Minnesota!

[Cluckies]

That coop is way too nice and clean.

My chickens live in a slum, I guess.

I thought they had it good until I saw your coop.

Hahaha, yeah, i'm kind of a nut about keeping it clean.

I wonder if you could use a hot seat like ice fishermen use under the nesting material like maybe carpet remnants to keep the eggs warm? Just curious. I was curious if the heat would penetrate the remnant if that was what someone would use when a hen/pullet goes into the nest box to lay her egg. When a fisherman sits on it, it will keep his bottom warm.

I thought about that, then I also thought maybe these. Haven't done either one yet though...

SHOCKING MORNING!

I stuck my little toes outside and pulled them right back in. Not a day to run to the coop without a jacket.

I looked at my thermometer and was in shock, it said 6 below!

I knew it was lying to me, so I checked my IPhone weather app and it said only 4 below. I need a new thermometer and maybe a new IPhone. I was getting use to the mild winter!

Very shocking. I too was getting used to the mild weather... That wind yesterday was very cold as well.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Quote: I have 37 nest boxes. If I put those in it would cost me a small fortune. These are a bit less costly but not sure if they would work. Of course I don't need to worry. I do have a friend who lives in Alaska and she collects the frozen eggs after work and just sticks them in her freezer since they are frozen this time of the years when she collects them. She eats them and bakes with them. She said they are usually cracked but when she takes them out of the freezer to thaw out, in a dish, that it doesn't take very long for them to thaw out.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

When have you all noticed hens going broody? Last summer was the first time I had it happen with more than one hen.

My Silkie went broody last spring for the first time (since I had her) on Easter Day. So it was Late April I guess. But every cycle of eggs (10-14 eggs) she goes broody on the drop of a dime. I had a BA that would go broody twice a year. In July and then in October. Inconvenient times for hatching biddies.

What do you all think of coops that are open bottom with hardware cloth so the droppings and all just fall to the ground? The ventilation would be nice and as a tractor it'd be great for the yard. I see people posting pics of coops they make like that but I wonder if the hardware cloth is a bit hard on the feet?

Although a good idea for cleaning efforts. I would not do it for the comfort of the birds--especially if they are going to spend a lot of time in the coop. I wish I had insulated my floor of my coop. it gets SOOO cold on their feet sometimes. Even with a floor with shavings 4-5 inches thick. I could not imagine hardware cloth as a flooring for a Minnesota coop to be honest. But that's just my humble opinion.

I have a question, do any of you use the coops where you do not have to go inside to collect eggs?

The ones where a person just opens a lid and reaches into the nest box. I have a neighbor, recently moved in, that I have never met.

Ralphie: I have such a coop. I have 5 nesting boxes that are reachable by lifting a lid. Picture below shows the lid right below the window there on the right. It's big and heavy. If I had to do it over again the nest boxes would be inside under the window and a flap flat to the wall for access and cleaning out. This is a pain in the ....arse. Haha.... I collect eggs 2-3 times a day (down to the coop 3 times a day) 15-40 below I have cracked eggs.



Here's what I do if there's enough snow to combat the cold.



Which means I need to go in the coop and collect. hahaha. It's not a winning situation with those cold temps. this year we don't have 3 inches of snow here right now. So not much to use for insulation like this older pic. So it was -15 here this morning and I was able to catch the egg just as Lucy was dropping one today at noon. But I'm thinking it would have froze and cracked if she laid it earlier this morning. Lucky me.

That is too funny. I fell on my Arse last night locking the coops. I stepped down and next thing you know I am kissing the ground. Hurt my back, elbows and knees, luckily I have a prescription for ultram and flexural because of a bad back. So I just drugged myself up and slept it off, It helped a lot.

I had some neck troubles this December and tried one of those ultram. Eegads! I couldn't sit up for 24 hours it made me so dizzy and nauseated. ack. Anyways I hope you're taking it easy and hope you heal up fast Ralphie. No fun to bounce off the ice. We sure have a lot of it around here with those warm ups. Nasty stuff....

 

[duluthralphie]

I had some neck troubles this December and tried one of those ultram. Eegads! I couldn't sit up for 24 hours it made me so dizzy and nauseated. ack. Anyways I hope you're taking it easy and hope you heal up fast Ralphie. No fun to bounce off the ice. We sure have a lot of it around here with those warm ups. Nasty stuff....

