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Wanted to share an interesting tidbit, while moving eggs from the incubator to the hatcher last week, we somehow missed 3 eggs that then sat out on the counter, outside of the incubator, no heat for THREE days before I noticed them. Was pretty bummed, but on a whim, marked them, and set them in the hatcher. ALL 3 hatched. The resilience of chicks amazes me.
 
Ok, at the risk of becoming annoying lol, I have another question... Why are my stinkin' hens (2 in particular) going into the nest boxes and then singing the blasted "egg song" at the top of their not so little chicken lungs, but NOT laying eggs?! This morning was the 3rd time in just under a week and one of our neighbors came over all excited (her grandmother is Amish) saying "You finally got an egg didn't ya?"

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Seriously!! We're almost out of food cuz of course the girls are STARVIN' don't ya know and DH is getting frustrated. I know we have a lot working against us at the moment, but I am not ready to give up no matter what our wallet says *sigh*!!!

I will be a successful backyard chicken farmer, I will, I will, I will!!!

Oh, and can I feed them food for other birds?! My one neighbor has like 6 bird feeders and the ducks from Lititz Springs Park are ALWAYS over here. She has offered us a 10lb bag of her "duck food"... so I'm just wondering.
 
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Katt66 said:
While we're on the subject of treating lice and mites... I get DE powder with permethrin from TSC and powder my guys twice a year. I've done it so far this past fall and early spring anyway. I haven't seen any mites so I'm assuming it's been working. I'm just questioning it now though because I bought my older daughter two old bantam cochin hens last night at the livestock auction at Renninger's. They have mites. I was going to stop at TSC on my way to work today and get my usual powder and dust the whole coop full of birds. But just wanted to run it by you guys first since it's come up in conversation. And see what everybody thinks of the stuff. It's the stuff you can dust plants with as well to keep bugs off of them. I usually pour it into a shallow litter pan and then sort of "dredge" the birds through it like I'm breading pork chops. Sort of put them in there and fluff them down into the powder and sprinkle it over their butts and up under their wings really good. Just looked it up online. This is the stuff I always get for them... http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...ory_rn=&top_category=&urlLangId=&cm_vc=-10005
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I prefer the ivermectin for several reasons. It treats a wide variety of parasites, it doesn't aggravate my asthma, & it's cheaper in the long run because the $15 bottle lasts a very long time...even when you frequently spill it like I do. Plus, no egg withdrawl time. And, it doesn't need repeated in 7-10 days. Treat max of every 30 days, or even just 3-4 times per year wirks well as preventative once parasites are under control.
wingstone said:
a better pic of the unidentified egg
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Looks like Tennessee Red.
 
KlingKlan said:
Ok, at the risk of becoming annoying lol, I have another question... Why are my stinkin' hens (2 in particular) going into the nest boxes and then singing the blasted "egg song" at the top of their not so little chicken lungs, but NOT laying eggs?! This morning was the 3rd time in just under a week and one of our neighbors came over all excited (her grandmother is Amish) saying "You finally got an egg didn't ya?"

:he  :smack  :somad

Seriously!! We're almost out of food cuz of course the girls are STARVIN' don't ya know and DH is getting frustrated. I know we have a lot working against us at the moment, but I am not ready to give up no matter what our wallet says *sigh*!!!

I will be a successful backyard chicken farmer, I will, I will, I will!!!

Oh, and can I feed them food for other birds?! My one neighbor has like 6 bird feeders and the ducks from Lititz Springs Park are ALWAYS over here. She has offered us a 10lb bag of her "duck food"... so I'm just wondering. 
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You could drive over here to mount joy and pick up eggs everyday, shove them in the nest boxes and say look, finally some eggs.

But really, give them time, I have birds that quit laying every time they get moved, it can take weeks for them to start again, and with these being older auction birds, it could be awhile if at all.
 
wingstone said:
You could drive over here to mount joy and pick up eggs everyday, shove them in the nest boxes and say look, finally some eggs.

But really, give them time, I have birds that quit laying every time they get moved, it can take weeks for them to start again, and with these being older auction birds, it could be awhile if at all.
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I might actually take you up on that offer wing lmao!! I wouldn't tell DH so then he won't make me get rid of them, and maybe he'll even let me get more
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.

Thanks for the neighborly offer... and the errr, ummm not so encouraging "if at all" comment
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. I really am considering finding me a few poults to start from scratch so to speak. You all make this seem so easy hahaha!!
 
Does anyone want to sell some EE's? Preferably pullets? I am going to the Middleburg auction again in about 3 weeks. Last time I went, there wasn't any EE's there. I am looking to buy some if anyone lives around that area?
 
stake said:
Well folks its game on with me and a pair of red tailed hawks...since my chick got taken, there's been one perched in a tree about 70yds from my property line. This is three days running....and staying just far enough away where they can watch the flock and not alert the roo...when he/she screeches the roos clucks a bit but not a full warning....its a chess game and I need to find a way to discourage these hawks....
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Where do you have your coop located? My homesteader friend told me that it's important to have it in a place where the hawk does not have a clear flight path. Meaning, he can't swoop in & swoop out quickly - imagine an air plane landing/take off pattern. She said that if they don't have a clear space to fly in, they won't attack.

So, I have my coop between our garage and a medium sized tree that overhangs the run. We have had a red-tail hawk attack, but only when the chickens had escaped from their run and were roaming the neighbor's clear corn field. Maybe you could relocate your coop? So there won't be a clear path?

Funny, the chicken our hawk attacked escaped! I thought she was a gonner - all I found at first were lots of feathers - but a half hour later she showed up clucking alarmingly to be let back into her run & into the chicken house with the other chickens. She had major gashes around her neck area, but she healed.

I had never known the meaning of being called "chicken" before. Those chickens stayed in their coop for about 3 days! LOL!

The hawk hung around for a few days, but really, I don't think I've seen him again since then (he used to live in our back black cherry tree all summer). Either something happened to him unrelated, or he was scared off by my chicken that survived the attack! She is a pretty fearless hen. She can get aggressive, but not dangerously so.

Actually, she's only laying an egg a week (she's 2), so if you want her, I would be happy to give her to you. Not sure if she would help with your hawk problem, though. Plus we're pretty far away from you. She's my dominant hen. I've nicknamed her "lucky."
 
WE GOT OUR 1ST EGG!!!!! Wow, what timing... DH was seriously ready to throw in the towel, but I wasn't ready to give up!! Thanks soooo much to everyone for all the advice and support, this is freaking AWESOME!!!



My 10 yr old was very impressed by it's size... you can't see his HUGE grin behind the eggs, but it's there lol!
 

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