Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

They are both extreme. The big one is very big like a jumbo size and the little one is about 1 inch tall. I figured the little egg is a pullet just starting to lay. These first eggs have been very small and very slowly getting larger. The big one in the picture is the biggest by a long shot!

@NikonD2xer I missed your recipe conversion!! I could have used it too. I miscalculated and ended up not making enough liquid.

Here are the fruits (veggies) of my labor:

I'm with you on the beets. Hate them. Hubby likes them. He likes all the umami tasting stuff.

Pullets can go both ways, sometime huge doubles, other time the tiny fart eggs, but they aren't the only ones. When a hen is going into molt or coming back to laying after a break you can see both extremes. Certain breeds I have never gotten a fart egg from, my New Hampshires have never laid a double yolker. Pullet eggs are just small though, not so much tiny. Now, my bantam pullet eggs are tiny, but they are getting bigger pretty quick compared to the large breeds.

Good job on the canning. It isn't so scary as it once was for me. I also use the pressure cooker quite a bit in the winter and if we are trying to use up some older tough cuts of meat. It works pretty sweet. We are even teaching out 17-year old how to use it. I just hate the steam in the house from doing either one. The old farm house, no ventilation, and only portable a/c units don't draw enough moisture out of the place.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I have a chicken problem.
My Black Sex Link has been laying 8 eggs in a row than skipping a day ever since I got her, last Saturday she didn't lay and egg and hasn't laid one since. I looked all around the run to see if she had a nest hidden somewhere but nothing is there! Any of you guys know what is happening with her?
Also, the other day I got my dog killing three more chickens. She pulled three of the four Cochin chicks I got from Theri

I really liked those guys but at least she didn't kill my favorite one. She has also killed one of my partridge brahmas. I love Rieka (the dog) to bits but she's darn lucky she has a litter of pups coming because I was just about ready to give her a lead injection! The Cochin survivor, named Comet, has become a people chicken. She hates everyone of the chicken except for my new Orpington rooster named Thor ( I love that dude, he's the size of a small turkey!) it's really cute because she sleeps on the floor with him every night. She also LOVES my rabbit and enjoys spending time with him in his playpen on the yard

I am sorry to hear of your losses! You are going to have to do something so that dog and her puppies can't get to your birds quick or you may lose them all once puppies discover the fun of chasing chickens, if the momma doesn't decide she liked what she tasted and takes them out before she whelps. I hope she doesn't bother Comet. I know how much you were looking forward to getting those birds when you picked them up.

As for your BSL, it has been hot, and I am getting half as many eggs as I was before the heat rolled in, but she still could be hiding her eggs, so I would keep looking and watch her. Do you know what time of day she lays? If so, go watch her about then and see where she goes. They can hide them in a tuft of grass along a fence and you can miss them until you are running them over with the lawn mower

 

[Wild Child]

I am sorry to hear of your losses!  You are going to have to do something so that dog and her puppies can't get to your birds quick or you may lose them all once puppies discover the fun of chasing chickens, if the momma doesn't decide she liked what she tasted and takes them out before she whelps.  I hope she doesn't bother Comet.  I know how much you were looking forward to getting those birds when you picked them up.  


As for your BSL, it has been hot, and I am getting half as many eggs as I was before the heat rolled in, but she still could be hiding her eggs, so I would keep looking and watch her.  Do you know what time of day she lays?  If so, go watch her about then and see where she goes.  They can hide them in a tuft of grass along a fence and you can miss them until you are running them over with the lawn mower


 

I just put chicken wire all around the bottom of every one of my runs with about 6 inches going across the ground to help prevent predators from digging in. I just found some coon tracks about twenty feet away from my coop so I think it's about time I go coon hunting Before I had chickens there was a really bad problem with coyotes in our area. They killed a lot of our cats, peoples chickens, calves, sheep, deer ( we went from seeing enormous herds to two or three at a time and even a couple really large dogs! My grandpa, a buddy of his, and I built about seven different coyote blinds on the edges of fields; the one on our property is on thick wooden poles about twenty feet in the air so we can see them from far away. We only hunt in the winter by collecting road kill deer and putting them on baits. It's surprisingly bright on a clear winter night and you can easily see the silhouette of a coyote to get a good shot. The first year we hunted seventy five seventy six coyotes ( we keep a record, I just have know idea where that record book went!) the next we got about forty or so and this last winter we got about twenty. We have only lost one cat since and there's been few problems with chickens getting killed by coyotes in our area now I think Rieka (the dog) doesn't really like the chickens because She wasn't raised around chickens when she was a pup. Our Great Pyrenees/ Newfoundland who fathered the pups before running of and getting shot by someone was raised on a farm with sheep and chickens and absolutely loved them! He would come with me when I put them in for the night and they would all crowd around him. I had started keeping a record when I first got her of when my chickens lay there eggs and she lays one at at about 12:30 so I'll have to go watch her to see what she's doing. I'll stop rambling now

