Pipd's Peeps!

[Crazy Maizie]

So exciting! One of my girls has laid 3 eggs this last week after taking off since August. Now, if the other 2 would lay, I wouldn't be in such a hurry to find some new birds to replenish my flock.

One of the animal rescues nearby rescues exotic animals and asked for donations of eggs since their supplier no longer could supply them due to the avian flu. I took them some duck eggs and will do so every few weeks if I can - right now only 2 ducks are laying. I should have 3 ducks laying, but for some reason one of the runners is not as efficient. Once the muscovy start laying, I will have loads of duck eggs to donate.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oooh, was that Black Pine? I saw a post from them about that last night! If only it was midsummer when I had 8,250,352 eggs just laying around that I could donate!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Yep, black pine in Albion. I guess they lost their egg supplier and one of the monkeys needs a dozen a day to be able to eat and take their meds. I only had an 18 count, but I figure they will get lots of donations if people follow through. I am usually overrun with duck eggs as well. I'm always glad when the duck production slows down. I feed a few back to the flock and also cook them up for the dogs. Plus, I have one friend that will eat them. Everyone else seems afraid of them. I wish I could eat them without getting an upset stomach.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I'll have to keep them in mind when we're buried in eggs in a few months! They're like a 30-40 minute drive from here. I used to visit every year on my birthday and donate a little extra beyond the entry fee, up until covid happened.

Yeah, I ended up feeding a lot of eggs back to my birds last summer, buckets of them. It reached the point where all the buckets would be filled and I'd have to start piling them on the counter, so I'd just take the oldest bucket and boil the eggs up for the girls every week or so. This year I want to try waterglassing some of them. We could sure use them right now, haven't really been able to bake or even just have eggs for breakfast in weeks! But I've said the same thing for a few years now and still haven't tried waterglassing so... we'll see, I guess.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Another small egg, this time in the nest that Athena has been fussing over!! I'll have to give her a butt inspection tomorrow to confirm, as it was too dark and she was perched too far back in the crate the pullets like to sleep in for me to really see her well.

I got another egg as well, this one I think from my big Blue Orpington, Isolde, but it's rather small for a hen her size... This is the second egg I've found that looks like this and the first one was in the dropping tray that Izzy sleeps over first thing in the morning two days ago. It's pictured with the eensy tiny egg in those last egg pictures I posted, the one on the left. She's the only bird that would lay an egg like that who sleeps over that particular tray (the others are Fifi, who is a blue-egger, Reinette, a dark brown egger, and one of the Barred Rock bantams whose eggs are smaller than that), so I guess it has to be hers...

...Regardless, woohoo eggs!!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Okay, based on the voices I heard over the monitor today and the eggs I've collected this evening, I think I've finally figured out the mystery eggs!!

Mystery Egg #1, quoted above, laid on January 21, I believe belongs to none other than Gwenyth! I recognized her distinct voice over the monitor today and found a second egg like this one in the same nest box as this first one not long after!

Mystery Egg #2, quoted above, belongs to.... one of the older girls, I'm pretty sure. I didn't butt check them, but a couple of the Mottled Cochin girls are looking red lately, so most likely it's one of them.


And Mystery Egg #3, pictured below on the left with Mystery Egg #2 on the right, laid yesterday, belongs to our darling little Athena!! That's right, she finally did it and I've confirmed that today with her second egg!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Too cute you have a baby monitor for the chickens.
I have a camera so no comment. LoL Are our chickens spoiled or what?

Ok, question, where is a good place to get bantam chickens - like the miniature versions of the larger ones? I've been looking and joining groups on FB, the closest thing I've found is hatching eggs. It looks like ordering is the best option. However, I'm so concerned about getting cockerels. I can handle 1, but more than that, ugh... I know roll the dice and take a gamble right?

Did you get a lot of snow today?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Haha, yeah, the baby monitor's been a staple in my coop for a long time now! I like being able to keep an ear out for them without having the windows open, and it's handy for things like figuring out who's laying, as long as I recognize their voices. I can also set up the receiver so that any birds I have to bring inside for whatever reason don't feel totally isolated from the flock.

As for where to find bantams, it really depends on the specific breed. Some breeds are much easier to find than others! Most places where you'll find bantams sell them straight run only, though, so it is a gamble with cockerels... I do know that Meyer Hatchery just started selling their bantams sexed not that long ago, though, and I'm pretty sure they have sexlinked EE bantams as well if you need more reassurance that they're definitely going to be female. ...Not that I've been thinking about them at all or anything.


And the snow... Ugh. Yes. We got quite a bit. It was melting as it was coming down so I don't think there's much accumulation, just a few inches, but it was snowing most of the day. I guess we're really actually going to have a winter!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

I will take a look at meyer. Of course, I've looked there already, but not with bantams in mind.

Our snow is so heavy, it would make good snowmen! I let the dogs run around in it yesterday - they just love it!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Yikes. Meyers has lost its mind. I understand paying more for certain breeds/sexed, but $15+.
Is that normal? I love chickens, but I'm not a breeder. Just doing it for fun and some eggs. Guess I will just keep searching for someone to post they have some and snipe it as soon as I see it (not think it over for a week like I normally do). Lol