***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[bardies]

Nanakat sounds like your having more problems then me. Ran on generators about 4 days and still have 2+ inches of ice on the ground maybe the coming rain will melt it. Did have a new baby calf and have a little hay being sold.

How's the calf doing?

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Sorry for butting in, how are your girls doing? Mine are not laying and not eating a ton which I assume is normal with the short days. They huddle together quite a bit with the cold in the coop at night. I have straw in there but I wonder if I need to do more. This is their first winter and they are 10months old.

The key for chickens is DRAFT FREE coop with TOP VENTILATION. They poop a lot as they sleep which leaves a lot of moisture in the air. This can lead to frostbite unless the warm moist air can rise and exit the coop at the roof line. If you get those two requirements and your chickens are healthy with plenty of food and water, no need to worry they will be fine.

 

[NanaKat]

.

I thought that most "store bought" eggs were an average on one month old but recently I read that they are actually an average of 45 days old.
I, and my chickens, love yogurt. I would love to make it!

Some store bought eggs are older than 45 days...refrigerated up to six months!

Pm me your email address and I'll send you my yogurt recipe...so simple and so tasty! I use an ice chest to make mine..overnight.

 

[NanaKat]

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts.

Still without the central heat...the circuit board is on order. But we are comfortable.

 

[oldcampcook]

Yogurt in a crock pot (slow cooker) is a snap.

Put in one gallon of milk (I use whole).
Heat to 124°F
Cool to 114F
Add and stir in one cup of regular, plain, unflavored yogurt.
Cover pot with heavy towel and put into oven. (I turn on the light in the oven. If you have a pilot light, that is warm enough).
Leave overnight.

I freeze two one cup portions to use for next batches.
I mix the yogurt with oatmeal for my chickens.
The remainder can be frozen.

 

[TTownChics]

The key for chickens is DRAFT FREE coop with TOP VENTILATION.  They poop a lot as they sleep which leaves a lot of moisture in the air.  This can lead to frostbite unless the warm moist air can rise and exit the coop at the roof line.  If you get those two requirements and your chickens are healthy with plenty of food and water, no need to worry they will be fine.

Thanks. They have their pooping spot for sure lol. I think they will be ok but I worry!

 

[allenw]

2 inches! Oh My, that no fun.

Sleet, rain, and snow mixed, now it is just ice. It just seems like it has quit melting, I know it's going slowly.

 

[allenw]

How's the calf doing?

Fine, thanks for asking. She came after the weather had cleared.

 

[GaryDean26]

Yes. I think "Pasture Raised" is the term for true free-range eggs.

These are pasture raised egg at Vital Farm in South Austin. I haven't been to Austin in quite a while but before the AI outbreak they were selling for $7.00/dozen. My understanding though is that Vital Farms is just an egg dealer who set up standards that farms must meet to sell their eggs to Vital Farm. The farmers were paid $3.00 a dozen. The guy that built my chicken mansion had a contract with Vital farms for a year or two but it was too labor intensive to be a good deal for him so he got out. They used flocks of 500 hens and rotated the location of the mobile coops ever 4 weeks.

 

[Matt in Okla]

Sorry for butting in, how are your girls doing? Mine are not laying and not eating a ton which I assume is normal with the short days. They huddle together quite a bit with the cold in the coop at night. I have straw in there but I wonder if I need to do more. This is their first winter and they are 10months old.

The key for chickens is DRAFT FREE coop with TOP VENTILATION.  They poop a lot as they sleep which leaves a lot of moisture in the air.  This can lead to frostbite unless the warm moist air can rise and exit the coop at the roof line.  If you get those two requirements and your chickens are healthy with plenty of food and water, no need to worry they will be fine.

Excellent advice they gave me when I started too. I put a heated waterer in the coop and built a feeder in there too. Constant food n water if it's bad they don't have to go out. I give mine bread, lettuce n scraps in the evening just before bed so they have energy for the cold nights. Its no different than what I do for myself while hunting or training in harsh environments.
I put up some plastic windbreaks so they can get outside n do what chickens do in the day so they don't get cabin fever. Scratch feed makes them happy cause it keeps them busy and out of the wind.
Don't tell the wife but:
Occasionally I might spoil them with crickets or worms from the bait area of wallieworld for a little protein boost.

My egg production has increased the last few weeks.