 

[Bogtown Chick]

We were off the grid there for a few days using the RV at a Family Reunion. We left Friday and back today. ...oorrr I guess yesterday. Sheesh I'm up early in the morning. I'll need a nap soon before I go to work. Such a smart move on my part. Sadie Mae loved camping with us and she was soooo GOOD! After getting reprimanded by the Vet Tech on Thursday when she got her shots on how "Bitey" she was...I was concerned about deflated tubes and floaties and chewed through ski roaps...etc etc. Well she had a small partner in crime in the form of a 2 year old beagle mix. That dog saved the weekend. They were both whipped by the end of the day and nothing but an inexpensive innertube from the dollar store was given a toothy laceration. Oh and at the Vet we received good news that her Puppy Heart Murmur resolved. Praise heaven! She'll be able to hunt at will and without having to worry.

Welcome back from the Fair @holm25 my cousin's kids show cattle.

@Rhetts. Grats on Ducky doodles there. He/She is a sweetie!

Boy we sure have a lot of new Redneck club entries and applicants. I think it's fair to say that the majority are pretty darn redneck. GoFeedTheGirls I think you Ralphie and Cyrus could have your own side club. The Tannerite sure does turn grown men into little boys. Hubby loves that crap. Gets sorta giggly when he talks tannerite stories.

I have an excellent recipe for Russian Dills. They are soooooo good. They are sweet but not syrupy, they have a perfect dill pickle tang, garlic savoriness and a hint of spicy from a bit of jalepeno. And they are deliciously accompanied with pickled onion around them. Mmmmm.... MIL has a good batch she is sharing with me as my garden is a bust this year due to Blue Jays eating seeds just prior to germination and a rabbit devouring my beans and goodness knows what else that I can't see because the weeds are 3 feet high.... due to saying "screw" it when I saw the bunny raid on my beans and peas. Let it be known those weren't my exact words. I do see some decent potato plants in there though... among the 3 plants of corn.

Welcome @Coffee 1st . Thanks for sharing your story and coop photos. And of course shiney green machine picture. A thing of beauty. May I suggest some birds from a breeder such as Minnie...just to get yourself off on the right foot. Hatchery birds may not give you the longevity you might be looking for in laying and such. Her birds are large, beautiful conformation and she has a nice selection that will give you a fun egg carton. Starting in the spring is a good plan as warmer days are good for bringing up chicks.

I need some chicken time down at the coop. 3 day weekends away I always feel like they are neglected and such. I've been tossing around the idea of getting some fluff baths in for the girls and Tootsie. And Lucy is still battling a bit of bumble foot on her toe. I've given her a couple clean outs but that toe remains larger looking. Dang it....

Best way to break a broody BA is to put her in a wire cage in the garage with no bedding materials and lights on in the garage all night. Lots of treats and poop clean outs on the bare kennel floor. Usually took my BA 2-3 days to break. My silkie on the other hand...ugh....

. I just let her set. She breaks herself. nut can. She serves a purpose though I tell myself...

What else.... sorry for the recent pred raids Wild Child and ejb. shucks. I've had a large Turkey vulture circling Tootsie and the girls lately. I'm not sure I like that bird.

I'm thinking when fall hits, black flies go away and mosquitos too.... I'm going to redo my nest box opening to the coop so the side drops down instead of lifting up a lid. That think is heavy and nasty and the boxes are hard to clean out. I'll sawz-all out the frame work that would block an easy clean out as well. It's going to be a bigger project and I hope I can do a good job of it and not screw it up. I actually need to repaint my door too and work on the run's chicken wire and add hard ware cloth. The coop needs a good going over and tidying as well this fall.

Well time for my nap.. TTYL...

 

[duluthralphie]

Tannerite is great! The only thing wrong with it, is it is not homemade. Just think how great life would be if we could make tannerite out of a few simply household cleaners or something!

