***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[GaryDean26]

I have 2 cream Legbar hens from Rhinda that are sisters and 2 cream Legbar hens from another breeder. I can definatly see a difference in color on the hens. The two from Rhinda are cream but the two others look to be gold. So I think the gold two are laying the blue eggs. Now that I know the standard says blue or green it is ok though right?

Yep!

Standard says blue or green yes. Most breeders are breeding towards blue though even though green is acceptable. Just a personal preference.

Yep!..Lonnyandrinda.

 

[NanaKat]

Hubby and I just finished putting up 24 pints of pickled okra....so easy and the whole family loves the recipe.
For those of you with a garden. this would be a way to use up some of that late season okra when like us, you already have several bags of cut okra in the freezer.

Pickled Okra
6 pint jars with lids....I like the wide mouth so much easier to pack. Wash and let dry upside down on a clean cloth.

In each jar:
1 clove garlic
1 tsp dill seed
1 hot pepper...I use Jalepeno and split them lengthwise using 1/2 in each jar
1 Tbs fine chopped onion

Pack firmly with clean young okra trimmed close. I trim off the stem end so you can eat the whole thing. I like 2.5 - 3.5 inch okra and can get about 20 -25 in a jar.

Heat your lids in a pan covering the lids with water

Brine: Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 3 minutes
1 qt (4 cups) apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup canning salt (no iodine)

Pour the brine while hot over the okra filling each jar to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe the rim dry with a paper towel and immediately seal with a hot rim and lid.

There is enough vinegar acid and salt to preserve these pickles without having to waterbath.
You can waterbath for 5 minutes from point of boil, but you will lose the characteristic crispness of pickled okra.

 

[Ironsights]

There is little fighting if they are raised together...I pull juveniles at about 5 months to pen until I either freezer camp or select for breeders. They are not yet teenage boys so only an occasional face to face challenge as the hormones kick in.
Now in the pen of older cocks that get housed together when I break up the breed pens...there are a few scuffles. I pull all cocks at night and coop them in a pen that did not belong to any of them...no ownership makes the transition easier. I move them in the late evening by putting two birds at a time into a 18 X 24 cage. Then move the cages to the pen and release them quickly. They are unsettled but less likely to pick on each other. Because it is late, they settle down for the night. I keep an eye on them the next day. So far there haven't been serious challenges.

I'm on an egg list for next spring for Malines and Cuckoo Breda. These will be the most exotic I've gone. Fortunately I have room for extra pens.

I have the room but not the energy. Guess it's the hangin' tree (not literally, disclaimer for PETA) but

) for all the extras.

 

[NanaKat]

I like that!

 

[Loriemarler]

I have an evil hen. She has been broody all summer. At first I just took the eggs and she sat in an empty nestbox. Then I gave her eggs to hatch. None hatched. I got her eggs again and this time she abandoned the nest on hatch day when the first egg pipped. I found the eggs cold and hen nowhere to be found. I put the eggs in the incubator and miraculously the cold pipped egg hatched. Four of the 6 eggs hatched. The hen returned to the empty nest and continued sitting on nothing. I tried sneaking the chicks under the hen in the dark but she attacked them. I think she is possessed. She is definitely testing my patience. No eggs all summer, won't hatch eggs, and attacks chicks. Did I say she attacks my hand when I try to get the days eggs? Evil is what she is!!!

 

[RnRRidgerunner]

I have an evil hen. She has been broody all summer. At first I just took the eggs and she sat in an empty nestbox. Then I gave her eggs to hatch. None hatched. I got her eggs again and this time she abandoned the nest on hatch day when the first egg pipped. I found the eggs cold and hen nowhere to be found. I put the eggs in the incubator and miraculously the cold pipped egg hatched. Four of the 6 eggs hatched. The hen returned to the empty nest and continued sitting on nothing. I tried sneaking the chicks under the hen in the dark but she attacked them. I think she is possessed. She is definitely testing my patience. No eggs all summer, won't hatch eggs, and attacks chicks. Did I say she attacks my hand when I try to get the days eggs? Evil is what she is!!!

If you do not want her to be broody you can try what worked for me. I had a young hen that went broody and wanted to just sit on the eggs the other four hens laid. I followed the advice of BYC and borrowed a small dog cage which has large openings between the wire squares.
I then fashioned a piece of plywood which I covered with PVC sheet and stapled it on the bottom so it was a smooth clean bottom that she would stand on and the poop could be removed easily to keep it and her clean. I removed her from the coop and nest box and put this in my barn which I could close up and keep her safe. She had food and water in with her. NO straw or nesting place. I also left the light on in there she must not be allowed a dark place. After three days I took her back to join the rest of the girls in the run and coop. She was then normal and not broody anymore. It worked. Some people remarked that it could take 4 to 7 days for their hen. Search BYC for how to break a broody hen. She has to get her mind right again. LOL She no longer pecks at me either. She actually follows me around when I am in the run. We are buddies again.

Good luck

 

[RnRRidgerunner]

If that doesn't work you might consider the cooking pot. I had to get rid of my evil Barred Plymouth Rock chicken that was a trouble maker who would literally jump on my three Buff Orphington hens which I had added to the three existing hens. I now have a much more peaceful flock of five. There is just regular pecking order stuff which you just can not get rid of.

 

[artsyrobin]

@Loriemarler best solution i have found for a hen like that- put her in a pen with a young roo- she won't have uninterupted sitting time- proof- your hen i got from you, the white cochin! all summer long, the remedy- Kass's little seabrite! took him 4 days to break her, he isn't mean and actually she can be aggressive, he just keeps giving her treats!

 

[millbrookfarm]

I know I am jumping in mid-thread-stream, but I was wondering if anyone on here has a chicken plucker contraption that I could possibly rent from you to use a day or two in about 7-8 weeks.

I got some chicks with the intention of putting them in the freezer in 7-8 weeks. I thought I would just stage them out over the course of several days, but if I could use it on a weekend and just be done with the whole process, so much the better.

I can meet you anywhere near Tulsa and in fact would consider driving farther if you are my only choice.

Thanks so much, in hopes of not getting this thread off track please PM me.

 

[NanaKat]

I've got a hatch going on...Wyandotte chicks and Coturnix quail are pipped and hatching.