Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[cheeka]

so great that you are ready for this with the new addition to the coop! my Betty BR looks so sad, I can imagine what your girl looks like... Wilma on the other hand only had a small bald spot on her back, she is luxuriously feathered... must be her daily massage.
Y'all may think I am exaggerating, but I am not. she gets at least one full body every day. 6 minutes is average.

it all started when she was a chick. she really got into it when she was around 4 weeks old. her feathers would all lift like she had the tingles.

 

[Sallysec]

My dad got home from the fair today.... I called to see how many chicks were left, and he told me that 4 had died, and he had given the rest as prizes... So none of my 10 brooder babies are coming back.... So, now I no longer have any BR( so no little Roger for me), Light Brahmas, B.Orph. or Ameracauna(?) chicks. He said that he would order us some more chicks, but we shall see. I moved the 3 older babies into the brooder/quarantine coop today and they really seem to like being outside.

My egg count for today was........................ 3 out of 3!!!!

AND...




























They were all in a nesting box!!!

Congrats and what cheeka said is common for the FF. I personally haven't switched but basically because I have yet to set up my system. I think W4W gave me this link and I bookmarked it...or MC? not sure but someone on BYC gave it to me and I liked its explanation on simple FF systems. http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/05/why-and-how-to-ferment-your-chicken-feed/

so great that you are ready for this with the new addition to the coop! my Betty BR looks so sad, I can imagine what your girl looks like... Wilma on the other hand only had a small bald spot on her back, she is luxuriously feathered... must be her daily massage.
Y'all may think I am exaggerating, but I am not. she gets at least one full body every day. 6 minutes is average.

it all started when she was a chick. she really got into it when she was around 4 weeks old. her feathers would all lift like she had the tingles.

Can I see pictures of your girls molt? I really have only the one girl who may be molting and I want to see for educational and humor purposes

. I was told my teenagers (my original girls) won't molt until next year because they are late fall babies. The adopted girls range from age up to three I believe but all are over a year so this is at least their second fall coming. I just worry about the little chicks because their brooder box is literally wide open except the cardboard box that my husband gave them to play fort with. They have a tarp over the top right now and its under my deck so its pretty well protected from the wind but still....okay so maybe I am babying the chicks lol again.

 

[showbarnmom]

I feed FF now. Check out the FF for meat birds thread. TONS of info. I've only been feeding it about 3-4 days, but man they love it! I use a single bucket method. Mixed laying pellets, alfalfa pellets, and oats. Glug of ACVw/M, and water to cover the feed. Came back an hr later, and added more water because 110* heat made it soak it up quick. I feed out, then add more about half way down.

 

[cheeka]

I thought about taking pictures of them today... but never got to it, they run from the camera like they know their missing crowning glory will be posted for all the world to see... I will do it tomorrow, Blu looks really interesting with all those blue pins. tomorrow... promise.

 

[Sallysec]

Thanks, I found a few threads here but since my big girls aren't laying I am thinking molt coming on...I noticed more feathers around etc.

 

[showbarnmom]

I think mine are too Sally. 8 girls, 3 eggs today. I've got 4 that lay colored eggs. I get one blue egg every 3 days :/

 

[Sallysec]

Showbarnmom...its so crazy because my teen girls (8) gave me 8 eggs today...but the four big girls...NOTHING...I see white feathers around which makes me think the delaware or the rock is starting to molt. The EE and the Wellie..I think they are on strike after the broody wouldn't let them lay in "HER" box.

Tomorrow I might pull them out and do a full coop clean and get the cross beak trimming done.

I have to say that one of my friends and my father both commented on the teen girls eggs....they have gotten so much larger. Large or XL on the egg scale. I expected the pullet eggs I was getting to be the size they would stay their entire first year, but nope...big girl eggs are here.

 

[MalMom]

Only two eggs today. Yesterday I found one soft shelled egg on the patio. I don't know if she laid another egg today and I can't find it, or if she didn't lay. Oh well, I'll take two good eggs over no eggs any day!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

9 out of 11 hens are laying regularly (but not daily). They are all over a year old now and most are looking pretty rough. I'm also noticing more feathers floating around, so I hope they are going to get some nice new feathers soon. I have 2 that are having problems. My gold sexlink has been laying very thin shelled eggs that break on the nest, and the BO I thought was laying shell-less eggs from the roost. Now I'm thinking the BO may be an internal layer and the sexlink is responsible for the other eggs. The BO will sit on the nest for a good long while, and then jump down to go about her regular business, but no egg from her for a long time. Last time I picked her up she seemed very heavy, so I'm suspecting the eggs are going the wrong way and collecting inside her. Vitamins in the water hasn't helped so I'm thinking of trying some Vit D supplements to see if it will help Ca absorption for the sexlink.

Still got 6 eggs today.

Just kind of bummed that the hatchery chickens have the higher risk for health problems. BR, Australorp, SLW, EE, and Leghorn are pretty hearty so far, but the Welsummer, gold sexlink, New Hamp, and BO seem to be a rung lower on the health ladder.

Oh wait, another itty-bitty Serama egg too, so add another one fifth to the egg count.

 

[Sallysec]

W4W the lady I inherited the big girls from had HUGE issues with hatchery birds. One of her girls (delaware) is only like two or three years old and has just quit laying...no problem (like prolapse or bound) or health issue just stopped suddenly. She got a cross beak wellie from them as well. I adopted them with these issues but I feel kind of bad considering my girls have been pretty good (Knock on wood). That is basically the reason that I went with eggs this time around, I just like the idea of starting from chicks again but with better stock. I can't breed them and I want just a pretty flock for my yard that is healthy. So I skipped the hatchery with the fear that my first time around was just lucky.

Which Hatchery are yours from?

I was sifting through photos while waiting for my husband just now and this one cracks me up:


It also just made me realize that I am a pretty poor mother...I have more pictures of chickens on my desktop computer than my children....