thirtys later in the week. Don't you love this period between winter and spring when the weather can't decide which it wants to be?

 

[Mom 2em All]

SAM!!!!!!!!!

Come to my house for dinner and make your smoked chicken.

I made the mistake of thinking about it, and posting on the Chickenstock thread. Now I am starved!

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
Did your wife's uncle tell you how those "big boys" raise their chickens? Did they tell you how much space they have on those commercial egg production facilities per bird? Did he explain how much confinement increases likelihood of disease? How birds on that scale are all but impossible to adequately monitor for potential outbreaks before it gets out of control? Or did he forget those parts (and probably so many more)?

Are you raising your birds in a confinement setup?

If not what makes you think they should be fed like confinement raised birds?

And if so, why are you raising a backyard flock at all? Your eggs will not differ for the better from those you can purchase at your nearest big box retailer and will be exponentially more expensive.

As for the protein requirements you've set forth, if he really explained to you the depths of chicken feed formulation he should have also included that you should be more concerned about amino acid profile than crude protein.

Your wife's uncle is probably a wealth of information and a perfectly nice and well-meaning guy, but following his advice for a non-confinement, backyard flock is short sighted. His knowledge draws from experience and an industry that is so unlike what you are probably trying to accomplish it's not even in the same ballpark. Trusting anyone's "every word" without verification of those words is not a good idea. Even if you were trying to start a commercial egg farm you would want to research and verify his recommendations as industry practice is ever-changing, and if he's been out of the game for even a short period his knowledge could very well be out dated to current practices.

 

[Mom 2em All]

well.
I picked up two black east indie ducklings. Hatched yesterday.

and I have tripled my problem.

Now I have THREE ducklings peeping their hearts out and jumping up for me instead of one.

 

[Olive Hill]

Only 11 more days until April 1, but it looks like winter is going to revisit us this week.

This past week or so of warm temps has absolutely spoiled me. I'm not sure I will be able to handle 29* highs again without hurting someone.

On the bright side, today marks 8 weeks until our average date of last frost. Which means it is coming... someday.

Got more seeds started today -- 216 tomatoes, 72 peppers and some peanuts. Come on, spring!

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:

Congrats!

 

[CricketYang]

Just set the eggs in the incubator... 21 more days!!

 

[keyt1969]

Hey Opa, can you (or whoever is in charge of the list) put me down on the wish list for up to 6 month old call females and any laying hens?

I looked at the list. Oh boy i'm gonna have a problem (or so Aric says lol) because I saw Vicki has down Harlequins. We saw them and wow I want them!!

Any ideas of what we (Aric) can bring for food? He can make anything...and really good!

Chickenstock can't come soon enough. I have 5 roos I wanna let go of, but Aric only wants to let go of 3. I just wish the neighbor would complain about the PIA roos of his that have been crowing nonstop for 4 months now!!!

 

[michickenwrangler]

IT'S SNOWING AGAIN!!!!

THE ICE AGE IS COMING, THE ICE AGE IS COMING!! The pile of snow beside our driveway will NEVER melt!!!!!!!


Also putting 10 more eggs in the 'bator tomorrow. Hopefully these won't die too--or at least their deaths with avert deaths from my already living animals since whatever Creator/Destroyer out there seems determined to take everything dear to me one by one.