***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[old*cowboy]

I'll be at Blanchard tomorrow also, I had several things I was going to take but considering the weather I'm gonna scale back a tad LOL

So what all are you selling?

 

[Buster52]

Hi Buster

Hey, Cowboy.

 

[Poco Pollo]

Duck question, I found a nest with 5 eggs in it and removed them, the next day found another and she hasn't laid in it since, Will taking the eggs cause the duck to find a new nest or has she maybe taken a break, I found another nest with 5 eggs in it I don't know if it's the same hen or another one, The first one I found is one of the Pekin hens I got from Coral not sure who is laying in the other nest.

Do you have any dummy eggs? I leave a couple painted plaster eggs in each nest, and my hens have quit laying in the yard. It's nice to collect clean eggs from just one place in each pen. If you have some plaster of paris, you can make your own. All you need to do is blow out half a dozen duck eggs, put a piece of tape over the hole in the pointy ends, and pour plaster into the big ends. The plaster will settle a little, so you can top off your eggs to make them rounder. You can also shave or sand down the ends after you take the shells off. I paint mine with non-toxic latex paint, three coats, and they last a long time. The ducks don't seem to be able to tell the fake from the real eggs. If you have any trouble telling, you can always mark your fake eggs and put the mark down into the nest so the hens won't see it. I tried plastic Easter Eggs, but the hens weren't fooled.

Edited to add: I did leave the shell on one, sealed the holes with wax, and painted the shell. The shell separated from the plaster as the plaster shrunk a little, and it cracked in several places.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

Quote:
I actually put a plastic Easter egg in the nest but it's blue not white, don't know if that would matter really, I know it don't with the chickens, I really don't want the duck to use this nest for setting on any eggs it's barely above water level next to the pond so if I get much rain it will drown the nest anyway, I just wonder if taking then eggs made her abandon it, if that's the case I will leave the other nest alone, I did take the eggs out of it since the temp is supposed to get so low tonight, that brings up another question LOL Will the cold hurt the duck eggs? so far all of the ones I gathered that I broke in a skillet were all good and didn't look like they had been frozen..

 

[NanaKat]

Wow...everyone has been busy today on the site!

Babysat the two youngest grandsons today for a few hours so daughter could meet with the home builder to finalize the flooring and paint on the new house. She also got some free time to meet with a few friends for a birthday luncheon. Those little boys are on the go all the time!

Ginger is on a roll...she laid her third egg!

 

[nnbreeder]

I have a question on the lice and mite issue. If a person wanted to stay all natural or organic lets say. What measures do you recommend then?

My first try would be a spray of soapy water. The soap is an emulsifier which makes water wetter. It will allow the water to not form droplets on the bugs and essentially they drown because they can't shed the water, or breathe.

Garlic spray would also be a good premise spray as would Bordeaux mix for the outside of the chicken area.

Here are some more ideas that can be applied to the area around the birds.

http://esperanceholisticfarm.com/?q=node/28

I have a friend down South that uses red Cayenne peppers finely ground for worm control. Birds don't have the receptors for hot in their mouths and ya'll know how they like red. just sprinkle a little over their feed weekly. He butchers a few birds every now and then and is curious enough to go looking for worms and swears he has never found any.

The best defense against the Northern Fowl Mite is caulking and glue. Glue all joints when building a coop or nest boxes or whatever and in older construction caulk all cracks. These mites are the most common and will come out at night to feed and then either drop down into the bedding or go back into a crack after taking a blood meal. The Northerns are tiny and hard to see, they are actually nearly clear until they feed and then they are red.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

Quote:
A couple of buck rabbits and some odd things I need to be rid of not sure what all I will load up I have to leave room for feed that I'm picking up on the way to the sale,

Quote:
I've been using the plastic Easter eggs for a long time they may not fool the hens but they haven't complained really, the thing that they have fooled has been a few rat snakes and bull snakes I wouldn't have thought that they would have eaten so many but I've lost several and recovered a few, just a couple months ago I found where a snake had spit one out on the far side of the pond LOL I may try the plaster of paris that would be easy enough, I have golf balls in the nest boxes in my BO pen so far the snakes haven't eaten any of those LOL

 

[nnbreeder]

Duck question, I found a nest with 5 eggs in it and removed them, the next day found another and she hasn't laid in it since, Will taking the eggs cause the duck to find a new nest or has she maybe taken a break, I found another nest with 5 eggs in it I don't know if it's the same hen or another one, The first one I found is one of the Pekin hens I got from Coral not sure who is laying in the other nest.

The Pekins that we had would lay nearly as good as the Campbells but they did lay a clutch and then take a break, did it all summer long.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

Coral, How hard would it be to make ceramic eggs and fire them in the kiln?
I wouldn't think it would take much clay if you made them hollow

 

[mjgigax]

Coral, How hard would it be to make ceramic eggs and fire them in the kiln?
I wouldn't think it would take much clay if you made them hollow

If I remember right from my ceramics classes, they would have to be hollow and have a small hole in them or they would blow up in the kiln.