NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

My tomatoes stayed green...just starting to get red now. I have to go check on them tomorrow. I had hundreds, perfectly formed, all green. Then they started falling off.

There are some good recipes for green apples that you can can.

 

[Framac]

I am getting NPIP done tomorrow. Is there anything I should be mindful of?

 

[Framac]

OK folks - need a bit of advice here. My ladies are not laying as well as I would expect. The older ladies are now 3 years and the new ones just starting out laying. So is 3 too old for eggs?? They are looking a bit thin - I have never wormed them as I have seen no evidence of worms, I was wondering if they are going to molt early this year. They seem to be in good health, eating/drinking well, no signs of distress or illness. Thoughts please??

If you got a vet clinic near by, take in a fecal sample( i'd call first). I don't know what all of them charge, but if you are loaded and your hens are getting thinner, it could be worms.

 

[rancher hicks]

OK folks - need a bit of advice here. My ladies are not laying as well as I would expect. The older ladies are now 3 years and the new ones just starting out laying. So is 3 too old for eggs?? They are looking a bit thin - I have never wormed them as I have seen no evidence of worms, I was wondering if they are going to molt early this year. They seem to be in good health, eating/drinking well, no signs of distress or illness. Thoughts please??

This is how I see it. Depends on what breeds you have and what lines. Some breeds might let up and at this time of year I'd expect some to do so.

I noticed the BR's aren't the best and one has very yellow legs. Not a good sign. Color fades with laying and one has white legs so she may be the only one of the three. Point being they're nearly four. They may lay but not as much.

Heritage, non hatchery birds need more protein. I usually feed Agway Egg Producer with 18% in colder months and will be switching to that.

I worm twice a year or so. It's wet here and ranged birds eat more grubs and earthworms that may carry bad worms.

Check for mites. I dust every time I clean, and make sure nest boxes get a good dose of DE too.

Wooden roosts are good hiding places for mites. Rub these down with oil or vaseline. Tops and sides mostly. Rub some on all legs and feet. A dry coop is best. If you use deep litter you're more likely to get cooties. IMO.

Stress can kill. Keep your birds calm. Even strangers around can stress birds. Right now I have a squirrel problem. They freak the birds out. I've been setting rat traps around baited with cheese. Of course where the birds can't get to them.

Since your birds are skinny I wouldn't think over weight to be the problem. However, too many treats are NOT good. Scratch and household scraps affect the nutrition in your birds. These are not the wild birds of old. Though I doubt they laid as often as domesticated birds do.

Finally I keep a variety of breeds. Some lay better than others. Production birds are fine as long as you know they won't lay very well after year two.

I've had many breeds. Of those this is the order they laid with Delawares and B. Marans being the best winter and year round layers. Then EE's, RIR's, Orps, BR's, C. Rocks and the occasional frizzle. All non hatchery and acquired from reputable breeders either here or elsewhere.

I keep an mix of young and old birds. Young birds pick up the slack in older girls.

All that said, I've got chicks from Frenchy who laid a few eggs recently and she's six.

Hope some of this helps.

Rancher

 

[marquisella]

I know there are folks on here with silkies sooooo...










Boy or girl? The neighbor gave him to me and said he's a cockerel. He's basing that on comb size. But this bird lacks the streamers that silkie males tend to have. He carries himself more like a hen. And you can't really base sex on comb size, can you?

ETA: I'm really not sure how old this bird is. I *think* he was hatched this spring. But I'll have to ask the neighbor.
:

Its a roo. He has reddish feathers on the wings. Sure sign of a boy. He looks like he is supposed to be a silver partridge but with the red on wings he is not correct. Hens with this color don't have red feathers.

 

[marquisella]

The other thing I came in for was to talk about the price of Egg cartons. OOMMGG!!

I got the ad for one place and their sale price is as much as TSC. What's up with that?

Fact is I ordered from them a while ago and will say, don't order those "break apart" cartons, cuz they're no good. They're seconds of course but just come apart.

Folks wonder why they pay so much for eggs at the market. 50 cents is just for the carton!!

I got free cartons asking for them on Craigs list.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: I just started selling duck eggs at $4 a dozen. I only get 2 a day. It helps pay for feed.

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Its a roo. He has reddish feathers on the wings. Sure sign of a boy. He looks like he is supposed to be a silver partridge but with the red on wings he is not correct. Hens with this color don't have red feathers.

OH, I (respectfully) hope you're wrong, lol! I'll take a closer look tomorrow because I don't recall seeing any reddish color in his/her feathers, and suspect that might be the camera. *hoping*

I checked with the neighbor and the bird is between 4-5 months old. As for what color he's supposed to be, the neighbor had his colors all mixed in the same pen, and I think this is a color cross.

You might remember I posted a picture of a silkie chick a couple of months ago? That silkie has the same coloring as this one.

If this does happen to be a roo, what would account for the lack of streamers on the crown (or whatever the "poof" is called...lol)

 

[marquisella]

Just was out in my garden, the tomatoes are horrible. They fruited nicely, and heavily, then the vines started to yellow, and the leaves are brown and the tomatoes have whit mushy mildew or insect holes or a sort of hard patterned patches on them...yuck. I fell like I should pile them all up, tomatoes and vines in the center of the garden and burn them. 50 plants...

Anyone else ha e trouble with their tomatoes? This garden never had much of anything in it, sunflowers were planted last year but didn't grow. It had been just unused land in the past. It is far from any other gardens.

Some areas had late blight. pull up the plants & put in plastic bags for garbage. Don't burn, it will spread it. Tomato blight comes in on rain. But once in the soil, it stays for several years.

Don't plant in that area for at least 3 y ears. I thought I had blight again this year,last year was a total disaster, but it wasn't. Scared me sh--less. The wet weather is wreaking havoc with the tomatoes this year.

 

[marquisella]

I am getting NPIP done tomorrow. Is there anything I should be mindful of?

I hope you have a helper. What I do is have my husband stay at the table with the tester.( They need a table with electrical outlet and a cup of water)
I go get the bird & bring it to my husband.He has to hold the bird with one wing outstretched so she can stick her needle into the vein for the blood.
While she is doing this, I go & get another bird, then I switch birds with my husband, run to get another bird, bring it back, switch, etc. Doing is this way goes much faster.

I always try to do the testing either in fall or early spring so its not hot outside. Otherwise you will be sweating a lot from summer heat...Not fun.

Otherwise, its a snap. Good luck.