***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[SharkmanDan]

Last night, I spoke with all of the neighbors whom I suspected of owning these chickens (I did not talk to the neighbor across the creek, as I don't believe these birds are crossing the creek, and that house is in the opposite direction, from the end of the property, where I see these birds) and nobody laid claim. I went around dusk, hoping that I might see them at their home. No luck. Nobody is laying claim to them.
With the two orange ones looking so rooster-ish, I'm wondering if someone just got a couple of roos, in their purchase from Atwood's or Tractor Supply, and once discovered, they just turned them out? But, that doesn't explain why the Basque hen is hanging out with them, pretty much full time.
Today, I'm going to go talk to the neighbor, across the creek, and see if he knows anything. I doubt that they are his. He keeps his birds under lockdown, in a completely enclosed pen/coop. But, I'm hoping he'll know something. They are beautiful birds. I don't want them to become coyote food. But, I wouldn't mind having them for dinner, myself.
I'll report back, my findings.

Oh, and BTW @Kyzmette, I went out there this morning, and tried to tell them, but, they ran off. They must think I'm a bible thumper.

 

[Poco Pollo]

God doesn't make mistakes, so you march out there and tell them you'll love them no matter what! For eggs or for soup.

I woke up this morning to find sweet little Juliette had passed over the chicken bridge. I knew it was coming because she hadn't been eating and she was losing feathers. She had finally been taking on more adult qualities and I was afraid she wouldn't survive laying, so I'm thinking that maybe her body had reached a point where it was time for her to let go. Stubborn little girl, she surprised me with her resilience, and I'll miss her sweet demeanor.

I have six jumbo eggs in the bator. I had put them in there so Juliette would hopefully have babies to cuddle, since that always seemed to make her happy. Lord knows I didn't want chicks inside over the winter, but for Juliette I was making an exception. Odd thing is, my laying CL, Lena, hadn't laid an egg in a month until three days ago, and on a whim I popped it in the bator with the others. If I get a little girl out of it I'll name her Julie.

Had to edit to say that when I went out to feed the flock, I found a Lena egg on the floor of the coop. She never lays in the coop, and it wasn't there last night so she had to have gotten up first thing this morning to lay it. I thanked her for what was an amazingly touching present. And yes, it went into the bator too. I'm such a sentimental dork.

Sorry you lost your Juliette. Sounds like it was her time to go. I'm incubating courtnix quail eggs right now. I looked at pickled egg recipes with MIL yesterday. I think the next big batch of eggs will be eaten rather than set. I don't have quail racks for the incubator, so I'm turning those tiny eggs by hand. BTW, sentimental dorks are the best. They laugh and cry at inappropriate times because they love so much. We sentimental dorks need to stick together.

Last night, I spoke with all of the neighbors whom I suspected of owning these chickens (I did not talk to the neighbor across the creek, as I don't believe these birds are crossing the creek, and that house is in the opposite direction, from the end of the property, where I see these birds) and nobody laid claim. I went around dusk, hoping that I might see them at their home. No luck. Nobody is laying claim to them.
With the two orange ones looking so rooster-ish, I'm wondering if someone just got a couple of roos, in their purchase from Atwood's or Tractor Supply, and once discovered, they just turned them out? But, that doesn't explain why the Basque hen is hanging out with them, pretty much full time.
Today, I'm going to go talk to the neighbor, across the creek, and see if he knows anything. I doubt that they are his. He keeps his birds under lockdown, in a completely enclosed pen/coop. But, I'm hoping he'll know something. They are beautiful birds. I don't want them to become coyote food. But, I wouldn't mind having them for dinner, myself.
I'll report back, my findings.

Oh, and BTW @Kyzmette, I went out there this morning, and tried to tell them, but, they ran off. They must think I'm a bible thumper.

Dan - Let us know what the neighbor across the creek says. I'm following your story, and I'm wondering if you have been the target of a chicken dumper. Living off pavement makes us targets for pet abandoners. I've taken puppies, cats, and adult dogs to the pound because some misguided persons thought that farmers want stray animals and are somehow obliged to raise and keep strays. There was a flock of unclaimed guineas roaming our neighbor's place last year, and some bantam roosters were seen for about three days in a field that hasn't been occupied for at least six years. I think the roosters were eaten by coyotes. They must have run out of hiding places on the fourth day.

