NY chicken lover!!!!

[Pyxis]

 
You can cut out that black copper hen I saw inn your photo if you aren't breeding them. Her eggs will muck up your breeding program for Birchens.

Yes this is true.  I have a couple of them now that you mention it. 

How's their egg color? If you wanted to hang on to them I'm passing your way towards the end of April and I'd take them off your hands for my BBS flock.

 

[Pyxis]

Driving home tonight was fun. Visibility was awful, and I got stuck behind someone on the highway who refused to go faster than 20 mph. Took me over and hour to get home. But I came home to a pip! Little bugger is a day early even though the lightbulb blew in the bator for a couple hours. Also did the first candling on my second batch of sebbie eggs and all are developing!

 

[Nuttyfrom6kids]

Everyone is hatching and I am so itching to get my bators going but my freeloaders are giving me no eggs I actually have to buy store eggs if they don't start laying! I even have about 20 white leghorns I hatched and raised last winter so i can have eggs and they haven't even started to lay yet.

 

[miquwid]

My bunch are not being nice to each other. Many are sporting dark peck marks on their combs, and they have pecked the partridge rock bald. She is looking tufty all over, and they go after her lots. I took her out for a couple of days R and R and good food, but she wanted to go back. Tonight I went to close them up and the roosters comb is bleeding quite a stream. I can tend to his wounds ok, but what is making them be so miserable? Oh, there are lots with bare butts, too. The first one plucked was Earl, then it was the two BO, now three more at least.

sounds like bordem and over crowding probably due to the weather. I ended all winter just putting the food outside forcing them to move around stretch out and that made a big difference. I got one that will hen peck everyone if she isn't moving around. Trying having up food items flock blocks work as well. Good luck

RANCHER

My girls were laying fairly well until a bunch decided to molt. feathers everywhere. So only 1-3 eggs a day right now.

My brabanter will be a year next month and I still haven't seen one egg from her but my leghorn is laying well though. My Jersey Giant and Orp finaly seem like they are growing maybe an egg this spring.

 

[featherz]

My chickens are laying like crazy but I'm having some pecking problems also in one coop. Wish this snow would clear so I could let them out more often - I still don't trust the neighbor dogs so they don't get out as much unless I am home..

I really want to start hatching! =)

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Morning all. Warming up out there already despite last nights sleet and freezing rain. Everyone was jonesing to get out. Checked on broody witchy pants and she got me this morning. Holding tight on her egg though. Looked in the bator and no pips yet. Might take a bit as my bator is running around 99.8 and the humidity is holding at 63 percent. I may candle my silkie eggs tonight to see if anything is developing. I usually wait till day 10 or so but I need to know. Have to finish getting the brooder set up and ready for the fuzzbutts tomorrow.

Sounds like some of you have bored chickens with all the pecking problems. Hang some cabbage, buy some cheap suet blocks, clearance veges and throw them in their run. It will keep them busy and not at each other. Mine have been working at the bones of the turkey carcass I gave them on monday. Not much left of those bones.

Happy first day of spring! Instead of flowers we have snow. Have a good day everyone!

 

[Lynzi777]

Morning!
anyone have any ideas as to what I can do to disperse of some of this mud in my backyard up against the house? It's right in the way of my walk to the chicken coop and driving me crazy.

On another note...I got in touch with the guy who sold me the hatching eggs because they are obviously not silkies by the way their wing tips are coming in. I asked him if he has anything else in his Silkie pen cuz I couldn't remember when I went there that night to get them, he had been keeping a Blue Polish Top Hat (whats the difference between a polish and polish top hat?) in there with them that he didn't think was old enough to be laying. I don't care, I just wanted to let him know so he doesn't continue to sell the eggs as Silkie hatching eggs. I think it'll be neat to see what these three end up growing out like, but I won't be able to use them in my breeding pens obviously. Now I have to decide if I should rehome them now or later....

They're just so cute.

 

[Lapeerian]

Lynzi- try putting a layer of straw or old hay down on your path. What doesn't break down can be raked up later.
I know a farmer in Little York (northern Cortland County) that supplies the local restaurants and stores with cabbage. Talking to him last week it sounded like he would have lots of leftover cabbage after St Pattys. Towards the end of the season he ends up tossing what's left. My brats won't touch cabbage, but maybe other semi-locals would be interested? Not sure if he would have any still at Chickenstock time.

 

[Lynzi777]

Lynzi- try putting a layer of straw or old hay down on your path. What doesn't break down can be raked up later.
I know a farmer in Little York (northern Cortland County) that supplies the local restaurants and stores with cabbage. Talking to him last week it sounded like he would have lots of leftover cabbage after St Pattys. Towards the end of the season he ends up tossing what's left. My brats won't touch cabbage, but maybe other semi-locals would be interested? Not sure if he would have any still at Chickenstock time.

Thought about that. I may ask the guy down the road if he can drop off another bale for me so I don't have to waste the one I just got for the rabbits/chicken coops. I need something to really flatten out the mud yet let the water get to the drain.

 

[AQHAchick22]

Quote:
I'm getting on average 20 eggs a day from 29 hens...it's driving me a little banana's. I don't have the egg customers right now to support that. I donated 6 dozen to a homeless shelter yesterday just to get rid of some that have been sitting around. I'm trying to decide who to get rid of as well and whenever I think I've made up my mind I change it...ugh