NY chicken lover!!!!

[ke5hde]

Progress

Chris

 

[Tough Old Bird]

With all the ne'er do well, scary people talk on this thread, this is probably not the best time to introduce myself (hah!), but I'm in Tully in your neck of the woods, Chris and Lynzi. I'm new to chickens as an adult, but grew up with them on the family farm. Enjoying the experience so far. Our family has experience with and is aware of other livestock theft in our area -- two legged predators are by far my most serious concern at this point.

Hi Overhill, Welcome! I'm your neighbor too! And there's TOB...we're starting to have a stronghold here.

WELCOME TO OUR COOL COOP, OVERHILL !!!

Looking forward to your participation here. It's a great place to learn (and laugh)...

TOB

 

[Tough Old Bird]

Aaahhhhhhhh..... temperature is such a relief! I almost feel like grabbing a sweatshirt.
I discovered bug repellant for myself (natural). One of the creams I make is lavender, and I use essential oil (natural) rather than fragrance oil (synthetic). Lavender is a natural bug repellant, but I've also been reading lately about the vanilla being able to help with flies. So I added a little vanilla extract to my cream. I sat outside last night while the flock free ranged for over an hour. Not only did I smell awesome, I didn't have one bite.
The flock was so happy to go blackberry picking last night.

CP,

where do you get your essential oils? I know that mint extracts also help keep bugs at bay.


TOB

 

[armorfirelady]

I'm curious so you think eucalyptus would work as well as lavender?  I had read eucalypptus was a natural bug deterant

I'm not quite sure about eucalyptus, though LEMON eucalyptus does work (smells very similar to citronella).  Lavender, rosemary, tea tree, peppermint, clove and cassia (cinnamon) are good to use.  You have to be careful with clove and cassia, however, as they can cause burns so you have to use them in VERY small amounts... 1 or 2 drops in a 8 oz bottle of a carrier.  Bugs HATE an ingredient called eugenol (sp?) that is contained in clove and cassia. 
HTH! 

Thank you !!

[COLOR=FF8C00]Helen, my Marans, has laid her 1st egg!!!!!!!!!!![/COLOR] :yiipchick
I found the egg this morning at 8:45 a.m.  It was already cool to the touch.  Is it likely it was laid this morning or yesterday?  We were away for a long weekend, so I'm not sure when it was actually laid.  Helen was the only one not out of the coop this morning, so that's what made me look around when I went in.  Sure enough, EGG!  Anyway, I'm not sure if it's safe to eat it as I don't know when it was laid.   ??

Hope everyone is well.  I will have to catch up on here as time allows!

Thx!


TOB

Def safe to eat. All my collected eggs are in an egg carton on a shelf in my cupboard. I don't put them in the fridge till I have a full dozen. Even when the ps were in the 90s I did this. Eggs were just fine

 

[JLaw]

I understand you dont want him attacking ..anyone
but A Pvc pipe or a stick might kill him if you hit him ...break his neck
How about a garden rake ? you might be able to give him a lift with that .

it would be more for chaseing him and tapping him away not full blown hits. I was thinking a real small one like 1/4in pvc about 3ft long so it will bend also. More for the kids than me I don't want them chaseing him with hands when he goes after them and they couldn't handle a rake too good they would probably trip over it lol. Also thought of one of those big fat red plastic baseball bats but since red might make him come after them. Just figured it was a thin flexable plastic. This is only if he don't straighten up here soon and relax some around the kids and us picking up the hens.

 

[Glasshen]

I have heard that the US is rare in requiring refrigeration for eggs, and it is because they want the commercial eggs washed. I know that my friend who winters in Mexico was surprised to see piles od eggs in cartons piled in rhe aisles in the store, no cooler. Your egg will be fine.

 

[armorfirelady]

I have heard that the US is rare in requiring refrigeration for eggs, and it is because they want the commercial eggs washed. I know that my friend who winters in Mexico was surprised to see piles od eggs in cartons piled in rhe aisles in the store, no cooler. Your egg will be fine.

This was the same in Spain when we were there, I couldn't believe they didn't refrigerate them. I did some info on it and found commercial egg places can store eggs for up to 6 months before they reach your stores shelves !! Yuck!!

 

[JLaw]

I have heard that the US is rare in requiring refrigeration for eggs, and it is because they want the commercial eggs washed. I know that my friend who winters in Mexico was surprised to see piles od eggs in cartons piled in rhe aisles in the store, no cooler. Your egg will be fine.

reading that made me google it and see what all I could find. seems a lot of people don't refridge them just put in basement to keep cooler. I also came across this.

taken from here
http://www.thekitchn.com/is-refrigerating-eggs-necessary-176617
"The question is also connected to the health of egg-laying chicken. The commercial chicken and egg industry in the US, as well as the average US consumer, has accepted a certain level of contamination (such as salmonella) in their chickens and have for the most part responded by super-sanitizing the end product (such as pasteurized eggs) rather than addressing the conditions that cause the contamination in the first place. For many people, the idea of not refrigerating eggs just seems to risky."

I don't know about you but I don't accept that. They should fix the problem not the end product.

 

[Sally8]

After hatching eggs and having hens sit on eggs, if mine are ever in question, I candle them. I'm embarrassed to say this but if I ever crack an egg open and see an eyeball, I might never eat eggs again. Ugh. As far as them sitting in 90 degree temps for a few days, I wouldn't worry at all. Those first eggs are the best. Congratulations!

The magazine that Tractor Supply puts out has an article on eggs and how they should be stored. I had to show that to my son and hubby as both scrub their hand and kitchen raw after touching eggs. I remind them that our chickens are healthy

 

[Lynzi777]

Took some better pictures of the new roo this morning with my good camera instead of my phone. He's enjoying himself in the yard now since he won't stay in that pen.