I have given up on the BA broody. The BA that hatched the guineas wanted out and away from her chicks last week. Who can blame her, being locked in a run with 9 of her own keets, 7 older keets and one cute little creamette. I put the other BA ( the one that wants to be broody) in with all the keets. The pen adjoins the run for the CX's. The BA has taken to mothering the keets and the CX's. When I put the CX's away last night, they were not ready for bed and were running all over the run. I had to run them down and carry them back to the tractor/brooder. The would cry when picked up and the BA was going nuts on her side of the fence. She was all puffy, wings out and jumping at the fence. My DW refused to leave the little creamette in with the keets. She said it would become demented if it stayed with them any longer. She put it into a brooder that has mixed keets and chicks.

The broody BA should be ready to give up being broody in a day or two of living with the keets. Of coure, she could come out demented.

Wild Child, I am afraid you might end up having to get rid of the chickens or the dog, it does not sound like the two can co-exist. I would try an electronic collar (both zapper type and fence type) to try and change the dogs behavior, BUT will you really ever be able to trust her with the chickens. I suppose I could send my dogs over to teach yours about the tasty treats the chickens drop all over the yard if they are not chased..... OR you could go to the muzzle like I use. I do not use the muzzle to stop chicken chasing, but to limit poop eating. However, they have found if they push the muzzle into the poop it oozes through and they can lick it off the inside of the muzzle.... dang smart dogs!



I ordered these off Amazon, I could not find them in any of the stores.. good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[KlopKlop]

My dogs love to eat chicken poop too! They beg to come with me when I move the tractors because they leave behind small buffets!
I just make sure they aren't trying to lick me after that haha

 

[Minniechickmama]

I just put chicken wire all around the bottom of every one of my runs with about 6 inches going across the ground to help prevent predators from digging in. I just found some coon tracks about twenty feet away from my coop so I think it's about time I go coon hunting

Before I had chickens there was a really bad problem with coyotes in our area. They killed a lot of our cats, peoples chickens, calves, sheep, deer ( we went from seeing enormous herds to two or three at a time and even a couple really large dogs! My grandpa, a buddy of his, and I built about seven different coyote blinds on the edges of fields; the one on our property is on thick wooden poles about twenty feet in the air so we can see them from far away. We only hunt in the winter by collecting road kill deer and putting them on baits. It's surprisingly bright on a clear winter night and you can easily see the silhouette of a coyote to get a good shot. The first year we hunted seventy five seventy six coyotes ( we keep a record, I just have know idea where that record book went!) the next we got about forty or so and this last winter we got about twenty. We have only lost one cat since and there's been few problems with chickens getting killed by coyotes in our area now I think Rieka (the dog) doesn't really like the chickens because She wasn't raised around chickens when she was a pup. Our Great Pyrenees/ Newfoundland who fathered the pups before running of and getting shot by someone was raised on a farm with sheep and chickens and absolutely loved them! He would come with me when I put them in for the night and they would all crowd around him. I had started keeping a record when I first got her of when my chickens lay there eggs and she lays one at at about 12:30 so I'll have to go watch her to see what she's doing. I'll stop rambling now

Sounds like you have a good bonding experience with your grandpa, and that is great. Yotes in the area, not so great. You are bringing their numbers down, but you will never see the end of them. I think they have a right to be on the Earth, I just don't like that they take out so many livestock.

I want to point out 1 thing with your set up, coon and other critters CAN chew through chicken wire. If you can manage it, the better thing to lay down on the bottom two feet and laying out like you did with the chicken wire, is 1/2" hardware cloth. The wire is heavier gauge and it is not as easy for them to pull apart by scratching at it or biting at it. For my big coop, I attached it to the bottom edge of the frame and buried it 1-foot down 2-feet out from the building. Mice can't even get through it, they get stuck once their heads are in. However, mice find other ways to get into the coop, like the chicken doors to the runs. But hardware does keep things out pretty well. I had woodchucks trying to dig under and that hardware cloth stopped them.

That is the thing I hear about the Pyrennes, they like to wander. That is too bad. Maybe one of your pups could be a guardian dog if the good blood ran through him, but I don't know as I would take a chance. However, with the predators you are dealing with, you might consider a good LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog). If I didn't already have 3 big dogs to feed at the house, I would get one.

 

[Rhetts]

Minnie-what is a LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog)?

 

[holm25]

Well I don't have pics of my show but I do have some from before that I didn't know were taken. Now if they onpy got pics of me riding her....

A kids gotta rest from all his walking at some point.

 

[holm25]

Minnie-what is a [COLOR=333333] LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog)?[/COLOR]

Like an Anatolian or Great Pyrenees.