I find it interesting about your coop nests. When I looked at the first picture I thought, good idea, put them on the ground or near it so you can insulate under it.. Then I saw your second picture and thought "oh No covered in snow having to dig it out!"


I guess I will just keep going into my coop.


You built up a tolerance for Ultram after years of use. I only take it once or twice a month, but I have taken it for 30 years or more. I remember when I first went on it, I would sleep for 3 days straight after a half dose.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

@duluthralphie I also meant to tell you how gorgeous those CX are! 8-13 lb. bird! You must take pride in them! I love that they are so well taken care of too. Raised to use their bodies. Good for you.

 

[duluthralphie]

@duluthralphie I also meant to tell you how gorgeous those CX are! 8-13 lb. bird! You must take pride in them! I love that they are so well taken care of too. Raised to use their bodies. Good for you.

Thanks Bogtown Chick!

They are really fantastic birds. I know the general opinion of them is not very high. They have a reputation for being lazy and dirty. I found that with my first batch of CX's last spring.

When I decided it could be me and not them, partially because of the few souls on BYC that talked about them as if they were real chickens, I changed how I would raise them.

By slowing the growth way down, I eliminated all ascites and leg problems. I did not have one bird die of a heart attack or leg injuries in my second batch.

I am not sure how much they weigh right now, as I have no way to weigh them. I use to put them in a 5 gallon bucket and use a fish de-liar to weigh them. They are too big for the 5 gallon bucket now. When I pick them up, which is not very often, because of fear of them hurting themselves by thrashing or breaking a leg when I put them down, I think they are over 20 lbs, but that is just a guess.

They are active, not as active as the other birds but active. I will be forcing them to free range when spring comes. They will get active or starve. They go outside everyday. I feed them a little wild bird seed or Sunflower seed as a treat daily.

I put the treats closer to their coop than the other birds coop, it brings the other birds up to visit them daily. They mingle right with the turkeys and chickens. They live in the building that houses the guinea gulag.


I love their personalities, a word not used with CX's often. They are friendly, a little shy, with people and animals. I wish I could just cuddle them, but they are too big for cuddling. I make popcorn for them and they gobble it up, it is their special treat. I call them my Chubbies or the babies, as does my DW.

I kept them to see if I could breed them and get little CX's, I was told by someone on BYC that I am not allowed to call any chicks I might get CX's because that was a copyrighted name or breed or something. Oh, and they were not CX's. I never understood that. I mean if a Swede/German marries a Swede/German and has a kid it is of Swede/German heritage and not Russian. If the CX's have chicks I am sure not going to call them Rhode Island Reds.

Anyways to placate him, I decided to call any potential chicks Frogs. I am patiently awaiting Frog eggs as we speak.

WOW , I rambled way too much this morning, It happens when you get old.
Thanks for the compliment on my birds,,

 

[bantiesrule]

OH NO!!! You can't call them frog eggs, frog eggs is already taken and probably copyrighted also. You will just HAVE to think of something else. Lets see, maybe....horse eggs?....goat eggs?....dog eggs?....or maybe something more exotic...zebra eggs?....tiger eggs?....giraffe eggs?...I KNOW, I KNOW!!! ELEPHANT EGGS!!!!!!

 

[duluthralphie]

OH NO!!! You can't call them frog eggs, frog eggs is already taken and probably copyrighted also. You will just HAVE to think of something else. Lets see, maybe....horse eggs?....goat eggs?....dog eggs?....or maybe something more exotic...zebra eggs?....tiger eggs?....giraffe eggs?...I KNOW, I KNOW!!! ELEPHANT EGGS!!!!!!

 

[Rhetts]

OH NO!!! You can't call them frog eggs, frog eggs is already taken and probably copyrighted also. You will just HAVE to think of something else. Lets see, maybe....horse eggs?....goat eggs?....dog eggs?....or maybe something more exotic...zebra eggs?....tiger eggs?....giraffe eggs?...I KNOW, I KNOW!!! ELEPHANT EGGS!!!!!!

Funny!

But seriously, why can't you call them a CX cross. That is what they are. That is the breed of the chicken, isn't it?

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Ralphie: I love how you talk about your Meat babies. I love talking chicken myself...so your "ramble" was just a short bit of chicken chat for me. HAHAHA

I suppose when we think of those kinds of chickens we think of them as the under-dog of the chicken world. And sometimes you just gotta root or help out the under dogs. It feels good to "correct" something I think. It's all good and I think we all feel good that those birds are being shown a different way to grow despite their original body design has a tendency for. Gotta love it.