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MotorcycleChick said:
I have been looking, and cannot find my answer. Penny is a 9 -month -old Columbian Rock Cross. She lays about five days, off one. I have not seen an egg for her in about a week. I considered that she may have taken to laying on the floor (with some of the newbies), but the past 2 days she has been in the nest box. She doesn't seem stressed (struggling) and she comes out within a few minutes of my being in there. No egg. I checked her for being egg bound. Nothing. She is missing some feathers, but it looks like she is being mounted too much. I don't see mites. Could she be thinking of going broody? It is the only thing I have read that is left for an answer. The odd thing being that the most eggs are on the floor in the corner. Wouldn't she be laying there? That is where she (and the hens I had) was laying several months ago before I got new nest boxes (and put them where the 2-month-olds wouldn't be running around!).
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McC... We had a hen that began staying either on the roost through the day or frequently in a nest box and would come out when we were around. Our hen did it that time because one of the Roos was stalking her! Each time the poor girl went out trying to roam with the rest he would jump her. Poor thing would come running/flying full speed to us and take a flying leap into either our arms or to land on our shoulder when he chased her... he ended up in freezer camp and she came out and roamed freely with the rest after that. If she is missing feathers on her back from the roo he may be fixating on her too much and she feels 'safe' in the box. Maybe get her a hen apron to protect her back because it may be tender also...
If it's not rooster induced then I would go with the hormone induced option, she may be 'trying' to go broody and just hasn't committed to it yet.
 
MotorcycleChick said:
Think you can tell me why I keep finding cracked (small cracks, not "someone pecked it" cracks) on the eggs? On the floor, or in the nest. Fresh laid, and a few hours old. It started last week. Could it be that the girls are still learning, and there is too much pressure when they are coming out? No soft shells.
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MC, that is happening to me too! I don't know about yours, but for me it was the eggs were freezing!!
 
wingstone said:
Littlemisspurdy....cabin is not in penn state it is just on this side of the mountain if you know the area it is milroy exit off of 322 ..we are out in the valley just past the state park....takes us about half an hour to get to penn state from the cabin......thru that out there for anyone in this area who would like to go to ag progress, they could always stay at the cabin instead of being on the road all in one day...
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Wing, that is about 40 minutes from us.
 
We had two 9 month olds that began laying and then stopped. We started trying out the fermenting oats with their ration and we started getting eggs again.
I am thinking that different breeds require different rations and it's an experimentation to see what each breed needs. We had various breeds of dairy cattle in the past and you really do have to manage them differently for the breed. Logic tells me chickens would be the same way.
My opinion ( and this is only my opinion) is that layer ration @ 16% is not sufficient for cold weather. Figure that most chicken ration is formulated for mass feeding of leghorns and sexlinks enmasse. Many of us are raising heritage and unique breeds that are many generations closer to free ranging which would give a higher (bug) protein diet. I am big on offering a selection freechoice and watching what they go for. For instance, we mix our own scratch by adding oats, wheat, barley and BOSS and alfalfa to commercial scratch. The oats are the last to be eaten. However, if we ferment the oats, they are GOBBLED up in a frantic hurry. Obviously there is something in that telling the chickens to EAT ME.
The molts are just about over in the big ones and they are looking good. Just about time to dose them with the cayenne.
We also are having a problem in the young marans pen with feather eating. Had to remove the roo because someone was plucking him. We are upping the protein there as much as possible to try and stop the featherplucking. It's a work in progress but we are getting eggs from them at least. DH needs to spend some time this week sitting and observing that pen to see what is going on.
Tuesday he is going to FarmShow for Dairy Day and he will definitely be checking out the chickens, too. Alas, I must be employed.
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He will be the grizzly old geezer making jokes and raising hell.
DD was there today and posted some FB pics for us. I will try to upload for everyone.
 
gotta vent just a little....
went to grocery store today with hubby (grocery shopping is his ) I couldn't believe the things I saw there....6 eggs for $2.59 ( free range my arse ) ......4 very small frozen quail for $12.00......frozen turducken for $70.00.......a very small pack of lamb about the size of a piece of bread for $20.00.....

are people really buying this stuff, or am i just way out of touch with normal people,,,,,have i been growing and raising my own food for so long that I lost track...

i admit that i avoid the grocery store and the little bit of meat that i buy comes from the butcher shop. but really.....
 





These are from my DD today. Her only comment was that the first one was the champion orp. ( She knows we have orps). Not sure why she took turkey pics but they are nice.'many more pics of cows, but i won't post them:)
 

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