 

[NanaKat]

I'm incubating courtnix quail eggs right now. I looked at pickled egg recipes with MIL yesterday. I think the next big batch of eggs will be eaten rather than set. I don't have quail racks for the incubator, so I'm turning those tiny eggs by hand. BTW, sentimental dorks are the best. They laugh and cry at inappropriate times because they love so much. We sentimental dorks need to stick together.

Dan - Let us know what the neighbor across the creek says. I'm following your story, and I'm wondering if you have been the target of a chicken dumper. Living off pavement makes us targets for pet abandoners. I've taken puppies, cats, and adult dogs to the pound because some misguided persons thought that farmers want stray animals and are somehow obliged to raise and keep strays. There was a flock of unclaimed guineas roaming our neighbor's place last year, and some bantam roosters were seen for about three days in a field that hasn't been occupied for at least six years. I think the roosters were eaten by coyotes. They must have run out of hiding places on the fourth day.

I stopped incubating the quail because fertility drops in winter. the wild bird in them saves fertility for spring and summer. For pickled eggs, I use the same vinegar mixes as for my pickled beets, pickled okra and my sweet/sour pickle recipes. The family likes the beet and the okra vinegars best.

Dan, I wondered about the chicken dumper too. I wonder if you could use chicken wire to make a temporary enclosure for trapping the birds and then add them to your flock. They probably fly pretty well so that might be difficult....but maybe worth a try.

 

[NanaKat]

Had a rather unusual call last night from a gentleman in Indiana looking for Columbian Wyandotte. And when he mentioned he wanted to try some cross breeding of color varieties, he was extremely interested in the Blue Columbian and the Birchen color patterns. He is willing to drive all the way from Indiana in a few weeks. The Wyandotte Breeders of America Association directory only lists 10 members who have Columbian out of 270 members for 2013.
There haven't been many hatched from my pen this year (2014) so will be picking out the breeders for this season and then may have a few
seconds....
Greenbeetle, I still have you on the list for Columbian Wyandotte.

Hey DGibson...Roger said this would be good day to burn those brush piles....of course, he isn't getting up out of his recliner.

 

[Poco Pollo]

I stopped incubating the quail because fertility drops in winter. the wild bird in them saves fertility for spring and summer. For pickled eggs, I use the same vinegar mixes as for my pickled beets, pickled okra and my sweet/sour pickle recipes. The family likes the beet and the okra vinegars best.

Dan, I wondered about the chicken dumper too. I wonder if you could use chicken wire to make a temporary enclosure for trapping the birds and then add them to your flock. They probably fly pretty well so that might be difficult....but maybe worth a try.

Thanks for the input on the quail. I have seen so much "activity" in my quail pen that I thought it worth the time to incubate. If I have low fertility in this hatch, I'll wait until February to try again.

Beet and okra vinegars sound delicious. I'll ask hubby if he has a preference before I do the first batch. I'm collecting about ten eggs each day, so I should have enough in a couple of days to try pickling.

My black-tailed buff Marans have started laying again. Their eggs are a dark, dark brown. Almost too pretty to eat!

 

[SharkmanDan]

Poco and Nana,
I've been thinking along those lines, all along. I hadn't exactly come up with that scenario, in my mind, but, it is entirely plausible.
All along, I was thinking that either they were someone's escapees, or, they just ran away from someone's total free range flock, to form their own small flock, or, someone just turned some of them out, because for whatever reason, they were undesirable. And, maybe, then, they "hooked up" with a stray, of sorts.
It's amazing, because I keep trying to think of scenarios, which would be reason for these beautiful birds, to be roaming so freely. And every time I talk, or converse, with other chicken folk, I get another scenario, suggested, that I never thought of.
They are gorgeous birds. They show ZERO tendency towards aggressiveness. And they appear healthy. I mean, I haven't been able to get up close enough to examine them, but there is nothing obvious about them, that says they are in failing health.
I really hope that I can ethically add them to my flock (though the one that I am fairly sure is a rooster, will likely become chicken soup), but, I don't want to be a bad neighbor.

One more question, for you more experienced folks.
Barnevelders. I read that they are supposed to lay very dark eggs, nearly like Marans. I have two, and when they were laying, before they went into molt, their eggs seemed to be much lighter in color than my RIR's. Would this be normal? Or, would they likely be more cross breeds?
I got them just for egg production, and in season, they produce, just fine. They just aren't very dark, and that makes me curious.

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

@Poco Pollo, those eggs are beautiful!

My Tolbunt Polish hopes are a bust. Egg-wise, I ended up with three. Plus he sent me 2 Silkie, 2 Breda, and a Barnevelder. Oddly (haha), all the eggs are developing EXCEPT the Polish. I let him know but don't expect anything...such is mail-order. I am having a difficult time getting my crazy chickens!

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

Poco and Nana,
I've been thinking along those lines, all along. I hadn't exactly come up with that scenario, in my mind, but, it is entirely plausible.
All along, I was thinking that either they were someone's escapees, or, they just ran away from someone's total free range flock, to form their own small flock, or, someone just turned some of them out, because for whatever reason, they were undesirable. And, maybe, then, they "hooked up" with a stray, of sorts.
It's amazing, because I keep trying to think of scenarios, which would be reason for these beautiful birds, to be roaming so freely. And every time I talk, or converse, with other chicken folk, I get another scenario, suggested, that I never thought of.
They are gorgeous birds. They show ZERO tendency towards aggressiveness. And they appear healthy. I mean, I haven't been able to get up close enough to examine them, but there is nothing obvious about them, that says they are in failing health.
I really hope that I can ethically add them to my flock (though the one that I am fairly sure is a rooster, will likely become chicken soup), but, I don't want to be a bad neighbor.

One more question, for you more experienced folks.
Barnevelders. I read that they are supposed to lay very dark eggs, nearly like Marans. I have two, and when they were laying, before they went into molt, their eggs seemed to be much lighter in color than my RIR's. Would this be normal? Or, would they likely be more cross breeds?
I got them just for egg production, and in season, they produce, just fine. They just aren't very dark, and that makes me curious.

I don't have many Barnies, but the ones I do have lay eggs VERY similar to my Blue Marans (but nowhere close to poco's above). I'll snap a pic when I get a chance. They have lots of dark speckles...very pretty. Some Barnies don't lay that dark though. Yours could very easily be pure.

 

[SharkmanDan]

It's not like I'm real concerned, about it. I'm not trying to breed them, or anything. They are just two more of my egg producing hens. But, in looking at the Henderson's Handy Dandy Chicken Chart, I see that they say Barnevelders lay very dark brown eggs. Last summer, and into the fall, before egg production really dropped off, I was getting, some days, 15 eggs, out of 16 chickens, and I was not sure that the Frizzle was yet laying. None of the eggs, were any darker, than the medium brown eggs from my Red Comet hybrids. And, those are not very dark, just the darkest that any of my hens lay. It just seemed an oddity, and I thought I'd ask.
For the record, here are the most recent eggs, from the three breeds I mentioned.

There are lighter brown ones, that come from my Australorp's, and the brown leghorns, lay white eggs, when they're laying. Then, the Dominique, lays a pinkish light brown egg, that is more oval, than egg shaped. I have not yet gotten an egg, out of my Delawares, Jersey Giants, Black Sex Links, EE, Polish, or Sussex. They were just getting to that age, that I thought I might start getting eggs, when nearly the entire flock simply stopped laying (molt, winter, etc.)

Right now, I'm only averaging about 8 eggs a week, out of 33 girls. I'm getting one a week, from one of the Barnevelders (the other is in full molt), and one every other day, from each of two birds, one Comet and one RIR. The only girl, that I've raised from day old, that has been producing, at all, is that RIR, Lil' Red. Occasionally, one of the other 4 RIR's will lay an egg, but, right now, that's rare.
I knew that production would slow down in winter, and I didn't help much, by taking them off the 20% Egg Maker, early in fall, and putting them on a more "free range" diet, with some supplemental 16%. But, now, that I see quite a few of them in full molt, I put them back, primarily on 20%, for the extra protein they need, for re-feathering. Yet, none of the pullets have started laying, except Lil' Red. And, none of the mature gals, are laying, except the one Comet, and one Barney. Neither of them is laying nearly what they did, in the summer months. But, I guess it will only be another couple of months, before I see production pick back up, some.

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

Lovely eggs!

What I believe to be my Barnevelders (one is a pullet egg). I don't have a RIR or Comet to compare to.

My Barnevelder pullet egg next to my Blue Marans and then Black Copper Marans eggs. They are all a little lighter than at the beginning of their laying season.

I find the speckles beautiful and will attempt to breed for the darker egg, but lacing will be first and foremost.